Robin Jones Gunn is one of my all-time favorite authors. I grew up reading the Christy Miller series and have loved her adult fiction as well! I couldn't wait to get my hands on her newest novel Canary Island Song.
Carolyn has spent her life taking care of other people. When her daughter encourages her to think about herself and move on with her life, she decides to return to her family's ancestral home in the Canary Islands where her mother now lives. Running into Bryan,her first love whom she originally met in the Canary Islands, brings up memories from the past and forces Carolyn to deal with the hurt, regret, and disappointment that life has dealt her. Will she learn to trust God again or will she continue to try and make her own way in the world?
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Carolyn and Bryan's story. While I thought the book started off a little slow, it picked up and kept me engaged until the very end. I loved Carolyn's daughter and mother ... the dynamic of three generations of women in the same family was absolutely wonderful. And, for all you Robin Jones Gunn fans, you'll be surprised (and delighted!) to learn of Bryan's family history. (I won't ruin the surprise for you.) This is a great summer read!
I received a free copy of this book from Howard Books in exchange for my fair and honest review.
About the Book
When Carolyn's grown daughter tells her she needs to "get a life," Carolyn decides it's time to step out of her familiar routine as a single woman in San Francisco and escape to her mother's home in the Canary Islands. Since Carolyn's mother is celebrating her seventieth birthday, the timing of Carolyn's visit makes for a perfect surprise.
The surprise, however, is on Carolyn when she sees Bryan Spencer, her high school summer love. It's been seven years since Carolyn lost her husband, but ever since that tragic day, her life has grown smaller and closed in. The time has come for Carolyn to get her heart back. It takes the gentle affection of her mother and aunts, as well as the ministering beauty and song of the islands to draw Carolyn into the fullness of life. She is nudged along by a Flamenco dance lesson, a defining camel ride and the steady gaze of Bryan's intense blue-gray eyes.
Is it too late for Carolyn to trust Bryan? Can Carolyn believe that Bryan has turned into something more than the wild beach boy who stole her kisses so many years ago on a balmy Canary night?
Carolyn is reminded that Christopher Columbus set sail from the Canary Islands in 1492 on his voyage to discover the New World. Is she ready to set sail from these same islands to discover her new life?
About the Author
Robin Jones Gunn is the much-loved author of seventy titles that have sold more than four million copies worldwide. Her popular Christy Miller series and Sisterchicks® novels have won a number of awards, including three Christy Awards for excellence in fiction, and a Gold Medallion Award finalist award. Robin's unique destination novels transport readers around the globe. To ensure that her tales of these extraordinary locations ring true, Robin has enjoyed the privilege of traveling to each location in order to experience the local culture. Her three visits to the Canary Islands provided bountiful research as she took flamenco dance lessons, rode a camel, and visited the chapel where Columbus prayed before departing on his famous journey. Robin and her husband have two grown children and live in Hawaii.
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