Starlight on Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"When caregiver Faith McCallum arrives at the enchanted, lakeside estate of Avalon's renowned Bellamy family, she's intent on rebuilding her shattered life and giving her two daughters a chance at a better future. But she faces a formidable challenge in the form of her stubborn and difficult new employer, Alice Bellamy. While Faith proves a worthy match for her sharp-tongued client, she often finds herself at a loss for words in the presence of Mason Bellamy—Alice's charismatic son, who clearly longs to escape the family mansion and return to his fast-paced, exciting life in Manhattan…and his beautiful, jet-setting fiancée.

The last place Mason wants to be is a remote town in the Catskills, far from his life in the city, and Faith McCallum is supposed to be the key to his escape. Hiring the gentle-hearted yet strong-willed caregiver as a live-in nurse gives his mother companionship and Mason the freedom to return to his no-attachments routine. For Faith, it means stability for her daughters and a much-needed new home. When Faith makes a chilling discovery about Alice's accident, Mason is forced to reconsider his desire to keep everyone, including his mother, at a distance. Now he finds himself wondering if the supercharged life he's created for himself is what he truly wants…and whether exploring his past might lead to a new life—and lasting love—on the tranquil shores of Willow Lake."

My Thoughts:

I really just adored this book from beginning to end!  Susan Wiggs is an author that I have had on my radar for some time now but I'm just now giving her a try.  What in the heck was I waiting for??  I really, really enjoyed this one and now cannot wait to read more by this author.  This wasn't a romance per se (although a romance did develop) but more of a women's fiction read and I loved every page of it!  The key to this book working so well for me was Faith as I found her to be such a great main character.  I loved everything about her!  She just felt so real to me.  A single mother of two girls struggling to make ends meet and just doing the best that she could.  There are so many women out there doing exactly that so how could I not want to root for her finding her own happiness??  

In this book, Faith is hired on to take care of Alice, a woman who has recently been in a serious accident and is now paralyzed.  Alice is struggling to deal with this new reality of hers where she is forced to rely on others to take care of her.  Faith is just trying to keep her head above water and provide for her daughters in the best way that she can.  What happens between these two women changes them both as they begin to develop a true friendship with one another.  Sigh!  I loved it and it was this relationship that really cemented my love of this book.  Yes, the attraction between Faith and Mason (Alice's son) helped but it was really seeing Alice and Faith both learn to lean on one another that made this book a winner for me.  I actually really enjoyed all of the characters in this book but especially Faith's two girls.  I lived and breathed this world that Wigg's created and was sad to see the book end.  Books like this make you feel like you really know these characters.  I want more from this world and these characters...I just wasn't ready for it all to end although to be fair it was a great ending.   I have high hopes that both Mason's brother and sister will get their own books and we will see a bit more of Faith, Mason and Alice.  

Overall, this book was one that I couldn't help but love from beginning to end.  I'm lucky that I have lots more of this author's books to read because I definitely need more!  I read this one at the perfect time when I was feeling a bit burnt out on all of the mysteries/thrillers that I had been reading.  This was a breath of fresh air and I enjoyed it all the more because of it.  Recommended and special thanks to Lisa (it was you right Lisa?) that put this author on my TBR list.  

Bottom Line:  A book that I was sad to see end.  I really enjoyed this one!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher as part of a TLC blog tour.  Thoughts are my own!