WINDOW BY THE BAY by Debbie Macomber

Ballantine Books

July 16^th, 2019

978-0399181337

Contemporary, Women’s Fiction

E-ARC

Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)

Obtained by Publisher via Netgalley

3 Hearts

Jenny Boltz has an empty nest now that her children have moved on with their lives and after a messy divorce, she is at a crossroads. Her best friend Maureen is thrilled for Jenny’s newfound freedom and insists it’s the perfect time to go to Paris like they always dreamed of. But with freedom, comes choices and Jenny is not to sure that dating is in her future even after the encouragement she gets from Maureen. But when her mother breaks her hip, Jenny finds herself drawn to the surgeon who helped her mother, Dr. Rowan Lancaster. With a future uncertain, Jenny needs to find the strength to embrace her present and take a leap to the future she wants before she can move forward.

WINDOW BY THE BAY is a typical Debbie Macomber story that at times is sweet ad funny and other times, so frustrating and annoying, it drove me bonkers. Normally I adore this author’s books with a passion but the last few books have been either a hot or miss with me. WINDOW BY THE BAY delves into two women, best friends, who raised their kids as single mothers and now must deal with empty nests. I initially loved the dynamics between Maureen and Jenny but as you get into the story, I found them at times to be quite irritating. It’s one thing to be on your own once again, no kids and lots of freedom to explore the world around you and its another to be condescending to those not in your age or career bracket. There were times I just wanted to smack these two characters for being so elitist and dismissive and yet I saw some glimmers that they were learning from their mistakes within the pages of WINDOW BY THE BAY. Regardless of how the characters first started out, by mid book, I finally saw some glimmers of positivity that gave me hope for these two women to find their happy ever after.

WINDOW BY THE BAY moves slowly in the beginning as it sets up Jenny and Maureen’s journey and once it finally got to the meat of it all, I really liked it. This may put off some readers who dropped the book midway through but if you keep at it, it does get better. The story flows smoothly at the halfway point onward and the characters do start to redeem themselves. I really enjoyed the children of Maureen and Jenny a lot as they were sensible and had some great advice for the mother’s at times, I thought was great.

Debbie Macomber pens a tale that will touch your heart at times and other times, make you want to scream. WINDOW BY THE BAY is not as good as past women’s fiction books she has written but it’s an okay read on a lazy afternoon. Now I am hoping this author gets back to what made me love her so long ago in her future books.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement

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