Title: I’ll Be Your Blue Sky by Marisa de los Santos
Publisher:
Genre: Contemporary, Historical (50s), Women’s Fiction
Length: 320 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss
Summary:
The New York Times bestselling author revisits the characters from her beloved novels Love Walked Inand Belong to Me in this captivating, beautifully written drama involving family, friendship, secrets, sacrifice, courage, and true love for fans of Jojo Moyes, Elin Hilderbrand, and Nancy Thayer.
On the weekend of her wedding, Clare Hobbes meets an elderly woman named Edith Herron. During the course of a single conversation, Edith gives Clare the courage to do what she should have done months earlier: break off her engagement to her charming—yet overly possessive—fiancé.
Three weeks later, Clare learns that Edith has died—and has given her another gift. Nestled in crepe myrtle and hydrangea and perched at the marshy edge of a bay in a small seaside town in Delaware, Blue Sky House now belongs to Clare. Though the former guest house has been empty for years, Clare feels a deep connection to Edith inside its walls, which are decorated with old photographs taken by Edith and her beloved husband, Joseph.
Exploring the house, Clare finds two mysterious ledgers hidden beneath the kitchen sink. Edith, it seems, was no ordinary woman—and Blue Sky House no ordinary place. With the help of her mother, Viviana, her surrogate mother, Cornelia Brown, and her former boyfriend and best friend, Dev Tremain, Clare begins to piece together the story of Blue Sky House—a decades-old mystery more complex and tangled than she could have imagined. As she peels back the layers of Edith’s life, Clare discovers a story of dark secrets, passionate love, heartbreaking sacrifice, and incredible courage. She also makes startling discoveries about herself: where she’s come from, where she’s going, and what—and who—she loves.
Shifting between the 1950s and the present and told in the alternating voices of Edith and Clare, I’ll Be Your Blue Sky is vintage Marisa de los Santos—an emotionally evocative novel that probes the deepest recesses of the human heart and illuminates the tender connections that bind our lives.
Review:
Weaving back and forth in time, I’ll Be Your Blue Sky by Marisa de los Santos is a rich tapestry of appealing characters, an inviting setting and a heartachingly poignant yet uplifting storyline.
Clare Hobbs’ wedding is imminent when doubts begin to set in about her fiancé Zach Barfield. Their whirlwind engagement barely allowed her time to breathe let alone give serious thought to her concerns about Zach’s sometimes volatile behavior. As she, her mom and her honorary mom are finalizing some last decorations, Clare finds herself listing reasons why she should marry Zach. The next day, just hours before the ceremony, Clare finds herself unexpectedly confiding in Edith Herron, a total stranger, about her misgivings about going through with the wedding. A thoughtful comment from Edith resonates so deeply with Clare that she knows breaking off the engagement is the right thing to do although the last thing she wants to do is hurt Zach.
Fast forward a few weeks and Clare is stunned to discover Edith has passed away and left her an inheritance: a beautiful house in Antioch Beach, DE. Needing some distance between her and Zach, who refuses to accept her decision, Clare happily sets off to check out her new house which Edith named Blue Sky House. During her explorations, she uncovers an intriguing mystery about Edith and Clare enlists the help of her childhood friend (and one time boyfriend), Dev Tremain to help her figure what this puzzling information means.
Clare is an engaging protagonist who has a solid background with a loving and involved family. She is kind-hearted and compassionate which explains why she finds it so easy to give Zach the benefit of the doubt after his angry outbursts. After their break-up, she is a little naive when confronted with his vitriol and she is a little too understanding and forgiving of his lapses in judgment and inappropriate behavior.
Clare is taken aback by Edith’s generous bequeath and she is quite curious about both Blue Sky House and her benefactress. She delights in the bits and pieces of Edith’s life she discovers while eagerly exploring her new house. She easily recognizes the love Edith and her husband, Joseph, shared while living there but she is confused to learn that Edith abandoned the house back in the 1950s and never returned. Clare quickly unearths fascinating but bewildering information that she and Dev work together to untangle.
The chapters alternate between Clare’s quest in the present and Edith’s life while she lived at Blue Sky House in the 1950s. Her marriage to Joseph was magical and filled with love but ended somewhat tragically. Needing an income, Edith turns Blue Sky House into a boardinghouse for vacationing families and individuals. A chance meeting with a wealthy visitor forever alters her life and sets her on a path that eventually intertwines with Clare in the present.
I’ll Be Your Blue Sky is a beautifully written novel that features a heartwarming and meaningful storyline. Clare is sometimes a little too good to be true but this does not lessen her appeal. Dev is incredibly charming and so wonderful that it is impossible not to like him. Edith is absolutely marvelous and her chapters add a depth and substance to the plot. Although several characters have been featured in previous novels by Marisa de los Santos, it is not necessary to read them to enjoy this latest release.
