Looking at the reviews for the other two books in this series, everyone thinks this author is amazingly talented. I only have this book to go by but I've got to say I wholeheartedly agree!

A Sister's Wish is just packed with emotions of all sorts. There is a sweetness for how much Simon cares for Amelia and how much she believes in him. The heartbreak when it looks like they can't be together and the pain when he finds out what his friend thinks of him. And the tentative hope when things start looking up for Simon, both romantically and with his estranged family & friends.

He's had such a horrible time of it, but he's a strong, good man and he's working to turn that around. Unfortunately little communities have big memories, so it isn't always that easy. It hurts so to see him have to deal with small minds, but there's more to his story than just his love for Amelia. Just when things look bleak for him, fate hands him a chance encounter with the sister he hasn't seen in years and the opportunity to try to forge a new relationship together. It's a lot of ups and downs as he deals with the disappointment from his friend's judgement and the pain of giving up his pursuit of Amelia, but if he can figure out who to make everything work it will definitely be worth it in the end. He just has to trust in himself. And let Amelia in so she can love & support him the way he needs.

I love Amelia. She might have let herself give a lot of herself to her family, but she's got a lot of spirit and when she gets herself worked up she's amazing. She's got spunk and she turns that on her siblings & Simon when they need it :) While a lot of the story focuses on Simon and him coming to terms with his past, there's a good bit about Amelia figuring out that it is time for her to start living her life on her terms.

While there is a little bit mentioned about how everyone knew about the abuse Simon and his siblings experienced but no action was taken, I kinda wish that more had been said about it. There is some set up for the next book(s) so I'm hoping that this will be addressed at a future point. And for that to be my only complaint, I think that's pretty darn impressive!

Shelley Shepard Gray delivers an emotion-packed story, at times both heartwarming and heartbreaking. There's a lot going on here, but she handles it with amazing skill and style, leaving readers with a lot to think about.

(This is part of a series but can definitely stand on its own.)