I laughed out loud several times, and loved the three boys in the story. 

One Summer in Savannah, the author’s debut, was one of my favourite books from 2023 so I was looking forward to reading her sophomore novel. Even though I had the ebook, I listened to the audio which was brilliantly narrated. 

It was a very different novel from Shelton Harris’ debut, but I can say that the writing was excellent and the author’s talent shone through the pages from start to finish. 

The premise of the story about land ownership in the south, the passing of it over generations, and those who try to literally steal the land (through incredulous laws which have the most head shaking loopholes) was interesting. The characters of the family were flawed and each had their own strong personality and sordid past. There are past and present timelines, and though I found both to be relevant, there were times were the writing carried my continued interest as opposed to the plot which seemed to slog at times. 

I was definitely invested as to how the story would end and had to know what happened to each of the characters. I can verify that Terah Shelton Harris came through and wrote a satisfying ending.

Very well done on audio. This second chance romance was an unputdownable, well written novel. 

Shiloh was not my favorite character, but I am glad as the story wrapped, we got more of a well rounded look at how her life events made her who she was. She redeemed herself in my eyes, and at the end I felt she was going to be ok. 
Cary is an absolute cinnamon roll hero in this novel (and is quite swoony). 

A well done debut by a Canadian author. There have been comparisons of this novel to The Office meets Eleanor Oliphant. I do agree, in that there is a quirky cast of diverse and flawed characters and the author nails a dysfunctional workplace (in this case, a corporate office for a fictional Supershops national chain). 
There is also a lot of humor (much of it through mixed media which is fun when done well), and very cringy moments. There is also a serious dark side to the novel and the characters. The main character, Jolene, is a Persian Canadian with crippling personal struggles, an overbearing mother, and a “oh no she didn’t” personality. Sometimes this story was difficult to read because of Jolene’s decisions, but ultimately, the story “swings-up” for which I was relieved.