Author: Sarah MacLean
Year published: 2025
Category: Adult fiction
Pages: 400 pages
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Location: (my 2025 Google Reading map): USA (RI)
Summary: Alice Storm hasn't been welcome at her family's magnificent private island off the Rhode Island coast in five years--not since she was cast out and built her life beyond the Storm name, influence, and untold billions. But the shocking death of her larger-than-life father changes everything.
Alice plans to keep her head down, pay her final respects (such as they are), and leave the minute the funeral is over. Unfortunately, her father had other plans. The eccentric, manipulative patriarch left his family a final challenge—an inheritance game designed to upend their world. The rules are clear: spend one week on the island, complete their assigned tasks, and receive the inheritance.
But a whole week on Storm Island is no easy task for Alice. Every corner of the sprawling old house is bursting with chaos: Her older sister's secret love affair. Her brother's unyielding arrogance. Her younger sister's constant analysis of the vibes. Her mother's cold judgment. And all under the stern, watchful gaze of Jack Dean, her father's intriguing and too-handsome second-in-command. It will be a miracle if Alice manages to escape unscathed.
Review: I tore through this book in just two days. I love it when a book hits at just the right time.
The Storms are a family that is dysfunctional, but along the way, I felt like there was hope that they would all do the right thing and come together in the wake of their father's death. I won't say if that happens, but it's a great drama to watch unfold. I was disgusted by most of the characters at any point, but also felt for them as it was revealed how controlling and awful their father was. And, they are rich beyond belief, so that's always fun to read about (think private islands and helicopters).
Parallel to the "kids" trying to live out their late father's last wishes, is a romance that I enjoyed. There was tension, passion, and hope in the (literal and figurative) darkness. Lots of play on words with the name Storm, which left me wondering as I read how many different ways the word Storm could be used.
This is a novel that touches on family, responsibility, respect, love (both romantic and familial), and control. It's not "good literature," but enjoyable and quick. I liked it.
Challenges for which this counts:
- Alphabet (Title)--S (am I allowed to treat "these" as an article?)
- Cover Love--a silhouette or shadows
- Literary Escapes--Rhode Island
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