Sam Russell Russell itibaren Pookkad, Kerala 673304, India
3.5 stars, rounded down to 3 for GR because if I hadn't been reading this for two challenges, I would have put it down in the first 15% or so. I had higher hopes for this one, having read & enjoyed Ethan Day's books previously, but the first 1/5 or so was all over the place and often seemingly random. (view spoiler) It didn't help that there was no formatting for changes in scene or POV, but the beginning chapters seemed to be a mismash of establishing Cassidy's backstory and character. Once the other MC finally shows up (though I didn't know who it was going to be at the time), the book gets a bit more orderly and enjoyable. I really loved the locale -- a small island of the coast of North Carolina, complete with all the feeling of a small island town where they take care of their own and don't have much truck with mainlanders. The pet aspect was sweet, too -- a little Yorkie that MC #1 rescues from some feral dogs. The dog actually has a role as a secondary character, she's not just window dressing, and I like that a lot. The problems of randomness showed up later in the book, too. I think some tighter editing and cutting maybe 20% would have helped a lot. Overall a decent beach read and great tribute to MC #1's deceased grandmother and the importance of loving family, both blood family and chosen family.