Wednesday, June 12, 2024

15 Summers Later

A moving, thought-provoking story about how a shared, horrific experience from the past resurfaces and upends the lives of two, estranged sisters. 

The different ways individuals process, cope with, and try to move on from trauma marks the central theme of 15 Summers Later, a thought-provoking novel from prolific author, RaeAnne Thayne. 

The past is never past for the Howell sisters of Emerald Creek, Idaho. The two girls suffered a life-changing trauma in their childhoods that became a secret that impacted and forever changed both of their lives…and also estranged them. 

The one sister, Ava, moved away and built a new life for herself via a seemingly happy marriage to Cullen. However, when Ava publishes a memoir that details the private horror from the past--the book becomes a best-seller--Cullen cannot deal with the publicity. He feels Ava, harboring a shocking secret, has betrayed him. Thus, their marriage comes undone. With her ‘perfect’ world in a shambles, Ava returns home to try and make amends with her sister, Madison. 

“Madi” has taken years to overcome and heal. Tenacious, she, too, has struggled to move on. Working hard to establish a “no-kill” shelter for abandoned pets, she finds herself falling in love with her long-time, secret crush—local veterinarian, Dr. Luke Gentry. But when Ava resurfaces in her life and the past again comes calling, questions are raised: If Luke knew the truth about Madi (and her sister)--the horrors faced fifteen years before--would he, too, turn his back on her? 

Readers--especially fans of Debbie Macomber, Susan Wiggs and Robyn Carr--will bask in Thayne’s (The CafĂ© at Beach End, Christmas at the Shelter Inn) characteristically sensitive, compassionate storytelling. Readers will not soon forget this suspensefully drawn story--infused with themes of love, forgiveness, and redemption--that maps sibling drama, family loyalty, affection for animals, and two, tender love stories that unfold side-by-side.

15 Summers Later: A Novel by RaeAnne Thayne

Canary Street Press (Harlequin Books/HarperCollins Publishers), $17.99 paperback, 97813350009333, 352 pages

Publishing Date: June 18, 2024

To order this book on INDIEBOUND/Bookshop.Org, link HERE