June 8, 2015
Children's book publisher turned literary agent Bowen bases her smartly crafted beach read debut on the bestselling 1922 novel Enchanted April. The result is an updated vacation and travel treat that's a paean to coastal Maine and island living, and a treatise on loving the one you're with. At the castle-like Hopewell Cottage on aptly named Little Lost Island, Maine, a month-long rental is shared by disaffected Brooklyn friends Lottie and Rose; surly Beverly, whose lover left him filthy rich but inconsolably lonely; and indie film ingénue Caroline, who wants to escape the memory of an Oscar night embarrassment. Robert, the lute-playing owner of the cottage, chooses the disparate foursome with a listing guided by his own "Rule of Robert's Sign"âthat "those who most needed it would see it"âyet secretly hopes the rental will finally lead him to someone with whom he can share both his home and life. The stew of characters is delicious from the start, with Caroline and Beverly finding comfort in one another, Lottie rediscovering her family when lawyer husband Jon and preschooler Ethan reluctantly join her, Rose and writer husband Fred finding that love and family are worth fighting for, and Robert finally getting to tear up the rules. Bowen crafts an old-fashioned love story with humor and heart as well as a lush setting, quirky characters, and a well-paced narrative.
April 1, 2015
Four virtual strangers are brought together by a secluded cottage off the coast of Maine in Bowen's charming adult debut. In Park Slope, Brooklyn, Lottie Wilkes, a young mom in an increasingly tepid marriage, spots an ad on the Happy Circle Friends preschool bulletin board. "Hopewell Cottage," it reads. "Little Lost Island, Maine." Immediately enchanted with the idea of the rental ("springwater, blueberries, sea glass," the post promises), Lottie recruits Rose, a fellow Happy Circle mom with marital issues of her own, to come with her. Still in need of "two more desperate women" to go in on the venture-the romantic young lutist who's renting out the place has given them blanket permission to take along "whoever needs to go there"-the pair put up flyers of their own, thus securing the unlikely presences of Caroline Dester and Beverly Fisher. Caroline is a disgraced movie star; Beverly is a curmudgeonly older gentleman with an ambiguous name who's in mourning for both his partner and his beloved cat. Together, the four are a mismatched crew. But under the spell of Atlantic breezes and away from the traumas of their New York lives, they settle into affable companionship, punctuated by idyllic island activities (the August cocktail party, the Monday market boat). Refreshed as they are by the Little Lost air, though, they cannot entirely escape the problems and passions of home, and when visitors from New York begin to pop up at the cottage, they must find their ways back, sometimes painfully, to their real lives. With touches of Shakespearian comedy, this is a light read, bright and kind and optimistic. For all of the novel's marital troubles and broken dreams, there's little pathos here. Bowen's characterizations are sensitive, if not particularly complicated; her writing is witty but gentle. It's not a challenging book, but it is an exceedingly likable one. A thoroughly pleasant summer read as breezy as the island itself.
May 1, 2015
When Lottie spies the ad for the summer rental on Little Lost Island, she is drawn to it. Maybe a month spent in beautiful Maine, away from her stagnant marriage and insomniac preschooler, will be the answer to all her problems. Rose is equally excited but more skeptical about such an easy fix to her marital woes and exasperating twins. Together with Caroline, a recently humiliated movie star, and Beverly, an introvert deep in mourning, Lottie and Rose move into the magical cottage on the quaint island for the month of August. There, amid a country-club crowd of old families, each of the vacationers searches for relief from her troubled life. But can a cottage fix a marriage, mend a broken heart, and bring soul mates together? Bowen has conjured up a delightful and inviting island summer complete with all the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of Maine to create a feast for the senses. Although hampered at times by gender stereotyping and thin contrivances, this feel-good story will make an enjoyable summer read for romance lovers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)