I believe this is the first Chatam House book I've read, though when I saw the cover, I felt as if I'd seen the same cover on another book--or at least the picnic portion of it.

There were many characters to try to keep straight, and I wondered if that might have been easier if I'd read previous books in the series. I did like the 3 sisters (triplets) and their generosity/helping spirits.

Philip starts out as an adrenaline junkie-but he either gets frightened out of his search for excitement when a friend dies while leading a climb or he's reached the excitement pinnacle and finds that nothing out there excites him anymore. He holds 3 degrees but hasn't used any of them because the thought of a 9-5 office job isn't exciting.

Carissa is a widowed mom of 3 who's living with her father after her business folds--at least until her father dies. She's struggling to keep her family together and to keep her tech telemarketing job. She knows how to code but since she doesn't have a degree, she finds it hard to get a job in that field. Carissa has dated since her husband's death but finds few men want to take on 3 children that aren't their own.

The name of the business Philip and Carissa start together was a cute amalgamation of their last names.

I liked that the oldest boy didn't just fall into liking Philip but had to take the time to get to know him before feeling he could trust him. That seemed realistic to me. ( )