Continued to follow the sister’s concerns. Carson deals with pregnancy then loss after accepting it, learns more about trusting herself with challenges without alcohol. Not much changes for Dora. Mamaw accepts loss of Lucille and selling Sea Breeze house but finds new reasons with neighboring guy. Harper helps sisters learn money doesn’t mean happiness although it definitely helps her, falls for PTSD carpenter, breaks away from demanding mom and becomes an author, liked when grandma from England visited. Dolphin is released from rehab into the cove. ( )

I read the previous books in the Lowcountry summer series.

I really wish that I had enjoyed this book in the series as much as I did the other two.

The third book in the series focuses on Harper, the younger of the half sisters who have been coming to Sea Breeze on Sullivan's Island since they were young girls. Brought together by their grandmother, Mamaw, for one last summer together before her grandmother sells Sea Breeze allows Harper to get out from under her mother's thumb for the summer.

So just like with the previous books, although this is ostensibly Harper's book, Ms. Monroe also rotates to the other two characters from the first and second book, Carson and Dora.

Please note that this review will contain spoilers about books one and two. If you have not read those books, please skip over this review.

So I realize for the most part when it comes to romance books I need to have a connection to the hero or heroine otherwise I am just rolling my eyes the whole time and wishing for the end. I have to see the chemistry between the two people since inside I am just a gooey marshmallow and do want to believe in finding the one and that good things happen to good people. I don't like a lot of what I consider dumb drama in my romance books such as secret pregnancies/hidden kids/insta-love, adultery/adults not talking about their issues which causes 'misunderstandings', love triangles, or the now popular love rectangles.

But above else I can't stand it if the romance book I am reading is boring. And this one was really boring.

Harper we know has a rich mother/grandparents and was working as an assistant to her mother who treated her badly. Mocking, dismissive, and being passive aggressive is definitely something you want in a boss and a mother.

So Harper going to Sea Breeze for the summer is actually a good thing. She needed to be away from her controlling mother and see that she could stand on her own two feet. Instead, we get Harper secretly writing a book about herself and her sisters (with names/events changed) to see if she could do what her father could never do, finish a book.

While at Sea Breeze, Taylor, a man that Carson met in the last book who had a crush and was very much into her, arrives at Sea Breeze. Harper lays eyes on him and we have insta-love.

I just shook my head. There is maybe a twinge of jealous by Harper since of course she thinks Taylor would be into Carson. Instead of using this to at least create some sort of tension in this book, any romance notions between Carson and Taylor are pretty much done away with in like five seconds though there was enough there in the last book to make me think that Ms. Monroe was setting up a love triangle between Carson and her ex, Blake. Heck, I would have welcomed a love triangle, or rectangle in this case since as I said though I usually hate those tropes in romance books, this book was boring.

So pretty early on you have all of the sisters with their romantic partners or in Carson's case pseudo romantic partners since she and Blake are still whatever. And we have Harper working with Taylor to upgrade the kitchen at Sea Breeze and do other parts of the house in order to get it ready to sell. And though Taylor has the appeal of oatmeal with no milk or sugar added, Harper keeps thinking about him and they kiss and I kind of fell asleep at that point.

My other complaint besides being bored while reading, is that though this is Harper's story most of the book is really about Carson and her issues. I used to really like this character in book one and thought she needed to get her shit together a lot more in book two since she was impulsive and careless with other people. In book three I was 100 percent over her. Going into book three readers know that Carson is pregnant by Blake. She is 'confused' though and their relationship is not addressed in any way shape or form though you have random characters saying things like I definitely see them acting closer and they are talking and flirting (yes that is totally the same thing as being in a healthy, mature, adult relationship). Instead we literally have scenes with Carson and Blake together talking about Delphine the dolphin that Carson befriended that had to be saved by Blake. I have never hated a dolphin this much in my life. All you need to know is that Carson acts like a jerk throughout this entire book pretty much. There is only one time when I did feel sympathy for this character, but a chapter or so later I was right back to being annoyed by her.

Dora is doing better in her relationship with Devlin. She puts her son Nate first, and though she plans on staying on Sullivan's Island, does not do the easy thing and decide to jump into marriage with Devlin. I actually liked Dora throughout this book since she seems to be the only character that changed based on events in books one and two and she realizes that she needs to be single for a while and not rush right into to have another man that she needs to depend on like she did with her ex. Unfortunately we get very little scenes with Dora and I wish that more had been added to balance the blandness of the romance between Harper and Taylor and the whole you just want to sit her down and read her behind for about an hour Carson.

Of course when Sea Breeze is about to be sold we have the girls catching a clue and realizing that oh crap, that thing for months that Mamaw said was going to have to happen is happening.

I am not going to lie. I thought for sure that Ms. Monroe was leaning to a different ending which though would have made me laugh at the absurdity of it, would still have been better than the paint by numbers ending we got.

I just wish that there had been some sort of tension in this book. Harper and her mother really don't count since we have just have them talking to each other on the phone and her mother being insulting via phone or email to her. It would have been better to have her mother actually come there and have it out with Harper once an for all so Harper could say all the things that she wanted to say. And it would have been good for Harper's mother to have it out with Mamaw since Harper's mother is still carrying around a lot of resentment towards the enabling that Mamaw did with regards to Harper's father. This was brought up a lot in book one, and a little in book two, but I think that the ball was kind of dropped a lot in book three. ( )

Half-sisters Dora, Carson, and Harper visit Mamaw on Sullivan's Island to celebrate her birthday and end up spending the summer at critical times for each of them. Dora is in the midst of a divorce and dealing with providing for her special needs son. Carson, a recovering alcoholic, needs to find a job. She's become very involved with an injured dolphin undergoing rehabilitation with an eye to returning it to its habitat. Harper's mother berates and manipulates her, but Harper quits her job as her mother's editorial assistant with no plans for the future. She does, however, have a trust fund. Mamaw plans to sell the house at the end of the season. The house has been a refuge for all the half-sisters. They all hate to see it leave the family's end, but they aren't sure what can be done to stop the inevitable. All three women also find a man who provides the support they need at this time in their lives. It's a wonderful "beach read," set in one of my favorite travel destinations--the greater Charleston area. I listened to the audio version read by the author herself! She did a great job. ( )

I'm going to miss these characters.

This book is the third in the trilogy. This wraps up the stories of Mamaw, Dora, Carson and Harper.

Each book focuses on one sister as the main character but each tells the story of all of them.
This book focuses on Harper, the youngest sister.
I liked her character the best of the three sisters, throughout each book. She's the kindest I'd say and sometimes others take advantage of her kindness.

The characters are well written enough that they feel like real people. I found myself getting irritated with Carson. But that just reminds me of how real they all seem.

I'm going to miss the characters a lot, especially the sweet hearted grandmother Mamaw, but I'm completely happy with the way the story ends. ( )

The final book of Monroe's Lowcountry Summer Trilogy fills in the remainder of the story of the three Muir half sisters as summer comes to the end. All of the girls living at Sea Breeze have life-changing decisions to make as summer comes to a close. Harper finds her purpose, Dora looks ahead, Carson accepts herself, and Mamaw finds life again in this well-written, plot-packed conclusion to their stories. The author does a great job of rounding out the series and tying up loose ends of seemingly real life characters you have cared for since book one. Again, this is a wonderful beach read and series that I recommend all of the time! I definitely recommend reading the first two books of the series before this book. The characters and the setting are easy to fall in love with, making you wish that you lived in Sea Breeze too.

Ashley C. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.

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