I think that this is the first time that NetGalley has sent me an email with the heading "NetGalley Recommends". Instead of the usual process of asking if I can see a free review copy, in this case I could just download it. So when I clicked on the download button this is what I knew

Near the midpoint of the Upper Peninsula, along a Lake Michigan bend of shore, is the town of Manistique, Michigan. Mark had never heard of Manistique before the death of his estranged aunt, but as sole beneficiary of Vivian’s estate, he travels there to settle her affairs. As Mark tours his aunt’s house for the first time, the doorbell rings.
Days after graduating medical school, Dr. Emily Davis drives north, struggling with her illicit rendezvous on Mackinac Island. She never makes it—on the highway near Manistique, her car collides with a deer, shattering the car’s windshield. Stranded for the night, Emily is directed to a nearby bed and breakfast.
Maybe it’s a heady reaction, the revelation that his aunt, an international aid doctor, ran a bed and breakfast in retirement. Or perhaps he plainly feels pity for the young, helpless doctor. Regardless, Mark decides to play host for one night, telling Emily that he’s merely stepping in temporarily while his aunt is away.
As a one-night stay turns into another and more guests arrive, the ersatz innkeeper steadily loses control of his story. And though Emily opens up to Mark, she has trouble explaining the middle-aged man who unexpectedly arrives at the doorstep looking for her.
Will these two strangers, holding on to unraveling secrets, remain in town long enough to discover the connection between them?
When you open the book, you get a map. Now as it happens at one time - well for 25 years actually - Green Bay Wisconsin figured large in my life. It was where my then wife came from, and we visited family there from time to time. And every so often we would talk about heading north from there to visit Door County, or maybe the Upper Peninsula. But somehow we never managed to get to either place. And to a large extent this book reads a bit like a travelogue. I would not be at all surprised to learn that it is sponsored by the local tourist board or whatever (I have no hard evidence that this is true) since I now want to add these places to my bucket list. Though I have to ask: do they really run coach tours for seniors to visit all the casinos in a remote region?

As it happens my then wife also shared a trait with the main male character. A fear of crossing bridges.

"Gephyrophobia is the anxiety disorder or specific phobia characterized by the fear of bridges. As a result, sufferers of gephyrophobia may avoid routes that will take them over bridges."

Though hers was not as severe as the guy in the book. He has to use a phone booth to call the staff at the bridge to drive his car over The Bridge. It is, of course, huge.

The Mackinac Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac to connect the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan. Opened in 1957, the 26,372-foot-long bridge is the world's 20th-longest main span and the longest suspension bridge between anchorages in the Western Hemisphere. Wikipedia



I did not share her fear, and frankly this image is one of the reasons why I want to go see it for real.

The story rolls out quite nicely. This is not an effortful read. You care about the characters and you want to know about what happens to them. I got a bit irritated by all the references to Fawlty Towers, which was not a B&B but an actual hotel with a full restaurant. But I was entrapped by the fascination with pies. I once got my son - bored on a long cross America road trip - fascinated by the question of what kind of pies we might see at the next stop. And how they compared to the pies we had already eaten. There is also a frustratingly incomplete recipe for French Toast that I am tempted to try.

I really enjoyed reading this book and wished it was longer. Very entertaining. Recommended

ISBN: 978-1-7324-1090-9
to be published in November 2018 by Celestial Eyes Press

I’m giving this book 3 stars even though I did not finish it. I could not get into it. It seems to jump around quite a bit and I had a hard time following it and trying to figure out where the story was going. I’m sure there are people out there who will love it, it’s just not for me.

This was an absolutely charming book. The author’s love for the setting, the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Lake Michigan, comes through in his descriptions of the sights, the people, and even the lexicon of the area. The characters are memorable, and the plot lines are believable. Even though I guessed at a couple of the resolutions, it was still a nice ride with the characters as they reached their destinations. There were some very funny moments (nice odes to Fawlty Towers), as well as some heart-wrenching ones. All of it was written with care and attention to detail. In all of the noise of everyday life, it was very relaxing to spend some time in Manistique. I sincerely hope the author writes more stories with these characters. Thank you to NetGalley, Celestial Eyes Press, and the author for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Mark has just inherited his Aunts estate. He doesn’t realize she ran a bed and breakfast until Emily knocks on the door. Emily is on a break during med school and hits a deer with her car. She needs a place to stay while it is repaired. Soon other guests show up and Mark finds himself running a bed and breakfast.

There were a lot of quirky characters in this book. There was also some humor. This was a light, cute read. The book started out slow and didn’t pick up til midway thru. This was an entertaining read but I found I had no trouble putting it down. This is the first book by this author and I would be willing to try another book by him. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy of this book.

A strange inheritance, realizing later it was a B &B when guests show up. He ends up having to play host to some quirky people. As one night night turns into another. One guest named Emily, makes you wonder if fate had a hand in them meeting. The historical part is interesting if you have been to Michigan An interesting read. Given ARC by Net Galley and Cuesta Eye Press for my voluntary review and my honest opinion.

I couldn't finish this book because it was so poorly written.
I appreciate that I got an ARC and that it was never going to be perfect, but so much of the author's use of language was just too difficult to keep going with.
The story is a bit twee and predictable, lonely man gets inheritance, meets wayward damsel in distress, other odd characters show up.

I was expecting something along the lines of "Doc Hollywood" or "Hart of Dixie" in book format, but it just dragged.

The grammar was dire, storytelling wasn't great and it all just made for supremely dull reading.

A group of seemingly average people cross paths in Manistique in the Upper Peninsula area of Michigan. Despite a number of deaths, today and in the past, this comedy of characters is sweet and hopeful.

It reminded me of one of those great screwball film comedies of the 30s, with doors opening and closing, coincidences large and small, and the hand of fate hovering over it all.

What will happen to these people in the future? We don’t know but the author makes us care for them and hope for the best. They deserve it!

This book starts out in one direction, and you think it's going to be strictly chick lit, and then you turn the page and a mystery unfolds. Can coincidence really be just that, or is something bigger than fate at work? As more guests start arriving, the book evolves again, part Agatha Christie closed room mystery, part thriller. But always there is humor that keeps things light and makes the reader shake their head in wonder, When will the coincedences end? Is Vivian controlling things from the grave? As the book starts to turn into a gothic thriller, you won't be able to put this book down! And when the end somes, you'll be hoping for another book with the same characters! Make sure it's on your Fall reading list!

Stuck in Manistique is about two people who are at intersections of their lives. Mark, a man going through life avoiding marriage when he finds out that his estranged Aunt left him her Victorian house in her will. Then we have Emily. Days after graduating from medical school, she is in a car accident while contemplating her affair with a married man. Mark takes pity upon the young doctor and allows her to stay in his aunts home that she had turned into a bed and breakfast. He doesn't tell Emily that his aunt has passed, instead telling her that he is just filling in tell his aunt returns. As more and more people arrive to stay in the home, Mark begins to lose control of the story that he has been telling. Then Emily's married man arrives at the bed and breakfast and she has trouble telling Mark why this older man is looking for her. Will Mark and Emily reveal their secrets to one another?

This book is not a love story. To be honest I'm not sure what kind of story I would describe it as. If I had to describe I would say it is a boring and pointless tale. Sure, it turns out that Mark is the son of his estranged aunt Vivian. But finding that out is literally the only interesting thing that happens. It is a well written book but the summary was very misleading. I thought their was going to be a love story or at the very least an interesting plot. But neither of these happened. Neither of these characters had fascinating secrets even though you would think that's the cast when you read the description.

I really looked forward to reading this book. It sounded a bit quirky and fun taking place in the UP (Upper Peninsula) of Michigan. The book was just too implausible. As others mentioned, it has a little Faulty Towers-esque which was fun. However, I never gravitated towards any of the characters and made is easy to put down. This is a perfect quick, mindless read.

This caught my eye because I grew up in Michigan and it's always fun to read a book set in your home state. I thought the story was sweet and moved quickly. I can totally imagine it as a Hallmark movie, especially if it was set at Christmas instead of Memorial Day!

I though I was reading chick-lit, but then I finished it. Stickier than I thought.
Pacing was good, Twist and development as expected

This is a quick, easy, fun, feel good read. I did expect a little bit more after reading the previous reviews but it held my interest and it had several rather humorous sections I really enjoyed. The character development was good, the plot is light and thin, downside is, the entire story does not bring out a lot of feelings.
I enjoyed the banter between Emily and Mark, and I think the storyline could have been great, it just didn’t quite get there. There were a few twist and turns that were unexpected but the biggest deal breaker was the ending, it just stopped. I had to check my bluetooth speaker to make sure it hadn’t died and nope, the book just ended, right there. Maybe a sequel is in store?
I was given the opportunity to receive this book from Celestial Eyes Press through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. This one gets 4****’s.

Fawlty Towers set in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, with a cast of weird characters. The story line seemed to go too many places at once, and I couldn’t decide whether the author was trying for comedy or drama..

I just took a trip to Michigan. We wanted to visit Manistique but didn’t make it. We did go across the Mackinaw Bridge and visit Mackinac Island. I loved reading about the places I wanted to go visit and visualizing the places I’d been. I had to look up on the map and find the ‘phone box’ for bridge assistance! This was a light hearted and funny book. I liked the characters of Mark and Emily. The other visitors added charm to the story. It was a fairly quick read and I was anxious to see how it ended. I hope that Mark decides to stay in Manistique and run the B&B.

This was a very light, often humorous read, but didn’t really give any of the flavor of the Manistique area.

STUCK IN MANISTIQUE - Dennis Cuesta
Celestial Eyes Press
Perfect 10
ISBN: 978-1-7324-1090-9
November 2018
General Fiction

Manistique, Michigan – The Present

Mark (last name never revealed), who lives in Chicago and is a financial advisor, learns his Aunt Vivian has died and left him her estate, a Victorian house in Manistique, Michigan, a small community in the Upper Peninsula near Lake Michigan. His aunt, Dr. Vivian Peregrine, had been a humanitarian doctor who served in the world’s troubled areas for most of her life. He can only remember meeting her once and lost touch with her years ago, but couldn’t locate her. After talking to his aunt’s lawyer in Petoskey, Michigan, he travels to the UP. The problem is he has gephyrophobia, or fear of bridges, and the five mile long Mackinac (pronounced Mack-in-awe) Bridge lays between him and Manistique. Luckily, the bridge personnel are prepared for such occasions and have assistance drivers to help people across the bridge. On his first night in his aunt’s house, which he plans to sell, a woman knocks on the door and asks for a room for the night. It seems his Aunt Vivian operated a B&B.

Dr. Emily Davis was driving north, on her way to Mackinac Island to meet her mentor, another doctor who is married, for a romantic commitment. Suffering doubts, she goes to the Upper Peninsula to catch the ferry to the island, but ultimately takes U.S. Highway 2 west and away from her temptation. Near Manistique a deer leaps into car’s windshield, smashing it to bits. Repair will take at least one day and all the local hotels and motels are filled with an elderly group on a casino tour of the UP. One motel owner gives her the name of the Manistique Victorian, a local B&B.

Mark’s generosity to Emily soon expands to other unexpected guests. From that point, the unexpected and unanticipated continually take place. The newly acquainted characters share quippy talk and camaraderie, which leads to confidences laced with allusions. Trouble abounds. While the story is overall humorous in tone, serious matters underlie the content. The story revolves around personal loss, secrets revealing extraordinary truths, local mysticism, friendship, incipient romance, and family relationships. Yes it earns a Perfect 10, but mostly for those who enjoy quirky people and crazy, surprising events, and because I learned some interesting things about my home state.

If you have ever traveled in Northern Michigan, Stuck in Manistique will have you hooked in the first 5 chapters. The descriptions of Northern Michigan, the Straits and heading west on US-2 will feel familiar. I laughed out loud at the description of listening to UP radio. One of my favorite things when driving across the UP is locally hosted radio shows. The description in this book did not disappoint. The lead characters both find themselves 'stuck' in Manistique, he to settle his aunt's estate, she traveling home to Wisconsin for a break in the middle of her medical schooling. A cast of characters also find themselves passing through the B&B that Mark has inherited from his recently deceased aunt. A very fun and entertaining read, especially if you are familiar with Up North Michigan.

I received and advanced reader copy of this novel via NetGalley.

fiction, life-changes, light-hearted, humor

I liked the references to places I know well and the angst thing that each of the two main characters were going through. Most of the characters truly are, and while the publisher's blurb is better than most, there's more humor involved than the blurb indicates. It seems to be pretty well written and some aspects are spot on. A really nice read for a quiet afternoon!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Celestial Eyes Press courtesy of NetGalley.

I love this book! The gentle story of love and hope kept me connected to the characters and the irreverent wit had me laughing out loud. Especially meaningful to me was the message that deep human connection can be found in varied and unexpected forms. Also notable is Cuesta's honest portrayal of strong female characters. I'm looking forward to this author's next release.