Now this is a quirky read, so if that is your genre game, GO FOR IT!

The storyline is a reporter trying to figure out what the heck is happening on Frick Island.

Piper was an outsider that grew up on Frick when her mother moved her there. She continued to stay, and even married a young local boy, Tom, however his crab boat capsized and he wasn’t recovered.

What ensues is a story of a town and the ends they will go to for one of their own. Lots of intrigue, suspicion, and mystery as Anders the reporter tries to figure it all out, all while navigating struggles of his own.

I enjoyed watching Anders integrate himself into the society of Frick Island, seeing the value in their independence, and how various members of the community built meaning within the growth of the novel.

If you like quirky, mysterious, and secrets...grab it and add it to your summer TBR!

The Invisible Husband of Frick Island clicked a lot of boxes for me: great, small town community, quirky yet lovable characters, a little mystery and a little romance. The cover and title intrigued me, and the fantastic story between the covers hooked me!

The story is told in a third person narrative; at first, I wasn’t sure that I cared for that, but it really worked. It was a good way for author Colleen Oakley to hint at several mysterious story threads without giving away too much information. I loved all the characters. Piper Parrish comes off as an adult Pollyanna (in a delightful, lovable way). Anders Caldwell seems every bit the nerd, and I couldn’t help but hope for his success. The primary islanders don’t feel like secondary characters because the enrich the plot so much. Lady Jane’s mysterious packages, Mrs. Olecki’s unfinished sentences, and Captain BobDan’s disgruntled mistrust of “Come Heres” are examples of what made me want more of these characters.

The Invisible Husband of Frick Island is much more than the light, fluffy read I was expecting. There’s some mystery and romance, but it is more a story about community, family and love. The inhabitants of Frick Island truly love and care for one another. It is their sense of community and love that really made this book shine for me. In addition to getting a flavor for the life of fishermen and their families was interesting. Ms. Oakley’s first-hand experience on real-life Smith Island shown through her depiction of the fragility of island life. From turtle hatchlings to crab hauls to rising sea levels and diminishing tourism, life on a tiny island is beautifully described.

Ms. Oakley’s The Invisible Husband of Frick Island is a heartwarming story that incorporates respectful messages about mental health and ecology. I couldn’t put down the book once I started!

Small-town stories.

Sign. Me. Up. Every. Time.

The Invisible Husband of Frick Island follows one woman and the community that stands behind her as she continues to live life as if her dead husband is still alive. When a reporter comes to the town and sees this town going along with her, he begins to dig around for more information.

Sweet. Tender. Sensitive. This story is filled with amazing characters and quirky small town vibes. It is the perfect poolside read for anyone looking for a story about found families, grief, ambition, and much more.

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley for sending me a copy of this novel.

Frick Islanders don’t like change. They are happy with irregular ferry service, unreliable dial-up internet, and no cell phones. The “From Heres” view the “Come Heres” with a degree of suspicion and distaste—though they rely on tourist dollars—but they are fiercely loyal to their own.

When newlywed Tom Parrish’s crab boat capsizes and his body isn’t recovered, his grieving young wife, Piper, doesn’t acknowledge he’s died. She carries on about the island as though he is with her, carrying on conversations, walking him to the docks each morning, and going out to eat at the island’s only restaurant. The rest of the islanders agree to carry on the illusion, and a year later, everyone is talking to a man who isn’t there.

When Anders Caldwell, a journalist at a small Maryland paper, is sent to Frick to cover the remote island’s annual cake walk, he discovers the real story is that the whole town is pretending to interact with Tom, the invisible husband. This is the exact type of story he’s been looking for to present in a long-form podcast.

Spending all his weekends on the island for research under the guise of writing a story on climate change, Anders grows closer to Piper and endears himself to other residents of the island—but the thing he wants most—success—will estrange him from the people he’s grown to care for.

Charming and sweet, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘏𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘐𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 asks how far loyalty and commitment should and does stretch and how much we can sacrifice for those we love. I enjoyed the quirky characters and appreciate the integration of the effects of climate change. Although some scenes had me in tears, the ending was incredibly satisfying and the book uplifting. A great summer read!

Frick Island could so easily have been off the Maine coast, and I can see the stoic Maine islanders going right along with the idea of an invisible husband for someone they loved and that was one of their own. The setting is absolutely perfect, and I loved every page of The Invisible Husband of Frick Island, It's so unique, quirky, and fresh, from Anders' goofy cowlick to Piper's love of all things bugs.

This was such a unique book. It felt like the best combination of small-town quirk I love on Gilmore Girls with the group enabling of Lars and the Real Girl all ignited by the addition of a determined—if bumbling—reporter with a podcast. Piper Parrish lives on Frick Island, a tiny place whose main source of income is declining fishing and tourism. One day, her husband Tom’s crab boat capsizes, and he is presumed dead. Except Piper insists he’s come back, and the town goes along with her delusion. Anders Caldwell is looking for one big story to make his career. Getting assigned to cover a cake walk on Frick Island isn’t that story, but he gets a tip that he missed a real headline so he goes back to nose around. He finds Piper and the town talking to air and decides to follow the story wherever it leads.
Anders makes a ton of bad decisions, but is such a sweet character I couldn’t help but route for him, and his growing friendship with Piper is just lovely. It was also wonderful to see his feelings about the Island change the more he got to know the residents. There were so many wonderful, fleshed out side characters in the pages of this book. Ultimately, this one is about grief, but left me—someone who avoids sad books like the plague—very hopeful.
I’d recommend The Invisible of Husband of Frick Island to anyone who’s looking for something a little different, anyone who loves interesting characters, and anyone looking for an ensemble cast to route for. There’s even the smallest hint of a mystery that activated my thriller brain and kept me turning pages.

Thanks to @berkleypub, @netgalley, and @letstalkbookspromo for the #gifted copy. Author @writercolleenoakley was kind enough to send the fun book swag pictured. It speaks volumes that she took the time and wrote the hand-written message you see. The author’s kind, generous spirit is reflected throughout this entire book. It comes out tomorrow (May 25th) and I think you’re going to love it.

Like most of us, I read A LOT! So it is fun to search out and find books that are a little bit different. Books with quirky characters, unique locations, and unusual stories are a gem to find. Luckily, this book found me thanks to @berittalksbooks and #BerkleyBuddyReads! Once again Bookstagram led me to a perfect choice, one I get to tell you about and encourage you to pick up!
⠀
The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley is a wonderful character driven story with a bit of mystery and bit of romance. It has so many endearing moments and, at times, I just sat with it and smiled, happy to be reading about this island and these characters that I had become so attached to after just a few pages.
⠀
The premise is that Piper, a young woman who’s husband has disappeared and believed dead after his boat wrecked, doesn’t accept this loss and carries on as if he is still alive, meeting him on the docks after work, keeping their weekly date night dinners, and walking about town with him. The island residents are very protective of her and join in with her, addressing both of them in the street even though only Piper seems present. When Anders, an aspiring reporter, comes to town to reluctantly report on the local cake walk event, he stumbles upon this strange behavior and decides it would make a great podcast to launch him out of his small newspaper obscurity. Ander’s podcast takes off and he becomes closer to Piper and the townspeople and really has to question his place in all of this.
⠀
The only problem I had with the book was discovering that Frick Island wasn’t a real place, I had my bags packed to visit! I just knew I would run into Piper, enjoy lunch at the One-Eyed Crab, dip my toes into the Chesapeake Bay and enjoy some special Frick Island cake. The author described it all so vividly!
⠀
Be sure to get your hands on this unique, heart tugging book!

All I have to say is WOW! What an incredible book. This is my first book by Ms. Oakley and certainly won’t be my last.

Frick Island is a tiny little island in the middle of Chesapeake. They are very simple folk who live with the basics. No internet, smart phones etc. The main character Piper marries the love her life Tom, and loses him shortly after in a tragic boating accident after he goes off to work.

In comes Anders, an up and coming podcaster in search of a good story. He is baffled on why the whole town is still acting as if Tom is still alive. Anders consults medical professionals and learns that the whole town is just trying to protect Piper, but at what cost? How far will Anders go to get his story.

I thought this was a phenomenal book. Oakley did a great job with Piper and exhibiting her grief.

What a great frickin’ book. I had a feeling I was going to love this before I even cracked it open, and it did not disappoint. It’s told through two perspectives--Piper Parrish and Anders Caldwell. Piper is a young newlywed who lives on Frick Island, a teeny tiny town in the Chesapeake Bay that thrives on the livelihood of its watermen. When her husband Tom goes missing and is presumed dead during a storm on the water, Piper can’t come to grips with her grief. When she seemingly goes on with life as usual with an invisible Tom by her side, the townspeople go right along with it.

Anders, a journalist working at a small Maryland newspaper, ends up on Frick Island to cover the annual Cake Walk fundraiser, but leaves with the beginnings of a podcast idea he feels could be the career break he’s been waiting on. He returns again and again to Frick Island, spending more and more time with Piper and the quirky residents of Frick Island, as his “What the Frick” podcasts grows exponentially over the next few months.

It’s a heartwarming story with a charming setting, characters you’ll love, and sprinkled with a bit of mystery that’s intriguing enough to keep the pages turning.

Frick Island is very small in Chesapeake Bay. It has very few residents and everyone knows each other and all their secrets.

When Piper Parrish’s husband’s boat capsizes and he’s presumed dead, Piper’s life turns upside down Piper is so devastated that she creates her own alternative life and acts as if her husband is still alive. She walks around the island with him and talks to him. Her fellow islanders don’t know what else to do except go along with it.

When a young journalist named Anders Caldwell is assigned to cover a story about the island’s Cake Walk fundraiser, he discovers Piper’s story. He’s stunned that the whole town acts like her husband is still alive. He decides to create a podcast about it and it’s more than a little successful. In fact, it’s so successful that he fears the islanders will find out about it and it could ruin everything.

This is an intriguing story with very likeable characters. There’s a bit of mystery and romance mixed together, but mainly it’s a heart wrenching, poignant tale that really touches the heart. It’s amazing how the entire town stood behind Piper. I was so torn between understanding their actions and screaming at them to get her some help.

As I turned each page, everything fit together and I found myself really caring about everyone involved. It’s the first book I’ve read by this author but it won’t be my last.




FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I dare anyone to read this book and not want to visit Frick Island! The charming descriptions of the quirky residents and their delightful lil town kept me reading to find out what would happen to them all.

While the bones of the story seem pretty predictable (guy goes to dreaded boring island for work, meets odd woman and becomes attached in a peculiar sort of way), the telling of it gave it so much more. Like the struggle for the residents of a small town to keep their way of live, vs making the changes to help it stay environmentally sustainable and economically successful. And can true love differentiate between what people want and what they really need?

There were a few red herrings that could have sent the story in different directions. While they helped lead my imagination down other possible paths, by the end they seemed like unnecessary distractions. But sometimes that's how life goes, so the loose ends didn't bother me too much.

Overall, I'd give this book 4 out of 5 stars. It would be a great book club read or summer escape. The relationships between all the characters was a bit more than romantic fluff, but not too heavy either. Also greatly appreciated the author's words after the book about her inspiration for Frick Island.

Anders Caldwell dreams of seeing his name in a byline at a highly respected publication. He’s honing his craft as a staff reporter at a small local newspaper and trying to carve out an audience for his fledgling podcast.

His most recent assignment is far from glamourous. He’s supposed to travel to a remote place in the middle of Chesapeake Bay known as Frick Island to cover a special event. But the truly riveting story about this small fishing village isn’t about cake or climate change at all. It’s about an unusual girl named Piper Parrish.

“As Anders stood there, slack-jawed and contemplative in the middle of the road, he thought how he had been to a lot of beach towns before. Small towns, even. But he had to admit, he’d never seen a town quite like this before.”

Piper hasn’t always lived on Frick Island. She knows exactly what it feels like to be an outcast or a “Come Here.” Then she falls head over heels for Tom Parrish. He is the very center of her universe until the day when his boat doesn’t return. She can’t imagine a life without him – so she doesn’t.

She lives each day as if Tom’s still by her side. What’s astonishing is that the entire island follows right along with her. Somehow, everything seems to change with the arrival of the awkward and inquisitive Anders. He makes it okay for her to do more than to just exist in a state of endless sadness. And maybe, with his help she will even find the way back to love again.

“At least that was what he told himself, anyway. It was for Piper’s voice. It was for his podcast. It was not for how when she smiled, her dimples grew so deep it looked like Bill Gibbons had carved them himself with his whittling tool, or how when she got irritated her nose burned pink and she cried out “son of a monkey!” or “holy barnacles!” or once – when she dropped an industrial-size mayonnaise jar while taking inventory at the store and it splattered all over the freshly mopped floor – “Frank Sinatra!” or how when she looked at him with her big intelligent cow eyes, it somehow made his insides turn soft as bread dough. It had absolutely nothing to do with any of that.”

The Invisible Husband of Frick Island is a perfect romance to kick off the summer of 2021! With her perceptive style and quirky characters, Colleen Oakley delivers a story that is profound on every level. She approaches such serious issues like climate change and grief with an awareness that somehow inspires hope. All the while, she surrounds you with the sights and smells of an island where the sense of real community shines like a siren. And it’s the kind of welcome harbor that you won’t soon forget…

The Invisible Husband of Frick Island centers around a young widow living on a small island who believes her husband is still alive and living with her... and her neighbors go right along with the delusion.

When a reporter visits to write a fluff piece on a community event, he instead discovers a story that could skyrocket him to podcast stardom. So, he returns each weekend and starts getting to know the islanders and this compelling woman who’s at the center.

Ah, with such a unique concept, how could I not love this charming story?? The male lead, Anders, played a big part. He felt like a caricature of a nerdy, aspirational reporter with a few half hearted redeeming qualities. I never became invested in his relationship with Piper because he had ulterior motives the entire time. I really struggled with the ethics of his reporting, and any issues were too easily resolved.

The people of the island were hard to swallow as well, with their over the top hatred of outsiders despite needing tourist revenue to stay afloat? Usually supporting characters can make a book, but no one jumped out as particularly endearing or memorable.

With all that said, I want to share that SO many other people found this book delightful and moving!! I know I’m in the majority here so this is a perfect example of a book that you should try if it sounds interesting! It just wasn’t for me.

I really wanted to love this book and while I did enjoy some aspects, I just didn’t fall in love with The Invisible Husband of Frick Island. I thought that the entire middle part of this book was really slow and I didn’t care for any of the characters. I felt that the characters weren’t fleshed out enough for me to become attached to them.

Anders one of the main characters wants to become a famous podcaster. While working for the local paper he goes to a little island off the coast of the Chesapeake Bay and discovers something very strange. A local woman on the island lost her husband to his boat crashing during bad weather, but she still acts like he is there. As does the whole island, they all pretend Tom is still alive and well for Piper’s sanity. I loved the premise of this book and thought it sounded so promising. I just did not think it was interesting enough, nor was the ending what I wanted it to be. I felt as though the entire book was told in like 50 pages and the rest was just fill in writing.

This did deal with some heavy topics especially depression and grief, but I just didn’t have a lot of emotion reading the book. I know that a lot of people will love this writing style and really enjoy the book. I just didn’t think it was anything spectacular.

The Invisible Husband of Frick Island was bittersweet fiction that revolved around a widow hallucinating her dead husband and a journalist/podcaster trying to understand why whole town was going along with it. Story was about bereavement, impact of environment changes on island, community, love, family, and hope.

Writing was beautiful, captivating, emotive and steady paced. It pulled me into the life of characters from the very first page. It was written on third person narrative from perspective of Piper and Anders.

I loved the premise and plot was well written with so many surprises and drama. It started with a storm in which Piper and the island lost her husband and their beloved waterman. They recovered Tom’s trawler but not the body. Piper had hard time accepting his death and started having PBHE- Post Bereavement Hallucination Experiences after two weeks. Islanders didn’t have heart to tell the reality and went along with her hallucination out of love.

Anders had big dreams of working with big newspaper on big story when his first series of podcast in college got popularity but that was only one series that got him viewers and now, he worked on trivial news with small newspaper, Telegraph. When his boss sent him to cover Frick Island’s cake walk and returned, he had no intention of going back to this small strip of island that didn’t have cell tower or internet.

But then he received a tip telling he missed biggest story on the island. On visiting the island again, he discovered about Piper’s hallucination and town’s willingness to supporting her delusion. He made it into a podcast series and to his surprise it took off.

It was interesting to find out what happened to Tom, when and how Piper started hallucinating, why Islanders were going along with it and not seeking help from professional therapist on mainland, and what he will discover on digging deeper into life of Piper and islanders, what will happen when they discover about his podcast?

All characters were realistic and relatable. I enjoyed reading about secondary characters. Anders colleagues, his family and Piper’s mom, Tom, Islanders and their characteristics. I found myself root for all of them along with main characters.

Anders was my favourite character. At first, he had single vision of becoming successful journalist, working with big newspaper. He saw Islanders’ crazy idea of pretending Tom was alive as successful and unique story for his podcast. He was persistent and ambitious person. He lied to islanders for getting information. But as he spent more time on island he realised and feared the consequences of his lies and even tried to come clear. He was lovely person. Poor guy said sorry so often just for offering to help people. His development was great. I loved how he finally got courage to be truthful, understood love of his step-father, and stopped saying sorry for being nice. I enjoyed reading about Anders’ podcast- What the Frick– and how it grew gradually. His passion for it, making it success was relatable.

Piper was kind and sensible person when it came to accepting climate change and doing something about it. Her loss and grief were touching and I felt for her. But she wasn’t as innocent as she looked. She gave hard time to Anders and then what she was hiding was just unbelievable. Her secret was shocking. But like Anders said she was forgivable, no one can stay angry with her and when she explained her actions, I could understand her.

Setting of Frick Island, Anders’ podcast and Piper and Tom’s past were best in the book. There were intermittent past chapters that revealed Piper and Tom’s relationship and they also mislead me a lot. I didn’t expect it to create so much suspense. It made me believe whole different thing and hard to see what was coming next and what was Piper’s secret.

Frick Island was amazing. It was based on Smith Island on the Chesapeake Bay. This small dry island where there was no phone or internet with small close-knit private community, peaceful but hard simple life made it unique. I enjoyed reading in author’s note about Smith Island and how unlike this story people are more aware about climate change and are ahead in their work on preserving and protecting their island.

There were many layers and messages in the book. It was great to read how climate change its impact on island was represented, importance of working on making it safe place and also preserving its uniqueness. Loss, grief and hope was heart of the story. Story also told about not making assumptions about any one and any place, it’s okay to accept help when needed, and about mental health- how important it is to talk about it and get proper help. I liked how PBHE was represented in this book. I haven’t heard about it before and I liked reading details about it.

Anders and Piper’s growing feelings for each other made it even more interesting. I didn’t see twist and turns coming. As I said those past chapters were quite misleading and I was forming totally different hypothesis. When the truth was revealed, I was shocked. Climax was dramatic and exciting. I was expecting that reaction from islander and even Piper. I loved Anders’ growth and what he finally decided to do. End was perfect and lovely.

Overall, The Invisible Husband of Frick Island was wonderful, heart-warming, emotive, and insane fiction with unique premise and realistic plot and characters. If you love this genre, setting of close-knit community on small island with many layers and mental health issue, I highly recommend this book.

Set on tiny Frick Island in the middle of Chesapeake Bay this book had me dying to get to some sun and water. Also, literally every time I read #ChesapeakeBay I immediately would start singing #Yorktown from #Hamilton. Literally, every single time.
.
Anyway....this was such a unique book! Piper and her high school sweetheart, Tom were happily married, until a shipwreck left Tom dead and Piper carrying on as if Tom was still alive and by her side and the entire town going along with Piper’s antics.
.
Anders is a small town journalist when really he wants a successful podcast. After doing a fluff piece on a cake walk
and meeting Piper, and even more so seeing the way the town goes along with this, he decided this would be the perfect podcast aptly named “What the Frick?”
.
I don’t want to give too much away because I had no clue what to expect when reading this but this was a super enjoyable story!
.

The Invisible Husband of Frick Island is a wonderfully bittersweet tale of love and loss. Piper Parrish loved her husband, Tom so intensely, she can't accept that he is no longer by her side and the town that loves her goes along with her delusion. The depth of love the residents of Frick Island show Piper brought tears to my eyes more than once.

Anders Caldwell is a young podcaster in search of a good story and he finds it on Frick Island. Anders is charmingly ambivalent about the town he is falling in love with while clearly falling for the complicated Piper. Anders and Piper are multidimensional and unique characters that elevate this book beyond the ordinary light romance. Colleen Oakley has a gift for writing quirky characters that stick with you long after you’ve finished reading her books. If you haven't read Colleen Oakley's other books, you are in for a treat. My favorite (before I read this latest novel) was Close Enough To Touch.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of the novel for review. #netgalley #theinvisiblehusbandoffrickisland

The Invisible Husband of Frick Island is an absolute gem!

Piper lives on Frick Island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay, a quaint community of less than 100 people. She recently lost her husband, Tom, after his crab boat capsized during a bad storm. However, his body hasn’t been found and Piper has been going about her life as if Tom is not only still alive but right there beside her. The townspeople find this peculiar but go along with it nevertheless.

One night, while dining at the only restaurant on the island, Anders asks Piper if he can join her, only to be told she is having dinner with her husband, who is nowhere to be found. Anders, a journalist from the mainland who was there to cover the annual Cake Walk fundraiser, starts to sense something is amiss. While waiting for the ferry the next morning, he overhears the watermen say hello to Piper AND Tom, even though Piper is clearly by herself.

Anders can’t stop thinking about the strangeness of it all and starts a podcast, which quickly garners interest. He returns to the island in the hopes of uncovering a sensational story for his podcast, but he soon finds himself returning for other reasons.

This book made my heart swell! It was such a wonderful escape, and I was completely swept up in the lives of the endearing characters. They were quirky, perfectly flawed, genuine, and lovable. Anders made some poor choices, but he was a decent guy and his quirks and flaws made him more real. My heart went out to Piper, and I probably would’ve done the same thing as the townspeople. I just adored how everyone in the community was so protective and supportive of one another. I wanted to go to Frick Island, chat with the locals, stay at the Olecki’s B&B, have a slice of Frick Island cake, and eat crab cakes at the One-Eyed Crab. “May we all be loved and love each other so insanely.”

I highly recommend this enchanting and heartwarming book!!

🦀 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 / 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝗪 🦀⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Title: #theinvisiblehusbandoffrickisland⁣
Author: @writercolleenoakley⁣
Pub Date: 5/25/21⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Publisher: @penguinrandomhouse⁣
Type: #physicalbook⁣⁣⁣ / #ebook (thanks @netgalley)⁣
Genre: #womensfiction #romance #romanticcomedy⁣
On tour: @kccpr⁣
Must Read rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⁣
⁣
𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮...⁣
⁣
My thoughts:⁣
⁣
-This book can be described in one word: QUIRKY! It was utterly heartwarming, unique and full of goodness from page one. Colleen Oakley always comes up with the most interesting love stories and I am such a big fan of her writing style. The reader cannot help but fall in love with Frick Island (who is just as much of a character as any physical person in the book), Piper, Anders and the rest of the amazing cast of misfits.⁣
⁣
-If you need a great book that mixes strong emotion with a lot of laughter, this one will fit the bill. The loss of Tom is tragic for Piper to accept and she goes about her life believing he is still around. The best part? No one wants to make her feel silly in her grief, so they all band together to support her which I thought was so charming. The bonds of friendship and acceptance run deep in this book. Everyone was looking out for each other and you can't help but just feel good when reading this story.

Piper Parrish lives a quiet but fulfilling life on Frick Island, a small island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. After her fisherman husband Tom goes missing in a storm and is presumed dead, Piper shocks the townsfolk by interacting with Tom as if he is still alive. A close-knit group, the Frick Island residents hate to break her heart, so they go along with it. When Anders Caldwell, a journalist for a small-town paper, ends up on the island to cover its annual Cake Walk fundraiser, he's shocked to see everyone going along with Piper's delusion. As he learns more about the island and grows closer to Piper, he's conflicted about what to do, especially when his podcast What the Frick? about Piper's invisible husband goes viral.

I'm conflicted about this book. I enjoyed it, but the romance, storyline, humor, and characters just didn't gel enough to make it a standout for me. Anders is charming, in a klutzy, Clark-Kent kind of way. But, I don't feel like we saw/learned enough of Piper to really warm to her. Instead of showing us how wonderful she is, we're told over and over how much the townspeople adore her, even while she seems to be in a full blown mental crisis that they just ignore. I didn't see the twists coming, so that was a plus. Still, the "romance" between the two just seemed lukewarm at best, particularly because Tom's death isn't 100% certain. Plus, a detail about Tom is revealed rather late in the story that makes it seem like it was just added in to make Piper's attraction to Anders less questionable. The townspeople are charming in a cranky, stuck-in-their-ways way, but their hearts are revealed too late to really enjoy their addition to the story. Overall, this was an interesting storyline with sweet characters, but I was definitely left wanting more.