Healing
This wonderful book should be made into a movie. It starts out slow and idyllic and ends the same way. In between is the story of a cherished piece of land and what family really is. The book is much like watching what neighbors go through. The characters are realistic and they react as one would expect. This is a book to savor and read again and again. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

Message in the Sand by Hannah McKinnon has a solid premise and is filled with many of things I love in a story: small town, second-chance romance, family drama, and a good cause. While it ticked many boxes for me, I story didn’t grab me like I thought it would.

Mostly, it was to do with the characters. I just didn’t connect with any of them. Julia is sympathetic, but her desperation came off as insulate. Aunt Caroline is not a compelling antagonist. I would have liked more development of that character and a better understanding of her feelings toward her childhood home. Wendell Combs is the most compelling character. Wendell really steals the show. His journey through PTSD and opening up to close, caring relationships again.

I found the information about the legal system as it pertains to minors interesting. The resolution between Julia and Caroline is satisfactory. The chaste, sweet romance is a secondary story thread that leaves a hopeful end. I enjoyed the story arc, but the storytelling left me wanting. Message in the Sand could have been a deeply emotional book had I been able to feel the love, anguish and eventual contentment the characters should have been feeling.

Big fan of this Author! Each chapter has the perspective of each character. You have a mix of characters from a judge, ex girlfriends, a home caretaker. The setting is in a small community. Easy breezy summer read!

A Heart Warming Story of coping with loss and pushing for what is right.

Julia & Pippa Lancaster live on White Pines estate in Saybrook. When their parents die in a car accident they find themselves under control of Candace Lancaster, an aunt they have never met. Meanwhile estate gardener & family friend, ex-soldier Wendell Combs is drawn into the drama when Julia's battle with her aunt escalates.

Emotionally compelling characters made fast moving story lines. A bit predictable but always with a twist to keep it fresh.

Message in the Sand by Hannah McKinnon is not your typical beach read as the cover would suggest. It's a story about the Lancaster family and their beautiful estate called White Pines. As their annual gala comes to an end tragedy strikes. The characters are so real and well developed in this story. It deals with a veteran and PTSD, health issues as parents age, coming of age and a second chance at love. Hannah McKinnon wrote a great story of love and loss and the true meaning of family! Loved it!

First off, I love reading books that are based where I have lived. This book takes place in Connecticut. I love the references and knowing just where the author is talking about.. This was a good summer read. Brought on tears and kept me engaged till the end of the book. Well written and great character development. I felt like I knew all of the characters and they were truly genuine people that I wanted to be friends with. Get out your tissues because it will make you cry!

The story of Julia and Pippa will tug at your heartstrings. After suffering a terrible loss these sisters must adapt to a whole new life. What happens next is a well written rendition of unconditional love and where it ultimately leads. You will definitely run the gamut of all the feels that make a book linger in your mind long after the last page is turned.Gotta love those spotted turtles. Another good read by Hannah McKinnon. Thank you #Netgalley #MessageInTheSand for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

this is my first Hannah MacKinnon book, will definitely look for others to read, the story is about a vet returning with PTSD, good story, like the characters.

Oh my goodness, this book! ❤️ This is my first read by Hannah McKinnon and it definitely won’t be my last. If her other books are anything like this one, I may have found a new favorite author! When I first saw this cover, I anticipated a light summer read. However this book is full of heartbreaking and tough issues, all done in an extremely well written way. I loved the development of the characters in this story. Each person had connections to others and it led to the plot so well. This book is all about family and what being a family means. I did think that the ended went a little quick, but that’s not enough to change my rating. This is a five star read and it’s one that everyone should read!

Message in the Sand is a tender story, and it touched me. It started a little slow, I thought, but I'm happy I stuck with it. Looking forward to more from Hannah McKinnon.

3.5/5⭐️

While a decent read, this was more of a “so-so” story for me…a feel-good “fluffy” story with some heart wrenchingly sad moments, but I did have some issues with believability and depth.

It centers around two young sisters, Julia (15) and Pippa (7) who wish to become emancipated from their guardian (an estranged aunt). They settle on their likable parents’ estate manager/groundskeeper (Wendell) as their hoped-for new care-giver. He is a single, Afghanistan vet with PTSD episodes as well as guilt issues over his younger brother’s death.

While it had its heartwarming moments, I didn’t connect well with any of the characters, and it didn’t feel feasible to me that a single 39 year-old veteran with some issues of his own would be considered as a guardian over a blood relative…no matter the disagreements between the parties.

My thanks to #NetGalley and #AtriaBooks for providing me the free early arc for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

My first book by this author and I am a new fan! A story of a small community, told by various members of different generations.. The way it is written, each chapter from their perspective is very insightful, allowing me to see life from their perspective. A caretaker, a retired judge, young girls, an old girlfriend. Land, money and environmental concerns add so much to this story. I highly recommend!

A beautiful, yet emotional story, that made me fall in love with the characters, and kept me page turning. I loved the way the book was laid out, each chapter is represented by a different characters, written in third person narrative. This in turn, helped me as a reader get to know the key characters, and really draw me to each of their story lines, however, I feel it would’ve helped so much more if the narrative was in first person entirely. Third person narrative, with the added multiple perspectives is harder for me to get into the thoughts of the characters without needing the help of the narrator.

The plot and the character development was beautiful though, and that’s why I’m praising this novel. I highly recommend it. Emotional and touching for sure if you like similar reads.

Message in the Sand is, according to author Hannah McKinnon, a love story about "the love of small town life, teenage love, rekindled adult love, and what makes up the fabric of family."

At the center of the tale is Wendell Combs. His mother, father, and brother are all dead, and he resides in the family home that is still exactly as it was when he was growing up there. Wendell suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of his service in Afghanistan and is wracked with guilt because he believes he should have been able to save his brother, who made the ultimate sacrifice for his country. Nights are the worst. That's when the nightmares return, so Wendell doesn't sleep much. He just wants to be left alone to perform his work at White Pines in solitude. He feels he owes a debt to Alan Lancaster he can never repay. When Wendell returned from Afghanistan, Alan gave him much more than a job. He gave Wendell a chance when he needed it most.

Wendell has always been fond of the Lancaster girls, Julia and Pippa, but not particularly close to them. However, that quickly changes after their annual gala. After the party, Alan and his beautiful wife, Anne, decide to take a drive in Alan's classic T-Bird. The next morning the car was discovered crushed against a tree. And just like that, Julia and Pippa are orphans.

Before long, Alan's sister, Candace, arrives from London. For reasons no one understands, Alan and Anne appointed her to be the girls' guardian should anything happen to them. But the girls have never even met Candace, and she clearly has no idea how to comfort or care for them. She is largely disinterested in their desires, determined to liquidate her brother's estate quickly and return to her life in London, taking Julia and Pippa with her.

But Julia will have none of it. White Pines is the only home she and Pippa have ever known, and Julia becomes Pippa's protective caregiver. Julia is determined that she will find a way for her and Pippa to remain at White Pines, even if that means she must secure the services of an attorney and attempt to become emancipated.

Roberta Blythe is a reclusive retired probate judge. Fourteen years ago, she stepped down from the bench. Never married and childless, she has secluded herself ever since, voraciously reading books regularly delivered by Amazon. She is haunted by the last case that landed on her docket. She remains close to Wendell, whose mother was Roberta's best friend. And one day she is shocked to find Julia on her doorstep, seeking advice.

When Wendell returned to Saybrook, Ginny Foster thought they would resume their relationship. High school sweethearts, Ginny quickly became part of the Combs family, often joining Wendell, his father, and Wesley, his brother, for dinner, bringing lightness and laughter back to the home in which Wendell's mother died of breast cancer. Ginny studied business at Providence College, and Wendell pursued a degree in biology and environmental studies at the University of Vermont. When they graduated, they were formulating plans for their future -- they were going to move to Boston where Wendell would work at a law firm and save money to attend law school, and Ginny would work in commercial real estate. But back home, Wesley was struggling -- drinking, jobless, and kicked out of the house by their father. When Wesley began attending Alcoholics Anonymous and joined the National Guard, Wendell announced that he had to enlist, too, in order to protect his younger brother. Near the end of their two-year enlistments, both brothers were deployed to the Middle East. Only one of them came home, and he was no longer the man Ginny had known. Their relationship fell apart, and Ginny moved to Chicago. But with her father recovering from surgery and her parents' real estate company floundering, Ginny has come home for the summer to help them and regroup after leaving her job and long-time fiancee behind.

McKinnon's intriguing and empathetic characters find themselves facing circumstances and challenges they could never have imagined. Julia and Pippa are mourning not just the loss of their parents, but the end of life as they have known it thus far. Their grief is compounded by the callous manner in which Candace goes about performing her duties as their guardian. Likewise, Wendell will likely lose the job he loves, and suits him and his needs perfectly, in addition to the man who was much more than an employer to him. Ginny is at a crossroads, as well. She's not sure she wants to stay in Saybrook indefinitely, but there's nothing for her in Chicago any longer. And her parents are getting older and struggling to hold onto the business they built. She has the skills to vitalize their marketing and operations so that their company can compete with the other local firms. Saybrook was recently named New England's "best-kept secret" and developers are eager to capitalize on the beautiful setting. They tried before, but the red spotted turtle, a rare species, was discovered in the wetlands. In Native tribe folklore, turtles are sacred, symbolizing good health and long life. In fact, it was Wendell's father, who had served as first selectman of Saybrook, who managed to hold off the contractors at his mother's urging. "Permits were stalled. Paperwork was misplaced. And all the while Charlotte Combs faded. She'd been laid to rest in the cemetery for just a week when the first dozer clambered up the grassy flank of the meadow and broke ground. Somehow his father had kept them at bay just long enough."

McKinnon places obstacles to happiness in each character's path. Julia and Pippa want to remain at White Pines. Wendell wants to stay on, as well, if there is a way that can work out. Constance is negotiating with a shady developer who wants to hastily obtain approval to subdivide White Pines, but the prospect is controversial and divides the townspeople. Will the turtles bring better luck this time, stopping the development of White Pines? Ginny and Wendell reconnect, taking tentative steps toward rekindling their romance. And Roberta agrees to assist Julia, but not without warning her that her chances of success are not good.

McKinnon, a mother of two teenagers, compassionately reveals Julia to be an endearing and exasperating combination of woman and girl. Stubborn, defiant, and determined, she alternates between childish tantrum-like behavior and surprisingly wise and mature judgment and decision-making. Her voice is absolutely perfect -- her tone, tenor, and the language she uses to express herself typically adolescent: charming and infuriating. Above all, Julia is a loyal and devoted big sister to Pippa, intent on protecting and caring for the vibrant little girl who has been rendered virtually mute, withdrawn, and confused by the shock of losing her parents. Julia will not be deterred, believably exploring every avenue available, never too proud to ask for support and assistance from the adults she knows and trusts, some of whom prove to be disappointments. Wendell convincingly watches Julia's struggle as new and uncomfortable feelings stir within him, and cause him to question whether the future he envisioned for himself remains viable. Ginny ponders whether a second chance will end up in the same heartache she experienced years earlier, while Roberta glimpses a path toward redemption.

McKinnon cleverly includes intrigue, small town politics, and a very serious ethical dilemma for one character, all of which further complicate matters and bring what might otherwise be a predictable resolution to the conflict into doubt. McKinnon's affection for her characters is evident on every page, as is her admiration of the setting that is so critical to the story's success. She explains that the tale was inspired by the beautiful lake region of Connecticut where she and her family reside near an estate after which she modeled White Pines. "It’s the perfect place for a man like Wendell to seek respite. And also the perfect place for a young family to be raised."

And the perfect place to set a heartwarming and uplifting story about a group of people who unexpectedly find their lives intertwined in surprising ways. As they navigate the aftermath of tragedy, each of them must decide "what White Pines means to them and why; and what extent they will go to to protect it." And each other. In the process, each character is transformed, having confronted their assumptions and beliefs about loss, friendship, and what it means to be a family.

Message in the Sand is an entertaining, engrossing, and uplifting story about people that readers will find themselves attached to and cheering for. An ideal summer story.

A little mystery and a little women's fiction rolled into one book where a cast of characters takes turn to share the story from their own points of view. The book starts with Wendell Combs who moved back to a small town in Connecticut after a stint with the National Guard that took him overseas and changed his life and now he is a caretaker on a property where he finds joy in taking care of the land and the animals for a living. The eldest daughter of the property owner is fifteen-year-old Julia and she is dabbling with her first love when a tragic night changes everything for them and others.

First, I am so thankful that in the synopsis the tragic event isn't spoiled, so I won't spoil it here, but man did I not see it coming and it is the catalyst for the entire novel, so I will try hard to talk about the book without divulging the big plot moment!

Other than Wendell and Julia, there is a judge who also narrates a few chapters and I was so thankful the author provided her perspective as she gave color to a big piece of the plot and the ins and outs of family court. Ginny Foster was another character who had a moment in the limelight and as Wendell's first love, she returns to this town for reasons of her own and she brought great romance and heart to the book. And Candace Lancaster who I just can't share as it would spoil so many things, she was a great anthesis to a lot of things and although a possible villain, I think the author humanized her very well.

I am a fan of Hannah McKinnon and love how she creates this great books with full characters and plots that are perfect reading for the summer, but honestly any time of the year!

This was my first time reading a book by Hannah McKinnon and I found her characters very lovable and relatable. This story of two young girls, after an unspeakable trauma and their fight to stay at their beloved home was both enjoyable and heartwarming. I will definitely seek out more books from Hannah McKinnon.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this book

Message in the Sand is one of those books that reminds you how families can be made anywhere with people who care. Wendell Combs went to war and came back a veteran with PTSD. He has been living his life alone with a lot of solitude and outdoor time to help squash the memories of war. He works on this lovely property called White Pines for the Lancasters and their two daughters Julia and Pippa. Unfortunately one night, the Lancasters' car goes off the road and Julia and Peppa are left without their parents. Their Aunt Candice comes from London to help take care of things as the executor of their parents will. However, there seems to be much more going on with Aunt Candace, but she certainly is not bonding with the girls.

Meanwhile we meet Roberta or Bertie, a retired judge who is Wendell’s only family. We also meet Jenny Foster, a woman who was Wendell’s first love before he went to war. The story clearly revolves around the needs of Julia and Pippa to have a family. Julia is so determined not to go to London. She is angry that her horse is being sold and angry that she is not even being consulted about anything. (Those scenes are so true to form for a teenager.) Aunt Candice comes across as a very static character without the ability to grow or change.

There is also this underlying issue about preserving the land and the importance of the wetlands. This book tugs at your heartstrings and reminds you how to be indignant for a teenager even when they're wrong. Message in the Sand makes you want to stand up and fight for what is right for Julia and Pippa. It makes you want to recognize that families are not always blood related. I found this book by Hannah McKinnon a good read. I would highly encourage others to read this book as it contains a little bit of everything: family, friends, love, protecting the environment, and hope for the future.

This book started out a bit slow for me, and I wasn't sure how I would like it, since it is told from the viewpoints of 4 different characters - this has caused me to not connect with the characters in this author's books in past reads. But, I am really glad I kept going, because the story quickly drew me in. Wendell is an Afghanistan war veteran who joined the National Guard out of an obligation he felt to watch over his younger brother after he enlisted, His brother deployed to Iraq, Wendell to Afghanistan; Wendell came back and his brother did not. After coming back, Wendell also gave up on a future he had planned with his high school sweetheart, Ginny.

Wendell was hired by a local family as caretaker of their estate, and over the years, developed a sense of belonging to the job, amd a special affinity for the girls. A tragic accident puts the future of the farm in limbo, girls' aunt plans to take them to London and sell the land to a developer. The oldest daughter Julia comes up with a plan to keep herself and her sister at home, and it hinges upon Wendell's life taking on a very unexpected detour.

I liked the book's messages about family, but I did wish a few of the stories were a little more developed - most notably, why is Candace the way she is, and what has kept her away so long? For that reaon, I gave this one 4 out of 5 stars.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn't put this book down! It was very emotional and I couldn't stop until I found out what happened to the two main characters.

Message in the Sand is such a lovely and emotional book about family and sense of place.

Hannah McKinnon is such a wonderful author, her books transport me to coastal Connecticut and I'm always drawn into her beautiful writing. I feel like she's an author more need to be talking about.

I'm struggling with writing a description that doesn't give too much away. I loved Julia and how hard she fought for what she wanted and needed. The overall theme of family and friendship in the book and knowing that family isn't always necessarily blood relatives.

This is the perfect beach or poolside read, possibly with a tissue or two but it's the perfect summer book!