The Spanish Sunrise if my first read by Boo Walker. I enjoyed the characters and the storyline kept me interested in the outcome at the end. I will be happy to read some more books by Boo Walker as he has a nice writing style.

I can see how other people would like this book, but for me it ended up being just a little too Hallmarky for my liking. I also found Baxter to be a super frustrating character. He thinks the best way for him and his daughter to deal with his wife's death is to just completely avoid all mentions of her and act like she never existed? He's also the worst kind of American stereotype when they arrive in Spain, and yeah, I had trouble feeling any real sympathy for him.

I did like how the book addressed the differences in American and Spain work culture, and I did enjoy learning all the stuff about olive oil. I would have probably enjoyed just a book about Alma more, tbh.

Baxter is a widower struggling to raise his young daughter, Mia. She suffers from nightmares and gets in trouble at school. He works too much to compensate for his grief. Before his wife Sophia died, who was adopted, she submitted DNA in hopes of finding her birth mother.

When things seem at their worst, Baxter receives an email from a woman in Spain saying she is Sophia's mother. After a few exchanges, the woman invites Baxter and Mia to visit her in Spain. Thus begins a journey of healing, learning, and starting to live and love again.

This story was inspiring and full of hope. Many can relate to the loss that Baxter experienced and know how difficult it can be to function day to day. The language used to describe Spain, its landscape and its lifestyle, paint a vivid picture of calm.

Baxter and Mia emerge for the experience with a stronger relationship, a new family and a better understanding of how to live but still honor the memory of their loved one.

Baxter Shaw lost his wife three years ago and he and his eight year old daughter Mia are still grieving. Mia starts having nightmares and misbehaving at school. When an unexpected message comes from a long lost relative after a DNA search, he decides maybe it would be good to take Mia to Spain to meet her grandmother. But speaking so much about his late wife makes Baxter realize that he never truly allowed himself to grieve her loss. This beautiful country and welcoming family just may provide the healing they both so desperately need.
I thought this was a beautifully written story, but a bit of a slow go. I knew where the storyline was going and how it would end, but I still enjoyed the journey. My biggest issue with it is that Mia doesn't speak or act at all like she's eight. I know it says she's smart, but her character seems more like a twenty year old college student. I just wished she acted a little more like the child she was and I'm glad more of that character came out in Spain.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A story of grief and recovery. Baxter, a widower with a young daughter, is trying to deal with the loss of his wife by burying himself in work and denial. His daughter is haunted by nightmares about her mother’s life death, but Baxter is unable to deal with the trauma.
They find out about his wife’s biological mother in Spain and plan a short vacation that turns into a life changing trip for both families.
The book is written from Baxter’s perspective and tends to get very introspective. Baxter is hard to like , but grows on you as the book progresses. The book tends to focus on thoughts and emotion much more than action and plot progression. However, the plot moves very quickly in the last three chapters. Some strings are left dangling, but that is probably intentional.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book I’ve read by the author, Boo Walker. He is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I love the characters in this book. And while Baxter irritated me at the beginning with the way he handled the death of his wife, Sophia, you had to travel through the pain to experience the healing and growth he experienced by the end. His daughter, Mia, was delightful and I loved seeing how time with her mother’s newly-discovered family brings joy to her life. This is an emotional story story of love, loss, family, forgiveness, healing, and growth. This is definitely one to put at the top of your to-be-read list.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

Wow, wow, wow. I ADORED this story. I can't remember the last time a book made me tear up like this; yet had me laughing in the next sentence. Such a great, heartfelt, emotional story of growth after loss.

Baxter Shaw and his daughter, Mia have recently lost their wife/ mother, Sofia. They end up finding out that she has family in Spain that she never knew (Sofia is adopted). At Mia's insistence, Baxter and Mia head to Spain to meet this family. What plays out is the story of a father so grief-stricken he struggles to be there for his daughter in the way she needs. This found family brings out the best in both of them. It isn't a straightforward or easy path but Baxter and Mia learn so much from them.

I thought this was well-written. I'm an emotional person in general but this had tears in my eyes several times. It has slightly longer chapters than I'm used to reading but it didn't seem to drag for me. I liked the little glimpses of Baxter and Sofia's history and relationship. Every time Baxter said he wished he could help Mia forget about Sofia made me want to shout at him: "WHY do you want to forget?!" But he eventually got there. It is worth saying again: I loved this and thought it was a great story.

Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for this title to read and review.

Baxter lost his wife way too early to a random shooting. His 8 year old daughter,Mia isn’t adjusting well. Baxter has been trying to avoid any talk with Mia about her mom. When kids at school talk about it she discovers her dad lied to her. Now a letter arrives from a genetic resting sight showing the wife’s family wants to make contact. I found the dad’s attitude a little unsettling but he did improve as the story progresses.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

This was mostly an enjoyable read, I liked the pace of the storyline and the characters were interesting. I had a hard time with the main character some of the time and how he dealt with his wife’s death. I loved the olive vineyard and the family. The book was lovely and descriptive, it made me want to travel to the Spanish countryside.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. I have to say that for the most part, I really enjoyed this book. I loved the setting with the olive oil aspect, and I liked the characters. The only part I didn't enjoy was all the internal conflict that the main character, Baxter, experienced. A lot of it felt repetitive. However, I did very much enjoy the ending! It was very heartfelt and sweet.

Grief. From the very beggining till the end of this book, we saw the main character, Baxter navigate through it. For the first half of the story I really enjoyed, getting into Baxter's pov mainly because I get where he is coming from. The guilt, the sorrow and the pain, of losing someone you love, it was perfectly orchestrated by his character. When the story shifts narration in Spain and we get to read more about the Arroyo Family, I got intrigued because I was really interested in Ester's pov. I though that her story arc would be a great opoortunity to explore. Unfortunately, despite the author's effort to do so, I was not sold on how it was presented in the story.
Another major let down for me was Baxter's character development. I understand and expected that a major development for Baxter would happen but sadly for me,it was poorly written.
On the second half of the book, I was hoping that the romance with Alma would not push through because I don't feel like it was necessary. I got really tired of Baxter's inner monologue especially on the last 20% of the book,it was draggging and at some point,annoying.
The family drama,yes! It was super relatable. The sibling rivalry,the money issues it was very realistic that I wish this book was longer than it is so that it can explore deeper on the Arroyos' pov.

Already saw many books about a widowed single mother trying to raise her child(ren) while cope over her loss, but I've barely found about a widowed single father one and this book gave the best impression of it!

A widowed single father, Baxter, trying to cope his grieving over losing his wife, Sofia, and raising their daughter, Mia, alone for 3 years since the accident. The previous front-player of rising band has throwed his love for music and hunger for stage away to become a workaholic businessman to make sure he earned enough money to secure her daughter's future. But when the truth about her mother's death that he's buried away from Mia starts to come the surface and affected his daughter's condition, what would he do? Another secret led them to the faithful e-mail of Sofia's lost family whereabouts in Spain. Will a short break in Spain to visit and rekindled with their newfound big family mend their broken-hearts, heal it and change their lives for good? or will they unravel more secrets that they'd expected and became worse than before?

Sets in the old estate in Spain with the breeze from the family's inherited olives groves. This story will transport you instantly to the warmth and peaceful feelings that comes with it, from the sets, to the loveable characters, and slow-paced but calming plot. It's well written to the point that as the story goes, I almost feels like I'm on a journey of healing myself from any griefs and pains I've been holding inside. All the twists in the story just enriched it more and it's done beautifully.

The characters are so complex, multifaceted, and yet adorable! Not only the Arroyos family and the relatives, but also the neighbors and its neighborhood. This proving how there aren't really purely bad people out there.

This book reminded me on listen to all sides of the story, open up for new possibilities, letting somethings go, overcomes griefs while still hold the memories intact, and how precious the love and support of family is! I also love how some moments led to the best piece of lyrics out of Baxter's mind--it makes wishing Cactus Road and Baxter's songs were real so I can listen to it.

This is a definitely a must read book once in your life that I would recommend to everyone!

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the e-ARC!

Alt-country singer-turned contractor Baxter lives with his eight year old daughter Mia and is dealing with the death of his wife Sofia, gunned down in a mass shooting. His approach is to shield Mia from any memory or talk of her mother, believing that it would be traumatic for her. Baxter's plan is upended when he is contacted by Sofia's birth mother in Spain, who had given her up for adoption. Ester soon invites Baxter and Mia to visit Spain, and Baxter reluctantly agrees, seeing the threat to his approach of dealing with Sofia's death but not wanting to disappoint Mia. Over 10 days in Spain, Baxter's initial coolness turns to warmth as he becomes involved in the lives (and secrets) of Ester's family. He realizes that his suppression of Sofia's memory, his abandonment of music, and even his contracting business' construction of cookie-cutter houses has caused him to withdraw from life.

Although a bit hard to get into at first because Baxter is so high-strung, the story is a poignant look at how to live life to the fullest even in the face of tragedy. Mia is adorable and serves as the perfect foil for Baxter, always teasing him about his lame dad jokes, And the Spanish setting of an olive oil farm will give readers an appreciation that product an what goes into creating it.

Baxter Shaw and his 8 year old daughter Mia, have not been able to move on from their wife/mother's death, who was taken from them due to a horrible tragedy.
Both of them are grieving in different ways, but Baxter has kept secrets from his daughter as to how her mother, Sophia really died. He also thinks that trying to forget is the best way, but obviously not when Mia she is told by a classmate how her mother died and she has nightmares all of the time.
Baxter finds an e-mail of Sophia's where she had taken a DNA test, as she was adopted as a baby, and had wanted to find her roots.
It turns out that she had relatives in Spain, and her birth mother was trying to contact her.
Baxter reaches out to the mother as he feels that she should at least know what happened to her daughter.
Finding out that her daughter has died but that she has a grand daughter she invites them to visit them in Spain.
This trip is one that will transform all of the characters in this book.
I have not told you all of the details, as that is the fun part of reading a story and making your own thoughts about things that go on.
I really liked this book a lot and that is probably because I like characters with a lot of depth and feelings. I don't think this one let me down.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of this book.
I will definitely read more by this author.

A family torn apart by tragedy. Baxter the dad and his daughter Mia must go on after a tragedy. Baxter finds his wife’s family and goes to Spain so Mia can meet get grandmother. Baxter fights the feelings he is having and totally stresses out. But Spain and Mia’s grandmother is winning him over.

This is a story about love and learning how to let go. It's about love for families and how important they are. The relationships between a husband and wife, father and daughter, and extended family. I liked that Baxter tried so hard to do right by his young daughter. I liked how he changed and grew as his story went on, and how he learned what to hang on to and what to let go of, while trying to move forward. Through his journey he finds families are never perfect but worth overlooking some behavior, and sometimes even forgiving each other. I thank Netgalley for the chance to read this ARC. I liked this story a lot and would certainly recommend!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC. #netgalley #aspanishsunrise

I DNF'd this book halfway through. It does seem like it has a lot of great reviews but I had trouble getting into this. It's probably just me. I might pick it up again down the road and try rereading it. 3.5 ⭐

A Spanish Sunrise offers a lovely trip to Southern Spain. After finishing the book, I still imagine I can smell the fresh earth and oranges, taste the wine and fresh pressed olive oil, hear the intense and heart wrenching music, feel the cool crisp morning before the day gets warm and dusty.

Each of the characters was on a journey and in the middle of a conflict and the author deftly unveils them through the stages of grief, loss, then recovery and joy with acerbic wit, beautiful song lyrics, loving and gentle protection, and heart-expanding acceptance.

This is definetly a must read.

A wonderful story that will take you to Spain on an adventure of discovery and family!
A father and his daughter are buried in grief, a visit to Spain reveals unknown family members. What follows is a heartwarming journey that is both life changing and shows the true meaning of family support and love.
Meeting new people and taking the opportunities that are presented can be challenging, happiness and healing is the ultimate goal!
An enjoyable learning experience for all characters involved, delving into what’s really important in our lives!

Sincere appreciation to Lake Union Publishing, NetGalley and the author for this heartwarming story.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Spanish Sunrise, by Boo Walker, was a surprisingly absorbing read. The main character is a widower, raising his eight-year-old daughter. Dad and daughter are both struggling to accept the loss. Dad is also overwhelmed with single parenting and insulating his daughter from pain.
They have an unexpected opportunity to visit Spain, where they meet family they didn’t know they had.

Walker’s pacing and plot moves forward with enough speed so that I did not want to stop reading. Gorgeous descriptions of nature, an estate, olive oil manufacturing combine so that I found myself toying with visiting Spain. The characters, even the minor ones, are multi-dimensional and nuanced. I did get a little frustrated with the main character’s “one step forward, two steps back” refusal to advance. The daughter is a tad close to annoyingly precocious. But I am old to enough to know that grief is a singular process, and each person travels that terrible territory in their own way.

This is the first novel of Boo Walker that I have read. I am certainly going to look for others. Given the setting and circumstances, this is an unusual family drama. I recommend that you give it a try. Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read a digital ARC. It was a pleasure. 4.5 stars.