This book presented a unique plot with likable characters, yet it fell short of fully engaging me. While there were no major dislikes, the narrative felt disjointed with three distinct storylines that didn't seamlessly converge. Additionally, the abundance of details about animal rescue overshadowed potentially more compelling themes like the trauma of the sister's past or the love storyline. Despite this, the book wasn't inherently bad, but rather didn't align with my personal preferences.

This book follows three characters POV; Madi, Ava, and Luke. Madi and Ava are sisters who went through something horribly traumatic in their childhood. They escaped and unfavorable situation that left Madi with physical issues permanently. Luke was a friend of the family and had a large part in their story. Years later Ava is having marital issues with her husband Cullen after publishing a highly popular book about their traumatic childhood and also put an even deeper wedge between the two sister's relationship.

This book immediately had me curious about everything everyone had been through. I absolutely loved Ava. She was my favorite character and my heart constantly broke for her with everything she's been through and with how Cullen and Madi kept treating her.

I understand Madi's need to not have the story be told publicly but she was incredibly inconsiderate and selfish in my opinion. Luke however was an absolute sweetheart.

It was a tumultuous journey they all went through to end up where they did at the end and to see vividly how they all navigated the issues and overcame trauma was heart warming.

This book was beautifully written.

I felt like the title and cover of this book were very misleading as they portray the book as a mindless beach read.

Beyond the cover/title confusion, the story was pretty much what I expected: a sweet romance in a small town with a tidy ending, some soul-searching, and the bonding of two sisters. This book screams "Hallmark Movie." Personally, though, it didn't quite grab me. There weren't any big surprises or moments that really got me thinking. The only real shock was finding out the sisters were kidnapped by a cult, but even that felt like it wasn't given enough attention.

There were also some problems with the way the book was set up and a bunch of typos and mistakes in the text.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and netgalley for the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was my debut read by this author and I'm now wondering why I have never read any of her books before! This book has left me wanting to read all of Thayne's work.

What did I love about this book? To begin with, I felt like I knew the characters from the first page. They were easy to relate to and seemed very realistic of small town residents. These people could easily be my neighbors.

I also enjoyed the flow of the story from one chapter to the next and how it kept my interest. I also liked the way the chapters changed from character to character throughout. It kept the story fresh and interesting.

While reading this book I kept thinking of Debbie Macomber and how the writing was so similar to hers. How, the same as with her books, you could just escape to another place and enjoy time with characters who quickly grow on you. Fans of Macomber's books are sure to love Thayne's books just as much.

This is definitely a book I will recommend. I will also be adding RaeAnne Thayne to my must read list!!!

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion which I have given.

Only RaeAnne can weave a love story with this much beauty. I loved this tale and look forward to more from this author.

What a beautiful story that touches on so many difficult themes!

For the first quarter or more of the book I will say I was bothered by a few things. I didn’t love the change in perspective. It was too surface level for me at this point, but I also remember thinking “just give it time… it might shake out”

And it totally did.

I was also far more intrigued by the actual Ghost Lake book than 15 summers later. I wanted Ghost Lake! But we got enough information by the end that I was aptly satisfied on both accounts.

My biggest complaints don’t have to do with the book or writing itself, but the cover and marketing. I feel like the cover has nothing at all to do with the story, and the “feel-good beach read” subtitle does not line up for me.

It’s a lovely, lovely read and I will recommend it to many people. But I think that both of those are not accurate for the book itself!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Publishing for the eARC, in exchange for an honest review.

This book was good, however I would not consider it a romance. It focused heavily on the drama from two sisters and their past trauma. Madi, one of the sisters didn’t get much of a romance and aspect until quite literally the last chapter. On the other hand, Ava, her sister, was married, but the chemistry she had with her husband was awful. They were not good together, and honestly he was kinda rude about the whole situation with the book. What happened was probably hard to talk about, and it was probably hard for her to write the book to begin with, and for him to be upset because he didn’t know all the details was annoying. Anyway, the cover is quite misleading. I did love the animal rescue and that aspect, but the rest of it did not make me feel good, and I was expecting so much more romance from this, and it just did not satisfy me in that aspect. It was more two sisters trying to heal from extreme trauma and come together, rather than getting with a man.
Overall, it was good. The characters were fine, the plot was fine, but it just failed as a romance.

A wonderful book delving into the relationships between sisters and how they deal with traumatic events. Sisters, Ava and Madison, had to survive an unthinkable situation after their mother died. Their father became involved with a survivalist cult and took the teen girls to live In isolation in the mountains with the cult. After Ava’s forced marriage the girls escaped. Years later Ava writes a best selling memoir detailing what had happened. Madison feels exposed by the book and this caused a rift between the girls. This book deals with the healing emotions between sisters and how trauma effects peoples lives. Fascinating read about survival, healing and love

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC.

This is a beautiful and emotionally driven story about two sisters (Ava and Madison) who have endured extreme childhood trauma. This trauma intertwined their lives with the Gentry family. Ava writes a memoir about their experience, which Madison is very upset about. This memoir becomes a best seller and ends up putting a wedge in Ava’s relationship with both her husband and sister. This is a novel about love, forgiveness, and healing.

I loved how the story was told from 3 different perspectives (Ava, Madison, and Luke Gentry).

I loved this book first because of the animal content. I loved that the love interest was a vet. I think the issues between the sisters and the healing that happens through the book was vital for the story. I do think the husband walking away was a cop out but I get it needed to happen so she could go home and be with her sister. All in All this was. avery cute summer read and a lot of fun.

This book is a solid 3.5 for me. The story line was different and the main characters were interesting in their own way. There is a background story of Happenings in Ghost Lake that occurred 15 years ago that was very captivating and kept me reading.

I wouldn’t say this is a light beach read. It covers some heavy and emotional topics. The cover through me off a bit because the book takes a more eerie tone at times.

Overall, if you like books with some mystery, some romance, and animals… definitely read this!

Thank you NetGalley and Author for the ARC!

I really liked this book! I thought it was written really well and an engaging read. I really enjoyed the excerpts from the book and fell easily in love with the characters

Thank you, NetGalley and Canary Street Press for this ARC! When I saw the cover of this book, I thought I would be reading a typical summer, romance story, but I was pleasantly surprised! It’s a story about two sisters that endured major trauma in their lives, but yet they stayed positive and were kind and gracious people. I especially loved the aspect of animal rescues and shelters.. I really enjoyed the character development in this book, they were very relatable and I really cared about these characters. The plot was fantastic. It had romance and mystery all wrapped into such a wonderful story. I would highly recommend this book and I truly hope the author writes more stories. I will definitely read them. Thank you.

Honestly, not for me.
15 year after surviving escaping from living in the mountains sister's Madi, is just trying to move on from her tragic past and her sister is pulling up the past my writing a bestselling book it.
This book is told in 3 povs Madi's, Ava's and Luke's (why he is included who knows).
I didn't care of any of the characters, didn't connect with any of them and they fell a little flat for me. I think if would been better to trim it down to the sisters pov and leave out Luke's we would be able to get more out of the story. The other think I disliked and the amounts of times either Madi or the other main characters described Madi injuries/disability for the accident, mentioning a few times fine but I felt like every other chapter it was brought up. The only good think about this book is one the main characters Madi, owned a animal shelter/pet sanctuary.

2.5 stars

A really good book. A story of the love of two sisters and the harrowing life they endured at the hands of their father. A really good read!

Two teenagers escape from a cult, but years later they are still dealing with the aftermath. This is a story about 2 sisters trying to reconnect, there is also a romance.
You can’t help but root for the characters in the book. The book is well written and the plot will keep you engaged. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

This was stunning! It was not a beach read - a teenage escape from a cult and the aftermath on the girls as adults - but the story was so compelling! There was a romance but it didn't overtake the plot. The characters were dynamic enough and the story was written beautifully,

Madison Howell is finally able to open the no-kill shelter she has always wanted with help from grants, an anonymous donor and Dr. Luke Gentry, the local veterinarian. All seems great until Madison's older sister, Ava, comes back to town for the summer. Ava has just written a runaway bestselling memoir. Not only is Madison upset at Ava for revealing secrets from their past, but Ava's husband is also upset that Ava never told him many of the details revealed in the book. Can the sister's relationship be mended? Will Madison find love? Will Ava and Cullen be able to work out their problems? Read this upcoming book from RaeAnne Thayne to find out for yourself.

I enjoyed this early copy of Ms. Thayne's upcoming release. While I have not read all of her books, this one seemed a bit edgier than the others I've read. Still a good read for sure, just a bit darker in parts than some of her other books. Still a 5 star read for me!

RaeAnne Thayne knows how to grip your heart, bring the tears, the smiles, the laughs, and the feel good moments of a book! And always adds such a sweet, sweet love story. I was absolutely captured by this story. I told my husband two chapters in, “Wow! This book was so not what I expected, it’s so much better than I can even describe.” Nancy Thayer quoted “As compelling as a mystery, as wise and tender as the best romance. I heartily recommend this novel.” And @nancythayerbooks you were spot on with that!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

💖Review: Two sisters, who fifteen years ago, went through hell and back. Their mom dies in a car accident from a drunk driver, and their dad is taken over by mental health issues from it all. He gets tied up into some bad men, who are apart of a cult in the woods. He allows both of his daughters to get entangled in the web. One sister is married off at sixteen, and one is still suffering with a brace on her leg and only able to half smile from an injury as the girls tried to escape. They used natural poison and walked twenty miles to get to their grandmas house. The came upon a camp with a family that saved the girls, but lost a life from that moment. Fifteen years later, one sister writes a memoir of their story, but the other sister is angered that she brought the past back up. She opened a no kill animal rescue all from a very generous donor. The boy apart of the camp and family that saved her life, has her heart falling for him more and more. This sweet story takes you on such a sweet ride as they reconcile their sister relationship, both experience pain, and love. I highly recommend this one for a great summer read. Add it to your TBR lists. It comes out June 17. Thank you @netgalley @raeannethayne @nancythayerbooks @harlequinbooks for this advance copy! #15summerslater

Thank you @canarystreetpress, @htpbooks, and @netgalley for the eARC of 15 Summers Later by @raeannethayne in exchange for an honest review!

📖📖 Book Review 📖📖 When the days get longer and the sun shines brighter, I am always down for a good beach read and 15 Summers Later did not disappoint! Madison and Ava are two sisters who have endured heavy loss and have needed a lot of healing. You can tell a lot about someone by how they treat animals and Madison has a heart of gold, dedicating her life to saving animals with a no-kill shelter. Ava poured her grief into a memoir trying to find healing: but her husband was not happy with this perceived betrayal. She returns home to her home to find solace….and perhaps hope to repair her relationship with her sister. 15 Summers Laters explores the depth of trauma and its aftermath in an absolutely beautiful and captivating manner. It is a gentle reminder that we can experience the same tragedy in different ways and grace and love are the biggest gifts we can share with each other.

4/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Review is posted on Goodreads and will be on Instagram ahead of the publication date!