Thank you so much for providing me a copy of this title prior to publication. I loved the story, the characters and the way the book was written. A lovely story and a joy to read!

Vacancy features Hollis Jeffries, another one of Sage's sisters (the main character in Stirred, an earlier book in the series). Hollis was introduced to readers in Stirred, but as a character from afar, one who challenged her younger sister to get out of her comfort zone and try to act in a way out of character. We learned that Hollis is a super over achiever who does everything well, so when she is faced with a major setback that she inadvertently caused, she retreats because she does not know what else to do.

While figuring out her options, Hollis reconnects with people from her past, including an uncle and an old boyfriend, Matthew Locke. Hollis does not present herself in a likable manner at all- she over drinks, is self deprecating, and wallows quite a bit in self pity. The reader cannot empathize or feel sympathy because Ewens elected to leave out the reason for Hollis' despair until the end of the story. Matt learns of the problem before she shared it with him, which also causes great strife.

Since we know this book is part of the Love Story sequence, we can anticipate Hollis and Matt coming together. There were typical bumps along the way, different hurdles to derail and discredit. However, Ewens also impressed me with her knowledge of the subject areas relating to Hollis' and Matt's careers. She does extensive research for each book and seems to know her topics extremely well. I feel much more informed after reading each book in the Love Story series. Though Hollis is not as appealing a character as the others in the series, the book is still worth reading and seeing what happens to her and others from earlier stories.

I liked this one a lot. The characters felt like people I know and the idea of going back to the same place and seeing the same people summer after summer brought back warm summer camp memories for me. The only part I found a little underwhelming was the reveal of Hollis' big mistake at work. The secret dragged on and on and wasn't such a huge deal in the end. I'd definitely recommend this for anyone looking for a quick, light read!