The other week I had reason to count up just how many Maggie Christensen books I have read. I knew it was a lot, but even I was shocked that this was my 24th book by her in the last 4 years. So what is it that keeps me coming back for each and every book she releases? I think there are several factors. I love the communities that she creates, I enjoy that she focusses on older characters finding love and I find her writing very smooth and easy to read. This book was no exception.
Livvy Grace has been in England for the last year visiting her family, but now it is time to come home to Pelican Crossing. She misses her cottage, her friends and her work. However, when she does arrive home it is a big shock to find out that her former partner has wound up their business and started again, taking all Livvy's counselling clients with her. The town has changed a bit too. The big old church that hadn't been used for years has been turned into a wellness centre.
Dan Parker has lived in Pelican Crossing for a few years now after moving there with his daughter following the death of his wife. As the man behind the wellness centre, he has already left his mark, but he is interested in doing more for the community if he can. When Livvy first approaches him about renting one of the available spaces in the centre, he is not sure if he can trust her or not. The story she has told him seems a little off.
Livvy doesn't warm to Dan that much either. While she is glad to be getting her new counselling business up and running after weathering the initial shock, she's not sure that she likes Dan all that much. Or maybe she does, but she is fighting it. Her friends are certainly all doing their best to push her in his direction. Things become even more confusing when she starts seeing his daughter in a professional capacity.
Dan is relieved that his daughter is talking to someone. He is finding it difficult to navigate raising a teenage daughter by himself. While he and his wife had still been together they had been living pretty separate lives and he is worried that his wife's family are trying to derail his relationship with his daughter. He isn't that keen for him to spend time with them but he has to balance that against the fact that they are his daughters family too. And she is of an age where she can start to make some of these kind of decisions for herself.
This is another good entry in the Pelican Crossing series. The familiar factors are all still there: community, sun and sea, friendships and more. If I had one niggle, I would have liked to have got more understanding of why Livvy's former partner, Ingrid, was doing the things she was doing all through the book, what her motivation was. It was kind of glossed over I think.
The next book has already been announced and it is a Christmas book. It is always nice to see an Australian Christmas portrayed in story. The main character is going to Lou who we already have met a few times, and there were a couple of hints in this book about Lou's story. You know I am going to be reading it!
I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews and it counts towards my Aussie Author August reads. Thanks to the publisher and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy.
Rating 4/5
About the book
Waves of Change in Pelican Crossing
Sad to leave her daughter and granddaughters behind in England where she has been visiting for the past year, Olivia Grace is excited to return to her hometown of Pelican Crossing and resume her life as a counsellor. But a shock awaits her, threatening to destroy her future and forcing her to make changes she’d never anticipated.
Dan Parker has moved to Pelican Crossing with his teenage daughter after the death of his wife, intent on making a fresh start. Now, having fulfilled his long-held dream of opening a Wellness Centre, he confronts an unexpected challenge
Faced with an unforeseen situation and frustrated by her friends' relentless matchmaking, Olivia finally admits her attraction to Dan and agrees to a date. But real life isn’t a romantic novel, and things don’t go smoothly.
Can these two lonely people find a future together, or are they destined to grow old alone?
For fans of heartwarming small-town romances, this is a must-read. With vibrant descriptions of the charming coastal town and two endearing characters who struggle with loss and loneliness, this book will tug at your heartstrings.
Purchase Link - https://mybook.to/Wavesofchange
About the Author
After a career in education, Maggie Christensen began writing contemporary women’s fiction portraying mature women facing life-changing situations, and historical fiction set in her native Scotland. Her travels inspire her writing, be it her trips to visit family in Scotland, in Oregon, USA or her home on Queensland’s beautiful Sunshine Coast. Maggie writes of mature heroines coming to terms with changes in their lives and the heroes worthy of them. Maggie has been called the queen of mature age fiction and her writing has been described by one reviewer as like a nice warm cup of tea. It is warm, nourishing, comforting and embracing.
From the small town in Scotland where she grew up, Maggie was lured to Australia by the call to ‘Come and teach in the sun’. Once there, she worked as a primary school teacher, university lecturer and in educational management. Now living with her husband of over thirty years on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, she loves walking on the deserted beach in the early mornings and having coffee by the river on weekends. Her days are spent surrounded by books, either reading or writing them – her idea of heaven!
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