Sunset Bridge by Emilie Richards

*Be aware that the summary/ review may contain slight spoilers for the first two novels in the series. However, I've reviewed both of them, so click here if you haven't Happiness Key and/or Fortunate Harbor and would like to learn more about them as well.* 

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

Former socialite Tracy Deloche has nothing to her name but five ramshackle beach cottages and the unlikely friendships she's formed with her tenants. Wanda, wise waitress turned popular pie-shop owner. Janya, the young Indian wife whose arranged marriage surprises her every day. Alice, a widow raising her complex tween-age granddaughter. And Maggie, Wanda's daughter, a former Miami cop with a love life as complicated as Tracy's own.

The new man in Tracy's life hasn't mentioned love or commitment—and Tracy has just discovered she's pregnant. Janya longs to be a mother—and suddenly has two young siblings in her care. Maggie helps out at Wanda's Wonderful Pies…but is the kitchen big enough for both Gray women? And Alice may lose her beloved granddaughter to someone no one expected….

As a tropical storm brews, the wind carries surprises and secrets over the bridge to Happiness Key. Now, more than ever, five friends will discover just how much they need one another.

Review:

The Happiness Key novels are some of the best I have ever read, and this addition, the last one, was the icing on the cake. It brought some tears as well as squeals of happiness for all the characters that I have come to love over the past three books.

Sunset Bridge opens up just as Tracy Deloche learns that she is pregnant. While this time should be causing happiness and joy, it is only causing a lot of anxiety of Tracy's part, because the man she is with- the father of the baby- hasn’t even expressed his love out loud yet, let alone any sort of plans for the future. Wanda, on the other hand, is delighted with the success and opportunities Wanda’s Wonderful Pies has brought her. However, with the arrival of her daughter Maggie, Wanda knows trouble is in the air. Not only because of the complicated relationship she has always had with her daughter, but because of all the events Maggie has recently escaped from, ones that have yet to been cleared up and be explained. Janya is also facing children problems of her own with her husband, namely the two kids that were dropped in their care recently, and Alice is finally breaking out of her shell and returning to the normal old person lifestyle, but in doing so will she loose her granddaughter?

These books are truly well worth read. Not only because of positive way in which they show friendship, but because of the way they show that you should embrace the unknown, allowing life's setbacks and surprises to lead you to the place you deserve the most- happiness.

My favorite aspect of the Happiness Key novels has always been the rich and complex characters Emilie has also introduced, and Sunset Bridge was no exception. Wanda, Alice, Janya, Tracy, and the rest of the gang are back and better than ever. Best of all a new character is introduced in this addition- Maggie, Wanda's daughter. Maggie was yet another creative and unique character, one's who background I enjoyed learning more about.

The plot in this was another high point. It included the infamous mystery aspect that forever had me on the tip of my toes, dying to know what would happen next, and it also had plenty of heartbreak, twists, and turns to have nearly any reader happy. I especially adored how everything came together in the end. Most importantly, I love how this novel displays women of all backgrounds coming together and being friends and getting past common prejudices.

In all, what a fantastic end to a series I loved! I can't lie and say I didn't cry a lot in the last chapter of this because I did. Not because it was sad exactly, but because I was sad to let go of this four women who I've come to root for and adore over the past three books.

So... Read the Happiness Key books. Love them. Spread the word. Even if they do not sound like your cup of tea, give them a try. You might be surprised- just like I was.

Grade: A+

Sunset Bridge is now out!

Source: Publicist at Planned Television Arts- thanks Sarah!

Mini-Reviews: Emilie Richards's Happiness Key and Fortunate Harbor

Recently I received Sunset Bridge, the third and final book in Emilie Richards's Happiness Key series, but I had one tiny problem: I hadn't read the first two in the series. Thankfully the local library was able to take  care of that problem, allowing me to read the first two books, Happiness Key and Fortunate Harbor. Believe me when I saw this: these two books were nothing short of incredible. So before I review the third and final book tomorrow (July 2), I thought I would share my thoughts with you on the first two in mini-review format....

*Be aware that the review for the second novel (Fortunate Harbor) includes slight spoilers for the first novel (Happiness Key).* 

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Happiness Key begins the story of four women who could not be any more different. First, there is Tracey Deloche, a former socialite still dealing with the consequences and figurative punches that come from her now ex-husband’s con dealings that landed him in one of California’s finest jails. The main consequence: having to live in and deal with Happiness Key, twenty-five acres of Florida Gulf Coast where five cottages and its residents reside. As for the residents, there’s Janya, an India transplant dealing with her troubled past and her arranged marriage to a man she barley knows, as well as headstrong Wanda who is watching her marriage slowly fall apart, and Alice, a widow living with her son-in-law and granddaughter. At first, these women are ones who don’t get along at all, but when their fifth neighbor, Herb, is found dead and alone in his cottage, they are brought together to find his family as well as the secrets he left behind. It will not be an easy journey, especially when another destructive danger lies in their path. Will they be able to save the day? More importantly, will these they ever call a truce? Find out in this first fun and fast-paced addition in the Happiness Key trilogy.

If there’s one thing I love in a book, it’s well-developed characters, and thankfully enough Happiness Key had that and even more! When I first discovered that the story would be told through reversing third person, I was a bit wary, but even with that, these four characters (Janya, Alice, Tracy, and Wanda) were able to thrive and come alive within their passages, becoming four characters I could not help but root for and adore. Best of all, this book contained not only a fabulous mystery that constantly kept me guessing, but the kind of friendships I love to read about: strong and supportive ones that allow for the characters to learn new things about themselves as well as others. Emilie’s writing was also great because of the way she constantly fleshed out the plot and storylines.

In all, if you are going to give a contemporary fiction read a try, pick up Happiness Key. It’s sure to bring a smile to your face and keep you on the edge of your chair, guessing until the very last page. And if you're lucky, it may even become a new series to read!

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Fortunate Harbor picks up a little while after Happiness Key ended. Tracy, Janya, Wanda, and Alice are facing a variety of new challenges and success. For instance, Tracy is watching her romance with Marsh, enemy turned something more, bloom, but after her ex-husband and Marsh’s ex-wife show up, everything is thrown completely off course once again. Whilst Wanda is dealing with her own problems, because while her marriage seems to be better than ever, she just quit her job at the Dancing Shrimp restaurant due to the new owners. Left with too much time on her hands, she begins to brainstorm her own business idea: a pie shop. Janya, on the other hand, is learning to love Rishi, her husband, more and more as time moves on, and while both seem to want to have children, they are having some complications. Lastly, Alice is appreciating every day, especially because her granddaughter is now living with her permanently. Then Dana Turner arrives with her daughter, and everything seems okay at first, but soon the four woman begin to learn Dana is hiding a big secret. Now it is up to Janya, Alice, and Tracy, and Wanda to figure it out before Dana disappears once and for all…

Just like Happiness Key, Fortunate Harbor was a fabulous, complex, and fast paced read. Tracy, Janya, Wanda, and Alice grew even more as characters, and yet again brought spunk and liveliness to the pages. The addition of Dana and her daughter was great as well, because not only did it bring the main mystery to the book, but it also showed yet another kind of person.

My favorite part of this book would have to be the friendship between all five women, because not only is it realistic, but it also brings lots of complexity as well as heart to the novel, as the reader begins to see just how far these women would go for one another. I also loved seeing Janya’s relationship with her husband grow as well as the tension between Tracy and her ex-husband and the conclusion that occurred with that. Richards’s writing was once again lovely due to her beautiful descriptions as well character and plot development.

Well worth a read, Fortunate Harbor is a fantastic follow-up, one that will have readers smiling and crying as well as dying to read the book!

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Happiness Key and Fortunate Harbor are now out!

Source: Library

To find out more about the books and their author, be sure to visit Emilie's website.