The Lemon Sisters by Jill Shalvis

Happy release day to The Lemon Sisters by Jill Shalvis, a new standalone book in her Wildstone series. This one follows the titular Lemon sisters, as they each face past trauma and current turmoil, find (and rediscover) love, and reconnect with each other.

Brooke Lemon has always led the life she wanted, wild adventures—and mistakes—included, something her perfect sister, Mindy, never understood. So when Mindy shows up on Brooke’s doorstep in the throes of a break-down with her three little kids in tow, Brooke’s shocked.

Wanting to make amends, Brooke agrees to trade places, taking the kids back to Wildstone for a few days so Mindy can pick up the pieces and put herself back together. What Brooke doesn’t admit is she’s just as broken . . . Also how does one go home after seven years away? It doesn’t take long for Brooke to come face-to-face with her past, in the form of one tall, dark, sexy mistake. But Garrett’s no longer interested. Only his words don’t match his actions, leaving Brooke feeling things she’d shoved deep.

Soon the sisters begin to wonder: Are they lemons in life? In love? All they know is that neither seems to be able to run far enough to outpace her demons. And when secrets surface, they’ll have to learn that sometimes the one person who can help you the most is the one you never thought to ask.

There was so much I enjoyed about this book, even when a certain plot reveal that touches on a sensitive subject matter for me sprung up unexpectedly. I loved the way Shalvis handled this, and other significant topics, throughout the story.

The relationship between Brooke and Garrett is a delightful combination of some beloved romance tropes (friends to lovers and second chance) — and I really loved learning about their past, and seeing them reconnect.

But it’s definitely the relationship between Brooke and Mindy that sees the biggest growth over the course of the book. Life, tragedy, and secrets have kept them apart — but the story of finding their way back to each other is really quite lovely.

My only real complaint about the book lies in its epilogue, in which I feel like the author made some lazy and insensitive choices about the “Happily Ever After” (and I may rant about this another day) — but epilogue aside, I quite enjoyed The Lemon Sisters. Look for it in stores today!