Waiting for Sunset

Author: Starr Ayers
Genre: Dual-Time Romance
Series: Summer is Tomorrow #1
Pages: 312
Release Date: September 28, 2024
Publisher: Mountain Brook Ink

Ever since her husband’s death, anxiety has pitched its tent in the mind of thirty-two-year-old interior designer Olivia Houston. Weary of the tyranny of the urgent, she longs for quiet and welcomes the invitation to update her cousin’s 1950s cottage in Sunset Beach, North Carolina.

On a jog to the tip of neighboring Bird Island, Olivia discovers the mysterious Kindred Spirit mailbox. Planted in the dunes decades earlier by a young couple, the box contains journals with visitors’ entries—as well as an item that plunges Olivia into a search for the family of WW2 Sergeant Walter Larsen.

While at the Kindred Spirit, Olivia collides with Chase Evans, a deep-sea charter boat captain with a circuit-breaker smile, whom Olivia soon recruits to assist with her search. Their shared pursuit takes them far beyond the sands of Sunset Beach and well outside the borders of their hearts.

What will future visits to the Kindred Spirit mailbox hold for Olivia? Will her Sunset Beach sabbatical bring the healing and peace she seeks or compound her heartbreak and loss?

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Reviewer: Ewurabena Wilson

A well-written novel which is sure to warm the hearts of readers.

What does a bottle from the sea, a kindred spirit mailbox, a widow, and a veteran have in common? A beautiful novel that explores the themes of loss, forgiveness, and new beginnings.

Starr Ayers’ Waiting for Sunset is like drinking chocolate while snuggling in a chair, comforting. Set in dual times, in December 1945, Sergeant Walter Larsen, afraid of dying in a storm, sends a message in a bottle for his family. Walter Larsen, a medic fortunate to survive, returns from war to his wife, Marilyn, and daughter Charlotte. What is meant to be a happy reunion is threatened by the discovery of Walter’s indiscretion. 

In 2022, Olivia Houston is a young widow who, having lost her husband to Covid-19 disease, decides to retreat to her cousin’s cottage at Sunset Beach, North Carolina. A fateful walk leads to the discovery of a kindred spirit mailbox, a bottle with a message, and Chaseborn “Chase” Evans. The discovery of the contents in the bottle sets Olivia on a path to reunite the contents with the owner.

I liked this novel. Walter and Marilyn's response to the trials in their marriage was thought-provoking. I, however, found Chase and Olivia’s relationship confusing sometimes. It felt like there were mixed signals in the relationship, which kept me going back to reread some parts of the novel. Overall, a very good read.

I received a complimentary copy courtesy of Mountain Brook Ink through Interviews & Reviews for my honest opinion.

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Reviewer: Elizabeth Eckmeyer

When Liv, short for Olivia, loses her husband to Covid, she needs a proper place to grieve. Her cousin offers to allow her to stay in her beach house in North Carolina if she restores it for her. 

Chase, a local on the island, runs into Liv while passing the Kindred Spirits Box. They end up striking up a friendship when Liv finds a bottle with a note from a soldier from World War II. 

Walter is a lost man after coming home from war with a dark secret that causes him pain and guilt. His family is never the same. 

This story is about forgiveness and second chances. It’s also about finding out where you belong after life-altering situations. 

I received a complimentary copy courtesy of Mountain Brook Ink through Interviews & Reviews for my honest opinion.

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