Lottie and Rose, overwhelmed mothers of preschoolers who only know each other enough to exchange pleasantries in the schoolyard, are both taken in by a flyer to rent a cottage in Maine for the month of August. Leaving husband and children behind in the city they flee for a month of relaxation. Knowing the rent is steep they ask around for other renters and find Beverly and Caroline; two interesting and reclusive renters to join in their time away from reality. Turns out that sometimes what you really need is what you left behind.
If you’ve read the book or seen the film Enchanted April this book is going to seem very familiar (apparently, I have read or seen either). It is just set in a different month because our story is set in Maine instead of Italy and April would be way too cold to vacation there and it’s been updated for the present day.
This was not my favorite book, but I think I was just hung up on my dislike of one character and my annoyance with another. The man who rents the house to complete strangers, Robert, seems to have a habit of falling in love with women who fall in love with his house and I think I was supposed to pity him, or at least feel something towards him, but I found him creepy. And another character was just way too darn sunny and optimistic considering that she needed to flee to Maine to get her head in order. That said I did like some of the storylines, and I truly fell in love with the cottage, but this book was simply not my cup of chowder.
