Luanne Rice - Last Kiss

49. Last Kiss by Luanne Rice (2008)
Hubbard's Point/Black Hall Book 6
Length: 306 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 9 June 2013
Finished: 11 June 2013
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 1 June 2013
Why do I have it? I like contemporary fiction and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

A face on a poster, a name in the news, an inexplicable tragedy. A promising young man goes out one warm summer evening and is found dead - murdered - less than twenty-four hours later. No motive; no clues; no answers. Most people might reflect briefly on the disturbing headlines, perhaps say a prayer of safely removed sympathy, but ultimately will move on with their lives. But what if the young man was your son? Or your true love?

Nearly a year after the death of eighteen-year-old Charlie, singer-songwriter Sheridan Rosslare still hasn't played a note of the music that was once her life's passion. Tucked away in the beach house where she raised her only child, she lives with her memories of him and a grief still too fresh and pervasive to even share  with her beloved sisters or her dear friend Stevie Moore. Nor can Stevie comfort Charlie's heart-broken girlfriend, Nell Kilvert, whom Stevie regards as a daughter. Nell won't rest until she finds out what really happened to the boy she loved. Out of the past she summons a man she believes cares enough, and is tough enough, to uncover the truth - Sheridan's long-ago soul mate, Gavin Dawson.

Now Gavin's boat, the Squire Toby, sits anchored in the harbor within sight of the window of the woman he once loved, still loves, and will always love. Sheridan, too, had once fervently believed in the miraculous power of love and healing, forgiveness, connection, and reconnection. But her faith died along with her son... 

New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice returns to Hubbard's Point, Connecticut, and to characters from her beloved Beach Girls, to tell the haunting story of a close-knit community grappling with a heart-breaking mystery, and of a woman rebuilding her world and reclaiming a love she believed lost a lifetime ago.

In my opinion, reading Last Kiss by Luanne Rice was just slightly annoying. The story itself was certainly alright - perhaps more attention was paid to the romantic entanglements of characters than I would have liked, but the story was otherwise intriguing to me. However, being the sixth book in a series, there was quite a bit of catching up for me to do in Last Kiss. To me, covering the plots of five previous books in only a few pages, is not really enough. Granted, I had read The Perfect Summer - which is the fourth book in this series - back in February of 2010, however, there were still large portions of this book's plot which didn't make sense to me.

Overall, I give Last Kiss by Luanne Rice a B+! I will certainly read more from this author in the future, but I think that I will stick to reading her standalone novels rather than books from her series from now on.

B+! - (89-85%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight