Seashell Season

Holly Chamberlin

Jul 2016 · A Yorktide, Maine Novel Book 3 · Kensington Books

About this ebook

A mother struggles to reconnect with her long-lost daughter in a picturesque Maine beach town in this novel by the author of Barefoot in the Sand.
 
Every year on March 26, Verity Peterson visits Ogunquit Beach, where she puts a handwritten message into a bottle and launches it into the waves. It’s a ritual of remembrance for the daughter she hasn’t seen in sixteen years—not since her baby’s father, Alan, took two-month-old Gemma and disappeared. Verity keeps searching and hoping, sustained by the thought that someday she might get to be a mother to her own child. And finally, one phone call may change everything . . .
 
Verity learns that Alan is now in jail on abduction charges—and Marni Armstrong, born Gemma Peterson-Burns, is coming to live with Verity in Yorktide, Maine. But this isn’t the joyful reunion Verity imagined. Gemma has been raised to believe Verity was an unfit mother who left Alan no choice but to take her out of harm’s way. Over the course of one summer, Verity tries to reach a tough, wary young woman who’s more stranger than daughter. And Gemma must reexamine everything she thought about her parents—and decide whether to trust in a relationship that, though delicate as a seashell on the surface, could prove to be just as beautiful and resilient.

Ratings and reviews

An emotional read on the re connection of a mother and daughter. Gemma was abducted from Verity seventeen years ago. Gemma has now returned and the journey of becoming mother/daughter has begun. The love of a child is proved in this story, Verity never gave up and will continue to thrive for a relationship with her daughter. Gemma is not very accepting of her mother in the beginning, but as the story unfolds you can see the acceptance of her mom. I really enjoyed this story, as a mother I could just feel what Verity was going through. I really liked the dual point of view, you really got the feelings from both sides. A must read!

A poignant story of a woman trying to reconnect with the daughter who was stolen from her 17 years prior. The journey Verity and Gemma travel is long, difficult, and trying but the love of a child is something that is not easily broken and Verity will do whatever is necessary to get through to Gemma. Gemma is rough, rude, and completely confused. Finding out that everything you've been told about your mother your whole life is a lie isn't easy to deal with and she doesn't plan on making anything easy for Verity. In the end though Gemma knows she has a decision to make. Trust in this fragile new relationship with Verity or live life alone. This book is wonderfully done. My heart broke for both of these characters. This is a book I recommend to everyone!

About the author

Holly Chamberlin was born and raised in New York City. After earning a Master’s degree in English Literature from New York University and working as an editor in the publishing industry for ten years, she moved to Boston, married and became a freelance editor and writer. She and her husband now live in downtown Portland, Maine, in a restored mid-nineteenth-century brick townhouse with Betty, the most athletic, beautiful and intelligent cat in the world. Readers can visit her website at: www.hollychamberlin.com.