Book Synopsis:
Christy’s life with Todd and their two little ones in their cozy Newport Beach cottage is everything she ever hoped for. So why is it she can’t find balance and a sense of worth in this new season? Is it the crazy mood swings and self-image dips that keep taking her down? Or is it that Todd is about to leave and take a group of students to Kenya for three weeks? Christy would love to go with him and see her best friend, Katie.
As she tries to figure out what’s next, Christy’s brother asks for confidential advice on his love life. Christy is happy to help out. But as things go awry and Aunt Marti becomes involved, it leads Christy to evaluate her own marriage—for better or worse. The friendship that sprouts with her neighbor Jennalyn becomes a lifeline. Their heart-to-heart conversations and playdates bring about some significant changes as Christy is approaching her thirtieth birthday.
On a very special night as the sun dips into the ocean, heaven seems to touch the earth. An unexpected Peculiar Treasure reaches for Christy’s hand, and in that moment, all her summer promises come full circle.
My Review: 5/5 stars. The ending made it a five star book for me. It was the perfect full-circle moment to end on. Besides the ending, the rest of the book was also enjoyable. There were some great themes and cute moments.
A big theme throughout this book is about contentment. Christy goes through some struggles and feels overwhelmed and incompetent at times. Through it all, though, she prays and realizes she has a great life. She calms herself by thinking of all the positives in her life. I think that it's good to look at your life and be content, so that was a nice theme.
In this book, Christy and Todd now have two kids. The age of the older one, Hana, was unclear. Timeline-wise, I would think she would be around 3 or a little older, but some of her actions made it seem otherwise. She still used a high chair, and the way she spoke seemed younger. Toward the end of the book, it mentioned she was 2.5. That lines up with her behavior but not with the timeline, so that was a bit confusing.
There was one little thing in this book I thought was pretty weird. For her birthday, Christy gets a book of encouraging poetry. When you look at the books Robin Jones Gunn has written, that book is one of them. RJG included one of her own, real books as an in-universe book. I don't know if it was included in this book, and then she wrote it as its own book, or vice versa, but it was funny and unexpected.
The ending of this book was the best part. Aunt Marti FINALLY becoming a Christian was the perfect way to conclude the whole series. It was so satisfying to read about something both the characters and readers have wanted since book 1 - at least I've wanted it since the early books. It was a beautiful moment that was a long time coming. I found myself almost tearing up. I honestly wasn't expecting it at all.
Now that I've finished this whole series, I will be posting a whole series wrap-up post soon sharing all my thoughts about the connected series.
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