Story for the Week
Dads are stereotypically over-protective of their daughters, and Dennis was no exception. He used to tell Corinne that she wasn’t allowed to date until she turns 30. He had some scars from extensive nerve surgery on his right arm, and he used to joke that he would show them to any prospective boyfriends and say, “You see these scars? I’m not afraid to go back to prison.” And during a visit to Niagara Falls when Corinne was about eight years old, he bought a plaque that still hangs in the office that reads…
DADDS…Dads Against Daughters Dating
Shoot the First One and the Word will Spread
I always reminded him that he would have little control once she turns 18, but he was adamant that she not date until she finishes school. While she hasn’t shown much of an interest yet, we’ve talked about it in the last couple of years since Dennis passed. I’m a little more lenient with the absolutely no dating rule.
I dated all through high school, so I told her that if she really had an interest in someone, I would consider it…with guidelines. I would need to meet him. He would have to pick her up at the door. There would be no dates on school nights unless it was a very special event. School always comes first. (That last one applies to extracurriculars too.)
And of course, we’ve had the conversations about why. Dennis’s attitude was “because I said so.” I’ve always been a “practice what you preach” parent (Are You Do as I Say or Practice What You Preach?), so I felt obligated to explain why I would encourage her not to rush into dating. And this is what I have always told her and will continue to tell her: The person she will be 10 years from now will be very different from the person she is now. Her life will likely not look the way she envisions it today. The woman she becomes will influence the type of man she wants to share her life with. And at the end of the day, what’s the hurry?
I can count on one hand the number of successful couples I know who started dating as teenagers. The idea of growing into a relationship together is, more often than not, the exception. Are there people I dated who I would consider reconnecting with? 🤷🏻♀️ Eh…maybe? But I think it would be more about seeing how life has treated them, reconnecting as friends. Because I know I’m not the girl they remember, and that’s okay because they’re not the boys I remember either. 😉
Book Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5 Stars for The Memory of You by Jamie Beck
365 pages
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Publication Date: October 30, 2o18
Author giveaway—thank you, Jamie Beck 🥰
Publisher’s Description
When Steffi Lockwood returns to Sanctuary Sound to start over, she has no idea she’ll also get a second chance with her first love.
Steffi Lockwood has survived more than most. Recovering from an assault, she returns to her coastal Connecticut hometown to rebuild her life the best way she knows how: with her hands. But starting a remodeling business with one longtime friend puts her in the middle of a rift with another. Worse, being hired by her ex-boyfriend’s mother forces her to confront old regrets.
Public defender Ryan Quinn wasn’t shocked when his wife left him, but he was floored when she abandoned their daughter. With his finances up in the air, the newly single dad returns to his childhood home in Sanctuary Sound. The last person he expects, or wants, to see working on his family house is Steffi Lockwood—his first love who shattered his heart.
Although Steffi and Ryan are different people now, dormant feelings rekindle. But when Steffi’s secrets begins to surface, will it bring them together—or tear them apart for good?
************
Main Characters:
- Steffi Lockwood – 30-year-old contractor who recently returned to her small hometown of Sanctuary Sound and started a remodeling business with one of her best friends, Claire. As a teenager, had been inseparable from Claire and Peyton. They called themselves the “Lilac Lane League” after the street they lived on. Ryan Quinn’s first love.
- Ryan Quinn – 30-year-old public defender who recently returned to Sanctuary Sound after his wife left him and their daughter. Currently staying with his mom until he can get his finances in order. Steffi Lockwood’s first love.
- Molly Quinn – Ryan’s mom, recently hired Steffi and Claire to remodel the back porch into an indoor family room since Ryan and Emmy moved in.
- Emmy Quinn – Ryan’s nine-year-old daughter who likes to wear dresses and sparkles until she meets Steffi and starts to take an interest in the renovation.
- Claire McKenna – 30-year-old interior designer, Steffi’s business partner who also takes responsibility for the business’s finances. She and Steffi rent a house together. As a teenager, Claire played tennis until she was injured in a shooting at a mall; now walks with a limp and a cane.
- Peyton Prescott – 30-year-old writer, comes from a wealthy family, had a falling out with Claire when she started dating Claire’s ex-boyfriend, putting Steffi squarely in the middle of the two.
Trigger Warning: assault, gun violence
If you are a sucker for a sweet, second-chance romance with well-developed characters that include strong and independent women, do not just buy this book. Buy all three books in Jamie Beck’s Sanctuary Sound series. Each novel is a stand-alone, and if two and three are as good as this first one… 🤩
This is Steffi and Ryan’s story, and it’s the introduction of the main characters in the next two books. I love that it’s not written like the setup to the series though and that the characters aren’t perfect. Steffi suffers from PTSD. Claire limps and walks with a cane from being the victim of a mass shooting. Peyton broke girl code and had a relationship with Claire’s ex.
I have read series by other authors where the lead characters all have multiple siblings, they’re all spectacularly good-looking and wealthy, and they just aren’t interested in commitment. But then they meet someone and have immediate chemistry and can’t resist one another. Don’t get me wrong, I have read my fair share of these, but it bothers me when a book reads like it’s just a setup for future books. And to be honest, I am not enamored with the flawless couples because life is messy.
Steffi and Ryan’s story is messy. Both are far from flawless. While Steffi navigates the remodeling job, which is so clearly a setup by Molly, she also has to navigate Ryan’s anger and hurt at the way she broke up with him as well as the animosity between Claire and Peyton because she is solidly stuck in the middle. All while she’s dealing with her own PTSD from an assault. Ryan is struggling financially through an ugly divorce while having to face Steffi and their past every day while she works on his parents’ home. And he certainly still harbors bitter feelings, even 10 years later.
This story proves that sometimes you have to go your separate ways to become the people you need to be. It’s a story of forgiveness and understanding and finding your way back to a place where life may not be picture perfect but everything makes sense.
I am so happy I started Beck’s Sanctuary Sound series, and I’m excited to read Claire and Peyton’s stories.
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