Title: Waiting for the Storm
Author: Marie Landry
Released: April 9, 2013
Series: Angel Island #1
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance
Format: eBook
After the death of her mother, the last thing seventeen-year-old Charlotte O’Dell wants to do is spend the summer on Angel Island with her family. Her younger sister hates her, and her dad is in his own little world. It’s a recipe for a disastrous summer on the island, until Ezra Rhodes walks into her life.
The boy next door makes Charlotte forget her almost paralyzing fear of really living her life. Stunted from taking care of her mother in her last months, Charlotte is drowning. With Ezra, she feels something again, and as he repairs her family’s summer home, she dares to think he might actually be fixing her, too. Ezra challenges Charlotte to leave her comfort zone, and as their friendship slowly blossoms into more, Charlotte begins to come alive again.
But Ezra has secrets…secrets he isn’t sharing with Charlotte. Despite her new-found happiness in Ezra’s arms, Charlotte can’t help but feel there’s a storm on the horizon. And she isn’t sure if she and Ezra can weather it unscathed.
WAITING FOR THE STORM is a realistic novel about the heartbreak and grief over losing someone you love. When Charlotte’s mother dies, it leaves her entire family in turmoil trying to deal with their own grief and trying to piece together their family. Her sister is acting out and her dad is walking around in a zombie like state. When they go to a summer house on Angel Island at her mother’s request it may be just what they need to finally be able to move on together.
I enjoyed this book until the later half. Charlotte was a good MC and I enjoyed her connection with Ezra. However, how she reacts to some of Ezra’s secrets bothered me. She got upset over him not telling her one of his biggest secrets because they were hanging out for “an entire month” and she told him everything so why didn’t he trust her?! But see, that was her choice. Ezra has the right to withhold information until he is ready and I didn’t appreciate that it was such a big deal. I do enjoy that the author did give Charlotte insight and clue about why she might be blowing small issues out of proportion (ie anxiety) so she was able to forgive and move on.
I enjoyed this book for the most part and loved the overall message. It was a good ending and I’m happy to see some healing from this family. Also, happy Ezra makes me happy too. He is such a soft, lovable guy. Who wouldn’t love him?
Thank you to Marie Landry for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own.
