☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ At Piper’s Point by Ethan Day ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Blurb…
Ten years and many boyfriends later, Cassidy Winters finally returns to the ancestral home of his late grandmother, Sadie Hart, despite the best efforts of his father to prevent it. Cassidy’s plans of a quiet, seaside ceremony to wish a final farewell to Sadie quickly unravel. Interruptions run roughshod, beginning with Neil, who walks out of the ocean and straight into Cassidy’s bed. The dominos topple one by one when the little dog he rescues from the hounds of hell brings him to Ben, the hunky vet who rescues Cassidy right back. News of his arrival spreads faster than Cassidy’s legs, bringing his boyhood friend and first love Nate Sommers to his doorstep — leaving Cassidy spiraling into a multi-layered love snafu. As if the island wasn’t getting crowded enough for Cassidy’s good taste and bad decisions, best friends Ollie and Spencer arrive in time to witness the uninvited return of Cassidy’s most recent ex, Teddy, who’s refusing to stay dumped.
Fists fly and all hell breaks loose amid mojitos and martinis while Cassidy finds himself planning a huge party to celebrate Sadie’s life. Accusations are aimed as arguments and libidos boil over, but even through the chaos Cassidy knows exactly who he wants. While he’s certainly willing, he isn’t sure if he’s ready or able for love and life at Pipers Point.
So what did I think?
Perfection!
From the description in the blurb, I was looking forward to reading this book but what was delivered was so much more than I was expecting. This was a story about family and friends and fighting for love.
At Piper’s Point is the story of Cassidy, a man returning to his grandmother’s home for the first time in many years. Sadie had passed away years previously but it is only now that Cassidy is in a position to return. The first chapter is so evocative, filled with Cassidy’s reminiscences of his summer’s spent with Sadie. I almost felt like I was walking around the house with Cassidy as the sights and smells brought back his memories. From this moment I knew this wasn’t just a book about a summer of friends and fun but a book dealing with much deeper emotions.
Sadie, Cassidy’s grandmother, plays a large role in this book, as she did in Cassidy’s life and the lives of everyone she touched. Through memory, we get to know Sadie and the impact she had on Cassidy, how important she was to the young boy with uncaring parents. She gave him love and a home and was a huge influence on Cassidy and his actions.
The book explores Cassidy’s emotions, his feelings toward his parents and about the events of his childhood and most importantly how he finally makes the decision about his future. But through all of this there is a light-heartedness brought by the wonderful friends he has surrounded himself with and the very special love he gets from his grandmother’s friend and housekeeper, Natalie.
Cassidy seems to draw men to him and is surrounded by admirers from his first day at Piper’s Point! Between his newest conquest, his first boyfriend Nate, an ex-boyfriend who unexpectedly arrives, the local vet and his ex-lover best friends, this was not going to be a quiet summer. The tension between Cassidy and Nate is palpable as they cautiously deal with their simmering feelings while surrounded by a houseful of ex-lovers. The secondary characters are totally fabulous, particularly Ollie and Spencer. Between this group of men there is drinking, humour, flirting, fighting, sex and friendship.
Mixed in with all the partying is the emotional turmoil as Cassidy comes to terms with his true feelings and what he really wants out of life, leading to a beautiful conclusion that Sadie would have been happy to see.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in return for my honest review.
To find out more about Ethan Day and his books, visit his website.
Buy At Piper’s Point from Amazon.
Buy At Piper’s Point from Wilde City Press.