"The Sea Keeper's Daughters"

"The Sea Keeper's Daughters" is the latest Lisa Wingate novel in her Carolina series and it is amazing!  Whitney and her cousin Denise own and run two restaurants, this is Whitney's dream.  However, the opposition that they are facing and the ongoing battle with one man who just wants to put them out of business is making them face and consider desperate measures.  When Whitney receives a message that her step-father is in the hospital and should not be living on his own, she reluctantly returns to the home where her mother and step-father lived and where Whitney spent summers with her mother and paternal grandmother.  Whitney is forced to face her feelings toward her deceased father whom committed suicide when she was young and her feelings of not being good enough.  Whitney's original plan is to sort through the belongings and make some quick money in order to save the restaurants, but sorting through these items bring back memories and Whitney is drawn into her family's history and finds herself immersed in trying to unravel secrets that have been hidden for years. 
One of the things I love about Lisa's books are the many tidbits of wisdom tucked in among the story and in this book, there were many!  Whitney is a wonderful main character as she was so likeable and easy to relate with and cheer for.  She also is a character who grew so much throughout this book.  Whitney has so many hurts and insecurities from her past and her interactions with others now are a reflection of that as well as how she feels about herself and how she is living her life, guarded.  I loved the interactions that Whitney has with Clyde, Mark, Joel and even Casey as she slowly lets down her guard and is constantly reevaluating her life based on things she is discovering about her past and her family and also how her heart is changing due to these individuals whom have become a part of her life. 
Although, Whitney is the main character in this book, so many of the other characters play prominent roles and their stories are shared throughout this book as well which I loved.  I was not expecting some of the secrets that were revealed and some of the events, but I loved them all!  There were several times that I was in tears while reading as this story just really tugged at my emotions and there were moments that I was cheering aloud.  I am also wondering if there will be another book in this series that will share the stories of a few of the characters' whom stories were not completely shared yet. 
I highly recommend that the other Carolina novels and novellas are read before this one as the stories continue to build upon each other and there is overlap of characters.  Also, they are all such incredible stories that you do no want to miss out on any of them!


*Thanks to Tyndale House Publishers for the complimentary copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.*