Lindsay and Kerrie Ann are sisters who have known hardship from an early age. Without guidance from their neglectful mother, their only aid came from an unlikely source, a retired exotic dancer by the nameof Miss Honi Love. When the girls’ mother was sent to prison, Miss Honi tried unsuccessfully to save them from being separated and sent into foster care.

Thirty years later, Lindsay is still trying to reconnect with her sister. The owner of a bookstore in the sleepy California seaside town of Blue Moon Bay, she was lucky enough to have been adopted by a loving couple. Unbeknownst to her, Kerrie Ann has suffered a very different life. Bounced from one foster home to the next, she ran away as a teenager before becoming a drug-addicted single mother. Now, newly sober, Kerrie Ann is fighting to regain custody of the little girl who was taken from her.

Neither sister’s expectations are met when they’re finally reunited. But as the two sisters engage in the fiercest battles of their lives, they are at last drawn together despite their differences, restoring belief in the unshakable bond of family.

My thoughts: I didn't have any preconceived notions entering into this book, I know of Eileen Goudge's novels only because they're eye catching and I usually love the titles (Immediate Family). I have a few of her books on my shelves waiting to be read, but unfortunately, they get pre-empted more than I'd like. After reading this - I think that may change. The plotline caught me right away. Dysfunctional family and hardships? Sign me up. The ways the sisters were so different, and yet, at base, they did the exact same thing. Constructed walls to hide themselves in so they wouldn't go through the pain and abandonment they'd felt growing up. Kerry Ann never knew a happy life, and Lindsay found it at 14, but never left behind the guilt of losing her little sister. This book snuck up on me and charmed me.