Susan Wiggs - A Summer Affair

A gifted but troubled physician, Blue Calhoun runs a thriving medical practice from his Nob Hill mansion in San Francisco while raising his son alone after an unthinkable tragedy. Then one day a female fugitive with a gunshot wound appears in Blue's surgery. Even though she holds a pistol aimed at his heart, the desperation in her eyes awakens Blue's compassion. Reluctantly he is drawn to her fragile beauty, her nerves of steel and the mystery surrounding her circumstances.
Isabel Fish-Wooten has spent most of her life on the run, but everything changes when she forces a stranger to save her life. Yet her rescue comes with an unexpected price. As Isabel recovers from her wounds, she finds herself touched by this remarkable man and yearns to reach out to him and his rebellious son.
From danger-filled back alleys to the glittering ballrooms of high society, Isabel and Blue confront the violence and corruption that threatens their newfound passion. Theirs is an unforgettable quest to discover a rare and special love, and the precious gift of a second chance at happiness.

Comment: This is the last book in the Calhoun Chronicles series by the author. In this book we have the story of the oldest son of the protagonist of book #2. Blue has grown up, is a doctor and a widow. He also has a son to raise and is about to meet the woman he can't ignore.

Blue Calhoun lost his wife in a shooting and feels guilty since then. Ten years have passed, his son is now 15 and looking to be someone different from what he imagined. But Blue's life takes a turn when he meets Isabel, a woman with a wound he treats. She recovers at his house and makes him think and desire different things although he is still afraid of letting the memories go. In the middle of a illicit business deal, Blue will have to weight in what matters the most to him and if the new woman in his life will be worth it all...

I was very curious to read this book, not only because I aimed its reading to the end of the year so I could finish the series still in 2014, but also because I've got to know the Calhoun family and was interested in seeing how Blue, a character we've met when he was a child, a mute child at that, in book #2 would be like a a grown up and with a son of his own.

I have to say I was a bit disappointed with this story. I didn't have the feeling this was as well executed s the previous stories which seemed to develop a much more heartfelt connection between the main characters.

I don't know if it was only the way Blue and Isabel were developed as characters or the lack of real connection (in my opinion) that made this story feel less good to me, but the truth is I struggled more to feel empathy towards them, Isabel in particular.

We've met her briefly in the previous book in the series and she seemed intriguing enough but she has that sort of personality that wants freedom, wants independence and her thoughts are always on the move. So, when the HEA happened, obviously, I had some hard time believing she was devoted to stay with Blue forever. We see why she is like that but I still think her origins, her life story wasn't explained enough. We have clues and hints about what happened to her, and she talks about it quickly but there was never any going past that to welcome a new life, dedicated to love. I missed that assurance to better believe in the HEA.

As for Blue, he has a lot of emotional issues to deal with and despite the time that passed, which can make this better accepted in terms of mourning done, I still felt he wasn't ready to overcome that or at least, the way things happened didn't convince me of that and his thoughts about Isabel didn't feel convincing to me, not at love level it seemed.

The plot revolves around Blue's profession, his troubles with his son and how the boy is different from him, wants different things. I liked ho they worked out their relationship and for the most part I was glad Lucas, his son, was a rebel but not completely out of control to the point of being reckless and stupid, but overall, I wished more for them, or sooner.

I liked seeing some characters we've know since the beginning. Their brief appearance was funny and cherished, too bad it was so short. I also think some things weren't properly solved, at least not in a conclusive way, too many ideas were left in the air, and despite most not being vital to the plot's resolution and ending, I still would have liked to see it happen differently.

All in all, this book had good parts but there was a lot I would like to have seen done differently and compared to her other works I've read, this wasn't the strongest one, in fact of all 5 books in the series, I consider this the weakest. Still, the author's voice is clear and easy to read and that is always something to appreciate.

Grade: 6/10