Coming to terms with the death of a loved one is traumatic, but celebrating their life through your memories can ease the suffering.

Cassidy Winters returns to the home his Grandmother, Sadie Hart, left him upon her death. After fighting with his parents for years to claim the estate, he is finally able to restore the home to its original glory. Before that can happen, he needs to deal with his past, which includes Nate Sommers, his old best friend and first lover while growing up.

The story, which is told entirely from Cassidy’s point of view, takes place over the summer on a beautiful island. Several of Cassidy’s former lovers manage to find themselves staying with him at the home for an extended time. Nate Sommers actually grew up in the house and Cassidy invites him to live there once again since Cassidy is only planning on being there during the summers. There is a lot of time spent reflecting on the amazing Sadie and the wonderful life that she lived. There is also quite a bit of time spent with the group of men interacting with each other. Since Cassidy slept with most of them, that created some interesting moments.

Unfortunately, very little time is spent with Cassidy and Nate actually talking to each other. Considering that they haven’t maintained any contact over the past decade, it made it very difficult to understand the reason that they felt a relationship with each other would or wouldn’t work. It was also hard to understand what they had in common outside of the fact that they grew up together. The story felt more like a tribute to Sadie as opposed to a romance. As a warning, the story includes a descriptive teenage sex scene and teenage drug use.

Overall, an interesting story about a man finding his true place in life.

Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.

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.