The second novel in the "Cedar Key" series by Terri Dulong was very much improved in my opinion.

Monica Brooks, the daughter of Sydney Webster from Spinning Forward (Cedar Key) is the main protagonist in this novel that takes place four years later on Cedar Key.

At first in "Spinning Forward" I didn't really care for Monica. I thought she was a spoiled brat but after more interactions with her and her mother in that novel I did come around to her point of view and why she was so frustrated with her mother.

In this novel, Monica is a newlywed and excited about starting her life with her husband Adam. However, Adam's daughter, Clarissa, from his first marriage comes to live with them and Monica finds herself floundering since she doesn't know if she has it in her to be a mother.

I really applaud Ms. Dulong for writing the novel this way. Often times most women around Monica's age don't know if they are cut out to be mothers' or even if they want to be. I liked her struggle with it and her attempts to get close to Clarissa but not knowing if she was doing the right thing. I also liked her very realistically being frustrated with Clarissa at times and just thinking that her husband would make all the decisions (since hey it is his child) and how awkward she felt being a step-mother.

The only reason that I did mark it down one star was that once again though knitting was discussed in this novel, I felt as if there were no details that the author added in order for me to understand the different patterns or the styles of knitting. I would stop focusing on the knitting per se and just make it more of a side note unless she plans on focusing on it more in her subsequent novels of Cedar Key.

Would recommend to fans of Cedar Key series! ( )

The cover is even prettier in real life than it is in the thumbnail image. However, I'm sorry, but the author has no ear. I've never met anyone who talks like this. It's more like the talk in little essays to each other. And a few 'hells' and 'y'alls' sprinkled in don't actually help. And I'm not sure the author knows children, either. I strongly believe that Clarissa should have been involved in decorating her room - how can these women assume she likes Disney and ballerinas? I didn't like the little mystery, either. Still, it was cozy and sweet, and I can certainly see some people liking it. I won it as a first-reads/giveaway/ARC and am willing to pass it on after I register it at bookcrossing.com. ( )

3.5 stars. Newlywed and new yarn shop owner, Monica Brooks, soon finds her role as step-mother kicked up from a month every summer role to full time. It turns her Cedar Key, FL world upside down at the same time developers have their eye on the quaint island town. Despite Monica's doubts about her mothering instincts and many other snags during her first year as a mother, Adam and her other family and friends help her to grow and succeed.

It had been a long while since I had read the first book in the series. It took me a bit to get back up to speed with the characters and their relationship to each other. Once I did, I found the story pretty enjoyable. The author was perhaps a tad heavy handed with Monica's doubts about being a mother, but that growth in her was ultimately the plot for the story. I do really enjoy the characters of Cedar Key and will continue to read the series. ( )

by Terri Dulong
This book is about Adam who is recently married to Monica. Her mother has left with her new man to Paris and France and left the yarn shop to her to run.
Adam teachs at a nearby college and one phone call from the social worker changed their life. He now will have full custody of his daughter, Clarissa. Ever since she's moved in with them she experiences a ghost type person who guides her with what she should try.
Love being able to catch up with the others in the town and find out what's going on in their lives.
Most particularly interested in hearing how they plan to expand the shop with knitting trends.
Other realtionships also go through some up and down times...There are very touching moments and some frightful as they go through serious health issues...
Love the knit chat especially, just all the everyday living, and the story of Adam and his family, kinda fills in the missing pieces as I've read this series out of order. ( )

This is the kind of book that you would like to cuddle up with on a cold day, in other words, a "comfort read". I found out after I read it that there was an earlier book in the series. But that doesn't matter too much because this is a great standalone book. Now that I have read it, I would like to read the first book, Spinning Forward”.

Monica Brooks, the main character, narrates the story in first person, has only been married for six months. She was going to take over her mother's yarn shop. She has fallen in love with the island life of Cedar Key. It is no wonder since her best friend and many of her relatives live there and act as a great support network to her.

Her life was feeling very comfortable and she thought it was going in the right direction. But her husband, Adam received a surprise phone that his ex-wife, Carrie Sue was in the hospital. She and her friends had gone out drinking while her eight year old daughter remained alone in the apartment. So, now her and Adam's daughter, Claris was staying in a temporary foster home.

Monica immediately wonders whether or not she would be a good mother or not. She had been an only child and knew nothing about children. She is so full of doubts. How is she supposed to bond with a little girl that she didn't know? What if she makes terrible mistakes? What if she is not a good mother?

Her friend, Grace has a very successful coffee shop with a beautiful view of the water. She has had no longstanding relationships with men. Then, someone who "looks like George Clooney” But does he have an alternative motive for this romance?

Clarissa, the long ignored and neglected daughter of Carrie Sue, comes to live with Monica and Adam. She has gotten used to seeing her mother constantly drunk and never having the opportunity for friendship. She needs a real mother, and a family, and friends and plenty of hugs and caring.

That is how this book starts. It keeps you reading and interested and is a quick read. My only criticism is that it seemed a little too tidy with the ending but it was a very comfy read. The author does tackle an unspoken problem of new mothers, which I applaud her for.

I recommend this to all women who have doubts about surviving motherhood and those would heartwarming story about families. ( )