Ellie Belmont and Kathryn Kepler, together for five years, live a happy and fulfilling life in Edina, a suburb of Minneapolis. Despite their contentment, an email from Kathryn’s high school boyfriend prompts Ellie to face her fear that Kathryn might leave her for a man. The recently widowed Gary Gibson, a successful Florida real estate agent, asks Kathryn to lunch while he’s in town. Although Kathryn has no interest in rekindling her relationship with him, the email ultimately leads Ellie and Kathryn to discuss getting married. While Ellie views marriage as a “public and legal affirmation of our love,” Kathryn is wary after weathering a bitter divorce from her philandering husband, Joe Martinson. On a getaway at the Temperance River, Kathryn meets a woman whose understanding and wisdom inspires her to propose to Ellie. The couple starts planning the ceremony with the help of Ellie’s friends and Kathryn’s son, Nate, and his wife. As the wedding date approaches, a family tragedy and a crisis lead to unexpected reconciliations and opportunities for new beginnings. The latest from Bohan, whose previous book was A Light on Altered Land(2020), continues the love story of Ellie Belmont and Kathryn Kepler, retirees whose relationship brings great joy to their golden years. Bohan’s tale ably balances the couple’s passion with a thoughtful exploration of how past relationships, especially Kathryn’s marriage to Joe and Ellie’s marriage to her late wife, affects their perspectives. The novel includes a well-developed cast and meaty subplots, especially one involving Kathryn’s emotionally distant daughter, Jennifer, who struggles to accept Kathryn and Ellie’s upcoming wedding. That said, while the prose is sharp, it could benefit from additional copyediting (Emily Dickinson instead of “Emily Dickenson”).
