| Author/Contributor(s): | Smith, Rose |
| Publisher: | Hawthorne Books |
| Date: | 11/3/2026 |
| Binding: | Hardcover |
| Condition: | NEW |
Love conquers all. But which kind of love? The love of a passionate partner. The love of one sibling toward another? The love of a parent for their child, or the love of an artist toward their art? And what about the love one feels toward home, a landscape they always wish to return to? Rose Smith’s debut novel feels like an instant classic in its examination of the many kinds of love of the McCauley family, who live on Shep’s Island, off the coast of Maine. Sheila and Ian have raised their twin boys here; Egan wants to be a professional athlete, Lucian an art student, following in his complicated and distant mother’s footsteps. On a trip abroad, Lucian meets Lea who follows him back to the idyll of Shep’s Island. The complicated family dynamic sends Lea back to the mainland but with a new friend: Egan, as their connection is immediate and undeniable.
The years will pass with Lea caught between the two brothers. Even when she decides to begin a life on Shep’s Island with Egan, fate will continue to bring these three into each other’s orbit, all circling around the family unit. The island, with its shifting shoreline and harsh beauty, mirrors the inner lives of her characters.The unexpected and tragic death of one of the twins will bring the remaining family members back to Maine as the family tries to move past the sins and revelations of the previous decades. Ultimately it is the heart of the family unit that perseveres – a magic and a bond that supersedes all that has come before.