Relationships can be messy. People have an inborn need for the love, acceptance, and security friendships and marriages can bring and therefore naturally seek them out. Unfortunately, people are also imperfect, and the insensitivity, lies, and betrayals which frequently come along as a result tend to weaken or destroy any closeness that has developed. The author's four protagonists, long-term friends who dub themselves the Carolina Girls Forever (CGFs), know this pain firsthand, but they also share the belief that their friendship can weather any storm life can throw at them. The question is, can it really?

Lydia's life and marriage, while childless, seems almost picture perfect. But then her husband dies suddenly, and along with the loss of her true love a secret is revealed that threatens everything else she holds dear. Julia is a busy, overweight mom whose constant nightmares are putting added strain on a marriage that is already in trouble. Sonya has bounced from marriage to marriage, and now she suspects her latest husband is having an affair. Liz hardly has time for her daughter, never mind a husband, as she travels the globe as a filmmaker, but the secrets she hides may change the CGFs forever.

In the tradition of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, Siddons spins a well-written and engaging tale of how true friendship must face and somehow survive the tough times. Filled with rollicking vignettes, a wild road trip, well-drawn characters, and the intriguing backdrop of a South Carolina island and its mysterious Gullah residents, this entertaining novel is a worthy addition to women's fiction.

RECOMMENDED by the US Review

Return to USR Home