When you need to hide and the man you cannot stand is the one with help…

Synopsis

The Sunshine Sisters: Skye. This is BOOK TWO of a TRILOGY in the popular Little Duck Pond Café series:
Skye Sunshine has a theory that workmen, when in your house, should be seen and not heard. But Saul, the annoyingly sexy handyman clearly hasn’t received the memo! He’s far too cheeky and irritating for her liking.
But when Skye’s peace of mind and reputation as an actress is threatened by hacks desperate for a story, can she really afford to turn down Saul’s offer – to whisk her away from the limelight to the privacy of his rustic cabin in the woods?

My review

Actress Skye Sunshine has left London and returned back home to Sunnybrook. Unfortunately it’s not because she missed home, her mother and her sisters, but because she is being chased by paparazzi and Skye is afraid that her reputation is being threatened and that a dark secret will be exposed.
When even her mother’s home, or her sister’s home, isn’t safe anymore, Saul the handyman offers to help out and take her to his rustic cabin in the woods. While normally it would be the perfect solution, Skye isn’t all that eager to accept his offer, as she finds Saul too irritating and appears at the most awkward moments… and his sexiness for sure doesn’t help!
But Skye cannot afford to turn down his offer, as the stakes are too high…

Having met Skye already in the first book of this trilogy, I was very eager to read her story. Yes, I knew before that she was an actress, and that there is a big secret she was keeping and that she was being chased by the paparazzi. So of course I just wanted to know more about her. And I also needed to know how things would go between her and especially her mother, as that is definitely a strained relationship!

I knew that Rosie Green wouldn’t write a story with a main character that is high on her horse, but of course Skye is accustomed to a certain way of life, being an actress. And I was curious to see how she would cope in Sunnybrook, that is so different from her own life.
While the life of an actress for sure seems very appealing, with Skye we also see the other side of it.
Skye is too wary of and even afraid of everything and everyone. She doesn’t want to be recognized, making her act a bit over the top while walking around.

But with learning what she has been through in the past, and how it somehow still haunts her, I could understand why she acts the way she does.
It frustrated me to read how she isn’t able to find her peace even in a lovely place like Sunnybrook.
And it saddened me to see how strained the relationship with her mother is. But on the other hand, I was happy to see how close she is with her siblings, Aurora and Blossom.

Because let there be one thing very clear: no matter how different they are from each other, they genuinely love each other, and would do anything for each other. Skye is also very protective, wanting to protect Blossom from heartache, even if that means to be putting a damper on Blossom’s mood.

It broke my heart a little bit seeing how difficult the relationship between Skye and her mother was. Ada for sure isn’t the easiest person around, yet I couldn’t believe that she doesn’t truly love her children, even if there are a few lies that have been told…

This may sound like a very heavy story to read, but be assured, there is also plenty of lightness in it. And that is also thanks to Saul! Now, even with his wonderful character, I am still not a fan of the name… but that is the only negative (if you can call it even that) that I can say about him 😊.

With Saul, it’s clear that Skye dislikes him just to hide how much she in fact truly likes him. I could understand the (hidden) attraction, as Saul is not only very down – to – earth, but also a very understanding and funny man.
His ability to show up at Skye’s most embarrassing moments for sure was an extra talent that as a reader I could appreciate 😊.
He also shows that he is generous and helpful, as he is ready to share his cabin with Skye.

But he also seems to understand and just ‘get’ Skye without words. He is also the one that manages to get her out of her comfort zone, and even manages to  let Skye get over some of her fears (or at least find a way to make those fears more manageable.

I absolutely loved reading this second book in the trilogy. It was lovely and sweet to see how Skye and Saul are getting closer, even if it’s under peculiar circumstances.
This book has just everything I wanted and needed: there was time for love, time for laughs, but also time for drama, and time for  unexpected revelations (although I had a hunch about them!).
Rosie Green once again wrote an amazing story, making me even more eager to get my hands on the third book and read Blossom’s story!