I hope this book gets the praise it deserves

It has been a while since this author has published a book, as she says in the acknowledgments, it was hard for her to write during the pandemic. I’m glad that she finally found her groove and now she’s back with a vengeance to the delight of all her fans.

Olive, Eleanor, and Harriet have been best friends for years and now they own a resort in Colorado called The Hummingbird Sanctuary. When a group of three women comes to stay to write an article for a magazine, their lives will be upended…

I’m keeping the blurb vague because I think that the less you know before starting reading this novel, the better the surprise factor and the enjoyment will be. Feel free to read the official blurb, it doesn’t give away much either. As a matter of fact, the blurb wording is quite clever which is refreshing considering that sometimes book synopsis act as spoilers.

The Hummingbird Sanctuary isn’t a traditional romance. I would put it more in the drama category. There’s relationship drama, friendship drama, personal drama. If you ask me, the amount of drama is enough to last my whole reading year. But if unlike me, you like angst, you are going to love this one.

I have to admit that at the beginning of the story I wasn’t feeling it. To the point that I almost gave up and didn’t finish it. I couldn’t warm to one of the main characters, I found her obnoxious and selfish. But with time, as the author slowly reveals her story, I was able to empathise and even like her. After that, my overall enjoyment increased exponentially.

Another issue I had at the beginning was that I couldn’t see where the book was going. This is because it’s not a traditional romance following the classic formula despite that the publisher puts it in the romance category. To start with, there are three, not two protagonists. The story is told in first person from the point of view of each one of them and friendship and working relationships are as important as romantic ones. For a while, many things seem disconnected but slowly the loose ends begin to make sense and what was my initial displeasure turned out to be a surprise factor that I really enjoyed.

I’m glad I kept reading as it finally pays off, including in the romance department. As usual, Ms. Zak’s sex scenes were super hot. Let me say that Ms. Zak is very brave for writing a book that departs from the norm and that might not be a crowd-pleaser. I hope this book gets the praise it deserves.

If you are looking for an unconventional story with angst and drama, this one is for you. 4.5 stars.