Summary:

In 1998, fiery Eleanor “Els” Gordon thought the new century would find her married to her childhood soul mate, rejuvenating her family’s Scottish Highlands estate, and finally earning a managing director title at her investment bank. Maybe she’d even have the courage to discover why her estranged mother ran home to Italy thirty years earlier.

But when 2000 dawns, Els is mourning her fiancé and her father, and she’s unemployed, broke, and sharing an antique plantation house on the Caribbean island of Nevis with the ghost—or “jumbie”—of Jack Griggs, the former owner. Jack’s jumbie wangles Els’s help in making amends for wrongs committed during his Casanova life, and in exchange he appoints himself Cupid on behalf of a charter captain who’s as skittish about vulnerability as Els. Meanwhile, Els lures her mother to Nevis in hopes of unraveling the family secrets—but will the shocking truth set her free, or pull her fragile new happiness apart?

A moving and lyrical novel that transports readers from lush tropics to rugged highlands and back again, The Moon Always Rising explores how the power of forgiveness can help even the most damaged person fix whatever is broken.

Review:

I’m going to begin this with, my thoughts after completing this book are indifferent. Let me get the cons out of the way. I feel this way because there were moments that I felt completely lost in why or where the story was heading in a particular direction. In that time, I found myself flipping back for clarification and or if I missed something. There was something missing to sustain my connection with Eleanor after the first few chapters. The book went into another direction that lost its momentum for me to connect with her to a depth that I would’ve loved to.

I’m not sure if the portrayal of Eleanor’s personality in the book is derived from her background. I’m unsure if the way she is portrayed in the book is intentional or not, if so than that would explain so much. Based on what I read, I enjoyed her sense of humor but I wished she could’ve been fleshed out more. I will say about midway through the book, it picked up and actually redeemed itself in terms of consistency in the plot progressing to somewhere interesting.

Overall, this book was ok based on the entire experience. It definitely had the roots to be great. I’m not saying that I didn’t like it, I have to balance the moments that were great with the moments that left me feeling indifferent. I appreciate the love of the island where the book took place because it definitely set a tone of appreciation of the culture and people that really shined through in the book. The supporting characters brought interesting storylines into the mix that made the book interesting.