Lori Wilde’s The Moonglow Sisters is the story of three young women and the influence they have on a small community, in good times and in bad. Perhaps I enjoyed it so much because I am one of three sisters. It may have been a little too philosophical at times, but it was an enjoyable story of three women who lost their way.

In Moonglow Cove, Texas, Helen Chapman knows she’s about to undergo surgery for a brain tumor, so she writes a letter to one of her three granddaughters to be shared with the other two. When Madison was 9, Shelley 6, and Gia was 3, the orphaned sisters came to live with the grandmother they never knew. Helen’s own daughter had left home, and never spoke again to her mother. For five years, Helen’s heart has been broken because her three granddaughters, once so close, were torn apart  on the day of Madison’s wedding. Gia is back in Moonglow Cove. Madison is a successful TV star in New York. No one knows what Shelley has been doing for the past five years. But, when Gia learns her grandmother is in the hospital, she calls her sisters home.

The people of Moonglow Cove called them the Moonglow sisters. They came to live at their grandmother’s Moonglow Inn as children, and they shared everything. But, when Shelley’s actions ruined Madison’s wedding, the sisters all went their separate ways. And, the townspeople whispered, “If it could happen to the Moonglow sisters, what hope is there for the rest of us?”

Madison has never forgiven Shelley. Shelley has never told the full story of her actions that day. And, Gia, the peacemaker, just wants Grammy to recover from her surgery and the subsequent coma. So, she does what she can to make Grammy’s requests come true. She demands that her sisters work with her to finish a wedding quilt that Grammy wants completed, and, as an excuse, she fakes an engagement to her best friend, Mike, the man next door.

Everyone has secrets in The Moonglow Sisters, even Grammy. Those secrets have destroyed the togetherness of sisters, and, even before that, destroyed family ties. As they’re revealed over the course of time, the three sisters can forgive and allow their love for each other and the community to grow, or they can remain bitter and isolated in their own lives.

I had to remember these young women are still in their twenties in the book. They’re mature, and they’ve faced so much turmoil in their lives since they were children. But, until recent years, they always had each other to lean on. That love for each other could still be there, but they’ll need to become The Moonglow Sisters again. As I said, it’s an enjoyable story with just a little too much philosophy at times. I skimmed that as I returned to the actual stories of these three interesting women.

The Moonglow Sisters by Lori Wilde. HarperCollins, 2020. 400 pages.

It can be purchased through your favorite bookseller, or HarperCollins at https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062953100/the-moonglow-sisters/