Window on the Bay by Debbie Macomber

******UPDATE: I had the incredible opportunity to connect with Debbie Macomber, the author of this story, and ask her some questions about the story and her experience. See the “Q&As with the Authors” page to see our conversation.

This brand new story from Debbie Macomber instantly made my heart melt. As a sucker for romance myself, I fell deep into the story within the first pages.

Within the prologue, we meet Jenna and Maureen, inseparable best friends with their hearts set on one thing, until things change and their plans are thwarted long-term. The remainder of the story follows these two years later as they go through trials and put themselves out there for the sake of love.

Like always with Debbie’s writing style, I could immediately picture myself within the pages of this book. I felt I stood next to Jenna in her worry and her frustration and watched Maureen be courageous and stand up for herself twice in the same place.

Debbie’s writing in this new story gave a lot of lessons, in love, life and family, but I felt the greatest lesson I learned was of belonging as Jenna’s family broke apart in conflict, but how the importance of family changed the outcome.

While normally I connect most with one character in a story, I felt it was impossible with “Window on the Bay.” Debbie formatted this story with each chapter going back and forth between Jenna and Maureen, which hindered my ability to connect on a deeper level. However, in this story, I didn’t think it was necessary to have that deeper connection, as the intertwining enhanced the story overall. I felt the characters were described in great detail, but rather than explaining the worry or feelings, Debbie showed it through countless situations as the story progressed.

Rather than giving away pieces of the story, I encourage you to pick up this story and immerse in the pages yourself. Debbie's renowned career continued with “Window on the Bay” and I could not put the book down until I flipped the final page.