**I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for consideration. All thoughts are 100% my own.

About the Book

Book: Turning Tide
Author: Melody Carlson
Genre: Historical Fiction
Release Date: Feb 15, 2020

As the Great War rages on, Sunset Cove continues to feel its impact. Running the small town newspaper, Anna McDowell can’t escape the grim reports from the other side of the world, but home-front challenges abound as well. Dr. Daniel is serving the wounded on the front lines. And Katy, expecting her first child, with her husband in the trenches, tries to support the war effort with her Red Cross club. Even as the war winds down the costs are high—and Sunset Cove is not spared.

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About the Author

Melody Carlson has written more than 200 books (with sales around 6.5 million) for teens, women, and children. That’s a lot of books, but mostly she considers herself a “storyteller.” Her young adult novels (Diary of a Teenage Girl, True Colors etc.) appeal to teenage girls around the world. Her annual Christmas novellas become more popular each year. She’s won a number of awards (including RT’s Career Achievement Award, the Rita, and the Gold medallion) and some of her books have been optioned for film/TV. Carlson has two grown sons and makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and yellow Lab dog.

More from Melody

Writing about the WW1 era has definitely been a good history lesson for me. Prohibition laws in Oregon (and rum-runners breaking them) combined with a massive war that changed the world and a global epidemic is worth paying attention to. Especially since history sometimes repeats itself. The early 20th century had a lot going on—much that seems nearly forgotten. I’m glad to see the movie 1917 is doing well—and we plan to see it this week. Although I’m not a fan of gruesome war movies, this era continues to intrigue me. Even as I wrapped up my Sunset Cove series with Turning Tide I was left wondering . . . what’s next? But isn’t that the beauty of story?

My Thoughts

Turning Tide is book number four in Melody Carlson's historical fiction series- The Legacy at Sunset Cove. I must admit that I had not read the previous books in the series, and while it is fine to read as a standalone, I imagine it is much better to read the series as a whole. Much background information is given, but I still must admit that it was a bit hard for me to keep up with who each of the many characters were, and their relationships to one another. Likewise, it took me longer to connect with some of them. I truly feel that this was just because I was joining them at the end of their story and not at the beginning. While I very much enjoyed the story on it's own, I very much think I would have loved it even more had I had the full picture.

We join the people of Sunset Cove as the Great War is going on. Most of them men are away serving their country and we see how the women are handling things on the home front. Admittedly, I don't know a ton about WWI outside what I've learned in high school history, so it was really interesting to learn more about that time... to see the struggles for those at home and those returning. It is interesting to see that while much has changed and perhaps our knowledge on such topics (like PTSD and the mental and physical effects of war) is greater, the struggles were not much different. It was interesting that towards the end of the book, it starts to mention Spanish Influenza... which so mirrored the current events going on at the time of reading it.

Overall, I really enjoyed this little visit to Sunset Cove, though I was sad to see it end too. I know I will be going back to learn more about this characters that I had come to know by the end. Another great book by Melody Carlson worth checking out!