Evening Stars

Nina Wentworth is a nurse on Blackberry Island, and she has spent her adult life taking care of other people. She raised her younger sister Averil in place of their mother, and she gave up medical school and her first love so that Averil could leave. Now Averil is back on the island, and Nina is not glad to see her.

Nina's own life is already crowded. Her high school sweetheart is in the picture again, and so is a younger pilot with a maverick streak who wants her too. She is juggling the two men while trying to keep everything else steady.

The rest of the family adds pressure. Averil seems unsure about the husband she has, and her first book is not coming along. Their mother is living as recklessly as ever. Nina feels her hold on events loosening, and her hope of leaving the island looks further off. Then her mother makes a discovery that could alter the sisters' futures.

This is a women's fiction novel with a strong romantic thread, told in third person, with a warm tone that mixes humor with real family strain. Each sister has to work out what she wants: whether Averil stays, whether Nina goes, and what happens with the men who say they love them.