Love On A Whim

Cape Cod Ice Cream Book 3

Suzanne Woods Fisher

Revell Pub

May 7^th, 2024

Love On A Whim by Suzanne Woods Fisher is a delicious read.  The quote at the beginning of the novel sums it up, “Eat ice cream. Read books. Be happy.” The book explores family, faith, romance, forgiveness, friendship, and second chances.

The plot begins with Dawn Dixon’s best buddy from college, Brynn Haywood, attending a civil engineer convention in Las Vegas.  While there she, uncharacteristically, decides to leave the convention with someone she just met, see some of the sites, and eventually gets married. When she wakes the next morning, appalled by her behavior, she sneaks out of the room and heads to Cape Cod, hoping Dawn can help get her out of this mess. Dawn, an inveterate “fixer,” spends her energy plotting how to get Brynn’s marriage annulled, while her mother, Marnie urges Brynn to slow down and listen to her heart.

“Brynn is sensible, responsible, impulsive, predictable, even keeled, and passionate. Because she is a civil engineer, she is logical, a planner, and organized.  She is also insecure and does not like it when her heart tries to overrule her brain. She and Dawn bonded in college. Unlike what we know about her she meets and marries a guy in 24 hours and panics, fleeing to Cape Cod. She pursues her passion to be a baker.”

There is also Lincoln Hayes, Marnie’s boyfriend, whose estranged family is coming to town for his daughter’s wedding. He agreed to finance the wedding to ease his guilt for being a terrible absent dad. Although the daughter is willing to forgive and forget, the son, Bear, is very resentful, the epitome of what his father used to be: concerned only about himself, too busy for others, unkind, and trying to make trouble for the Dixon family. 

“Marnie pushes Brynn to think why she said yes to this man.  She is telling her to slow down.  She is a good counterbalance to the three young women. She plays the mother who is over-protective, leading them to come to a good decision, but she also will not be so direct and leads them with questions or hints to think what they want. Marnie has a quiet way because she cannot say too much, or the women will shut down. She relies on feelings, intuition, and faith.” 

Then the caterer gets Covid, and everything falls apart.  The Dixon family to the rescue.  Callie takes over the catering, Dawn makes the ice cream treats, and Brynn who is a good hobby baker, agrees to make the wedding cake. 

“They are like a three-legged stool. They all are sister-like. They are all perfectionists, reasonable.

Dawn has always been in the shadow of her cousin Callie, where they both competed against each other. She grew up with a little bit of a jealous streak.  She now sometimes feels like third man out. She does not look for good in people unlike Callie and Brynn. She is matter of fact.  She is a perfectionist, logical, likes to find other people’s mistakes, stays on task, and is stable.  Dawn likes to interfere because she likes to be in control. Readers appreciate her, but she can rub on them, very frustrating, meddling, and has blinders on because her way is the way. But she is very loyal to her friends and family and is always there for them.

Callie is a talker, positive, a perfectionist, bold, creative, effervescent, decisive, persistent, and like Dawn she also likes to be in control.  She is good at time management.  

Brynn is softer, gentler than Dawn and Callie.  Yet, she has always been attracted to the family life of Dawn and Callie. She is logical, reasonable, relies on feedback, calm, reserved, and eager to learn.”

Readers will be on the edge of their seats wondering what will happen to Brynn’s marriage, as well as other issues facing the characters that include Dawn’s infertility, Lincoln’s health problems, and can the family reconcile. The story is compelling, filled with wit and wisdom, and all the characters have their issues resolved in a satisfactory way, where the reader feels they are part of the drama. But there is also a humorous tone that lightens up the tension.

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