Book Review: Family Trees

By Sara Steven

Shelby doesn’t want much. All she needs is the small town she's known all her life, the apple orchard that supports her family, and her grandparents, who have raised her since she was a baby. A long time ago, she had other plans, other dreams. She wanted something larger, something bigger than herself, but after dealing with loss and tragedy, it’s a lot easier and safer to stay in the town she can count on. Comfortable.

Ryan is tired of being famous. Everywhere he goes, people recognize him, trying to identify with him as if they know who he really is. All he wants is an escape from the big city. The small town nestled along Lake Superior will provide him with the anonymity he’s searching for. No one will care about his money, his prestigious family. He can escape the constant pressures he deals with on a daily basis.

After Ryan runs into Shelby at the local bakery, he knows he’s in trouble. She has no clue as to how influential he is, which is totally refreshing. She’s not vying for his attention, or putting on airs, attempting to be someone she isn’t. She’s just as organic and whimsical as the small town she lives in, only adding to her charm. He hates to admit it, but he's completely smitten. Shelby has her heart guarded up as much as she’s able to, attempting to protect herself from feeling anything at all, yet Ryan breaks through the walls she’s built, enabling her to trust, maybe even love again. It all feels so sudden. Can you really fall in love so quickly? Can they trust one another, even though they each harbor secrets the other knows nothing about, secrets that threaten to ruin what they potentially might have together?

Family Trees is a beautifully written book, focusing primarily on the secrets that threaten to shake foundations to its very core. It’s about learning to trust and live again, even after the rug has been pulled out from under you. Most of us have skeletons that lurk in our closet. Kerstin March opens those closet doors, allowing everyone a peek into the things that we’d rather keep buried, the hidden truths never meant to see the light of day.

Thanks to Kensington for the book in exchange for an honest review. The sequel, Branching Out, was published this past November.

Stop by Kerstin's Facebook and Twitter pages to wish her "Happy Birthday" this weekend!