Two estranged sisters carrying years of hurt, unanswered questions and very different versions of their shared past.
Our Extraordinary Summer by Lori Wilde is an emotional story about sisterhood, family manipulation, lost time and finding the courage to question everything you were taught to believe about yourself.
Although there is a second-chance romance woven into the story, it was the complicated relationship between Calista and Athena that kept me reading. Their journey back to one another is painful, hopeful and filled with truths neither sister was prepared to face.
Book Details
Title: Our Extraordinary Summer
Author: Lori Wilde
Series: Hobby Island #2
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: April 21, 2026
Length: 377 pages
Genres: Women’s Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Family Fiction
My Rating: ★★★★★
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Book Description
Two estranged sisters. One final wish. A summer that could mend everything or tear open old wounds.
Calista and Athena Dempsey were once inseparable until their father’s ambition drove a wedge between them. When a very public betrayal shattered their bond, Calista walked away from her family, determined to rebuild her life on her own terms. Athena stayed behind, carrying the weight of their father’s expectations and her own guilt.
Their reunion forces both sisters to confront the stories they were told about their mother, their father and each other. As they learn more about Demetra’s life, they begin to understand how deeply their father shaped their choices and kept them divided.
Calista must also face Reid Thornton, the man she once loved and the person connected to one of the most painful betrayals of her life. Reid wants the chance to explain what happened, but earning Calista’s trust will require more than an apology.
Set against the colorful and unusual backdrop of Hobby Island, the story follows two sisters trying to decide whether the truth can help them heal or whether too much has already been lost.
My Review
Calista and Athena were once more than sisters—they were each other’s closest friend. That changed after years of control, emotional abuse and manipulation from their father, Benjamin Dempsey. He did not simply create tension between his daughters. He carefully shaped the way they saw themselves, their mother and eventually each other.
Calista finally escaped the family, but leaving did not erase the damage. Even at twenty-nine, she struggles to understand who she is after spending most of her life being told she was worthless, incompetent and impossible to love. Her emotional journey was one of the strongest parts of the story for me. She is not only learning what really happened to her family; she is learning that her father’s voice does not have to remain the voice inside her own head.
Athena’s situation is different, but no less complicated. She stayed behind and continued living under their father’s influence. Her choices hurt Calista deeply, yet the story also shows how fear, guilt and manipulation can keep someone trapped long after they recognize that something is wrong. Reconciliation cannot happen until both sisters are willing to listen, accept responsibility and understand how thoroughly their father worked to divide them.
Their mother’s death brings them to Hobby Island, but her life there gives them a completely different picture of the woman they believed had abandoned them. As they uncover her story piece by piece, the sisters begin to understand just how much had been hidden from them. There is grief over her death, but also grief for the relationship they were never allowed to have.
One of the most touching parts of the story was learning about the life Demetra built after losing her daughters. She devoted herself to caring for others as a registered nurse before serving with the Peace Corps and later Doctors Without Borders. Seeing the compassion and purpose that defined her life gave Calista and Athena a completely different understanding of the mother they thought they knew. It was a reminder that while they lost years together, Demetra never stopped living a life rooted in hope, service, and love.
Eloisa’s friendship with Demetra added another emotional layer to the story. She knew the woman Demetra became and understood the pain she carried. Her
I also appreciated the book’s message about self-empowerment. Calista and Athena cannot change what was done to them, but they can control their own tone without dismissing how difficult healing can be.
Hobby Island provides a colorful, almost whimsical setting for a story built around difficult subjects. Its welcoming residents, peaceful surroundings, and quirky charm give Calista and Athena space to step outside the expectations that have controlled them for so long. The island is not simply an escape—it becomes a place where healing begins and the truth can no longer be avoided.
I also appreciated the book’s message about self-empowerment. Calista and Athena cannot change what was done to them, but they can control their own thoughts, actions and future choices. That message gave the story a hopeful tone without dismissing how difficult healing can be.
Golf also plays an important role in the Dempsey family’s history. What should have been a source of talent and achievement became another way their father applied pressure, controlled his daughters and placed ambition above their well-being.
I also appreciated the book’s message about self-empowerment. Calista and Athena cannot change what was done to them, but they can control their own thoughts, actions and future choices. That message gave the story a hopeful tone without dismissing how difficult healing can be.
Reid and Calista’s second-chance romance adds another layer to the story. Reid was part of a betrayal that changed the direction of Calista’s life, so forgiveness cannot come from an apology alone. He has to be honest about what happened and allow her to decide whether she is willing to trust him again.
I also appreciated the book’s message about self-empowerment. Calista and Athena cannot change what was done to them, but they can control their own thoughts, actions and future choices. That message gave the story a hopeful tone without dismissing how difficult healing can be.
Character Spotlights:
Calista: Calista stood out to me because her journey is about much more than returning home or reconnecting with an old love. She has spent years trying to build a life outside her father’s control while still carrying his cruel words with her.
On Hobby Island, Calista begins separating who she truly is from the person she was repeatedly told she could never become. Her strength is not that she has all the answers. It is that she keeps moving toward the truth, even when facing it means reopening some of her deepest wounds.
Athena: Athena spent years trying to live up to impossible expectations while remaining loyal to the only parent she believed she could depend on. As the older sister, she carried the weight of responsibility, but much of that responsibility was shaped by manipulation rather than truth.
Watching Athena slowly question everything she believed about her family was one of the most emotional parts of the story. Her journey isn't about being perfect or undoing the past—it's about finding the courage to face difficult truths, ask for forgiveness, and rebuild a relationship with the sister she never truly stopped loving.
Reid: Reid Thornton returns to Calista's life carrying the weight of old mistakes and unresolved heartbreak. Once someone she trusted deeply, he now finds himself asking for a chance to explain the choices that changed both of their lives.
I appreciated that Reid's story isn't simply about rekindling a romance. He understands that trust can't be rebuilt with words alone. His willingness to face the past with honesty and accountability makes him an important part of the novel's larger message—that healing begins when people stop hiding from the truth.
Eloisa: Eloisa was one of Demetra’s closest friends and became an important link between the life Demetra lost and the life she created on Hobby Island. Through Eloisa, Calista and Athena begin to see their mother as more than the woman they believed had abandoned them.
Her kindness, loyalty and determination to honor Demetra’s final wishes help guide the sisters toward the truth. Eloisa also represents the chosen family Demetra found when she could no longer be with her daughters.
Favorite Moment
Without giving away spoilers, one of my favorite parts of the novel was watching Calista and Athena slowly realize that the stories they'd believed about their mother—and about each other—weren't the complete truth. Those discoveries were heartbreaking, but they also made their journey toward forgiveness feel earned.
“The only thing I can control is my own thoughts and actions.”
This simple line captures so much of Calista and Athena’s journey. They cannot recover the years their father stole from them or change everything that happened, but they can decide what they do with the truth once they finally understand it.
What Worked for Me
- The emotional focus on sisters finding their way back to each other
- Calista’s journey toward rebuilding her confidence and identity
- The gradual uncovering of the family’s hidden history
- The grief surrounding everything the sisters lost with their mother
- The hopeful and unusual Hobby Island setting
- A second-chance romance that requires honesty and accountability
A Few Things to Know
This is the second book in the Hobby Island series, but it can be read as a standalone. Readers who have read the first book may recognize some of the island residents and understand more of the setting’s history.
The romance is important, but the sister relationship remains at the center of the novel. Readers looking for a traditional romance may find this leans more toward women’s fiction with a romantic subplot.
The story includes emotional abuse, parental manipulation, addiction, alcoholism, grief, family estrangement and discussions of losing custody of children.
Who Should Read This Book?
I would recommend Our Extraordinary Summer to readers who enjoy emotional family stories, complicated sister relationships, second chances and scenic small-town or island settings. It is also a good fit for readers who enjoy the warmth and community found in books by Jill Shalvis and Susan Mallery.
Final Thoughts
Our Extraordinary Summer is a heartfelt story about two sisters discovering how thoroughly their lives were shaped by someone else’s lies. Calista and Athena cannot reclaim the childhood or the mother-daughter relationship they lost, but they still have the opportunity to choose what their relationship becomes next.
This story reminded me that healing is not about pretending the painful parts never happened. It is about facing them honestly, accepting what cannot be changed and refusing to let the past make every future decision.
The combination of sisterhood, family secrets, grief, self-discovery and second chances made this a moving five-star read for me.
Join the Conversation
Do you enjoy books about sisters repairing a relationship after years apart, or are you more likely to pick this one up for the second-chance romance and Hobby Island setting?
Happy Reading!
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