Great author - have read all her books! Lindsay and Kerrie Ann are sisters who have known hardship from an early age. Without guidance from their neglectful mother, their only aid came from an unlikely source, a retired exotic dancer by the name of Miss Honi Love. When the girls’ mother was sent to prison, Miss Honi tried unsuccessfully to save them from being separated and sent into foster care.
Thirty years later, Lindsay is still trying to reconnect with her sister. The owner of a bookstore in the sleepy California seaside town of Blue Moon Bay, she was lucky enough to have been adopted by a loving couple. Unbeknownst to her, Kerrie Ann has suffered a very different life. Bounced from one foster home to the next, she ran away as a teenager before becoming a drug-addicted single mother. Now, newly sober, Kerrie Ann is fighting to regain custody of the little girl who was taken from her.
( )

Lindsay and Kerrie Ann have each known hardship from a very young age. Without proper parental guidance from their neglectful mother, the sisters only aid came from a most unlikely source - their neighbor - a retired exotic dancer by the name of Miss Honi Love. When the girls' mother was arrested for selling drugs and subsequently sent to prison, Miss Honi fought to keep them from being separated and sent into the foster care system, but to no avail.

Thirty years later, Lindsay is now the owner of a bookstore in the sleepy California seaside town of Blue Moon Bay. Adopted by a loving couple - from whom she inherited the home she shares with the ever-feisty Miss Honi - Lindsay is still trying to reconnect with her long-lost younger sister. Unbeknownst to Lindsay, Kerrie Ann has lived an entirely different life, bouncing from one foster home to the next. Now, newly sober, Kerrie Ann is fighting to regain custody of her little girl.

When the sisters are finally reunited, the two very different women continually clash. Lindsay's entire childhood was spent caring and looking out for Kerrie Ann, but as she and Kerrie Ann engage in some of the fiercest battles of their lives - Lindsay soon despairs of her burgeoning relationship with her sister. However, as the women embark on their own personal journeys of the heart - each with the unlikeliest of men - the sisters find themselves drawn together, restoring their faith and belief in the unshakable and ever-enduring bond of family.

I thought that this book was absolutely excellent. I found myself really caring about what happened to these characters next; I was thoroughly immersed in the plot and found the story to be incredibly poignant. I give Once in a Blue Moon by Eileen Goudge an A+! and look forward to reading more from this author in the future. ( )

AUTHOR: Goudge, Eileen
TITLE: Once in A Blue Moon
Date Read: 03/12/14
RATING: 4/B
GENRE/PUB DATE/PUBLISHER/# OF PGS: Women's Fiction; 2009;Vanguard Press; 323 pgs
SERIES/STAND ALONE: SA
TIME/PLACE: 2009; Blue Moon Bay, CA
CHARACTERS: Lindsay/bookstore owner; Kerrie-Ann; sister

FIRST LINES: "You get off on pawing through ladies' underwear?" Kerrie Ann sniped.

COMMENTS: I like this author & hadn't read her in sometime -- I loved the Carson Springs trilogy. This was a nice read about 2 sisters who lived together until they were 11 & 3. They were fostered out to different homes when their mother was arrested on drug charges. Lindsay had the good fortune to be adopted by an older couple who never were able to have children. She had a great upbringing but was always in search of her little sister. Kerrie Anne did not have the luck that Lindsay had and bounced around from one set of foster parents to the next, she was out on her own as a teenager. She had a child w/ her live-in boyfriend who left shortly after their daughter was born. At this point Kerrie Ann was involved in drugs and lost custody of her daughter. This was enough to get her on the road to recovery. She got a lawyer to help her and he recommended getting help from family. She didn't know she had any until he had looked into her earlier records & found her sister. Almost 30 years later they reunite and needless to say there are many bumps in the road to forming a sibling relationship. A nice story. ( )

Compelling story which illustrates some of the trials and tribulations of reuniting with family who were separated as children. The impact of the way each child is raised on how they view the world is played out at you contrast one child's experience versus another child's experience. Fairly fast moving read for people who like character studies. ( )