Pleasant Bay is the debut novel by Emily Wakeman Cyr, an author who left teaching to become a stay at home mom. She rediscovered writing, which then led her to open Colchester’s Folklore and Fable in 2024. When visiting the adorable bookstore a while ago, I decided that I needed to pick up Cyr’s novel.
Pleasant Bay takes place over the span of two decades. The first half of the story is told in alternative POVs between Sarah and her daughter Madelyn. Sarah’s chapters take place on Cape Cod in 2002, as she deals with post 9/11 life: her brother’s enlistment, her recent breakup, and her father’s illness. She visits her aunt for the summer, and she meets Luke, who is on the Cape playing baseball. The two have an instant connection. Madelyn’s chapters take place in Connecticut and Cape Cod in 2019. The first start out talking about Madelyn’s relationship with her mother, her boyfriend, and her constant curiosity about her father.
Both sides of the story create an intimate portrait of a family with secrets and how the relationships between members can change over time. I truly enjoyed this about the book. At the beginning of the book, the relationship between Sarah and Madelyn were strained. The same could be said about Sarah and her mother at the beginning of the novel as well. The one family member that everyone seemed comfortable with confiding in was Aunt Claire, the owner of the house that both women seemed to flock to.
Now, let’s talk about the romance. The main romance was between Sarah and Luke. They were truly my one true pair. In 2002, Luke took care of Sarah when she was sick, he can cook, and he was the perfect gentleman for Sarah. In 2019, he has an adorable dog named Wally, quickly adapts to being an amazing dad to his daughter, and is forgiving to Sarah.
This book was truly an amazing treat to read. Many of the times when I was reading, I was constantly saying to myself just one chapter and is the perfect read for a day at the beach and at the pool. It’s been a day since I’ve finished the novel, but I’m still thinking about the characters, the plot, and setting of it.
Cyr did a fantastic job with this novel, and I am very much looking forward to seeing what she does next.
Rating: 5 stars
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