The Orchid Inn: a story of sisters, heartbreaks, tragedies and finding new life

The Orchid Inn by Aisling Delaney is the first book in the Orchid Island series. It is the story of three sisters, each with their own heartbreaks and tragedies, gather together at their grandmother’s bed and breakfast, the Orchid Inn, for the summer. Ave Flynn has hit rock bottom. Her husband has left her, wiped out their savings, all on the same day that she loses her job at a high powered law firm for “insulting” a billionaire client. Her only thought is to gather Moira, her 13 year old daughter, and head to Orchid Island. Little does she know that her sisters are also on their way, Sarah is left penniless when her millionaire boyfriend suddenly dies, leaving her with nothing. Charlotte comes to the island to figure out how her decisions had led her life down the path she seems to be on. One thing is haunting all three sisters: the disappearance of their father 17 years prior. Will they ever get the answers they need? Will the explanations be enough? Will they finally have the chance to chase the dreams they never dared to before? 

The Orchid Inn was a hard book to stay engaged in. While it started off well with the majority of the book covering the women’s journeys to the island and their stories. But that last half of the story sped by and the end seemed abrupt with any resolution or fallout left for the next book. Ava was a hard character to care for especially her attitude about Sarah’s life choices. Ava and Sarah hadn’t spoken for ten years. Once they are both at the island, they seem to forgive and forget fairly quickly. It seemed to be a theme of the story: tell your story and you will be forgiven. I’m all for forgiving those who have hurt us; but realistically, it doesn’t always happen in one conversation, especially with deep hurts. The sisters’ mother was a real piece of work who loved to say “I told you so” when her daughters’ lives were falling apart. I was looking forward to an endearing, even a hard-hitting story of sisters, their pasts and their drive to move on. Unfortunately, The Orchid Inn did not live up to my expectations.

The Orchid Inn is available in paperback