Originally Published: 09-03-2020
The View from Alameda Island is a true stand-alone by best-selling author Robyn Carr.
Book Details
This book is classified as a contemporary women’s fiction as well as domestic life in women’s fiction. There’s also a classification of “stories of sisters” as one.
So while there is a romance that happens during this story the story is more about the rebuilding of someone’s life after a bitter and brutal divorce.
Yes, there’re a couple of sexy scenes to watch for with a few details to skip if needed.
As this book was just published in 2019, there’s only one book cover for all formats.
This story is more about the life and events of Lauren than being an actually being a plot with an issue that has to be solved type of story. If there is a problem that has to be solved would be Lauren actually getting a divorce from Brad.
But the story feels more like a life story than a 3-act part story. It really follows Lauren as she takes the steps to become free of Brad and to get her life back.
It takes her thru the ups and downs of being on her own again and not having to answer to anyone but herself anymore.
And even after Brad assaults her, she picks up the pieces to her life and moves on, much to the chagrin of her ex.
But it’s also about Bo Magellan and his journey after his own divorce.
These two kindred spirits find a friend when they both so desperately needed one.
Please note that both Lauren and Bo are married, in relationships with terrible exes and seeking a divorce when they decide to have a sexual relationship with each other.
As this is against some reader’s standards, some might find that unacceptable behavior and aren’t willing to read a book with that type of thing in it.
This story does have an HEA, albeit, it’s not what I expected at all. The ending was different, unusual, but no less interesting.
Book Summary
The story starts out with Lauren finally come to end of her rope of the treatment that’s she’s endured at the hands of her husband Brad. And on their 24th anniversary, she finally gives him the news that she’s leaving.
This not only throws Brad but also angers him. And he ends up taking that anger out on Lauren by assaulting her and landing her in the ER.
She meets Bo just before she decides to make the move with the separation, and she meets him again several times after that. She’s always careful to keep things appropriate and proper until he’s witness to the beating that she endures.
They become confidants, friends and much needed support as both of them are going thru the process of filing for a divorce with their perspective spouses.
Bo’s ex has left to “go find herself and take a break” for the last time. He’s done being the one that’s always picking up the pieces. Now that his boys are adults, even if they’re not his blood kids, he too decides that he can’t do this relationship again.
So the story line follows what not only the reactions of his two boys and the separation and divorce that he’s doing, but also the reactions of her two girls.
Lauren’s two daughters, Cassidy and Lacey are both going away to school and on their own. And it’s because of them that she stayed for so long with Brad. So the story follows their reaction and how divided they become.
And how Lauren chooses to put her happiness first for the first time in years. And that also becomes her putting her safety first over going back to Brad.
He threatens several times throughout the story wanting Lauren to come back to her, but she flatly refuses, with the help of her lawyer, even though he drags his feet.
So the story actually covers a significant timeframe from when she leaves to when she’s actually granted the divorce. And yes that takes the whole story for that to happen.
And yes, Bo also is granted a divorce.
So the story is about what happens thru all of that. How they both cope and come to rely upon each other and eventually love each other and gradually build a life with each other instead of being alone.
And the ending is unusual.
Bo is granted a divorce and that’s days apart of when he finds out that his ex put a hit out on his and Lauren’s lives!! And as you can imagine, that puts a spin on the reactions of the kids involved.
And then what happens with Brad is the most interesting of all.
Sorry, spoilers!!!
He comes to her house, the one that she’s sharing with Bo, with a gun, not to kill her but to kill himself. And Bo ends up getting shot.
And then Brad suffers a stroke.
And then several things happen really quickly and then it just ends.
Okay, they do end up together and no longer have to deal with their exes, but it’s too quick of an ending to fully tie up all the loose ends that were started throughout the storyline.
Conclusion
Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy this story. I like “life” stories, where I get to “see” a time of a character’s life and be able to live it with them.
And I did like these characters. Lauren was a strong and sweet character. Bo was tender and charming. All the secondary characters fit in places that depict real life and what could possibly happen.
I enjoyed how she was able to finally get out and standup for herself and to make a life for herself and her daughters.
The daughters’ reactions seemed real and realistic to this situation and events that happened along the way.
No, I didn’t like how Carr took a secondary set of characters and gave them a sex scene. That didn’t fit with the rest of the story and broke the flow.
Do I agree with the sexual relationship while still married to another? No, but this isn’t my story.
Carr does a great job of building the characters and building their lives (and the world that they live in) and making it interesting and enjoyable. As a fan of her Virgin River Series, I was excited to see a different type of book from her.
And I was not disappointed. Definitely a story worth reading.
