Julie's Review: Under the Southern Sky

Author: Kristy Woodson Harvey
Series: None
Publication Date: April 20, 2021
Publisher: Gallery
Pages: 328
Obtained: publisher via NetGalley
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5
Bottom Line: How selfless would you be for your childhood friend? 
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Summary: Recently separated Amelia Saxton, a dedicated journalist, never expected that uncovering the biggest story of her career would become deeply personal. But when she discovers that a cluster of embryos belonging to her childhood friend Parker and his late wife Greer have been deemed “abandoned,” she’s put in the unenviable position of telling Parker—and dredging up old wounds in the process. Parker has been unable to move forward since the loss of his beloved wife three years ago. He has all but forgotten about the frozen embryos, but once Amelia reveals her discovery, he knows that if he ever wants to get a part of Greer back, he’ll need to accept his fate as a single father and find a surrogate. Each dealing with their own private griefs, Parker and Amelia slowly begin to find solace in one another as they navigate an uncertain future against the backdrop of the pristine waters of their childhood home, Cape Carolina. The journey of self-discovery leads them to an unforgettable and life-changing lesson: Family—the one you’re born into and the one you choose—is always closer than you think. ~amazon.com 

Review: It's not that you don't know that Amelia and Parker are destined to be together but as always it's the path they take to get there that isn't straight. Ameila pretty much married the wrong man and is going to need sometime to process this news. To top it off she also loses the job that she's love for the past 16 years. So she runs home to Cape Carolina but not without finding some information that will change the trajectory of her and Parker. 

Parker is still reeling from the death of his beloved wife, Greer, three years ago. Everyone tells him he's got to move on but he just finds it so unbearable. Greer was everything to him, not to mention he still works for her father and lives in the house they moved in together. Basically his whole life is surrounded by his dead wife; pretty hard to move on with all of that. 

Except there's always been this tether of attraction between Parker and Ameila, except Amelia has always been hung up on the fact that he's 3 years younger than her. Plus she dated his brother in high school with pretty high hopes of that leading to a marriage. Of course, fate had other ideas for that coupling. 

Much of what gets in the way of love is ourselves and this is demonstrated in both Amelia and Parker. Both of them can't let go of the past but in very different ways. Each of them need to learn to let go and to live. 

I've been a fan of Kristy Woodson Harvey for a while and Under the Southern Sky is a fantastic edition to her bookshelf.