The House on Mermaid Point by Wendy Wax

The House on Mermaid Point.  Wendy Wax. Penguin Group (USA). July 2014. 416 pp.  ISBN#: 9780425263327.

Maddie, Avery, Nicki and other characters are back to renovate another broken-down home, this time in the Florida Keys.  William Hightower, a former rock star known as “William the Wild” is a recovering alcoholic who is forced by his son to agree to this renovation as there isn’t a penny left from all Will’s years of being a star.  What does one do with life when the fame, the booze and drugs aren’t there as one’s foundation?

Avery and her mother Deirdre are still at war with each other, payback for all the years in which Deirdre ran off and left her daughter alone.

Maddie is newly divorced from Steve who lost his job and his pride but who never allowed Maddie to have her own life and falsely believed she could not function without him. Is he in for a surprise!  With her daughter Kyra and her grandson Dustin, they say their goodbyes to what was their home for years, uncertain about what the future will bring.

Nicki, the former owner of a dating agency, like so many others who were bankrupted by a Ponzi scam, is also wondering how this latest venture will give her both security and some ideas for the future.  She also is bound for a life-changing point of view.

William is not exactly the most endearing of characters, that is until he meets Maddie.  But both are intriguing characters as they slowly warm up to each other and yet also have some major misunderstandings about their stereotypical ideas about romance and the roles of men and women.  All this occurs while they are doing back-breaking but marvelous work recreating William’s home into something that will indeed breed new life for many in future years!

Add to that the glorious descriptions of magnificent flora, fauna, ocean views, houseboats, architecture and the reader will relish this book as a sequel to Ten Beach Road but also as a stand-alone lovely novel.

Nicely done again, Wendy Wax!!!