Review: Silver Bay by Jojo Moyes

Silver Bay by Jojo Moyes

Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: This edition: August 26th, 2014(original January 1st, 2007)
Pages: 352
Source: Netgalley/Publisher
Rating: 4/5
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Liza McCullen will never fully escape her past. But the unspoiled beaches and tight-knit community of Silver Bay offer the freedom and safety she craves—if not for herself, then for her young daughter, Hannah. That is, until Mike Dormer arrives as a guest in her aunt’s hotel.

The mild-mannered Englishman with his too-smart clothes and distracting eyes could destroy everything Liza has worked so hard to protect: not only the family business and the bay that harbors her beloved whales, but also her conviction that she will never love—never deserve to love—again.

For his part, Mike Dormer is expecting just another business deal—an easy job kick-starting a resort in a small seaside town ripe for development. But he finds that he doesn't quite know what to make of the eccentric inhabitants of the ramshackle Silver Bay Hotel, especially not enigmatic Liza McCullen, and their claim to the surrounding waters.

As the development begins to take on a momentum of its own, Mike’s and Liza’s worlds collide in this hugely affecting and irresistible tale full of Jojo Moyes’s signature humor and generosity.

I'm so happy that I found Jojo Moyes. This is my third book of hers now and I don't think any of them will ever beat out my ridiculous love for Me Before You. But I really don't think any of them will disappoint me either. She has such a way of telling these beautiful yet unique love stories. These people shouldn't fall in love. Their circumstances and lives are far to different or just not meant to connect together. But they some how do. And what unfolds is a love story for the ages.

Silver Bay is essentially the tale of the lives of some of the residents in this small coastal town of Silver Bay, Australia. The town depends on the tourists that come to see the dolphins and more importantly the whales during the migration seasons. But everything starts to change when a big developer wants to come in to build a holiday resort that will focus on water sports. Of course this will impact the residents and their businesses but more importantly it could have more dire conquests for the sea animals.

Silver Bay is told from a few different POV's. I loved everyone's voices. They all really made the story come together. I actually can't imagine that if the book was only told from one MC the reader would have got the whole impact of what Silver Bay means to it's residents and their lives.
First off there's Kathleen. She's lived in Silver Bay her whole life and runs the local hotel. Now into her mid-seventies she's just loves to take care of her hotel, family and friends. She's kind of set in her ways but she's loving and caring. She's had a solidarity live never marrying or having kids. She's also been keeping secrets. Kathleen is a bit of a local celebrity. When she was much younger she caught a shark, the biggest one to be caught at the time. There's yet to be another one to come along since. She wishes she could forget it, but of course things like news articles and such never truly leave.
Next is Kathleen's niece, Liza. Liza was running away from her life in London, so Kathleen took her in. Right off you can see how sad Liza is. There's times when she's happy of course. Like when she's out on her boat whether by herself or taking tourists out. She feels at home on the water. As the story unfolds you learn all about Liza's life before Silver Bay and can understand all her hesitations and fears in current time. Her life was a shell of a life back then. She ran away from something big.
We also get chapters from Hannah, Liza's eleven year old daughter. Hannah has of course had a difficult little life up until her arrival in Silver Bay with her mom. For her age she is extremely mature and wise. I guess it comes with her life experience. Liza is very over protective over Hannah. Won't let her out on the water. Even with fully experienced people. Hannah loves the water. The sea life. And especially the dolphins. I absolutely adored Hannah. Just so much.
And than there's Mike. Mike has a what a lot of people would call a perfect life at home in London. Mid-thirties and very secure. Becoming a partner at a financing firm and engaged to the bosses daughter. Mike always knew what he would do with his life. And he's there. He's kind of boring. But that all changes when he's sent to Silver Bay to look over the land and the environment as his company is the one financing the sale of the land the resort will be on. Mike ends up at Kathleen's hotel and is very quickly immersed into the life there. And well he's eyes are opened and he starts to realize what will happen if the building of the resort is allowed to go forward. He starts to come up with alternatives and things just progress from there. Liza also catches Mike's eye. Their relationship doesn't necessarily start off on the right foot but it's another part of Mike's life that catches him by surprise. And everything he thought he knew he wanted in life is slowly changing.

Moyes weaves a fantastic, mystical story about love. Many different types of love at that. And she does it with the backdrop of Silver Bay and the sea life there. She did her research. It's absolutely beautiful, yet heart breaking at times. And yet again Moyes has left me wanting more of her stories. I can't wait to pick up another one.

Happy reading!

Brittany