So after having enjoyed the Lemon Sugar series I was eager to try the next book by Carolyn Finch. Sunshine in a bottle takes on the life of Indi. Indi is a hairstylist with a troubled relationship with her mother. Her mother has turned her life around and developed a whole Wellness Centre that she has lift to Indi (with some conditions) at the time of her death. Indi’s plan… sell the whole thing! Wants nothing to do with her mom and her legacy. Too much pain sitting there for her to want to deal with it. Life intervenes, and thus Sunshine in a Bottle is written.
Basic Details for Sunshine in a Bottle
Title: Sunshine in a Bottle
Author: Carolyn Finch
Series: Blyss Series
Publisher: Carolyn Finch Writes
Pages: 311
Intended Audience: adult
Genre: women’s fiction, wellness, weight loss, romance
Available formats: paperback, kindle
My Thoughts
I enjoy Ms. Finch’s style of writing. After thoroughly enjoying the Lemon Sugar series, I was positive I would like this book as well. And though I did enjoy her style, I was less than enamoured with Sunshine in a Bottle.
What did I like? I loved the people connection. You could palpably feel how much people wanted to help Indi heal from her past pain. They very much wanted Indi to become the best that she could be. I loved that. It’s great to see people drawing together to help someone become more than.
The romantic element was okay, but kinda meh for me. Of course you can see that opposites will attract, but this one seemed too forgone a conclusion.
The whole emphasis on the paleo diet. I’m sorry I was just lost on this one. Her sickness, and everything as a result of allergies and her diet. Just seemed to really be pushing a way of eating and then adding in things that didn’t really add up. Like ancient people would be so focused on making hollandaise sauce? And isn’t it making a whole lot of assumptions about what people ate and how we can modernize it? It seemed a bit too pat for me I guess. And it could honestly be that I am being too much of a skeptic.
The total diet and complete change of life was a bit too much for me. In the end it took away from my enjoyment of the story. It came out as too predictable, and too “neatly” tied up. I have zero desire to follow up with the rest of the series.
I enjoyed the good family connection exemplified in the literal Sunshine in a bottle. Finding a way to recreate scents and shine forth good memories. I really that part. Well done that!
Now if I were reading just for a quick weekend getaway enjoyment I might have liked it more as it was a feel good story. I’d give it a three stars rating.
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