The Cicada Spring

A Potomac Shores Novel

By: Carolyn McBride

Narrated by: Maria Marquis

A coming-of-middle-age story about second chances, the enduring bonds of friendship, and the power of nature to heal and guide us home.

Empty nest. Broken dreams. A single mom rediscovers her inner compass on the Potomac shores, guided by an ancient arrowhead and the captivating marsh man who found it.

Katie Young thought she had it all figured out. A fresh start in sunny Florida, a new husband, a thriving career. But life, like the tide, has a way of shifting course. Forced back to Virginia by the tragic loss of her mother, the family river house becomes her refuge from a storm no one saw coming.

Heartbroken and adrift, Katie explores the river on her dad’s old boat, questioning where...and with whom...she truly feels at home. Rekindled friendships around the beach bonfire spark new dreams in the little town of Occoquan.

But when a neighbor’s development threatens an eagle's nest, Katie finds herself fighting for her heart, her land, and a future she never dared to imagine. As the lovelorn cicadas emerge from decades in the dark, can Katie chart a new course toward a forever love?

The Cicada Spring, the first in the Potomac Shores series, is a poignant and heartwarming novel for women who are ready to rewrite their own stories and discover the strength that lies within.

©2024 Carolyn McBride (P)2024 Carolyn McBride

Awesome read!

This book gave me the feeling of actually living in the story. I was sad when the book ended and can't wait until book 2!

Women's Fiction, Romance, Thriller

The Cicada Spring by Carolyn McBride
Narrated by Maria Marquis
Women’s Fiction With Some Romance
3.75 Stars

Thank you Carolyn McBride for sending me a copy of the audiobook. Ana's Attic has not been compensated to post this review.

Though The Cicada Spring by Carolyn McBride is not my usual read, I love books with divorced middle-aged FMCs. That, plus the fact that it partially takes place here in South Florida had me intrigued.

Katie raised her daughter as a single mom. For years it’s just been her and her daughter, and the book begins (after a brief lesson about cicadas) with Katie dropping her daughter off at college. I choked up right at the beginning because I’ve recently done the same and understand the grief and the questions of “Who am I now?”

Katie grew up boating with her family on the Potomac shores in Virginia; her love of the water and boating is evident right from the start. After dropping her daughter off, she was offered an amazing position for a cruise line in Miami and headed there for an interview. While there, she met a man she knew a bit from the boating scene up north and he immediately charmed her and whisked her away for a weekend on his yacht.

After a whirlwind romance (a weekend?) she decided to uproot her whole life, move to Florida, and marry the man. At this point in the story, I felt like this was on the verge of becoming a thriller—there was a lot to be suspicious about as we learn more and more about her new husband. As Katie started to realize that maybe she made a mistake, COVID was just beginning and her mother was one of the first to succumb to the disease.

Forced to go back to Virginia to take care of her mother’s estate, Katie heads back to Potomac Shores as the whole world shuts down. Carolyn McBride’s description of the area was almost like another character. It gave me a bit of the same feeling I had from Where The Crawdad’s Sing, where the location was depicted with such love and detail.

In Virginia, Katie reunited with old friends (outside because of Covid) and fought off evil land developers while discovering who she was without her daughter, and maybe discovering love along the way.

Likes:
•I found the heroine to be relatable.
•Her friend group in Virginia, The Bonfire Beach Babes.
•Her new friend in Florida.
•The symbolism of the Cicadas coming out every 17 years.
•The beautiful imagery in the description of the area that made it come alive.
•I actually liked that Covid was part of the storyline. It was such a big part of our lives I sometimes find it strange to never see it mentioned.
•The Author’s note.

Dislikes:
•I felt like the book couldn’t make up its mind on what it wanted to be. Was it a thriller? A coming of middle age? A romance? It had a little bit of each but not enough of any.
•There were a few plot holes that were never resolved.
•The first part in Florida and the second part in Virginia had such a different feel.

The Narration:
Maria Marquis was perfect for this book. I think her narration added to the story and I couldn’t imagine a more perfect narrator. She sounded as mature and intelligent as the character.

The Down & Dirty:
The Cicada Spring by Carolyn McBride would have made a great thriller. I found the FMC relatable as a middle-aged single mom with a newly empty nest. According to the blurb it’s “A coming-of-middle-age story about second chances, the enduring bonds of friendship, and the power of nature to heal and guide us home.” That’s a good description, but my interest was held more by the thriller aspect of the story and finding what the man she married was up to.

The setting is a huge part of the book and I loved the beautiful descriptions of the area. The author’s love for it showed in every word. I enjoyed The Cicada Spring, but I feel like a developmental editor could have honed down the book and made it even better

Rating: 3.75 Stars, 4.5 Narration