Easter at the Three Coins Inn

By: Kimberly Sullivan
Publication Date: December 6, 2024
ISBN: 979-8-9868844-7-9
Reviewed by: Lily Andrews
Review Date: September 1, 2024

Kimberly Sullivan's captivating story, Easter at The Three Coins Inn, delves deeply into friendship, healing, and transformation. It centers on a group of tourists from different backgrounds who, by traveling to avoid specific individuals and situations, are able to mend their scars and find comfort in the most incredible way.

The peace and happiness that The Three Coins Inn offers has made many visitors return for repeat visits. Situated in Umbria, Italy, it has amassed a consistent clientele comprising both foreigners and Italians. This year's Easter season, which is generally seen as a time of renewal and fresh starts, has drawn visitors, including Madison, Chris, Heike, and Grace, whose lives are wracked with sorrow, despair, and agony.

Madison, a broadcast journalist, cannot believe she was duped into dating her producer Aaron, who turns out to be married with two children. Not only was he charming and intelligent, but he also gave her encouragement and invigorated her career. Madison found herself in this precarious situation following a call on live television by Aaron's wife. A host who supposedly splits apart families might not be tolerated by the housewives who make up the majority of her audience.

On another scene, a sixty-year-old widow Heike from Vienna is heartbroken to witness the restaurant that she and her late husband toiled so hard to establish slip away from her, taken over by their grandkids, Hans and Anneliese, and changed from being a local family establishment to look more like a nightclub in hopes of attracting a younger, trendier clientele. After experiencing alienation from her only life and feeling like an extra wheel in her own family, Heike decides to take a vacation in Italy in order to gather her thoughts.

Chris, a hardworking businessman, discovers his wife Kaitlyn is having an adulterous relationship with Rob, his closest friend and business colleague, behind his back. Due to her growing desire for a life of luxury and material comfort as well as her recent social ascent, Chris's money has been severely depleted. Was Rob even the first one? Had he been completely blind? Chris is left wondering.

Elsewhere in Durham, northern England, Grace is excited to be taking her teenage granddaughter Kathryn on a much-needed vacation to Italy, away from the incessant squabbling of Kathryn's parents. Grace is a widow who has grown hopeless and lonely in the place she has spent decades living in after losing her spouse. But it is Kathryn, whose parents had been making her feel uncomfortable because of her athletic propensity, who gives her the persistent nudge.

This narrative takes place in a town that draws a large number of tourists who flood its streets and climb its iconic hills during the spring and summer. The author's dedication to travel—which she views as the solution to many of life's problems and which she compares to winning the lottery—provides a fitting motivation to the plot. Her ability to plunge into family situations and conflicts and not hold back in exposing their tiresome and undesirable repercussions is impressive.

She allows readers into the lives of Annarita and Emma—characters from her debut novel Three Coins—a duo that inspires one to believe in the enduring power of genuine friendship. Emma introduces the reader to the delights of a second shot at love after having her heart broken severally, and Annarita, who had given up on ever being a wife and mother, serves as an example of reformation and fresh starts. Grace's story, like several others in this book, demonstrates the strength of bravery and tenacity while also taking a step back from horrific situations such as psychological torture, betrayal, and humiliation.

Quill says: Easter at The Three Coins Inn is a compelling story with precisely the correct balance of suspense, drama, and emotion to keep the reader interested. It offers a range of life lessons and enlightening perspectives that might potentially transform even the most challenging experiences, such as being abused, going through a divorce, losing a loved one, or being fired. It is definitely worth a look for anyone trying to heal their heart or forge new friendships.

To learn more about Easter at the Three Coins Inn, please visit the author's website at: www.kimberlysullivanauthor.com