Picture Perfect Autumn

by Shelley Noble

A Manhattan photographer finds inspiration and new possibilities in a Gothic Rhode Island beach house in this uplifting fall-set read from New York Times bestselling author Shelley Noble.  Dani Campbell is the latest darling of the Manhattan art scene. As a self-taught photographer, Dani is loving every minute of her sudden popularity, but has no idea how she got there, or a clue as to how to stay. On a shoot at an antiques barn, she discovers an envelope of old photos and sees in them what her photos are missing. Her search for their source leads Dani to a small Rhode Island town, a dilapidated American Gothic beach house—and Lawrence Sinclair. Reclusive and bitter, the last thing eighty-year-old Lawrence wants to think about is photography—the thing that inadvertently led to his son’s death and tore his family apart. But Dani is determined and persuasive, and Lawrence can’t help but be intrigued by the girl with spiky hair who wants to learn from him, when almost everyone else just wants to relieve him of his substantial fortune. Dani and Lawrence’s mentorship blossoms unexpectedly, but everything is put in jeopardy by the appearance of Lawrence’s estranged grandson, Peter. Peter is determined to spend some time reconnecting with his grandfather and to get rid of the supposed fortune hunter after Lawrence’s money. But Dani is not what he was expecting, and he soon discovers that they have more things in common than not. Brought together by fortune, fate, and the ties that bind, all three embark on journeys of discovery and love.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Adult, Audiobook, Womens Fiction, Chick Lit

384 pages, Paperback

First published September 19, 2023

About the author

Shelley Noble is a multi published fiction author whose books have been translated into seven languages. She writes women’s fiction as Shelley Noble and is also the author of several amateur sleuth mystery series, written as Shelley Freydont.

A former professional dancer and choreographer, she most recently worked on the films, Mona Lisa Smile and The Game Plan. She also consults on various dance and theatre projects, most recently the world premiere of a full length Tom Sawyer ballet commissioned by Kansas City Ballet.

Shelley is a member of Sisters-in-Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, and Liberty States Fiction Writers.

She lives near the New Jersey shore. In her spare time she loves to discover new beaches and indulge her passion for lighthouses and boardwalks with vintage carousels.

Reviews

[Sujoya - theoverbookedbibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Up-and-coming Manhattan-based photographer, twenty-eight-year-old Dani Campbell, though happy with the success of her latest showing feels that she is losing her grip on her profession of choice. When she finds an envelope of old photographs in an antique shop, she is instantly taken with the photographer's talent and sets out to find him. Lawrence Sinclair, now in his eighties, lives a reclusive life in an old beach house in Rhode Island. She manages to convince him to help her recover her inspiration and mentor her in exchange for a live-in arrangement wherein she is responsible for studying up the place and running miscellaneous errands- an arrangement that has Lawrence’s family, namely his daughter-in-law, suspicious of Dani’s motives prompting her to send Peter, Lawrence’s grandson, to find out more. Peter, once close to his grandfather, is drawn to Dani and finds the opportunity to rekindle his bond with Lawrence, who understands Peter’s unhappiness and regrets not being able to help him deal with familial pressure regarding his life and career. The narrative follows them as they work together to save the art program run by a local convent, which is about to shut down, from being discontinued.

Picture Perfect Autumn by Shelley Noble is a well-written novel that revolves around themes of friendship, love, found family and community. The characterizations were well thought out and I enjoyed the dynamic between Dani , Lawrence, and the residents of the small town. I was glad we got to see the relationship between Dani and Peter slowly evolve ( I'm not a fan of the instalove trope). Lawrence was surely my favorite character, and I did like how the author chose to end the story. I did feel, however, that Peter’s character development lacked conviction. Stories such as these are always predictable but what makes the read pleasurable is the journey to the end. Unfortunately, the narrative did not grab my attention despite the interesting premise. Firstly, the novel was unnecessarily lengthy. It could have been at least 100 pages shorter. The pace dragged in parts, and I found myself losing interest along the way. Secondly, the title is misleading. I had hoped for an autumn-themed story and autumn (which happens to be my favorite time of the year) does not play much of a role in the story except for a Harvest Festival toward the end of the story. I do love the cover art though.

Overall, while I did not dislike this novel, I cannot say I enjoyed it as much as I had hoped.
Many thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Picture Perfect Autumn was published on September 19, 2023.

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[Kathryn, the_naptime_reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book committed two of the cardinal sins for me and then I had a hard time recovering. It was mostly a slog to finish it and move on because I was already half way through and didn’t want to DNF.

Error #1: This has been labeled a romance on Goodreads, and alludes to love and a relationship, but this book is 100% not a romance. The character’s that could have been part of a romantic plot don’t even become aware of each other’s existence until 103 pages in, and at their introduction they don’t like each other. Romance was not part of the main plot of the story, it was much so about a grandchild/grandparent relationship and a mentor/mentee relationship. So please stop labeling this as a romance, it really only gets hinted at as a possibility in the epilogue!

Error #2: The cover and the title would suggest that the season of autumn would play a part in the setting and thus the events of this story. This is far from the truth and really just felt like a marketing ploy given this book’s September release, it literally could have been set anytime of the year. I was expecting Nora Ephron fall vibes and got nothing of the sort.


Forgoing either of those bigger nos for me, this was just a miss of a story full of characters I didn’t really feel emotionally connected to, and a plot that felt a little unbelievable and a little too Hallmark without the heart.

[Dea · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ridiculous terribly-written Hallmark movie wannabe.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up.

This one started off slow for me and I wasn't sure I was going to end up liking it but I'm so glad I stuck with it because it actually turned out to be a pretty heartwarming Fall read with tons of small town charm and all the feels!

Big city photographer Dani Campbell has lost her inspiration and when she stumbles across some old photos from a famous photographer, she tracks the grumpy senior down to his gothic Rhode Island home. Able to convince eighty-year-old Lawrence to give her some lessons in exchange for room and board and cleaning services, Dani slowly finds herself becoming charmed by the locals.

Enter Lawrence's lawyer grandson Peter who is sent by his mother to check that Dani isn't trying to take advantage of the old man. Peter hasn't been home in years and hasn't had much time for his grandfather either. Intrigued by Dani and wanting to repair things with Lawrence, Peter finds himself sticking around, especially as more and more people have need of his legal assistance.

This book gives off all the Hallmark movie vibes as Peter, Dani and Lawrence help some Nuns save their home, befriend a foster kid and fall in love with the simpler side of life. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

[Kremena Koleva · Rating 5 out of 5]

" Изкуството, каквото и да ви кажат определени хора, е повече от наука.След като се отървете от очевидните неравности, до голяма степен е въпрос на вкус.“

Книга за целия кръг от неща, които ме вълнуват през целия ми живот. За това как артистичността, живееща в душата, се вмества в тривиалната същност на живота. Ежедневните крамоли за дълг, работа за прехрана, плащане на данъци и едновременно с това за отстояване на собствените желания, щения и стремежи. Изобщо, животът, който ни се случва, докато същността ни жадува свобода и полет.
Някои хора са родени с аналитичен , логичен ум, който открива малките елементи в процесите. Други, във същите тези процеси, виждат слънчев лъч, пречупваш се измежду клоните на дърветата, усещат музика в полъх на вятъра и намират красота в паяжината, оплела някой ъгъл. И постоянно тези два типа личности се сблъскват . Докато открият начина да се допълнят, да черпят енергия идни от други или да се извисят над трудното ежедневие И да тръгнат по пътя към свобода на съзнанието.
Аз обичам фотографията! Харесвам творчеството! Уважавам хората, които умеят разумно да помагат на онези, оставените на произвола на съдбата. Възхищавам се, когато старостта и опита се превръщат в ментор и подават ръка за насока на млади хора с талант, енергия и визионерство, но с по - малко самочувствие и вяра в способностите си. А младото поколение трябва да разбере грешките на старото, за да прави свои , а не да повтаря пак същите грешки.
В Picture Perfect Autumn стъпка по стъпка, сред съмнения, търсения, лутания и опити се разкрива една от големите истини в живота ни - не бива да се вземаме на сериозно. Трябва да се оставим да следваме инстинкта на " невенното око" , което ни кара да приемаме красотата и щедростта във всичко. Да знаем, че съветите са хубаво нещо, но " това, което някой друг мисли, е без значение. " А е важна и силата, която ни дават родителите. Колкото и строги, взискателен и насочващи да ни се струват, в момента, когато открием себе си, една майка ще приеме избора ни. От чистата любов. И ще добави цялата помощ , която може да събере. Дани беше едно малко " пинта и половина " емоционално торнадо!

[Jules · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe closer to2.5 stars. At 370 pages, this book was about 300 pages too long. It started off pretty good with fairly engaging characters but it didn’t really go anywhere and you knew what the ending was going to be, so why endure the ride?! I did, but clearly I’m a bit salty about it.

The title and cover art seem to nod towards a hallmark worthy story set in scenic New England during our arguably most beautiful time of the year. While it is set in New England I got exactly 0 autumn vibes.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who could imagine that finding an envelope of photographs in an antique shop could change people's lives? Is this karma. fate, or coincidence? Dani Campbell, a budding photographer, thinks she is losing her creative ability when she discovers these photographs. Now she "must" meet the creator, Lawrence Sinclair. Lawrence is an older gentleman living in near hermit conditions until Dani enters his life and refuses to take "no" as answer to mentoring her. She is feisty, headstrong, and kind, making Lawrence smile when he had forgotten how. In the meantime, his estranged grandson Peter arrives to check out this stranger. At first Dani and Peter seem so opposite, but later discover they have a lot in common. The three of them brought together by fate soon reignite their passion for life and love, I immensely enjoyed PICTUE PERFECT AUTUMN by Shelley Noble. Thank you, Goodreads, for this give away. Love it!!

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 nothing spectacular but a good fall read.

[Leane · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Larisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Immature dialogue. Continuous description of the “spiky-haired, goth” protagonist seems forced and irrelevant. Lacks fall season vibes. Good mentor-mentee relationship. No romance or adult topics, so unsure how this is classified as romance and adult fiction. Fine for YAs to read.

[Linda Langford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this story! The characters kept me on the edge of my seat! Lots of humor! Great author!

[Brittney · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've read plenty of books I didn't like, usually because the main character was an idiot or the premise was ridiculous, but I'm not sure any of the others have been as poorly written as this one.


Cue up the rant....

1) Most egregiously, the pacing is straight-up horrendous. I could have maybe gotten past my later complaints but this one was too absurd to forgive. Somehow the book opens on p.1 with this chick thriving at a gallery opening to rave reviews and then by p.4 she has driven home, discovered some photographs at a pit stop along the way, tracked down the old man recluse who took them, showed up at his doorstep unannounced, demanded he mentor her because her career was doomed, and moved in with him. What happened in the space of 4 whole pages to change her burgeoning photography career into an imploding one? Absolutely nothing. No cataclysmic event. No big drama. She just ... randomly decided she was failing.

2) Atrocious pacing, part 2: When the story isn't randomly leaping around for no logical reason, it is circling back on itself. It is sooooo repetitive. Each of the characters just keeps thinking the same thing over and over and over again. Nothing ever progresses.

3) Every single character must be either demented or on drugs. What woman with any sense of sanity not only walks unaccompanied into a complete stranger's giant house in the middle of nowhere, but then invites herself to move in with this man she's never met, still in the middle of nowhere? This is how women get killed and chopped up, chica. (Supposedly she usually lives and works in NYC too, and still had no doubts or street savviness or common sense or even a very basic instinct of self-preservation? Please.) What rich old man opens the door to this potential psycho and within the space of one brief conversation allows her to march right on into a bedroom with her suitcases and make herself at home? (This is why your family thinks you're senile, dude.)

4) Oh, the melodrama.

5) Contrary to the title and the cover art, I'm not even certain this story took place in autumn. If it did, that was purely by happenstance and not a key plot point. Contrary to being labeled a romance, there's no real love story here. The leading so-called couple certainly has the "enemies" of the enemies-to-lovers trope down, but they never really convince me of the "lovers" part ever.

[Elizabeth Folks · Rating 2 out of 5]

the description of this sounded super cute and wholesome but the book itself was boring in my opinion. the pacing was super weird- very quick start but a few chapters in it got very slow and i felt that nothing was really happening. i wish it had a bit more life to it because i was excited to read. also big complaint that the cover and title were giving fall vibes but there was none of that in the book

[Bbecca_marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dani Campbell is the latest celebrity of the Manhattan art scene. She is self-taught and loving her sudden popularity, but something doesn't feel quite right. She isn't sure how she got there or how to stay there. While on a shoot at an antiques barn, she discovers an envelope of old photographs that she is moved by. What she sees in those photos is what she thinks is missing from hers. Searching for the source of these photos, she finds herself in a small Rhode Island town meeting Lawrence Sinclair. Lawrence is a grumpy recluse and the last thing he wants to think about is photography, the thing that inadvertently led to the death of his son and tore his family apart. But Dani is determined to get the help of Lawrence. Then comes Peter, the determined estranged grandson looking to reconnect with his grandfather, but he was not expecting Dani.

Picture Perfect Autumn was a heartwarming story of fate, fortune, and ties that bind. Lawrence was hands down the best and my favorite character of this story. Trying everything he could to get Dani to give up and walk away (in the beginning) but little did he know, he needed that friendship and the relationship with his grandson, more than he could have imagined. Their story reignited the passion they once had but lost and it just makes you feel so good to read about them finding it. Shelley Noble did a fantastic job creating a beautiful story of self-discovery and reconnection. I will definitely be reading more books by Shelley Noble in the future. Picture Perfect is out 9/19/23!

Thank you so much Avon Books for the ARC and the opportunity to read and review this honestly.

[Leanna Starr · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC REVIEW

Picture Perfect Autumn
By Shelley Noble

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Publishing date: 9/19/23

Dani Campbell is a self-taught photographer who is gaining popularity. Even though she is successful, she starts to feel like something is "missing" from her work.

After finding some old photos that definitely have something special, she sets off in search of the photographer who took them. Her hunt leads her to a Rhode Island beach house and home to 80 year old Lawrence Sinclair.  Lawrence was a a previous photographer but is now nothing more than a grumpy old man. Dani persuades Lawrence to mentor her and is even going to pay him to stay at his home.

When Peter, Lawrence's grandson, shows up, he thinks Dani is the cleaning lady and is only there to steal Lawrence's money. ( which he has a lot of)

Did I mention that Lawrence also lives next door to a nun convent/ art school that is in jeopardy of being closed?!? 🤣

I really enjoyed reading this book! I loved the setting, and it made me wish it was fall even MORE.

The relationship between Dani and Lawrence was so sweet . I mea... who doesn't love a grumpy old man?!?

I was also super invested in the story regarding thenext-doorr convent/art school.

This probably won't b a big memorable rea, but while I was reading it, I enjoyed the journey and characters. It held my interest 100% of the time and I am super happy I requested this on netgalley. 

Thank you @netgalley and @avonbooks for the chance to read this cute one early! Always appreciative!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dani is a successful, young, photographer in NYC. But she’s not feeling passion for her job lately.

She finds an old cluster of photographs in a junk store that were taken in the 1960’s by a man named Lawrence.
Through no small amount of work, Dani tracks Lawrence down in Rhode Island and pushes her way into his life, begging him to mentor her.

Dani doesn’t know that Lawrence is extremely wealthy, he’s just walked away from that part of his life.

Lawrence is lonely since his son died and the rest of his family cut him off.
This was mostly due to his son’s death. But as I sit here, summarizing this book, I realize that the family was also upset about Lawrence’s photography but I don’t think they ever explained why.

Lawrence’s grandson comes to visit him mainly because his mother is concerned Dani is a gold digger and that maybe they can get a POA on Lawrence.

In addition to these storylines about mentorship, family, and found family, there is also a storyline about the nuns next door trying to save their art school.

There was a lot going on in this book. I enjoyed it but I think it was longer than it needed to be.

[emma ⋆˚✿˖° · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’M FREEEEEE‼️‼️

not even a bad book at all but probably the most aggressively Fine book i’ve ever read in my life. the characters (when they aren’t miscommunicating) are fine. the plot (when i wasn’t bored) is fine. the writing (when everything isn’t being over explained to the reader a billion times) is fine. but god i just didn’t care about dani and the perfume people and the nuns and the love interest who she does not have romantic chemistry with or the nuns or the art festival or the nuns. not to mention i meant to start this in early autumn for the fall vibes but that didn’t really do it for me because i’m now finishing it with snow on the ground

i will now be forgetting about this book immediately

[Hannah Stoltz · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️ Sweet, but very boring. I wasn’t getting the fall vibes at all until the last 2 or 3 chapters. Not as much romance as I was expecting, more about a mentor relationship, so when the romance was forced in at the end it felt really unnecessary. I did enjoy all of the characters and how they played into the story.

[Kathy Zimmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shelley Noble is a new to me author. Picture Perfect Autumn is a book rich in detail about relationships and people who are trying to figure out what they want for themselves in life, about helping others and working hard to gain confidence and achieve their dreams. I liked this story so much!

[Maggie (gardeningbookclub) Hentz · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-3.75 rounded up

[SUSAN POMEROY · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started off loving the book and thoroughly enjoyed the two main characters but felt the pace was too slow towards the end.

[Linda Smatzny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good story that kept me turning the pages to see what happened next. It was an easy read.

[Darlene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pas d'automne, pas de romance 😑

[Pat Chrivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read the Lady Dunridge series which I enjoyed. Not as interesting as that series.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish we had more of Dani and Peter

[Natalie Dean · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was okay, a little middle of the road and nothing too exciting. A nice easy read if you are between books and want something a little lighter.

[pepper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. I was expecting nature or at least autumn vibes given the title and cover, but no. In the beginning, though, I was vaguely interested in the two main characters and somewhat looking forward to seeing how things played out. By the halfway point, I was definitely disappointed in the direction it had taken, but decided to finish because it was minimal effort to have the audiobook playing while doing chores. This was a mistake given how boring and predictable the story was. Like an unrealistic Hallmark movie with caricatures.

[Cindy Feigert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an easy read . The characters were likeable. I liked the interaction between Lawrence and Dani. So if you are looking for a distraction read it his book

[Tamara Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Picture Perfect Autumn” is a novel that focuses on Dani Campbell, a self-taught photographer who is the latest darling of the Manhattan art scene who finds mentorship and love after discovering an envelope of old photos during a photo shoot.

The novel consists twenty-eight chapters and an unlabeled epilogue.

The novel begins by the introducing main character twenty-eight-year-old Dani Campbell as she is having an internal professional crisis in that she feels that she is going to have a public professional downfall soon. Dani thinks being self-taught puts her in danger since she doesn’t know how she became popular in the art world or how to keep her new popularity. The night after a massive art party, she decides to visit an antique store. After taking a variety of photos at the store, she discovers an envelope of well taken photos that stirs up emotions in her that realizes she doesn’t feel in taking any of her photos. In a search of the photographer of the photos as a way to keep her on top in the art world, Dani finally finds the name and phone number of the photographer as Lawrence Sinclair. Upon returning home, Dani does an online search about Sinclair and is shocked when she finds nothing. In a desperate search for Sinclair, she drives to the town of Old Murphy Beach, Rhode Island. When Dani arrives at the town and is directed to a dilapidated house, she is met by an angry man and decides that her trip was for nothing. After showing the man one photo, the man that she now knows is Lawrence Sinclair gruffly lets her inside his house.

The reader is next introduced to Peter Sinclair as he is in a conference chair. Although Peter is a lawyer and enjoys it, he feels like he’s unable to escape the fate of running his family’s company in the absence of his absentee grandfather Lawrence. It is shared that Peter’s father Elliott was given the company the day he passed the bar and afterward, Lawrence moves with his wife Krista to the original family homestead in Rhode Island. Peter’s mother Marian stresses to Peter that he needs to get up to speed to run the company with the agreement that Lawrence would send in his votes in exchange to be left alone.

Peter lives with his Marian and is uninterested when she expresses concern over his grandfather not answering his emails or text and asks him to go check on him as well as make up with him. It’s disclosed to the reader that Marian was also once a lawyer and blames Lawrence for killing his son Elliott although he died in a plane crash. After sixteen years and a public accusation of killing Elliott and feels as though he’s been living to make her happy.

As Dani enters Lawrence’s dark home, she is surprised when he thinks she’s there to sell him back his photos. After Dani realizes that Lawrence is bitter, she tries to figure out how to convince him to teach her the magic behind his photographs. Despite thinking that Lawrence is not tech savvy, Dani is surprised to see that he has a computer so she shows him her website of photos. As she speeds through her photos on her website for fear of judgment, Dani is shocked when Lawrence shoos her away to get a more in-depth view of her photos.

After viewing her photos, Lawrence tells her that she’s using too many toys and digital tricks in her photography and it’s lacking soul. As Dani plans to leave Lawrence’s house, she begins to pity him and decides to let him teach her what he knows about photography as a way to add soul to her photography. Upon learning that there are no hotels where she can stay, Dani suggests staying at his home and paying for a cleaning service for a high cost.

Lawrence finds himself being entertained by Dani and rented her a room to scare her into running away As Dani tours the room and bathroom where she’ll be living for the foreseeable future, she is optimistic that she will learn all she needs to learn for Lawrence before the weather turns cold. Dani feels pressured by her agent Manny Rodriguez to submit photos for a possible published book in Christmas of the next year. As Dani observes Sinclair, she wonders how he’s been able to stay in shape when surrounded in such a depressing home. As part of her staying at Sinclair’s home, she has to buy food for the both of them and realizes that he wants to push her buttons and silently accepts his challenge.

Dani wakes up the next day and is surprised by how youthful Sinclair looks in the morning light. As Dani and Sinclair take a walk, she is confused when she brings camera and her smartphone while he brings nothing. While walking in a forest, Dani worries about being attacked by feral animal, bugs or brambles. After a long walk, Dani is surprised to arrive at a large house with a nun to pick up blueberries. Upon returning to Lawrence’s house, he asks Dani if she noticed any photographic moments during their walk and she wonders how he’s living alone with no family to take care of him, even the nuns who live next door to him.

As the novel progresses, Dani begins to dread returning back to Manhattan and flinches at the suggestion by Manny that she could be burning out but tells him that she’s working on a new photo project. When Dani keeps asking Lawrence why he stopped taking photos, he runs away and finds solace by Sister Mary Catherine, a nun who is a childhood friend of his. During Lawrence’s conversation with Sister Mary Catherine, she tells him that it’s good that Dani came to find him. Although they’d planned to get married as children, she decides to be a nun in high school.

At Lawrence’s house, Dani cleans to avoid working on photos for Manny and is suspicious when she answers a phone call for Lawrence from an unknown man so Dani pretends to be a cleaning lady for the man.
Peter is amused by his brief phone conversation with the unknown cleaning lady but when he tells his mother about the conversation, she suggests the woman could be robbing Lawrence blind. At his mother’s request, Peter drives to Rhode Island to check on Lawrence and the unknown woman who she thinks could be a goal digger with Peter promising to handle any problems that arise.

The next day, Lawrence tests Dani to see if her photography talent is fake or if she’s gotten lost in her own cleverness. During her photography lesson with Lawrence, in an effort to help Dani rediscover her authentic love for photography, he asks her to take photos with a manual camera and film, limits her to taking thirty-six photos, and says she can do no postproduction or editing of the photos afterwards.

While searching for things to photograph, Dani meets Sister Mary Catherine and accomplishes her assignment of taking thirty-six photos. After Lawrence takes her to a local photo shop to get her film developed, Dani realizes how interesting the process of turning film into photographs truly can be and that Lawrence is not the recluse she initially thought him to be.

Peter goes to visit Lawrence and after confirming that no one has died, Lawrence invites Peter into his house. Upon Peter meeting Dani, he views her as an interloper and she views him as a cold, estranged grandson. Although Lawrence has missed Peter since Elliott died, he also views him as an example of another generation of Sinclairs who will wreck their lives in the name of legacy. After realizing that Peter isn’t happy and looks older than his twenty-eight years, Lawrence secretly decides to expose him to Dani by forcing him to stay and help the nuns with a property situation.
The more Lawrence, Dani, and Peter are around each other, the more their defenses come down and they are about to think seriously about what they will bring meaning to their lives.

With Manny giving her a deadline to return to New York by Thursday, Dani worries about disappointing him as well as leaving before she figures out the true nature of Lawrence and Peter’s relationship. As Lawrence continues to lie to Peter that she is a cleaning lady, Dani is annoyed since she doesn’t know why he is keeping her true reason for being there a secret. Just when Dani is finally alone with Lawrence and he is teaching her another photography lesson, she is interrupted by a kid from the convent’s art school but quickly brushes him off.

Peter decides to not return home yet and instead goes to hang out with his friend Rashid. When Peter hangs out with Rashid, he learns that Dani is a photographer leading him to and shares that his mother wants Peter to declare Lawrence senile and assign him as power of attorney. It is revealed that Peter feels that photography is what tore his family a part. Seeing her website, Peter tries to figure out Dani’s ulterior motives while stalling his mother from providing a status update on Lawrence.

Over time, Dani learns to concentrate and empty her mind to focus on her photography. Before leaving Rhode Island, Dani has Lawrence promise to visit the convent art classes while Peter decides to focus on helping the nuns with their property situation.

Upon returning to New York, Dani feels out of place while Manny focuses on projects important to him. Meanwhile, Peter decides to take a two weeks’ vacation and feels comforted that his uncle James approves of the request without his mother’s input. Peter returns to Lawrence’s house and Lawrence tells him the truth about Dani being in his house. After a night meeting people and bring guide by Manny to various people, she quickly retrieves her can and leaves to return to Rhode Island.

Upon returning to Lawrence’s house early in the morning, Dani is surprised to find Peter staying at the house. When the trio arrive at the convent, Peter is touched to see artwork created by children with Lawrence as inspiration and Dani is when she is learns that the young artist she was assisting has stopped attending art classes as well as run away from his foster home. While reminiscing about his past, Lawrence is able to determine the whereabouts about the artistic runaway and help his be placed with more suitable foster parents.

The next day, Dani helps the nuns find a new place to house their art school. With Lawrence’s financial support, Peter expresses concern over Dani misleading the nuns into buying a building they can’t keep up. Dani calls Peter out as a rich kid and shares how important art school could’ve help her during her youth. After their heated conversation, Dani realizes that both she and Peter are in the same position of being at the crossroads in their lives and needing to make decisions filled with risks and consequences.

When Dani is faced with the choice of leaving for a career making photo shoot or help the convent with a final art festival. As Dani stops by Lawrence’s on the way out of town, Peter forces Lawrence to disclose his true financial status and shattering her trust of Lawrence and Peter.

After leaving Rhode Island, Dani decides to embrace newfound confidence without assistance from Lawrence, Peter, or Manny and hopes people will follow her art to Rhode Island. When Dani returns to Rhode Island, she has a brief but explosive interaction with Peter’s mother.

Peter and Lawrence stand up to Marian and she leaves in a huff after Peter admits that he wants to be a small-time lawyer and see Lawrence transformation into a photography production manager. Through a photo school on Lawrence’s beach, Dani is able to secure enough donations for the nuns to purchase their new art school location. When Marian arrives at the nun’s art festival, Lawrence offers her a head position in the family company, and a tenuous truce has been reached.

The novel ends with an unlabeled epilogue occurring one year later which finds Anna new arts center and gallery being opened. It’s been revealed that Peter had taken the Rhode Island bar exam and set up an office. While Dani still has an apartment in New York, Rashid tells Peter that it seems Dani will be moving into her apartment soon. Although Dani still has doubts, she has accepted that the journey has been rewarding for them both.

As I finished the novel, I liked how although Dani, Lawrence, Peter feel lost at a loss of what direction to take in their lives, by leaning on each other, they are able to be trust, gain confidence, and begin to heal from past family traumas.

[Annie ⚜️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t really deliver on the autumn expected by the name and cover.