Release Day Book Review: Wake-Up Calls by Mariah Stewart

 

When a woman finds she is heir to an aunt she had no knowledge of and more, she finds herself on the road to discovery as she delves into her family past and in the bargain finds where she belongs.

Available at Amazon

Release Date: May 1st, 2026

My Rating for Wake-Up Calls: 5 Stars and a Recommended Read

Kit Porterfield is stunned that an aunt she never knew existed left her everything, including a family house and property that is a mystery to her. Going to Maine to settle the estate as well as figure out what drove her aunt and her mother's estrangement, Kit finds family secrets, the lovely town of Tolerance and the people there as wella s the aunt she begins to figure out fromt he town who l oved her as well as her mother's life before the estrangement. But for Kit, her personal life is in freefall and as she navigates that, she finds herself again as she uncovers the secrets her mother was determined to stay buried. 

My Review of Wake-Up Calls:

Wow is all I can say after reading Wake-Up Calls by Mariah Stewart. This is an author who knows how to tell a story with multiple layers and storylines playing out within the background. I loved Kit and her relationships with her sister, Beth and kids, Abby and Nate. She is a strong woman who forgot that strength when dealing with personal setbacks and upheaval. What stays with me after finishing this the other night was how much growth Kit experiences as she navigates family secrets and personal issues that cause her to stand tall and take life by the horns. She is a delight to read as the reader journeys alongside her as she tries to figure out why her mother lied to her and get to know the aunt she never knew, Maxine Meadows. 

The story flows smoothly with a few twists I didn't see coming, populated with rich multidimensional characters that fairly fly off the pages of the book while I was reading Wake-Up Calls. It really kept my attention and had me reaching for it again and again as I really needed to see how this story ended. The characters are set in a setting of a little Maine town that is populated with rich secondary characters that added to my enjoyment of the book. Mariah Stewart delivers another wonderful woman's fiction book to her book  list with Wake-Up Calls and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. 

If you enjoy a rich storyline with characters that speak to you as a reader with a few twists you won't see coming then I highly recommend Wake-Up Calls as your perfect beach read book. Mariah Stewart delivers another stellar story that will steal your heart and won't let go of it.