Fiction, Romance

Christmas by the Bay by Kay Correll

  • Title: Christmas by the Bay
  • Author: Kay Corell
  • Series: Blue Heron Cottages #7
  • Genre: Romance
  • Takes Place: Moonbeam, Florida
  • Main Character: Violet, Danny
  • Other Characters: Allison, Rose, Rob, Evelyn, Rose, Blake, Emily, George, Walker, Tara, Willow
  • Stars: 5

This is the 7th installment of the Blue Heron Cottages series. I really love this series. It has great 3-dimentional characters who have their own unique personalities and blend in well with each other.

Violet is preparing to celebrate her first Christmas as the owner of Blue Heron Cottages. If you have read the previous books then you know that Violet is the owner of Blue Heron Cottages in the quaint town of Moonbeam, FL. She totally restored the old cottages and gave them quite the facelift. They are charming with their different colored cabins.

Danny is struggling with his teenage daughter, Allison, who has gotten in with the wrong crowd at school and has found herself in a bit of trouble. He decided the best medicine is to get away and take his unruly daughter to Moonbeam for Christmas. Even though she is so stubborn and doesn’t want to go, she doesn’t have much of a choice. This may be just the medicine they need to rekindle their father / daughter relationship.

Rose is still grieving over her husband who past away months before as she prepares for her first Christmas without him. She decides to revisit Blue Heron Cottages for the holidays and reconnect with her friends including Violet.

Aspen is worried that Walker is losing interest in her. He seems to be keeping a secret. To make matters worse, her sister cancelled her plans to come to Moonbeam to spend the holidays with Aspen.

It’s going to be a magical Christmas in Moonbeam!

This is a sweet book about Community, relationships, friendships, family, surprises and second chances. I really enjoyed it just like I have the other books in the series.

Happy Reading!

Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction

Flower shop on Magnolia by Kay Correll

  • Title: Flower Shop on Magnolia
  • Author: Kay Correll
  • Series: Blue Heron Cottages #6
  • Genre: Romance, Women’s fiction
  • Takes Place: Moonbeam, FL
  • Main Character: Daisy, Jack
  • Other Characters: Rose, Violet, Melinda, Ethan
  • Stars: 5

Kay Correll delivers another captivating story in this 6th installment of the “Blue Heron Cottage” series. I enjoyed visiting the residents of Moonbeam once again.

This time, we get to know Daisy, who is relatively new in town and is the owner of the flower shop. When Jack visits the flower shop to purchase a corsage, Daisy is curious about who this man is and what is his story. Then when Daisy’s neighbor seeks a tenant for his residence, Jack simply happens to be in search of a residence to rent and becomes Daisy’s neighbor. They become instant friends but could it be more? Daisy has a secret that may keep her from getting too close to Jack.

We get to see how Melody and Ethan are doing with their relationship and of course there is Rose. I would very much like to have a Rose in my life and have the opportunity to converse with her and gain insight from her experiences, as well as receive her invaluable advice.

I enjoy the way the author spins a story to keep the reader engaged and wanting more. If feel like I know these residents and are a part of their lives. Moonbeam is a place I would love to live.

If you’re a fan of sweet stories of small town friendship and romance with great relatable characters, you’re going to love this series. You can read it as a stand-alone book, but I highly recommend reading it in order to get to know each of the characters. That way, every time you read the next installment in the series, you’ll feel like you’re catching up with old friends.

Happy Reading!

Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction

All Tucked Inn by Rachel Hanna

  • Title: All Tucked Inn
  • Author: Rachel Hanna
  • Series: Jubilee #2
  • Genre: Women’s Fiction
  • Takes Place: Jubilee, GA
  • Main Character: Heather, Madelyn, Brady,
  • Other Characters: Geneve, Ethan, Jasmine, Anna, Clemmy
  • Pets: Gilbert the goat and a dog named Murphy
  • Stars: 5

Rachel has done it again. Everything Rachel writes is captivating, interesting, and has wonderful 3-dimensional characters you are going to fall in love with. All Tucked Inn is the second book in the Jubilee series and it is just as great as the first one. First, I have to say, I love the name of the Inn, “All Tucked Inn”.

In this episode, we visit with Madelyn and Brady again. Brady is dealing with the fact that his sister and niece are living with him, which is causing a bit of a stir. We also meet some new friends. Heather lives in Atlanta and is visiting her mom, Lanelle, who runs All Tucked Inn, which has been in the family for generations. What Heather doesn’t know is that her mother has been keeping secrets from her which is causing Her some concern. A charming new guest arrives at the Inn, leaving Heather torn between the hustle and bustle of the city and the laid-back atmosphere of Jubilee. But is this new arrival who he seems to be? I was also pleasantly surprised when a familiar guest shows up at the Inn.

This book is full of surprises, suspense, second chances, romance, and a deeper understanding of what truly matters. I read it in a single sitting because I couldn’t put it down! I’m sure you’ll love Jubilee and the people who live there, just like I do. Of course there are pets, too. I especially loved Gilbert the goat, who we met in the book One.

Happy Reading!

Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction

Any Day Now by Robyn Carr

  • Title: Any Day Now
  • Author: Robyn Carr
  • Series: Sullivan’s Crossing #2
  • Genre: Romance, Drama
  • Takes Place: Sullivan’s Crossing
  • Main Character: Sierra, Connie (Conrad), Sullivan
  • Other Characters: Cal, Maggie
  • Pets: Molly
  • Stars: 5

In this installment of the series Sullivan’s Crossing, we meet Cal’s sister Sierra. If you remember from the first book, What we find, Cal is a drifter who eventually marries Sully’s daughter, Maggie. They are now having a baby and Cal’s little sister, Sierra, comes for a visit.

Sierra is escaping a troubled past and hoping it doesn’t catch up to her. She finds solace with the residents of the small Colorado town and Sullivan’s crossing. I love her bond with Sully who ends up being a surrogate dad. Then there is Connie (Conrad) who helps her move on from her troubled past. Her bond with her brother just grows stronger and she begins developing a sisterly bond with Cal’s wife, Maggie.

This is a story of starting over, family, building relationships, and learning that your past doesn’t define your future. Then there is the rescue dog that Sierra adopts. Sierra saves Molly from an abusive situation and she becomes the therapy that Sierra needs. Everyone falls in love with Molly, even the readers.

Between Connie, Sully, Cal & Maggie, Sierra finally finds the family she needs.

I love this book. I love the location, the characters and, of course the dog. The author really knows how to describe the scenery as if you are there and the characters so you really know them. This book is definitely worth reading and now I can’t wait to read book #3.

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

—Confucius

Happy Reading!

Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction

Welcome to Jubilee by Rachel Hanna

  • Title: Welcome to Jubilee
  • Author: Rachel Hanna
  • Series: Jubilee #1
  • Genre: Women’s fiction, Romance
  • Takes Place:  Jubilee, GA
  • Main Character: Madelyn Harper, Brady Nolan
  • Other Characters: Geneve Whitby, Laura Kearney
  • Pets: a goat named Gilbert
  • Stars: 5

This is the first book, in Rachel Hanna’s newest series, Jubilee. As usual, this author does not disappoint. This book has the same feel to it as you would expect from a Rachel Hanna book.

Madeline is a famous author who has been down on her luck. Her marriage broke up and now her new book isn’t selling. Her agent suggests she write about a small town since this is what the readers are reading now. The problem is that Madeline is from the city and doesn’t know anything about small-town living. So at the suggestion of her agent, she temporarily moves to a little town in the Blue Ridge Mountains called Jubilee. It’s a wonderful small town with some quirky residents and her sexy neighbor, Brady.

I fell in love with Geneve, the 96-year-old resident who is as spry as ever and has a lot of wisdom, which she offers to Madeline.

Can this small-town girl survive, or will she ache to head back to the city?

I think you will love this book as much as I did. I just wish Jubilee wasn’t a fictional town so I could visit and meet these residents that I fell in love with. If you love a book about new beginnings, small town living in the mountains with wonderful characters, a goat named Gilbert, and some romance thrown in, you will love this book.

“I Look at these hills as gits from God. I don’t worship the mountains, but I revered them. I cherish them. But I still pray every morning and every night. Two things will save you in this life-the prayers you send up and the roots you put down”

Happy Reading!

Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Romance

What We Find by Robyn Carr

  • Title: What We Find
  • Author: Robyn Carr
  • Series: Sullivan’s Crossing #1
  • Genre: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary Romance
  • Takes Place: Sullivan’s Crossing, Colorado
  • Main Character: Maggie, Sully, Cal
  • Stars: 5

I have to admit, I read this book because a TV series based on it is coming to the United States in the fall. I really want to see the series so I decided to read the book first. This is the second book I have read by this author so since I loved the first one, I decided to read this one.

This is a story of second chances and finding happiness. Maggie is a neurosurgeon who is facing a lawsuit when a high-risk emergency procedure results in the death of a teenager. She wants to escape her high-stress job, so she goes to a place she can feel secure. She goes to see her dad in Sullivan’s Crossing, named for her great-grandfather. Sully, Maggie’s dad, manages the campground and general store his family has owned for generations. Maggie just wants to relax and feel at peace when another tragedy strikes that has her staying longer than she originally intended.

A mysterious drifter named Cal, shows up at the campground and Maggie is very suspicious of him. There is some obvious chemistry, but they both have a past they are trying to escape and secrets they are keeping. As the story unfolds, you will learn about their secrets and how it has affected them.

This is a beautifully crafted story with a beautiful setting and characters you will fall in love with

If you love a sweet contemporary story of moving on from a painful past and learning to start over and trust again, you will love this book. I am excited to read the rest of the story to see where it takes Sully, Maggie, and Cal.

Just living is not enough… One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.

—Hans Christian Andersen

Happy Reading!

Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction

Lilacs by the Sea by Kay Correll

  • Title: Lilacs by the sea
  • Author: Kay Correll
  • Series: Blue Heron Cottages #5
  • Genre: Romance, Women’s fiction
  • Takes Place:  Moonbeam, FL
  • Main Character: Frankie, Will, Katie, Stacey
  • Other Characters: Melody, Ethan, Daisy, Violet, rose
  • Stars: 5

The fifth book in the Blue Heron Cottages series is one that I truly enjoyed. I have continued to fall in love with the characters from this series, as well as some new characters in this new story.

Will and Frankie are empty nesters who haven’t told their grown daughters that their marriage appears to be disintegrating. Unbeknownst to them, their daughters have organized a family vacation and a surprise celebration for their 40th wedding anniversary at the same location they spent their honeymoon. Even if the cottages have undergone a name change and updates since then, they nevertheless evoke many pleasant memories. How will they get through this week, and will a miscommunication lead to the breakdown of their marriage?

This is a wonderful tale of rekindled love, understanding, and family. It makes me want to travel to Blue Heron Cottages because I adore this series. There are some excellent characters, and the author is skilled at crafting a compelling narrative that keeps you turning the pages. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

Happy Reading!

Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction

Virgin River by Robyn Carr

  • Title: Virgin River
  • Author: Robyn Carr
  • Series: Virgin River #1
  • Genre: Romance
  • Takes Place:  Virgin River
  • Main Characters: Melinda, Jack, Doc, Preacher
  • Stars:  5

This is the first book I have read by this author but I watch the TV series and love it so decided to give it a try. I am so glad I did. Reading it I was able to put faces with the characters and dive deeper into them so I really felt like I knew them.

Melinda Monroe recently lost her husband. Everywhere she goes reminds her of him She is tired of everyone asking how she is doing and looking at her with pity. She works at a busy ER where she met him. She needs to get away to somewhere where no one knows her.

She reads a want ad for a Midwife/Nurse Practioner in a remote country town of Virgin River, population 600. Rent-free cabin included. She applies for the job and is hired so she packs up to move to Virgin River, sight unseen.

When she gets there it isn’t what she expected. The cabin is a shambles and isn’t even safe to live in. The Doc is very unpleasant and says he doesn’t need any help. She doesn’t know what to do.

Hope, a town resident, thinks Doc does need help so she is the one who placed the ad. Melinda (Mel) feels like she has been misled and this wasn’t the right decision for her /she decides she is going to decline the job and move to Colorado to be near her sister.

Finding a baby abandoned on Doc’s doorstep May change her plans. And of course, she meets the local bar/restaurant owner Jack Sheridan who may have something to do with her decision whether or not to stay.

This is a great story. If you have watched the TV series you will love this book. Even if you haven’t watched the TV series, you will love this book. It is a story of loss, starting over, finding love again and moving on. You will fall in love with Jack and Mel and you will even grow to love Ornery Doc. I loved all the characters In this book and I fell In love with Virgin River.

Happy Reading,

Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Women's Fiction

Seaside Bookclub by Meredith Summers

  • Title: Seaside Bookclub
  • Author: Meredith Summers
  • Series: Lobster Bay #6
  • Genre: Women’s fiction
  • Takes Place: Lobster Bay, Maine
  • Main Character: Bunny, Sam, Liz, Jane, Andie, Mr Smith
  • Other Characters: Claire, Maxie, Rob, James
  • Stars: 5

This is the 6th book of the Lobster Bay series. I love that each book in this series seems to bring different characters in the quaint town of Lobster Bay to the forefront. Sam is a retired detective who lost the most important part of his life when his wife passed. He has struggled to find a reason to get up in the mornings. If it wasn’t for his dog Dooley, he probably wouldn’t have founod the motivation to leave the house, that is until he met Bunny.

The friends of Lobster Bay decided to start a bookclub where they meet each month at Tides, the Inn that Jane and Andie own. The first book is a mystery and Bunny, a feisty widow, has really gotten into it. So much so, she starts to suspect that a guest at the Inn, Mr. Smith, is a killer. Sam’s detective skills come alive when he witnesses Bunny lurking around and following Mr. Smith. They decide to team up to see just what Mr. Smith is up to. Could they have a killer staying at the Inn?

Jane is getting suspicious as to why Andie and Mike were spotted at the local hardware store and then at the Inn. She knows they are hiding something, but what could that be. She has her suspicions, and it scares her a bit.

Then over at the bakery, Claire is making dog treats that she is calling Beach Bones. The thing is, that some of her customers are telling her that someone in another town is also selling dog treats by the same name. Claire has her daughter checking on trademarks as she is puzzled and wonders if someone has stolen the name from her. Will Claire be able to continue selling her Beach Bones?

This was a great book with a few mysteries. I loved it and highly recommend this sweet Women’s fiction.

Quote:

“Keeping memories is good, but don’t let them overshadow everything you’re doing now. Don’t let old memories prevent you from moving on to make new ones.”

Happy Reading,

Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction

Shifting Sands by Meredith Summers

  • Title: Shifting Sands
  • Author: Meredith Summers
  • Series:Lobster Bay #4
  • Genre: Women’s Fiction
  • Takes Place: Lobster Bay, Maine
  • Main Character: Andie, Emily, Mary, Jules, Shane
  • Other Characters: Jane, Claire, Maxi, Damien
  • Stars: 4

I am really enjoying this series. This book is the 4th in the Lobster Bay Series.

Andie returned to Lobster Bay because their mom was going into a memory care facility. She has also been helping her sister get their family inn back in shape so she can begin making money. Andie took a leave of absence from her job in New York to help her sister and now she is wondering if she even wants to return to New York or stay in Lobster Bay. She bought an antique store that includes an apartment above it, but still, she feels like something is still missing. She still needs to have a purpose and project to keep her happy. Then an opportunity falls in her lap. She takes on the project of helping to renovate one of the oldest homes in Lobster Bay. That is if the ruthless Inspector doesn’t get in her way. To add to the drama, an old flame just happens to be one of the people helping to renovate the home, so some sparks are sure to fly.

This wasn’t my favorite from the series, but I did enjoy reading it. It is a great book to read while at the beach lounging. You can read it as a standalone, but I recommend reading the books in order so you can really learn about each character. If you like a sweet story about friendship in a small town with a little romance thrown in, then you will love this book. This author knows how to spend a story so you feel like you are there.

Happy Reading.