Monday, May 28, 2018

Heron's Landing - Contemporary Fiction Review


Rating:  Very Good
Source: Blog Tour

Description: 
Working as a Las Vegas concierge, Brianna Mannion is an expert at making other people’s wishes come true. It’s satisfying work, but a visit home to scenic Honeymoon Harbor turns into a permanent stay when she’s reminded of everything she’s missing: the idyllic small-town charm; the old Victorian house she’d always coveted; and Seth Harper, her best friend’s widower and the neighborhood boy she once crushed on—hard. After years spent serving others, maybe Brianna’s finally ready to chase dreams of her own.

Since losing his wife, Seth has kept busy running the Harper family’s renovation business and flying way under the social radar. But when Brianna hires him to convert her aging dream home into a romantic B and B, working together presents a heart-stopping temptation Seth never saw coming. With guilt and grief his only companions for so long, he’ll have to step out of the past long enough to recognize the beautiful life Brianna and he could build together.

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble


Genre: Fiction - Contemporary

Why I Picked This Book:
  JoAnn Ross is an author I've been seeing around for awhile but have never read and I adored the cover!

My Impression:
  Oh this was lovely!  I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to Honeymoon Harbor and enjoyed that it does have a sense of humor about it's cutesy name.  The community feel is strong here and it feels like it has a lot of depth and history to it.  

I really liked Brianna.  She's been very successful in the hospitality industry and has been very career focused for years.  Her decision to move back home made sense and I loved that she had a plan and funds to back up that plan.  It always strains credibility more than a little when a character starts renovating an old house after quitting their old life on what seems to be a hope and a dream.  She's also eager to readjust her priorities and focus a little more on friends and family as well as what makes her happy.  It was nice to watch her do something that she was good at but also reset her personal life a bit.

Seth is a nice guy and is impossible not to like.  I was a  little worried about how his grief over the death of his wife who died 2 years before would be handled.  I liked that Ross confronted the issues head on and nothing was brushed under the rug.  I loved the complications of his parents' marriage and how he ends up being a bit in between and regularly landing in TMI territory.  It provided a lot of humor but I also felt like I was able to understand the family bonds a bit better.

Honeymoon Harbor is a lovely read with a wide range of characters that I'm really looking forward to reading more about.  I do wish it was real as I would love to visit and stay in Heron's Landing myself!

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  Absolutely!  I'll be looking forward to seeing more from this series and exploring previous series from this author.

Would I Recommend this Book?
  I would!  If you like Robyn Carr or RaeAnne Thayne I think you'd really enjoy this book.

Author's website:  www.joannross.com





6 comments:

  1. It's been a long time since I read a book by Joann Ross. I used to read her books way back in the day when she was writing for Harlequin. Loved them. Glad to see she's still around and having success. And glad you enjoyed this one so much. A very summer-y type read.

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  2. I've not read her either Katherine, but this has elements I love. Thanks for adding links to the post :)

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  3. I read the prequel which sounded great. I'm looking forward to this one too.

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  4. Sounds like a good book. I like picturesque, small towns where everyone knows your name.

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  5. Ok, adding it to my wish list. I haven't read this author yet but I've heard of her.

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