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Format: Kindle
Publishers: Piatkus Books
Published: 1st September 2016
Pages: 400
Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance,
Main Characters: Jessica, Cooper
Date Read: 16th August - 29th August 2016
Date Read: 16th August - 29th August 2016
Rating Given:
Synopsis:
Welcome to Hartwell, a quiet seaside escape where uncovering old secrets could lead one woman to discover the meaning of a love that lasts…
While Doctor Jessica Huntington engages with the inmates at the women’s correctional facility where she works, she’s always careful to avoid emotional attachments in her personal life. Loss and betrayal taught her that lesson long ago. But when she comes across a set of old love letters in the prison’s library and visits the picturesque town of Hartwell to deliver them to their intended recipient, she finds herself unable to resist the town’s charm—and her attraction to the sexy owner of a local bar proves equally hard to deny.
Since his divorce from his unfaithful ex-wife, Cooper Lawson has focused on what really matters: his family and the boardwalk pub they’ve owned for generations. But the first time Jessica steps into his bar, Cooper is beyond tempted to risk his heart on her. Yet as their attraction grows hotter and Jessica remains stubbornly closed off, he begins to realize it will take more than just passion to convince her there’s only one real thing in life worth fighting for…
I received a review copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I'm in two minds about this cover as I love the romantic look of it as well as the colours used but on the other hand it just looks like every other romance cover that I've read so it doesn't really stand out but it is better than the American cover.
When I first started this book I was quite intrigued and sounded like it was going to be a bit different but that didn't last very long as it did become predictable. I think it was the middle part of the story that dragged the rating down as I was bored nothing was really happening and we didn't find out what Jessica's secret was until closer to the end which annoyed me as it was just dragged out for much longer than necessary. I liked the relationship between the two main characters as they weren't in love from the get go yes they where attracted to one another but I felt they grew together through out the book. The end really picked up but it was a little bit predictable but I didn't mind that too much as I have come to except that 9 out of 10 times in contemporary books it's going to happen. The ending was good as it cleared up Jessica and Cooper's story but left it wide open for other characters.
I was actually surprised with the characters in this book as they were both not what I was expecting and sometimes it wasn't in a good way. With Cooper I thought he would be closed off towards Jessica but I felt he wasn't it just wasn't what I was expecting but I liked that about him. He was so understanding and I'm surprised he held out on pushing Jessica until the end. Jessica I would have thought would've been a stronger character than she was as she was so secretive even to us the reader we never knew her darkest secret until the end which was when I was able to understand her a bit better.
Overall, this isn't my favourite book written by Samantha Young but I'm hoping the series will get better.
