First off, that page count must have included ads for various harlequin lines, copyright page, title, etc. What I read was 219 pages. Which brings me to this: someone on a forum asked a while back how many books were 3 star reads. I replied, "most of them". They were astonished. There are a lot of reasons a book might be a 3 star read - characters, plot, failure to connect with THAT reader, or in this case, ambition coupled with limited page count and delusions of grandeur regarding skill of the writer.

Simply put, this book was too short for what the author ambitiously tried (and failed obviously) to do.

It's divided into 3 parts. *3*. There's distant past, there's recent past, and there's present. And it needed about 50 more pages to work out the problems in present but was only given 6.

So...past. H/h are summer friends. They spend every summer running around on the island their respective parents migrate to (why isn't explained). No communication during the school year. They've both hit puberty. In addition to this sudden awkwardness, the h's father didn't come to the island this year, and the h is distressed about that. She and her mother abruptly leave one day - we find out why in part 2.

Recent past: H is now widowed, and in addition, traumatized. His wife was struck by a car at a crosswalk. He saw it happen. He comes to the island to escape well-meaning relatives' matchmaking attempts (can't blame him for that). The h now lives on the island and is a pharmacist. They run into each other and eventually she tells him what happened. Her father was a) having an affair and b) committing a white-collar crime known as embezzling. He got caught. Spent time in prison (for not reporting his ill-gotten gains on his taxes. Who'dathunk?) She has...issues...regarding men and relationships. A week or two go by, he's called to go back to work, and they...have sex. He leaves the next day. Over the course of the next 6 weeks, he does date someone and apparently gets a boner (lovely). She calls and informs him the stick changed colors and she's keeping it. End of part 2.

Present. It's been 2 years and 9 months. He gets the kid for weekends. Their former friendship has devolved into awkward polite strangers. He decides he wants more so moves back to the island and into the house with her. 2 weeks pass. Still polite, strange awkwardness. She gets a note from her father. He's dying and wants to see his grandchild. She reluctantly invites him over. He arrives. She can't cope and is actively avoiding him. 10 hours or so pass. H confronts her and tells her she's acting like a royal bitch, much angst. The next day, father leaves, and h asks H to sleep with her. He asks her to marry him - again (he's asked several times, she's given him an emphatic NO). She says yes.

I believe nothing. They spent nearly 3 years unable to communicate, the H didn't have the balls to ask her out, yet he calls her a bitch - because she hasn't had enough time really to process her father's sudden reappearing, then everything is right in their world? Right.

I can't imagine that ugly word ever disappearing once uttered. And there wasn't much of a relationship there to start with WITHOUT that. At the very least, there needed to be time for her and her father to come to an understanding. Forcing it, with name-calling no less, was not the way to go. And her remembering the distant past when he'd been her summer friend was a cop-out. Because just as she's had time to come to grips with her father (who, btw, blames it entirely on her mother, Asshole), she's also had time to move on past a childhood friendship. Trying to use that as a crutch, when they were never that close to begin with (really? you didn't keep in touch during the school year and you expect one to believe you're besties?) just didn't work.

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B&N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. The more you comment, the better your chance of winning, you can follow the tour at the following link:

Her Safe Harbor ~ GoddessFish

Her Safe Harbor ~ Goodreads     BookLikes

Amazon     B&N     Kobo     iBooks     GooglePlay

Website     Facebook     Twitter     Amazon     Goodreads

To be included in the drawing follow the link below:

Her Safe Harbor ~ Rafflecopter

Literary Addicts     Goodreads      Facebook      Facebook Stormy Vixen 

Twitter     Tumblr     Google+     Pintrest   

 BookLikes Stormy Vixen     Amazon  

Night Owl Reviews     The Romance Reviews

A quick read, I found it to be somewhat interesting but mostly implausible.  Too many unrealistic situations.  Fast moving, however the scenes are not very well developed.  Hopefully the author will find his groove before the sequel.  

Series: Safe Harbor Medical (Book 16)

SINGLE DAD DILEMMA

After a disastrous relationship, Nurse Zady Moore just wants a family of her own and a guy with no baggage. With a young, vulnerable son, Dr. Nick Davis is exactly the kind of guy she should avoid. But his offer is too good -- free rent in exchange for occasional babysitting. And it comes at the right time, just as Zady's young goddaughter comes to stay with her. It's only for six months -- surely she can resist Nick's charms.

Nick likes Zady, and he enjoys the camaraderie of chasing after two little kids with her. But she works for his hated cousin, and with a battle brewing between departments at Safe Harbor Medical, can Nick trust that Zady's loyalties lie with him?

Good book. Nick has recently moved to Safe Harbor to make a better life for his son. He gained custody of Caleb when the boy's mother died, but until he can get settled the child is living with his grandparents. When their health problems necessitate a faster arrangement, Nick strikes a deal with Zady, to share his house and childcare duties.

Zady is wary of getting involved with Nick. She had recently left a long relationship with a man who'd had two children. Though she'd cared for the kids for years, they had treated her badly, then she caught him cheating on her. Though she badly wants a family of her own, she is determined to avoid men with that kind of baggage. But when Zady is asked to take care of her goddaughter for a few weeks, she decides that sharing space with Nick is a practical solution.

I liked Zady. She has a wonderful relationship with her goddaughter who is a pretty sweet child. She wants to be a good caregiver for Caleb, and I had to admire her patience with the kid. He could be a real brat. She is also an excellent nurse, and though she works for Nick's cousin and knows they don't get along, works hard to keep her personal and professional lives separate. Spending as much time as she does with Nick and Caleb, she begins to get attached and dream of a future with them.

I liked Nick, but he has some deeper issues that really created problems. First is his problem with his cousin. I could understand his resentment when he was younger, but really felt that he should be able to handle things better as an adult. Some of his actions seemed rather childish at times. Though Marshall wasn't exactly friendly, he seemed much more willing to leave the past behind. There was an interesting twist involving him at the end. Second, because of the way his father abandoned Nick and his mother when Nick was a child, he tends to require the people around him to demonstrate their loyalty to him. Because Zady works for his cousin, he is constantly on the watch for her to do something he considers against his interests. Finally, he has the problem of dealing with Caleb's grandparents. He feels guilty about leaving Caleb with them, and as a result tends to be excessively accommodating to their wishes. Once Caleb is with him and Zady moves in, he hopes that things will settle out, but there's more trouble to come with them.

The attraction between Zady and Nick is there from the beginning, though both try to resist it. Living together as if they were a family has both dreaming of what could be. When they give in to that attraction, those dreams grow stronger. But Zady's problems with Caleb cause her to doubt her ability as a mother. When problems at the hospital spill over onto their relationship, Nick's trust issues have him doubting her loyalty. Nick says some terrible things to her before he realizes his mistake. The ending was pretty sweet, with both Nick and Caleb making their cases to Zady.

I liked seeing past characters from the series in this book. It is always fun to catch up on what is going on in their lives. The hospital issue was interesting, as was the way various people were dealing with it. I'm looking forward to the next book and seeing what's going to happen with Marshall.

Oh this one was lovely.  So sweet and just warm fuzzies from start to finish.  It was friends to lovers and it had me crying sad/happy tears throughout the story.

I can easily see this being a much longer read than it was, but having said that the author did a fabulous job of creating a beautiful story that embraced the holiday spirit of believing in all things being possible.

Blake ran away 7 years ago unable to deal with the loss of his father and the realization that his feelings for his friend were more than they should have been.  As his ship docks in a Boston harbor he's contemplating a holiday that for him holds no joy.  Leaving the ship he's greeted by the sight of the one person who can change that...his best friend Tom and thus begins their reunion. 

If a holiday story that leaves you smiling with the possibilities offered by hope and love at this special time of year is what you're looking for I recommend adding this little gem to your reading list.