Here comes another first for me – Anna Sullivan’s “Hideaway Cove”, second in her Windfall Island Series. Set off the coast of Maine, Windfall Island is a charming and lovable cove, of people who have lived there all their lives, of protecting their own townspeople, and of legacies and secrets.
Jessi Randal has lived her whole life on the island and she runs a charter plane service with her friend Maggie (Temptation Bay). Holden Abbot comes to the island in search of a missing heir of the Stanhope’s.
Left alone when she gets pregnant with Benjamin, Jessi has survived and created a whole new life around Benji. An excellent mother and a great friend, she sacrifices all her needs and desires to raise her son, and she does a fine job. When confronted with Benji’s father, loved the way she stands for herself and her son. The dialogue of a girl deserted, the pain of an unmarried mother raising her son alone amidst gossip, the strength and conviction of a woman who had managed to survive, was a brilliant read. I was never so proud of Jessi when she makes Lance’s entrance into their lives miserable.
Hold is the mesmerizing guy who falls for Jessi and loves her son unconditionally. As he continues to research and search for the missing heir, he breaks down the walls around Jessi. The possibility that Jessi and her son may be heirs bring out all the protective instincts in him. Love the way he goads Jessi into thinking of her needs and desires, and he was man enough to acknowledge that he is irrevocably in love with her. Their relationship was one roller-coaster ride of secrets, pain, stubbornness, love and finally trusting each other with their lives. What an enjoyable read!
And the heir is still on the loose. Anna Sullivan maintains the intrigue and mystery surrounding the missing heir and the link to Windfall Island, leaving us wanting for more. Hideaway Cove can be read as a standalone, but for the uninitiated, it may be more pleasurable to start with her first book, “Temptation Bay” (Maggie and Dexter). I enjoyed reading it out of sequence, but “Temptation Bay” is alreayd in my list of TBR 🙂
A very charming, enthralling and captivating love story with a twist of mystery! Can’t wait to read the third in this series, “Secret Harbor”, and the mystery of the heir may just get a closure.
Received a copy courtesy Netgalley for an honest review.
Romancing Life 