Greetings Friends!
Today I am happy to bring you a review of the romance book
Serenity Harbor by RaeAnne Thayne, the sixth book in the
Haven Point series.
I was graciously contacted by the team at Little Bird Publicity and a copy of this book was sent to me for free in exchange for my honest and thoughtful review. All thoughts, opinions, and feels are my own.
Rating:
Genre: Romance
Release Date: June 2017
Synopsis:
In the town of Haven Point, love can be just a wish, and one magical kiss, away.
Computer-tech millionaire Bowie Callahan is about the last person that schoolteacher Katrina Bailey wants to work for. As far as she can see, he’s arrogant, entitled, and not up to the task of caring for his young half brother, Milo. But Kat is, especially if it brings her closer to her goal of adopting an orphaned little girl. And as her kindness and patience work wonders with Milo, she realizes there’s more to sexy, wary Bo than she’d ever realized.
Bo never imagined he’d be tasked with caring for a sibling he didn’t know existed. Then again, he never pictured himself impulsively kissing vibrant, compassionate Katrina in the moonlight. Now he’s ready to make her dream of family come true…and hoping there’s room in it for him, too.
About the Author:
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne loves words. Her love affair started as soon as she learned to read, when she used to devour anything she could get her hands on: cereal boxes, encyclopedias, the phone book, you name it! She loves the way words sound, the way they look on the page and the amazing way they can be jumbled together in so many combinations to tell a story. Her love of reading and writing those words led her to a fifteen-year career in journalism as a newspaper reporter and editor.
Through it all, she dreamed of writing the kind of stories she loved best. She sold her first book in 1995 and since then she’s published more than 40 titles. Her books have won many honors, including three RITA® Award nominations from the Romance Writers of America and a Career Achievement Award from RT Book Reviews.
RaeAnne finds inspiration in the rugged northern Utah mountains where she lives with her hero of a husband and their children. She loves to hear from readers and you can connect with her on:
Review:
This was my first experience reading any of RaeAnne Thayne’s books, and despite this being the sixth book in the series, there was no loss of understanding or continuity in the story. I’m always impressed when authors can provide the needed background as characters are introduced without the dreaded infodump. I was able to become acquainted to each character without feeling as though I was missing something. Each book within the series focuses on different residents living in the Haven Point community and I really enjoyed visiting this small, quiet town in Idaho. As time allows, I would definitely love to check out the other books in this series.
This was a slow burning romance between two people with very different, but difficult backgrounds who were brought together through their love for a little boy with autism. Bowie has recently obtained guardianship of his younger brother, Milo, who he never knew existed, and though he wants to provide a stable life for Milo, the boy’s autism and inability to speak becomes much more than Bowie bargained for. Kat has returned for a short visit to Haven Point for her sister’s wedding after spending time in Colombia teaching English. Her special connection with children causes her to intervene during one of Milo’s meltdowns at the grocery store, and desperate to help Bowie, she agrees to work with Milo until she returns to Colombia, where she hopes to adopt a young girl with her own special needs.
While the attraction is immediate between Bowie and Kat, I thoroughly enjoyed how the story largely centers on them building their relationship beyond any sort of physical intimacy. Each suffers from a lack of trust in other people and by gradually getting to know one another, they begin to realize that perhaps they can find love after all. However, this back and forth became quite tedious at times, as the same emotions were being repeatedly expressed. I also had a difficult time determining how I felt about Kat. On one hand, I loved her interactions with the children and her ability to create meaningful and lasting engagements with them; however, she would often come across as overly antagonistic to Bowie that really played into drawing out the hate to love aspect of their budding romance.
Overall, the author’s ability to truly capture the struggles to fit in and find acceptance especially in regards to those with disabilities makes this a very heartwarming story and took this light romance to an inspiring level. It was so refreshing to read about characters living beyond themselves and trying to make a difference in the world around them.
I hope you give this one a read! I look forward to returning to Haven Point in the near future, as the next book features the town’s librarian!
Many thanks again to Little Bird Publicity and RaeAnne Thayne! It was a pleasure providing a review!
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