The popular Bayberry Island series, which so far has featured as shorter works in collections like Christmas on Main Street continues in this full-length tale, and I found it good fun while presenting very genuine people. A festival on the Atlantic-battered island celebrates the local mermaid legend, and the famous statue is supposed to bring romance to those who visit it. Rowan Flynn doesn't mind raking in cash from tourists who visit her B&B, but she thinks they are innocent and gullible if they believe all that guff about the SEA OF LOVE.
Rowan has reason to be cynical. A few years ago at this festival she met a handsome man who whisked her away from her Boston recruiting job... and then vanished with her savings. She had no option but to return to the cash- strapped family business, where her mother's worsening arthritis puts Rowan in charge of day-to-day running. She's had no time for the legend since, but that doesn't mean she should spoil it for others.
Ash sails to the island under false pretences. If Rowan's family will just sell their home and land, a major tourism redevelopment can get under way. His job is to persuade them that it's for the best. He wanders around as a summer storm hits, but the traditional grabbing of a single male tourist and obliging him to ask the mermaid to bring him love is on... and Ash is grabbed! On camera, in front of crowds, he has to co-operate. It's just a game, right?
Cranberry and blueberry scones, salt spray and stunted oak trees add to the vibrant atmosphere. With the fishing industry closing due to overfishing, the locals are living on their wits - art, writing, tourism, boat maintenance. Annie, a shopkeeper who met her love Nat in a previous story, reappears. Similarly the sparks fly when Rowan meets Ash during the storm, and they can't believe how much they want each other. But the big question is whether Rowan will see through Ash and confront the sale issue that is tearing her family apart... and if she'll still want him when she does.
Strong women and modern issues are at the heart of this adult romance, with a blackout to push lovers together and a hint of fantasy. An island way of life and preserving the marine environment deserve to be discussed. SEA OF LOVE is another good one from Susan Donovan.
New York Times bestselling author Susan Donovan welcomes you to Bayberry Island, a special place between Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket where a bronze mermaid statue promises to grant true love to anyone who asks with an open heart…For years Rowan Flynn distanced herself from Bayberry Island and its infamous mermaid legend. But after her investor fiancé lost what was left of her family’s fortune, Rowan reluctantly agreed to run the Safe Haven Bed-and-Breakfast, determined never again to fall for the ridiculous fantasy of the mermaid matchmaker.Now Rowan is just biding her time until she can return to her “real” life in New York, fixing up the B and B and avoiding neighbors who are angry that the Flynns won’t sell their land to a developer set on turning the island into a glitzy vacation destination.But when a handsome stranger arrives at the B and B the night before the annual Mermaid Festival, Rowan’s life takes a turn for the interesting. Could it be the divine hand of the town’s patroness? Or is Rowan being set up for another disappointment?
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