I enjoy reading a variety of genres. Even when reading romance, I like to have different types of stories: contemporary, historical, paranormal, comedy. . . Leanne Davis has done something that not many romance writers do. She writes a sub-genre that is realistic romance. SECLUSION is not escapism—these are flawed people that you could meet anywhere who are trying to work through the problems of life. They are not millionaires nor are they unbelievably gorgeous. But their story is worth telling and gives hope to those in similar situations.

The result of this type of writing is an emotionally engaging story full of heartbreak. I get so frustrated with Angie Peters who keeps trying to run away from her problems by leaving her hometown. She had a teen pregnancy and she just can't seem to forgive herself for giving the baby up for adoption. No matter how much she accomplishes, she believes what her mother tells her--that she is nothing special. She is actually trying to run away from who she is instead of facing her problems head-on. She seems doomed to repeat the cycle of self-loathing that she has inherited from her mother. And her counterpart, the handsome but seemingly heartless Sean Langston has issues of his own. He plays the playboy when the woman he really wants he can never have. Every time Angie and Sean are around each other, there are fireworks. Sometimes the good, sexy kind and sometimes the hurtful kind.

This is Leanne Davis' fourth book about the seaside town of Seaclusion, Washington. The details of this lovely setting are unobtrusive, yet engaging. Sean loves the sea because it is constant and beautiful. Angie hates it because it is unrelenting and brutal. This difference of opinion shows the difference in their outlooks and needs. But are they really as different as they think?

Ms. Davis has written a stand-alone book that just happens to be part of a series. The characters of the previous books do not steal the spotlight from Angie and Sean—they nod politely in passing and put in a word or two. But Seclusion is solely their story.