Tag: Hannon Irene

Vienna Price never intended to return for more than a passing visit to Oregon and all the bad memories she’d left behind. But when your career tanks, home is where you go to nurse your wounds and chart a new course. Only temporarily, of course–because as much as she loves her quirky mom, anything more than a short stay would drive them both crazy.

A trip to Oregon isn’t in Matt Quinn’s plans, either, until a perfectly timed appeal for help arrives from his sister. What better place to decompress after a shattering loss than a quiet, seaside town named Hope Harbor? But R&R isn’t on the agenda when he arrives to find his sister’s new enterprise on life support.

Vienna, however, may have just the skills needed to resuscitate the foundering B&B–if Matt can convince her to hang around long enough to mend an inn . . . and his heart.

My Review:

Hope Harbor is one of my favourite series — ever! — so I was thrilled to add this tenth book to my collection. I love this setting, the community and the thrill of meeting up with familiar characters who feel like friends. Having said that, ‘Sandcastle Inn’ can definitely be read as a standalone, but, if you are an ardent visitor of this special corner of the fictional world, you’ll get an extra thrill every time something seemingly insignificant is mentioned (since you’re in the know.) So. Much. Fun. I’m looking at you Floyd and Gladys and belching seal and dueling clerics and Charlie’s taco stand and….I’m still in a swoon of giddy bibliophile delight!

Love Irene Hannon’s rich storytelling, her complex characters wrestling with real life problems and the way they come together to work out a solution. You can see God’s hand in their gathering and I got so excited as I watched events unfold.

We’re blessed with two romances (eeeep!) While the main focus is on Matt and Vienna, there’s a secondary love story featuring a young married couple trying to work through a tough situation. And Hope Harbor is the perfect place to land when you’re down on your luck or facing tough decisions or trying to mend relationships or, well, any hard thing you can think of. I so wish this town really existed, I’d move there in a flash! But maybe, more to the point, is the inspiration to create our own loving and nurturing Hope Harbors wherever we call home.

I listened to the audible edition (pre-ordered and then downloaded on release day because I couldn’t not wait!) and, as always, was thrilled by Therese Plummer’s exceptional narration.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a print or ebook copy. Winner’s choice.

US – available in print or ebook — winner’s choice

Canada – available in print or ebook or audible (if available) — winner’s choice

International – ebook copy if you have a US Kindle account.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Sandcastle Inn, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday April 13 2024.

You can’t go home again … or can you?

After surviving a devastating tragedy, combat reporter Nate Garrison returns to the only place that ever felt like home, Starfish Bay on the Northern California coast. But his reunion with childhood friend Lindsey Collier is nothing like he’d imagined. The wary widow who runs Starfish Bay Mercantile was once the girl who made young Nate dream–of a future, of family ties, of deep roots. Now Lindsey avoids love, loss … and Nate. Yet when they join forces to save a beloved town landmark and help a hurting little boy, might they also find healing, hope–and love?

In this Carol Award finalist, Irene Hannon pens a heartfelt tale of the lasting impact of friendship, the healing power of love, and the importance of touchstones–the people, places, and experiences we measure the world against–in our lives.

My Review:

Eeeeep!!!! Just. Eeeeeeepppp!!!! This is a retro read reimagined by the author and part of her Encore Edition updated re-releases. So, the book originally published as.a Love Inspired in 2012, but, if like me, you missed the original, the author has reworked the story and released it again as an indie book. And that’s all kinds of eeeeeepppp, because Love Inspired older print editions are hard to come by…and audible editions are unheard of.

Which leads me to a whole lot more ‘eeeeppping’ because Seaside Reunion is masterfully narrated by the amazing Therese Plummer and makes for a truly sublime listening experience. I’m sooooo bibliophile giddy about these Encore Editions — especially that they are all available in audio format as well.

So, if you love Irene Hannon’s Hope Harbor series, you need to come visit Starfish Bay. It has that same sense of community, friendships and inspiration. I don’t know for sure, but I’m thinking maybe this Starfish Bay series was the inspiration for Hope Harbor.

And these characters!!! Complex, hurting, struggling to recapture their purpose after tragedy. Nate, from all that he has experienced as a combat reporter, and Lindsey trying to find her way after a tragic loss.

Both find themselves back in Starfish Bay. It’s a bittersweet homecoming for Lindsey as she works along side her father at the general store. But for Nate it’s something so much more. After enduring a less then ideal childhood, the nine months he spent in Starfish Bay in his youth are the closest thing he has ever experienced to the comforts of home. And part of that was due to his friendship with Lindsey. Only their reunion doesn’t go quite as planned.

Cue some laughter and wincing and heart hurting moments as these two struggle to find their footing among clashing wills and misunderstandings before the roots of their friendship take hold again. And then there’s hope for so much more!

Seaside Reunion is emotionally stirring, uplifting and completely riveting.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

ebook available to anyone, anywhere who has a .com Kindle account

US — paperback or ebook — winner’s choice

Canada — paperback or ebook (via a gift card to Canadian Amazon) or audible (.ca)

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Seaside Reunion, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday August 5 , 2023.

Buying a supposedly haunted house wasn’t in Ashley Scott’s plans, but when an intriguing opportunity drops into her lap, she’s ready to launch a new life. But she can’t do it alone, and her reclusive new neighbour, Jonathan Gray may be just the person to help — if only there were room in his life for romance.

My Review:

This is the ninth book in the Hope Harbor series and it’s still going strong — and with storytelling like this it’s easy to see why!

If you haven’t read any of the books in this series (gasp! Why every not?!) you could still easily jump into this book without any problems. But — if you are a die-hard fan like me, you will be over-the-moon with bibliophile delight at the multiple cameos of previous heroes and heroines. I kept squealing and waving madly every time someone I knew entered a scene. “Yoohoo, remember me? I was rooting for you in book (insert # here).” That was me, all the way through, like a giddy teeny bopper at her first concert.

Irene Hannon has created the kind of characters that not only come alive, but reside in a reader’s heart years after she first meets them! I have the whole series in audible now (narrator Therese Plummer is the perfect pairing for these stories!) and I’ve listened to all the books multiple times and will continue to revisit Hope Harbor regularly because…

Characters!!!! Not only the current hero and heroine, but all the secondary characters that add to the personality of the town — both human and animal! The seagull lovebirds, the dueling clerics, Charlie!!!!!! Oh, everyone needs a Charlie to gently speak truth into their life. The way the man can say one thing while delivering an astute insight about something else is mind-boggling! I know that won’t make sense unless you’ve met Charlie in one of the stories, but once you do, you’ll understand why he’s the glue that holds this town together.

And then there’s the faith elements — gentle and poignant and touching. Has me thinking about the patient way the Lord pursues us no matter how many times we turn away. How He can turn despair into hope and provide an everlasting comfort if we are willing to open up to Him.

I don’t want to say too much about the plot of this book since the synopsis is pretty sparse. I will say the romance has a bit of a Beauty and the Beast vibe to it and goes beyond toe-curling and swoons into a whole other realm of a love story. I was in tears in places. And goose bumping my way through others. Let’s just say ‘Windswept Way’ lived up to it’s name and swept me away!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback or ebook copy — winner’s choice.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Windswept way, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday April 15, 2023. Offer open to International Readers.