This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Debs Carr
Harry Watling has spent the past five years working as hard as she physically can in an effort to keep her late father’s boat yard from going under. It hasn’t been easy for her especially when her only help is an injured ex-serviceman who worked closely with her father for many years and has his own ideas about how things should be done. If her no frills life wasn’t hard enough, she stumbles upon handsome property developer Matthew Corrigan and soon learns that he has recently acquired the rundown Spitmarsh Yacht Club and is busily renovating it into the upmarket restaurant he feels sure will transport the sleepy backwater of Little Spitmarsh into the twenty-first century.
Harry knows she’s got a problem on her hands when he offers to buy some of her land for his proposed luxury housing development and when she refuses, she soon learns that whether he is the most gorgeous man to arrive in her home town for years or not, he is more than likely going to be the catalyst to ruin all her efforts of keeping the boat yard going.
Matthew hasn’t become as successful as he is by giving up at the first obstacle and when Harry discovers his ace card, she knows he is someone who has the power to take away everything she has worked so hard to keep. As well as Harry’s problems with Matthew, she has the ongoing matter of her mother to cope with, and if she had expected her friends to agree with her about Matthew’s intention for their hometown she soon finds out how mistaken she is.
I was hooked from the very first page and thoroughly enjoyed the vivid way Christine Stovell eloquently depicts the events and setting in her book. From the beautifully drawn characters to the intriguing setting of Little Spitmarsh, the story takes you through the twists and turns of Harry’s dilemma, making you wonder how she’ll ever be able to cope with the obstacles she faces, and what the outcome will be between her and the delectable Matthew Corrigan.
Harry isn’t your typical heroine. She wears ancient overalls and hasn’t been near a hairdresser for as long as she can remember; whereas Matthew is everything you want a hero to be. He’s handsome, clever and doesn’t give in easily. He knows what he wants and is pretty sure how to get it, so when he comes up against the feisty girl from the boat yard he gets more opposition than he could ever have bargained for.
Definitely a well-deserved 10/10
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