One thing that I love about romance novels? You can just drop right into a series without having read the previous books! Return To Magnolia Harbor is the third book in Hope Ramsay’s Moonlight Bay series. It also happens to be both the first book from the series and the first book by Ramsay that I’ve read. What really rocks is that I enjoyed this book SO MUCH! I am really looking forward to reading more books by Ramsay and also diving into the two previous Moonlight Bay books.
Return To Magnolia Harbor has all the Beauty and the Beast vibes, which I guess is intentional based on the acknowledgments. Jessica Blackwood is an architect who is amazing at her job. She’s returned to living in Magnolia Harbor, even though the town has not treated her all that well. You see, she was the subject of the local rumor mill when she was in high school and had a terrible time of it.
One of the rumor mongers, Topher Martin has hired Jessica to design a house for him on an island that he owns. You see, he has been in a car accident. Topher is all scarred and no longer as handsome as he used to be. Topher is also quite angry at life – a proverbial beast. As the two work together, sparks fly, so does the local rumor mill. Jess must make a decision about staying in Magnolia Harbor or leaving for greener pastures.
I love that I was able to pick up on the parallels between Return To Magnolia Harbor and Beauty And The Beast. Usually I am somewhat terrible at that kind of thing — oblivious if you will. This book was really fast to get through. I found myself wanting to see spinoffs for two characters. But, it looks like that isn’t happening based on the summaries of the other books in this series. There are diverse characters included as well which is awesome. I do wish Jessica had stood her ground a little bit sooner. Additionally, I also was a bit weirded out by the whole rumor mill. You see, I am originally from a small town. But yeah, this was a good summer read and definitely something I would recommend reading while poolside.
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