About this book:
“Abandoned as a toddler, Sydney Rose has spent years wondering who she really is, homesick for a life she's never lived. When a private investigator crashes into her world, she finds herself heading to a tiny seaside town in Maine to meet a woman named Maggie, who's searching for the granddaughter she lost decades ago.
If not for Maggie, Neil MacKean might still be back in Scotland, bereft and alone. Instead, he has a full life in Muir Harbor with an adopted family he loves and a blueberry farm to run. But the farm is struggling and strange occurrences have him concerned. Worse, Maggie's once again caught up in the past, convinced she's finally found her long-lost granddaughter.
Worried for Maggie, Neil is suspicious of the city girl who shows up at the farm. But there's something about Sydney that tugs on him, drawing out secrets he never meant to share. While Neil grapples with the future of the farm, Sydney wrestles with a past that's messier than ever. Together, they're pulled into a mystery complete with a centuries-old legend, unexpected danger . . . and a love as deep and wild as the sea.”
Series: Book #1 in the “Muir Harbor” series.
Spiritual Content- Prayers; Talks about God, Hope, & Him giving us dreams; 'H's are capital when referring to God & Hope; Sydney thinks “Oh God, what am I doing?” and wonders if that was a prayer and if so, it was her first in a long time; Sydney wonders if God led her to Maine and thinks that maybe He hadn’t forgotten her after all; Neil thinks of tending to the land as an act of worship to the One who’d create it; Mentions of God & Hope; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of church going; A few mentions of faiths; A couple mentions of a parable from the Bible; A mention of blessings;
*Note: Mentions of ghost stories (though those telling and remembering the stories know there was never a ghost); A few mentions of luck & lucky stars; A mention of a devil-may-care attitude from a man.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blast you’, a ‘drat you’, a ‘dumb’, a ‘for Pete’s sake’, a ‘good night’, a ‘holy cow’, a ‘sheesh’, a ‘shut up’, two forms of ‘darn’, two ‘heck’s, two forms of ‘oh my word’, two ‘why the heck’s, three forms of ‘dang’, three ‘idiot’s, four ‘blasted’s, four ‘shoot’s, and five forms of ‘stupid’; Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Sydney drinks a bit of a spiked punch when very sad (not done in her POV and Neil thinks that she hasn’t had more than a sip or two and stops her from drinking any more of it); Walking in on a robbery, being threatened, & fighting in self-defense (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of the Vietnam War & the death of Maggie’s fiancé; Mentions of a car accident, death, & a missing child (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of someone fainting & emergency surgery (near death, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of criminals, crimes, jails, & arrests; Mentions of burglars/robbers, a break-in, & trying to steal something; Mentions of loan sharks, threats, injuries, & blood (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a possible stalker; Mentions of trespassers & teens pranking others; Mentions of teens partying, drinking alcohol, using hard drugs, getting high, & an addiction (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a spiked punch at a town’s market (Sydney is told not to try it unless she has the constitution of a sailor); Mentions of pubs; A few mentions of a foster teen leaving his foster family after making a deal with them that they could keep the government checks if he could leave without them reporting him; A few mentions of an accidental theft & the person’s guilt; A few mentions of a con-artist & their scam; A few mentions of nightmares; A few mentions of divorces; A couple mentions of a possible kidnapping; A couple mentions of lies & lying; A couple mentions of smoking; A couple mentions of dung; A mention of a plane accident & deaths; A mention of a bar brawl; A mention of betting (that Neil isn’t a betting man); A mention of gossip;
*Note: When Sydney met her biological mother, it was not a joyful reunion & Sydney is still hurt by words that were said; Neil wasn’t legally adopted by Maggie and his heart is still bruised from the hurt of it; Mentions of car brands; Mentions of social media sites (Google, Airbnb, Instagram, Facebook, & YouTube); A few mentions of brand names (Diet Coke, Pop-Tarts, & Keurig); A few mentions of TV shows & movies (Dateline, Leave It to Beaver, Columbo, & Mission: Impossible); A couple mentions of Marilyn Monroe; A mention of HGTV.
Sexual Content- Three cheek kisses, a head kiss, three almost (two barely-above-not-detailed and one semi-detailed) kisses, two not-detailed kisses, three barely-above-not-detailed kisses, four semi-detailed kisses, and a detailed kiss; Remembering an almost kiss & kisses (up to semi-detailed); Staring at someone’s lips; Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Warmth, Nearness, & Smelling (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Wanting to touch & embrace (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes; Noticing & Staring (barely-above-not-detailed); An awkward first meeting between Sydney & Neil of her walking into the bathroom that he’s currently showering in (including mentions of his clothes on the floor, the masculine scent of his soap, and him getting out wearing only a towel, all barely-above-not-detailed. More embarrassing for Sydney than any romantic noticing); Sydney was born out-of-wedlock; Mentions of out-of-wedlock pregnancies, sleeping with someone, summer flings, & parents’ reactions (including Maggie not wanting to flippantly talk about who her daughter was or wasn’t intimate with, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of Sydney & Neil’s first meeting & him wearing only a towel (not-detailed); Mentions of kisses, kissing, & almost kisses (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a guy insinuating that Neil and Sydney are possibly legally uncle and niece (even though it’s not true) & shouldn’t be interested in each other in a romantic way; Mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, dates, & dating; Mentions of blushes; A few mentions of thinking a man is a creeper & other guys who have ogled Sydney at her workplace before; A few mentions of desire for someone; A couple mentions of someone insinuating that someone else is having a fling; A mention of flirting; A mention of a man saying he can’t have children; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
*Note: A couple mentions of a pregnant mother forgoing cancer treatments to be able to deliver the baby safely (noted as a possible trigger); A mention of kneeing a man in the groin (thinking he’s a stalker); A mention of a man being the spitting image of his sire.
-Sydney Rose
-Neil MacKean, age 34
P.O.V. switches between them & letters from Maggie
Set in 2018
356 pages
Sexual Content- Three cheek kisses, a head kiss, three almost (two barely-above-not-detailed and one semi-detailed) kisses, two not-detailed kisses, three barely-above-not-detailed kisses, four semi-detailed kisses, and a detailed kiss; Remembering an almost kiss & kisses (up to semi-detailed); Staring at someone’s lips; Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Warmth, Nearness, & Smelling (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Wanting to touch & embrace (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes; Noticing & Staring (barely-above-not-detailed); An awkward first meeting between Sydney & Neil of her walking into the bathroom that he’s currently showering in (including mentions of his clothes on the floor, the masculine scent of his soap, and him getting out wearing only a towel, all barely-above-not-detailed. More embarrassing for Sydney than any romantic noticing); Sydney was born out-of-wedlock; Mentions of out-of-wedlock pregnancies, sleeping with someone, summer flings, & parents’ reactions (including Maggie not wanting to flippantly talk about who her daughter was or wasn’t intimate with, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of Sydney & Neil’s first meeting & him wearing only a towel (not-detailed); Mentions of kisses, kissing, & almost kisses (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a guy insinuating that Neil and Sydney are possibly legally uncle and niece (even though it’s not true) & shouldn’t be interested in each other in a romantic way; Mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, dates, & dating; Mentions of blushes; A few mentions of thinking a man is a creeper & other guys who have ogled Sydney at her workplace before; A few mentions of desire for someone; A couple mentions of someone insinuating that someone else is having a fling; A mention of flirting; A mention of a man saying he can’t have children; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
*Note: A couple mentions of a pregnant mother forgoing cancer treatments to be able to deliver the baby safely (noted as a possible trigger); A mention of kneeing a man in the groin (thinking he’s a stalker); A mention of a man being the spitting image of his sire.
-Sydney Rose
-Neil MacKean, age 34
P.O.V. switches between them & letters from Maggie
Set in 2018
356 pages
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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
{Can possible be triggering or healing for adoptees or those in foster care.}
I was craving a sweet romantic contemporary book and decided on this one when I was it might have the found family trope—which it did. It also had it’s sweet moments and albeit a bit kissy towards the end for my taste, I really loved the heart of this story—family and the longing to know about your family. Both Sydney and Neil were such great characters and it was overall really sweet, but also very interesting in the blueberry farming parts and the mystery of finding out more about Sydney’s roots. I was very invested into her story and wanting the best/a happy ending for her!
I also really liked the few parts of the texting conversations and the letters/diary entries, it added a charm to the story. I would have preferred more faith content shown and discussed as what was there was very light, but I did really enjoy this novel and will pick up the next book in the series when it releases.
See y’all on Friday with a new review!
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
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