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bethanystone13's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
emmascr's review
5.0
This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews I received this book for free for a Blog Tour in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Firstly I would like to thank Holly for letting me be a part of his tour. I have read most of Holly’s books and she never fails to impress me with her interesting characters and the prettiest locations and this book is no exception.
Bella Roussel has lived on Hope Island her whole life and she can’t imagine living anywhere else. Bella recently lost her job and has had a tough time trying to find a new one, but Bella has a promising interview on Monday. The job is made for her and not only does she really want it, she really needs it. Bella Roussel is one of those characters that you instantly want to befriend. She is one of those people that brighten up the day when you see them, but she has been so truly broken by her past that she is so scared to let any one in. But when she meets Isaac Scott her heart has other ideas.
Isaac Scott is just so incredibly swoon worthy. He is extremely romantic and he won my heart quite early on. Isaac is also funny, clever and determined. Isaac has worked very hard in his life and it has got him to where he is today. But being the CEO of 3 companies means that Isaac has been used in the past. Women have used him for his money and status and men have befriended him for the same reasons. This has left Isaac slow to trust but there is something about Bella that he just cannot stay away from.
Once again Holly has delivered a wonderful story that will have you falling in love with Isaac, Hope Island and all it’s inhabitants. I have a sneaky feeling that this will not be the last we see of these either. I’m hoping for a book on Rome and Freya but I am hereby getting on my knees and begging for a book for Dougie and Eden. BEGGING Holly!!!! I have a feeling I will fall harder for Dougie than I already have for Isaac.
Bella Roussel has lived on Hope Island her whole life and she can’t imagine living anywhere else. Bella recently lost her job and has had a tough time trying to find a new one, but Bella has a promising interview on Monday. The job is made for her and not only does she really want it, she really needs it. Bella Roussel is one of those characters that you instantly want to befriend. She is one of those people that brighten up the day when you see them, but she has been so truly broken by her past that she is so scared to let any one in. But when she meets Isaac Scott her heart has other ideas.
Isaac Scott is just so incredibly swoon worthy. He is extremely romantic and he won my heart quite early on. Isaac is also funny, clever and determined. Isaac has worked very hard in his life and it has got him to where he is today. But being the CEO of 3 companies means that Isaac has been used in the past. Women have used him for his money and status and men have befriended him for the same reasons. This has left Isaac slow to trust but there is something about Bella that he just cannot stay away from.
Once again Holly has delivered a wonderful story that will have you falling in love with Isaac, Hope Island and all it’s inhabitants. I have a sneaky feeling that this will not be the last we see of these either. I’m hoping for a book on Rome and Freya but I am hereby getting on my knees and begging for a book for Dougie and Eden. BEGGING Holly!!!! I have a feeling I will fall harder for Dougie than I already have for Isaac.
faithfulflora's review
Started getting a bit sexual and I wasn't invested enough to try going any further.
queenb247's review
4.0
This was just the book I was looking for! I needed a light hearted romance that would sweep me off my feet and this was it! A perfect story of trust and love!
jo_bookworm's review
5.0
I am relatively new to Holly Martin's novels as I only discovered her towards the end of last year. And I am pleased to be back with her and the characters she writes about and the places she sets her novels.
Novels often can be described as transporting you to another place, Holly Martin's novels should be at the very top of this category.
Bella lives on Hope Island, an island which is part of the Scilly Isles and it is a place where everyone knows your business, whether you try to hide it or not. In the case of Bella, everyone knows she lived with her aunt and uncle because her mother abandoned her and she was unintentionally caught up in a fraud case in her previous work.
Bella trusts few people despite her seemingly happy outgoing look on life. She really is only close to the family that she grew up with, including Rome and Eden her brother and sister. She cannot let anyone in.
Down on her luck and having to live on porridge, she still finds time to help a homeless man, she finds on her doorstep. Blunt with him as she literally has no money, she offers the next best thing, a bowl of porridge and her sofa for the night. Trouble is Isaac is not who he says he is and it turns out that helping someone can lead to all sorts of problems and some rather interesting situations.
Isaac is back home, he wants to come back to where people like him for who he is and not because he has money and can perhaps help them further their careers. Bella does not know who he is now and they clearly have some sort of chemistry growing between them but Isaac needs to tell her the truth before she make a complete fool of herself.
Something that Bella does a lot as the book goes on, but actually it is not making a fool of herself, it is so sweetly endearing and lovely that you cannot help but smile, because somehow she picks herself up and turns the whole situation around. Not to say that I didn't smile to myself as our feisty Bella sitting in a job interview in a green bridesmaid dress with her assets on show!
Bella manages to pick Isaac up when tragedy strikes and she shows him that you perhaps need very little in life to survive. Isaac shows her what love can and should be like. Bella is trying to resist but misunderstandings continue through the novel and you wonder if perhaps Isaac just hasn't got the strength to fight against Bella's determination not to fall in love and break down the walls.
This book has everything in equal measure and plenty more. I laughed, I cried and I even confess to dreaming about my own Isaac, sweeping me off my feet. The book completely took me away to Hope Island, and its scenery and residents, and the wonder that is Holly Martin's writing.
Novels often can be described as transporting you to another place, Holly Martin's novels should be at the very top of this category.
Bella lives on Hope Island, an island which is part of the Scilly Isles and it is a place where everyone knows your business, whether you try to hide it or not. In the case of Bella, everyone knows she lived with her aunt and uncle because her mother abandoned her and she was unintentionally caught up in a fraud case in her previous work.
Bella trusts few people despite her seemingly happy outgoing look on life. She really is only close to the family that she grew up with, including Rome and Eden her brother and sister. She cannot let anyone in.
Down on her luck and having to live on porridge, she still finds time to help a homeless man, she finds on her doorstep. Blunt with him as she literally has no money, she offers the next best thing, a bowl of porridge and her sofa for the night. Trouble is Isaac is not who he says he is and it turns out that helping someone can lead to all sorts of problems and some rather interesting situations.
Isaac is back home, he wants to come back to where people like him for who he is and not because he has money and can perhaps help them further their careers. Bella does not know who he is now and they clearly have some sort of chemistry growing between them but Isaac needs to tell her the truth before she make a complete fool of herself.
Something that Bella does a lot as the book goes on, but actually it is not making a fool of herself, it is so sweetly endearing and lovely that you cannot help but smile, because somehow she picks herself up and turns the whole situation around. Not to say that I didn't smile to myself as our feisty Bella sitting in a job interview in a green bridesmaid dress with her assets on show!
Bella manages to pick Isaac up when tragedy strikes and she shows him that you perhaps need very little in life to survive. Isaac shows her what love can and should be like. Bella is trying to resist but misunderstandings continue through the novel and you wonder if perhaps Isaac just hasn't got the strength to fight against Bella's determination not to fall in love and break down the walls.
This book has everything in equal measure and plenty more. I laughed, I cried and I even confess to dreaming about my own Isaac, sweeping me off my feet. The book completely took me away to Hope Island, and its scenery and residents, and the wonder that is Holly Martin's writing.
lionkate's review
2.0
maybe it just wasn't for me. but. it felt so cringe at so many points. don't invite a strange man into your home, girl. zero concern for her safety. and then she goes from so upset and 'do not touch me' to trying to hug him. they forgot all the reasons they shouldn't so quickly and easily. the girls in her life are all immediately like ooooh better marry that one. y'all, he lied to her and he's her boss and you've never met him.
mixingrealitywithfiction's review
5.0
3 glorious weeks with Bella and Isaac. It doesn’t usually take me 3 weeks to finish a book I’m really enjoying but I’ve had to pack up and move me and my family during that time.
This is an absolutely beautiful book. It had my heart thumping so many times. There were scenes that were HOT
This is an absolutely beautiful book. It had my heart thumping so many times. There were scenes that were HOT
nannyf's review
5.0
To say I loved this story is a huge understatement. I read it in one sitting and honestly could not put it down once I started.
This isn't your usual boy meets girl and falls in love story. Bella is a young woman who has had a hard start in life. She is struggling to make ends meet, yet still finds enough kindness in her heart to invite a homeless man into her home and shares her last meal with him. What she doesn't know, is that Isaac isn't actually homeless. His intentions are good, but perhaps he has gone about them wrong, especially as Bella isn't the type of person who takes kindly to being lied to.
Bella is a lovely character, but she had such a bad start in life that she has put huge barriers up around her heart which will take a force of nature to bring down. Given the not so great start to their friendship, Isaac has to go some to find a way to explain his motives when Bella finds out the truth about him. From that moment on the story kicks up a gear.
I loved reading all the ideas that Bella comes up with, what a creative mind the author has to come up with everything she does. Being a huge fan of the game she uses as the basis for one of Bella's most ambitious ideas, I totally related to that part of the story in particular.
The characters are all very well written, the story flows throughout, and I loved every minute of it.
Huge thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for providing a copy.
This isn't your usual boy meets girl and falls in love story. Bella is a young woman who has had a hard start in life. She is struggling to make ends meet, yet still finds enough kindness in her heart to invite a homeless man into her home and shares her last meal with him. What she doesn't know, is that Isaac isn't actually homeless. His intentions are good, but perhaps he has gone about them wrong, especially as Bella isn't the type of person who takes kindly to being lied to.
Bella is a lovely character, but she had such a bad start in life that she has put huge barriers up around her heart which will take a force of nature to bring down. Given the not so great start to their friendship, Isaac has to go some to find a way to explain his motives when Bella finds out the truth about him. From that moment on the story kicks up a gear.
I loved reading all the ideas that Bella comes up with, what a creative mind the author has to come up with everything she does. Being a huge fan of the game she uses as the basis for one of Bella's most ambitious ideas, I totally related to that part of the story in particular.
The characters are all very well written, the story flows throughout, and I loved every minute of it.
Huge thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for providing a copy.
anneduff's review
1.0
I downloaded this book based on the rave reviews and was looking forward to a bit of light reading. What a let down! I quickly became bored with Bella constantly harping on about how unlovable she must be and how she doesn't believe in love. Then I got bored by how many times Isaac was "gloriously naked". I ended up skimming the pages just to get to the end and I still didn't miss any of the plot.