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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
This was cute and fun! I do want to read the rest of the series! I like her books, they are quick and easy. I liked that we got to meet so many different characters and we got so many different stories through out the story.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Oh, how I've missed Cedar Cove!! While I enjoy vising Fool's Gold ... Cedar Cove will probably always be my first joy for visiting.
Jo Marie has a houseful of guest for this trip. This was a pretty emotion-tugging book for me. I enjoyed the 50-year anniversary party, and Mary's visit. Annie and Oliver were an ok storyline, but it kind of felt like an afterthought to me.
I love the developing relationship for Jo Marie and Mark. LOTS of arguing in this book, but I always like grumpy men and women who know how to deal with them :)
Just a really good book. I'm looking forward to seeing what's next.
Jo Marie has a houseful of guest for this trip. This was a pretty emotion-tugging book for me. I enjoyed the 50-year anniversary party, and Mary's visit. Annie and Oliver were an ok storyline, but it kind of felt like an afterthought to me.
I love the developing relationship for Jo Marie and Mark. LOTS of arguing in this book, but I always like grumpy men and women who know how to deal with them :)
Just a really good book. I'm looking forward to seeing what's next.
This review was posted at Tsuki’s Book Blog on August 31, 2013.
Last year I read the first book in the Rose Harbor series and also my first Debbie Macomber. I had always wanted to try the small-town author but I hadn't had a chance. I loved the first book in the series surrounding an inn. It allows the perfect combination of new stories with a stable environment.
This time, innkeeper Jo Marie is impatiently waiting for Mark (the handyman) to put in a rose garden and a gazebo before her open house. Naturally cantankerous Mark is dragging his feet. They fight and in the meantime two new sets of guests arrive at the inn. The first guest, Mary Smith, has been diagnosed with cancer and traveled to town to see the love of her life and to get closure. The second set of guests surround Annie and her grandparents. Annie's grandparents are celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary and fighting left and right. In the meantime Annie is dealing with the boy next door all grown up. Of course during all of that, Jo Marie gets some upsetting news about her dead husband.
I love the continuity of the Inn and the relationship growing between Jo Marie and Mark. Mark is so deliciously adorable with his gruff demeanor and I just wanted Jo Marie to kiss him senseless. I loved each fight and each of the moments the 'future' couple had together. Also the dog in between them was perfect.
Annie and Oliver's story was typical and a bit unnecessary. While I understood Ms. Macomber's need to balance the story with two guest stories, I was bored with Annie and Ollie from page one. They were just uninteresting characters who had a rocky past and were going to end up together.
The story that interested me the most was Mary and George's story. They had this troubled past but they both had loved each other so much. Twenty years later hadn't dulled the love and it was obvious from their first phone call. I loved every minute I spent with them while they tried to reconcile the past and look towards the future. It was sad to see a woman so dragged down by her diagnosis. At the same time it was wonderful to see her so lifted when the love of her life was around.
The book also opened the grieving process for Jo Marie as she struggled to finally accept her husband was gone. It was heart-wrenching to see how distraught she was over the letter written by her husband in the event of his death. It was so sad to hear her hopes and dreams all while dealing with everyone telling her to let go.
I rarely relate fully to characters in books but Debbie Macomber always surprises me with people who seem real. I've lost people and I've seen what cancer does to people. To read the truthful details about the effects of cancer, the grief of losing someone, and the romance of falling in love makes the book that much more enjoyable. I loved every second in Rose Harbor and I immediately went looking for the release date of book three. Sadly, no word yet.
4 Stars
Published by Ballantine Books
August 13, 2013
336 Pages
Provided by--NetGalley
Last year I read the first book in the Rose Harbor series and also my first Debbie Macomber. I had always wanted to try the small-town author but I hadn't had a chance. I loved the first book in the series surrounding an inn. It allows the perfect combination of new stories with a stable environment.
This time, innkeeper Jo Marie is impatiently waiting for Mark (the handyman) to put in a rose garden and a gazebo before her open house. Naturally cantankerous Mark is dragging his feet. They fight and in the meantime two new sets of guests arrive at the inn. The first guest, Mary Smith, has been diagnosed with cancer and traveled to town to see the love of her life and to get closure. The second set of guests surround Annie and her grandparents. Annie's grandparents are celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary and fighting left and right. In the meantime Annie is dealing with the boy next door all grown up. Of course during all of that, Jo Marie gets some upsetting news about her dead husband.
I love the continuity of the Inn and the relationship growing between Jo Marie and Mark. Mark is so deliciously adorable with his gruff demeanor and I just wanted Jo Marie to kiss him senseless. I loved each fight and each of the moments the 'future' couple had together. Also the dog in between them was perfect.
Annie and Oliver's story was typical and a bit unnecessary. While I understood Ms. Macomber's need to balance the story with two guest stories, I was bored with Annie and Ollie from page one. They were just uninteresting characters who had a rocky past and were going to end up together.
The story that interested me the most was Mary and George's story. They had this troubled past but they both had loved each other so much. Twenty years later hadn't dulled the love and it was obvious from their first phone call. I loved every minute I spent with them while they tried to reconcile the past and look towards the future. It was sad to see a woman so dragged down by her diagnosis. At the same time it was wonderful to see her so lifted when the love of her life was around.
The book also opened the grieving process for Jo Marie as she struggled to finally accept her husband was gone. It was heart-wrenching to see how distraught she was over the letter written by her husband in the event of his death. It was so sad to hear her hopes and dreams all while dealing with everyone telling her to let go.
I rarely relate fully to characters in books but Debbie Macomber always surprises me with people who seem real. I've lost people and I've seen what cancer does to people. To read the truthful details about the effects of cancer, the grief of losing someone, and the romance of falling in love makes the book that much more enjoyable. I loved every second in Rose Harbor and I immediately went looking for the release date of book three. Sadly, no word yet.
4 Stars
Published by Ballantine Books
August 13, 2013
336 Pages
Provided by--NetGalley
I can only review this with spoilers because I have Opinions. First of all, the speed with which Mary is forgiven for concealing the birth and subsequent adoption of their daughter was CRAZY fast. It should have been so much more complex and could have encompasses a novel. Second of all I expect Debbie Macomber novels to be sweet and choose to read them for the fluffy stories and happy endings. However. The play up manipulate emotions and induce tears with the whole graduation scene and running into her and then her parents was too much. Bleh. And her insistence on then leaving him AGAIN to “save” him was so selfish and stupid and simplistic. I didn’t really like Mary as a character.
With the other story, her need explain to the ex at the end who Oliver was had me rolling my eyes. They were broken up six months. It’s not his business. Get a restraining order. Dude Called your boss. Then get some counseling to figure out why you’re worried about him knowing who Oliver is.
The continuing story of the innkeeper was the best part. Rover is the best of all.
With the other story, her need explain to the ex at the end who Oliver was had me rolling my eyes. They were broken up six months. It’s not his business. Get a restraining order. Dude Called your boss. Then get some counseling to figure out why you’re worried about him knowing who Oliver is.
The continuing story of the innkeeper was the best part. Rover is the best of all.
I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley.
Here we are back in Cedar Cove at Jo Marie's Inn. Watching her cope with the loss of her husband, that she still can't quite accept, and learning to run the inn like a well oiled machine. She has a few guests coming in, Mary Smith and a family set to celebrate a 50th anniversary. All the while she has to contend with her snarky neighbor/handyman Mark and his attitude. One minute he's talking to her over coffee the next he's storming off in a huff.
Annie, one of the before mentioned guests of the inn, is in town to throw her grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. Six months before hand she had broken off her engagement to Lenny, a guy that thought that being faithful was an option. She keeps getting calls from him begging her to take back but she's resolute and tells him that is over. Her grandparents marriage is everything she wants for herself, except when they arrive with Oliver, the bane of her existence, they are doing nothing but bickering. Annie is floored, gone are the people that were loving and doting people she grew up with and are replaced with these mean people, that she doesn't know. Oliver is trying put the past behind them and get Annie to see him for he is now. Can he do that? Maybe, but Anne is going to fight him.
Mary Smith is a bit of a mystery. She's in Cedar Cove for a specific reason but you really don't find out what it is until almost the very end of the book. I really don't want to give much away. Mary is sick, physically you can tell, she's bald and she looks weary after the least bit of exertion. While she is there for a specific reason, she has another one as well, perhaps she'll look up her long lost love, George. He's defiantly the one that got away. When she gets a hold of him she finds that he is single and ready to see her again no matter what she looks like or where she is. Reluctantly she sees him and can honestly say that she loves him just as much as she did 18 years ago.
It was a great ride that Debbie Macomber takes us on. Just seeing Cedar Cove again is wonderful. Even had a few glimpses of the characters from the CC series. I am so intrigued by what is going on with Jo Marie and Mark. I can feel that something is going on there. I also am hoping that Jo Marie finally starts to move on with her life after her husbands death. A beautiful book that I am so glad I was given to read. Check out the first one and its prequel, or any of her other books. You won't be disappointed.
Here we are back in Cedar Cove at Jo Marie's Inn. Watching her cope with the loss of her husband, that she still can't quite accept, and learning to run the inn like a well oiled machine. She has a few guests coming in, Mary Smith and a family set to celebrate a 50th anniversary. All the while she has to contend with her snarky neighbor/handyman Mark and his attitude. One minute he's talking to her over coffee the next he's storming off in a huff.
Annie, one of the before mentioned guests of the inn, is in town to throw her grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. Six months before hand she had broken off her engagement to Lenny, a guy that thought that being faithful was an option. She keeps getting calls from him begging her to take back but she's resolute and tells him that is over. Her grandparents marriage is everything she wants for herself, except when they arrive with Oliver, the bane of her existence, they are doing nothing but bickering. Annie is floored, gone are the people that were loving and doting people she grew up with and are replaced with these mean people, that she doesn't know. Oliver is trying put the past behind them and get Annie to see him for he is now. Can he do that? Maybe, but Anne is going to fight him.
Mary Smith is a bit of a mystery. She's in Cedar Cove for a specific reason but you really don't find out what it is until almost the very end of the book. I really don't want to give much away. Mary is sick, physically you can tell, she's bald and she looks weary after the least bit of exertion. While she is there for a specific reason, she has another one as well, perhaps she'll look up her long lost love, George. He's defiantly the one that got away. When she gets a hold of him she finds that he is single and ready to see her again no matter what she looks like or where she is. Reluctantly she sees him and can honestly say that she loves him just as much as she did 18 years ago.
It was a great ride that Debbie Macomber takes us on. Just seeing Cedar Cove again is wonderful. Even had a few glimpses of the characters from the CC series. I am so intrigued by what is going on with Jo Marie and Mark. I can feel that something is going on there. I also am hoping that Jo Marie finally starts to move on with her life after her husbands death. A beautiful book that I am so glad I was given to read. Check out the first one and its prequel, or any of her other books. You won't be disappointed.
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
4.5 stars. Debbie Macomber’s Rose Harbor in Bloom is a warm and inviting story of love, healing, family, and friendship. Please click HERE to read my review in its entirety.
Good story! Love all the Cedar Cove/Rose Harbor books! Was satisfying as an individual book but definitely left room for another to continue Jo Anne's storyline.