1.16k reviews for:

Broken Harbor

Catherine Cowles

4.21 AVERAGE

adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced
emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Loveable characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

4.25⭐️/ 3🌶️

Catherine Cowles does it again by bringing another romantic suspense within a lovely, close knit small town with lovable characters, and great tropes. We’re back in the small town of, Sparrow Falls, and with this newest book, it centered on another of the Colson siblings, Copeland “Cope” Colson. Cope was a famous NHL hockey player, but to his siblings, he was just the fun loving, outgoing man. For Sutton, living in Sparrow Falls was everything she could have wanted by finding peace, safety, and the dream of having her own bakery while raising her lovable son, Luca. After a terrifying experience two years previously, Sutton made a promise to herself to protect Luca at all costs. By living in the picturesque town of Sparrow Falls, it was far away from her previous home and the people who had brought pain to her. This story brought a single mom living with a hard past trying to find happiness in the small town, and the NHL hockey player who found himself gravitating towards the beautiful baker/ single mom, as well as her son. 

The thing that I love the most about Catherine Cowles’s stories especially with this series is how is brings new tropes alongside the romantic suspense plots in the books. Cope and Sutton’s stories have been always I have been eagerly awaiting especially with the last book hinting at more of them having a story together. Cope was usually the one who seemed laidback, funny, and outgoing, but with his own trauma resurfacing it seemed like things weren’t as easy as it seemed. For Sutton, she was a hard working, loving single mom who did everything possible to make sure her bakery was thriving and her son, Luca was living a happy life. I could see how much love and affection Sutton had for Luca and seeing how she tackled the obstacles that came her way made me admire her more. Being a single parent isn’t easy, but Sutton showed just how far she was willing to go in order to protect Luca. 

When I heard that this story was not only going to have the single mom trope, but also have the MMC be a NHL hockey player I was like, “YES!” Something about combining a bit of the sports romance element into the romantic suspense plot line was interesting to me, and unique. Not sure if there have been other stories quite like this one, but regardless it was a good one that I quickly found myself immersed in and unable to put down. I think pairing Cope and Sutton was a great choice as the two of them individually were from different backgrounds, but also you wouldn’t necessarily picture them together. Cope and Sutton just worked together and seeing them fall in love was sweet and lovely.

Overall, another good story from Catherine Cowles. Once again, I was caught off guard with the plot twist, but it added a bit more drama as to everything that occurred in the story. I think the thing I loved most about this book was seeing, Cope, Sutton, and Luca form a family together. Sutton and Luca were always just by themselves, but Cope and the rest of the Colson clan embraced them as part of the family, and had all the love and support they didn’t have previously. Sutton was a good mother to Luca, and seeing her break down her walls around Cope showed her giving a chance in love, which worked out perfectly for her. Seeing familiar faces from the first two book was great, and again added more of that close knit loving community which I always love. This story was good, enjoyed it, and even had me wondering which couple would be next in the series. Cope and Sutton got their happy ending, and the epilogue further showed more joy that illustrated the happiness Cope, Sutton, Luca, and the rest of the Colson’s were experiencing. 
emotional funny inspiring mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
emotional mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious 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: Yes

Ugh, Catherine does it again!! I have made it a game of sorts with myself to try to determine who is going to be behind the suspense in her books and have failed every time LOL. This was a wonderful addition to this series, and though you could read it as a standalone, I would recommend reading these books in order. They build off of each other and you get to see the characters from previous books in the new ones! I really liked reading Cope and Sutton and watching them fall for each other. I LOVED that they had a not-so-meet cute. I loved how strong Sutton was and how much she had overcome in her life. She had a hard time accepting help from anyone. Cope on the other hand was our knight in shining armor swooping in to help and liking the sass/acceptance he got from Sutton. These two had some serious chemistry from the jump! I liked that by being this knight for Sutton, Cope was able to find some inner peace. He was going through it and had been holding some things in for a while. Meeting Sutton and seeing how she coped with her past helped him realize he could do it too. And THEN we had the added element of cuteness with Luca. The kid adored and basically worshipped Cope. I loved when Cope and Sutton decided to tell Luca about them and he was like oh yeah I already knew that. Kids see more than we think yall!!

Sutton is at the end of her rope. She doesn't think things could get any worse and then they do. She doesn't know how she is going to be able to afford to do anything now. Most of how is she going to continue to support Luca in his love for hockey and run her store while also being a single mom. Well when help comes, it is not from who she expected. It is from Cope Colson- one of her now good friends' brothers. He is in town for the summer working at the camp where Luca is going and offers to help set her up. He moves them into his house. He shows her that even though she CAN do it alone most of the time, it is ok to ask for help every once in a while. All the while they are around each other, there is this slow burn build-up going on. But Sutton swore off athletes a long time ago. Tragedy strikes in Cope's world though and she comes when he needs her. They started as friends but have become so much more. What they share is beyond anything she has ever experienced. So she opens up about her past with him. She tells him about her ghosts. And now it looks like someone is trying to scare her off. Weird things are happening in town at her shop. But Cope will keep her safe. But her past comes to get her when she least expects it. She never wanted Cope involved in all of this, and she hopes before it is all over that he knows how much she loves him. How much he means to her. 

Cope is coming back home to heal and hide a little. Someone is coming after him in the media, and he can't put his finger on who. So he agrees to come home to help with a camp for the summer. Keep a low profile. What he doesn't expect is Luca. And what he really doesn't expect is Sutton. Sutton who in the best way turns him down flat before realizing that he is Luca's coach. Sutton who is so strong and strikingly beautiful, hefinds himself going out of his way to be able to interact with her. Sutton who needs help but won't ask for it. So he does it for her. He offers his home to them until they can get things sorted out. He offers a little sanctuary for her. He likes helping her. He likes being needed. He also can't stop thinking about her in ALLL sorts of ways. He feels like things are progressing between them but then she surprises him by showing up when he needs her the most. Now things are for sure not going the friend route. He finds himself thinking long term here. He wants to know more about her and her past. And when she tells him he is devastated and in awe of what she has overcome. But now someone is in town messing with her. That just won't stand. Cope will do whatever it takes to keep Luca and Sutton safe. He just hopes he isn't too late. 

Catherine does such a good job of establishing these characters who have SOO many walls up, and then introducing them to the one person who is going to knock them all down. Reading that story is always so delicious and well done. This one was all of that. I loved Sutton and Cope as a family. I loved the side characters and glimpses we got into how they were doing. I also really enjoyed the added element of suspense- even though I knew it would be in there, it just keeps me on my toes. One of these days MAYBE I will guess who the bad guy is! Catherine is the queen of plot twists LOL. Now onto Arden- can't wait to see how all of the shakes out! If you haven't picked up this series yet, I definitely recommend it :)
emotional funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Whoo whee! I LOVED this one! Cope & Sutton's story is my favorite so far (though they are all good). I mean, I am quite partial to hockey romances so maybe that was part of it. But honestly, I just really liked these two characters and their backstories. I also loved little Luca. I'm learning I might be a bit of a sucker for a single mom trope. LOL!

Be sure to check out this series if you're into small-town romance, found family, and like a tiny bit of suspense in your books!
medium-paced
emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-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: No