A review by lizzie1096
Broken Harbor by Catherine Cowles

emotional hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0



Catherine Cowles and hockey romance are not two things that I would ever think would be in the same sentence, but she really knocked it out of the park with this one. (Wrong sport, but the metaphor works) 

Both Sutton and Cope have a plethora of trauma but when Sutton has to move in with Cope because her awful landlord has once again risen the rent, they both find themselves opening up to each other in ways they never expected. 

Add in that Cope is Sutton's son's new hockey coach, and Cope can't help but take the kid under his wing, and you have the sweetest found family. The scene wherein Luca breaks down and asks Cope if he can be his dad... I'm still crying. It was so incredibly sweet, and I adore this little family. 

And for once, I wasn't entirely focused on the mystery of it all. It helps that I thought I knew who the bad guy was the entire time, so I didn't bother to look too closely at anyone else... though that proved to be a mistake 😅 The villian wasn't as shocking this time as it was just sad. I felt so bad for Cope and just wanted to give him a hug. The guy already blamed himself for so much, so to know there was someone who was actively trying to make him feel that way was really heartbreaking. 

I really did love this. It felt different than the other Cowles novels I've read while also staying entirely true to her usual small-town stories. And knowing that Linc is our MMC of Beautiful Exile makes me really excited for what our favorite team owner is going to bring.
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