carolesrandomlife

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life

I received an advance reader edition of this book from St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for the purpose of providing an honest review.

I would rate this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. I find that I am becoming a huge fan of Lily Everett's writing. According to Goodreads, this is the second Sanctuary Island book. I have not read the first book and had no trouble keeping up with this book. I have read several of Everett's novellas that were also set on the island and a few of the locations were familiar to me because of that.

This book is focused on Merry and Ben. Ben is the local vet who takes care of all of the animals on the island. Merry goes into labor at the beginning of the book and Ben is there to help deliver the baby. Merry, a single mother, is determined to be a good mother to her baby, Alex. Ben feels a connection to both Merry and Alex and asks Merry to marry him. The couple approach marriage as a business deal and attempt to leave emotions out of the equation but both secretly harbor feelings for each other. Just as they start to falling in love with each other, Ben's parents show up to cause trouble for the couple.

It is no secret that I read a lot. The basic plot of the book was one that I have read before. What sets this book apart for the others for me was the execution of the plot. I found the characters to be believable and well developed. I liked the fact that the author did not rely on sex as the main vehicle for the couple to fall in love. The sex in this book is really left to the reader's imagination.

I would recommend this book to any romance reader. I plan to look for future works in this series and by this author.