About the Book:
Since moving to Cedar Cove, Jo Marie Rose has truly started to feel at home, and her neighbors have become her closest friends. Now it’s springtime, and Jo Marie is eager to finish the most recent addition to her inn. In memory of her late husband, Paul, she has designed a beautiful rose garden for the property and enlisted handyman Mark Taylor to help realize it. She and Mark don’t always see eye-to-eye—and at times he seems far removed—yet deep down, Jo Marie finds great comfort in his company. And while she still seeks a sense of closure, she welcomes her latest guests, who are on their own healing journeys.
Annie Newton arrives in town to orchestrate her grandparents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary celebration. While Annie is excited for the festivities, she’s struggling to move on from her broken engagement, and her grandparents themselves seem to be having trouble getting along. Worse, Annie is forced to see Oliver Sutton, with whom she grew up and who has always mercilessly teased her. But the best parties end with a surprise, and Annie is in for the biggest one of all.
High-powered businesswoman Mary Smith, another Rose Harbor Inn guest, has achieved incredible success in her field, yet serious illness has led her to face her sole, lingering regret. Almost nineteen years ago, she ended her relationship with her true love, George Hudson, and now she’s returned to Cedar Cove to make amends.
Compassion and joy await Jo Marie, Annie, and Mary as they make peace with their pasts and look boldly toward their futures. Rose Harbor in Bloom is Debbie Macomber at her heartwarming best.
My Comments:
This is the second book in Macomber's latest series. I reviewed the first back in July. These books are set at an Inn in Cedar Cove, Washington, and a couple of the characters from Macomber's Cedar Cove sagas make cameo appearances but you don't have to know anything about them to enjoy this book. Unlike the Cedar Cove books with their multiple threads and soap-opera-ish pace, these Rose Harbor books, while connected by a common setting and a few common characters, each stand alone well. We find out in this book that the main characters from the last book all headed to the altar, but that really has nothing to do with the story here. Both of the main romantic plots in this book feature couples who have known each other for a long time; couples who were each other's first love. Both of the couples have been apart; will they get back together?
Like Macomber's other recent works, no one ends up in bed, and while you would be no means characterize the book as religious fiction, prayer is mentioned. There is also a pro-life message.
I'd like the thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley. Grade: B.
Other Debbie Macomber Books:
I'm enjoying her new series. At first I worried it would be too similar to the Cedar Cove series but she's managed to give it its own feel. I do hope we find out why the handyman is so grouchy all the time. There has to be a reason, right?
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