Blue Moon Bay, Book 1
From the publisher:
They have different ideas about the fate of an old inn…until it brings them together.
When Sarah Lewis inherits a run-down B&B from her late grandmother in coastal Blue Moon Bay, the logical thing to do is sell it and focus on her life in L.A. But when she learns that interested buyers will only tear it down in its current state, she feels a sense of obligation to her grandmother to get it back to the landmark tourist destination it once was…even if that means hiring the best contractor for the job, who happens to be her old high school crush.
Wes Sharrun’s life has continued to unravel since the death of his wife three years before. Now with a struggling construction company and a nine-year-old daughter, he sees the B&B as an opportunity to get back on his feet. Unfortunately, despite trying to keep his distance, his daughter has taken a liking to Sarah, and his own feelings are tough to deny.
As they spend more time together painting, exploring a forgotten treasure trove of wine in a basement cellar, and arguing over balcony placement, the more the spark between them ignites. But will saving the B&B be enough to convince them both to take a second chance at love?
This book is a charmer; Wes is a single dad, but he and his brilliant 9-year-old daughter are a package deal. That hasn’t worked out for him in the past, but Sarah may be different. For one thing, she is an old friend from high school. In fact, Wes wouldn’t have made it through without her tutoring him in math the final two years. But he graduated and went on to a short career in the NFL until an injury took him out. He married his high school sweetheart but a bout with cancer took her life.
Sarah hasn’t been back to her hometown for a while. She’s a successful coder in Los Angeles, but when her grandmother dies and leaves Sarah her bed & breakfast, Sarah is forced to come back to figure out why. Her first instinct is to just sell it, but it is in serious disrepair. Luckily, Wes is a contractor who already had given her grandmother a quote to fix up the place, and it will be worth a lot more than the dilapidated state it’s currently in.
Sarah knows she can do most of her work remotely, so she decides to fix it up before selling. Plus she has some of her own ideas to implement, and although Wes doesn’t approve, he needs the money. His football savings were spent on medical bills for his wife, so he agrees to all the updates Sarah wants.
Sarah had a major crush on Wes back in high school, but he didn’t know that. Now that they are working on the B&B together, those feelings come rushing back to Sarah and Wes is really drawn to her, especially when she offers his daughter an internship. Sarah needs help developing an app that will appeal to kids, and this kid is a coding genius who already has developed her own app.
There are stumbles along the way for sure, but Ethan and Sarah get their happy ending. I would have liked a bit more detail about the reno and that fabulous wine cellar, but that is a minor quibble. This was a heartwarming read with enough heat to make it interesting. Highly recommend!
6/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
A LOT LIKE LOVE by Jennifer Snow. Entangled: Amara (June 29, 2021). ISBN: 978-1649370242. 320 pages.
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