Review: Great addition to the series!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 2, 2013
4.5 StarsI'm having such fun with the Promise Harbor books! Meg Benjamin writes small towns well; her Konigsburg, Texas series is one of my all time favorites, so it's no surprise she attacks this series with the same exuberance. I love her writing style it's a unique blend of wit, snark, and eloquence and she always writes memorable characters. While the beginning of this story takes place in Promise Harbor, the majority of it takes place a few miles down the road in a much smaller town, Tompkins Corner. Bolted is book two in this series and it is every bit as delightful as the first book!Greta isn't in a wedding kind of mood and the fact that she's forced to wear the bridesmaid dressfrom hell isn't helping. But, it's her "perfect" brother's wedding so she's trying to deal. When her brother's soon to be bride is carried out of the church by her ex-boyfriend, she convinced that maybe she's a bad wedding luck charm. After all her own marriage has fallen apart and she's yet to tell her family. Deciding she needs some time to assess her life she heads for the coast but gets turned around and ends up rescuing an archeologist trapped in a hole.Hank Mitchell is have a bad day, actually it is more like a colossal bad day. His intern didn't show up for work, he's trapped in a hole with his foot caught, and his cell phone is out of reach. He is grateful when a woman appears even if she does look like a Gone With The Wind refugee but when she doesn't mind climbing down in a hole to help him out, he's intrigued. He can't help but wonder if she is in some kind of trouble when she acts like she has no place to go.It was easy to love all the characters in this book from the start; even Greta's ex-husband has some redeeming qualities. Greta is my kind of heroine; she can be snarky one minute and all sweetness the next. It is evident that she has some self esteem issues and is still beating herself up over some past bad decisions but, it was nice to see her come into her own and believe she has something to contribute.Hank is just pure sex on a stick but in a nice guy kind of way. I don't think he realizes what a hunk he is which makes me love him all the more. I like that he encourages Greta even when he knows he might lose out in the end. Then there are the Dubrovnik's; Alice, Nadia, and Alice's granddaughter, Hyacinth. These three add an extra layer to this story with their attitudes, questions, and words of wisdom.As Greta is newly divorced she's somewhat gun shy when it comes to Hank, yet she finds him hard to resist. He is equally enamored and it doesn't take them long to give in to their attraction. While they do finally make it to a bed, there is no mistaking these two really enjoy the great outdoors and I'll forever think of them when I hear owls!Greta left without more than a quick text message to her mother, so things get somewhat interesting in Promise Harbor after she disappears especially when her ex-husband shows up to help locate her. She is in no hurry to return as she knows she will face endless questions and will have to endure the censure of her mother for her divorce. Hank slowly uncovers Greta's background and I applaud him for helping her see things more clearly and gently helping her come to realize things aren't as bad as she thinks they are.I found this story to be an absolutely wonderful companion piece to Jilted, yet it could easily be read as a standalone book. It was easy to become immersed in the craziness that exists in Bolted and I dare you not to fall in love with these characters and feel the need to make reservations at Casa Dubrovnik! Busted is due out next and I am looking forward to the next installment in this fun series. Don't forget to check out the Promise Harbor website there is a lot of cool information on it: [...]Review copy provided for an honest review.