Review: Heartwarming indeed - I'll second that!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 12, 2014
I haven’t read a Harlequin romance since high school but if Ms. Mentink’s style is any indication, I’ve been missing out. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.Rosa and her brother Cy return to Pelican Inn as contestants in a decorator’s contest. They have hopes of reviving their flagging interior design business and also of helping their elderly adopted aunt. No sooner does Rosa arrive than former high school boyfriend – a romance that went terribly wrong – Pike – now a successful, handsome lawyer – slides off the roof right at her feet. The sparks are set to fly.So many things work in this book. The characters, their problems and the various ways they cope are believable without ever crossing the line to melodrama. The setting of Tumbledown fits right in with what a reader imagines a quirky town on the coast of California might be like – complete with a coffee shop that specializes in blueberry scones, a hardware store that always has everything one might need and an annual boat festival that floods the town with visitors. The history of the Pelican Inn and the man who built it is woven through the story with a light touch that never weighs down the narrative. Likewise can be said about the interior decorating details – enough to paint the picture is all that is required.Mentink has created something rare in the fact that this book is so much more than boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back or vice versa. The secondary characters that surround Rosa and Pike make the story, right down to the odd looking dog named Baggy who is often mistaken for an oversized mole. More than a few older people who are attempting to deal with some very real older people issues are deftly handled and I suspect many readers will wipe a tear or two away when they reach the conclusion of Return to Pelican Inn.Bravo to Dana Mentink for bringing the cast of characters at Pelican Inn to life. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The next time I’m in the mood for some heartwarming romance, I know whose books I’m going to look for.