Review: Another great installment!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 19, 2013
REVIEWED BY KATIEIt's official: I'm an Elisabeth Barrett fan! I'm so impressed she's created this small New England town that I OCCASIONALLY think about actually visiting. I have to snap back into reality and remind myself that it's fictional!In LONG SIMMERING SPRING we get to learn more about Cole Grayson. Cole is the sheriff of Star Harbor after transferring in from the Boston police department. Before that he was in the military on active duty. He's been staying with his brother Val on Val's boat, and Cole is clearly dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder from his deployment.Julie Kensington is the doctor in town who recently opened her own practice. She has always been completely driven and school and career focused. She rarely gives herself a break...except when it comes to Cole. Julie and Cole aren't strangers to each other. They both grew up in Star Harbor and went to school together. Cole even stole a kiss from Julie early on in high school that resulted in a slap in the face.The Grayson brothers were notorious bad boys growing up. It seems like the town has mostly forgiven them and accepted them as decent members of the community. Cole mentions a few times how Julie is able to forgive him and move past some of the things he did when he was younger. I'm dying to know what those things were! It can't just be about a stolen teenage kiss...what were those Grayson boys up to?! Was it serious? I want some examples!One thing I loved about this book was that we've already met Cole and Julie several times in the previous books. We know who they are, what they do, and a few things about them. It almost feels like the stories in this series could have been happening simultaneously and each book is told from a different person's perspective. I really like how much the characters overlap.Another thing I love about this series is the ongoing subplot. Elisabeth Barrett has managed to create an interesting secondary plot that is running through the entire series. The amazing part to me is that each time a book ends, the subplot satisfyingly wraps up, then opens again in the next book. Genius! It's also a nice way to include the other heroes and heroines from the previous books. I love that we get to keep tabs on them and they are strewn in to the new story.My only confusion was that in previous books it seemed like Cole was more settled in Star Harbor as the sheriff. Apparently he's only been back for six months or so and is still very much adjusting. Julie has been back for awhile. Did they really go this whole time avoiding each other and not talking at all? It seemed as if their conversations just began in this book, yet their attraction is so strong that they jump into a relationship pretty quickly after that first conversation. Maybe they just had six months of foreplay...It was great to see a more realistic side of both Cole and Julie. In previous books they seemed so put together and professional. It's nice to see them unravel a little bit. For those of you out there like me, you'll be happy to hear that there is way more than romance to this book and series. We continue our drug ring mystery, some more pirate lore, and we even have some violence and a peeping tom situation. This one moves along at a great pace and is definitely a page turner!BOTTOM LINE:LONG SIMMERING SPRING is another great installment in the Star Harbor series from Elisabeth Barrett! The romance is perfectly paired with action and subplots. If you enjoy some contemporary romance with a few twists and turns along the way, you'll enjoy this one. If you haven't started reading this series yet, what are you waiting for?! Do it!RATING: A-Note: I received a copy of this title courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley.