Review: Return to Star Harbour with an enjoyable, quick read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 16, 2012
BLAZE OF WINTER is the second book in the small-town contemporary romance Star Harbour series by new author Elisabeth Barrett.Like the preceding book in the series (DEEP AUTUMN HEAT), BLAZE OF WINTER is a quick, highly enjoyable read with plenty of steam that will leave you smiling and feeling warm & fuzzy inside. The writing and pacing are tighter than in the first book, making it a more enjoyable read. I found Theo to be a more agreeable character than his twin (and hero of DEEP AUTUMN HEAT) Seb from the get-go, possessing a sweetness and good-guy aura that made his quick fall and (re)turn from superficial pseudo-intellectual West Coast Casanova to forever-after home-and-hearth Star Harbour homeboy more believable than Seb's turnaround. That ice skating scene? Be still my heart! It's also refreshing to see the hero be the first to realise & admit he has met his one and only, and then have to actively work to convince his leading lady that 'happy ever after' is in the cards. Theo may not have some deep, wrenching emotional conflict, but his issue--discovering he has lost himself in his lifestyle and coming home to find his true self--is one many of us can recognise and relate to.Heroine Avery is the one with the issues and the relationship reticence. After the heartbreaking loss of a patient she was convinced was on the mend, she leaves her post as a social worker specialising in addiction in Boston to help her aunt and try to sort out her life in sleepy Star Harbour. Avery is emotionally raw, convinced she cannot trust her judgement in anything (particularly interpersonal relationships), and hell-bent on doing things without the help of her family and the new friends she is making in town. When she meets Theo, the scorching attraction is instantaneous and undeniable, but she fights it every step of the way (the only exception being when Theo actively has his hands on her and said attraction overcomes all rational thought). She's so focused on herself and her [perceived] shortcomings that she completely misses everyone around her trying to help--especially all of Theo's endeavours to prove that he's in it forever! I was sorely tempted to slap her upside the head a few times for having such a narrow focus, but the way Theo, her friends & family, and the rest of the town get her to open up proves incredibly rewarding and heartwarming.The 'suspense' subplot that runs through the first book and this one serves as a way to link the stories together--beyond the fact that the heroes are the four Grayson brothers--but doesn't add much beyond that [not to an avid reader of romantic suspense]: the Star Harbour series is, without a doubt, contemporary romance all the way. There is a great cast of supporting characters, and the charm & sense of community of the quaint New England town of Star Harbour are perfectly captured and developed. Getting to see some of those characters again is one of the best parts of BLAZE OF WINTER, as is anticipating what's in store for Cole & Val in the next two books of the series.