The newest Lucky Harbor trilogy comes to an end with Forever and a Day. This is a series about three friends that bond over their mutual love for chocolate and find a place to belong and their happily ever after in a small town.
Grace is a workaholic who lost everything—job and home included—and is temporarily in Lucky Harbor while she finds a new job. She’s been unsuccessful so far and to pay the bills she’s been forced to take odd jobs. But when she impulsively answers an add searching for a dog walker she ends up finding something completely unexpected.
Josh is an overworked single father who’s at the end of his rope and about to lose it. He has to maintain his father’s private practice, his job at the local hospital, raise his young son and take care of his teenage sister who is dealing with the trauma of surviving the accident that killed their parents and left her on a wheelchair. He needs help, and he needs it now. What he didn’t expect was that help would arrive in the form of Grace—a woman he feels attracted to but he can’t have because his life doesn’t need the added complication. The rest, you probably can guess.
I thought this book was compelling but seriously flawed. Both Grace and Josh were interesting, likeable characters, with lots of chemistry between them but whose actions were more than questionable, especially Josh’s. I couldn’t see past through the fact that he was neglecting his family. His character arc is all about deciding what’s truly important in his life, the problem is that one of his choices is his kid who’s already been abandoned by his mother. Is that really a choice? Josh has conflicted emotions because his practice is his father’s legacy, so he feels that by selling it he would be betraying his memory. I understand that, but his family needed him more than he needed to honor his dad. His life was falling apart and the solution was so simple that instead of coming across as understandably troubled, he came across as annoyingly obtuse and stubborn. Yet, I liked him, probably because he was sweet and charismatic which lessened the impact of his flaws.
Grace was also a bit of a mess, but at least she wasn’t responsible for other human beings. I liked her, I usually enjoy high-strung heroines and she was one. As I said before, the chemistry between the leads was great and the romance interesting.
We also get to catch up with some of the series’ regulars, previous heroines included, and we get more of that great bromance between the different heroes which is something I’ve always loved about this series. Josh’s sister plays an important role, but I never liked her, although I blame it on Josh. This is a troubled teenager that leaves the house open to a stranger and doesn’t know what to do with her life. Josh gave her a huge responsibility and then got angry when she failed to achieve his expectations. That’s what happens when you’re an absent father.
The romance was as good as in previous books, but the story was the weakest of the bunch. It wasn’t bad, but the flaws were distracting and they lessened my enjoyment of the book. But overall this is a great series and I recommend not just these tree books, but the original trilogy as well. I’m sure fans of small town contemporaries will love it.
Review by Brie
Grade: 3
Synopsis:
LOVE CAN HAPPEN IN A HEARTBEAT
Grace never thought she'd be starting her life over from scratch. Losing everything has landed her in Lucky Harbor, working as a dog walker for overwhelmed ER doctor Josh Scott. But the day his nanny fails to show up, Grace goes from caring for Josh's lovable mutt to caring for his rambunctious son. Soon Grace is playing house with the sexy single dad . . .
With so many people depending on him, Josh has no time for anything outside of his clinic and family-until Grace arrives in town. Now this brainy blonde is turning his life inside out and giving a whole new meaning to the phrase "good bedside manner." Josh and Grace don't know if what they have can last. But in a town like Lucky Harbor, a lifetime of love starts with just one day . . .
Forever. July 31, 2012.
I've really been meaning to read these books. I hear such great things about them and I do love small-town love stories!
ReplyDeleteToo bad this one wasn't as enjoyable as the rest of the books, but at least you liked it overall.
Josh sounds like he's dealing with a lot, but that it would be easy for him to lift some of the burden off of himself.
Read the first one, I think the title is The Sweetest Thing. That's my favorite of the series and I think the original trilogy is way better.
DeleteHmmmm, well at least, I've been warned :P I'm still curious about it though because I read the sneak peek and really like what I read of Grace and Josh... ah well, I guess I'll have to figure it out myself :)
ReplyDeleteI loved the sneak peek and the whole book is like that, cute and funny, but I had many issues with the hero.
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