Review: Summer on Mirror Lake (Honeymoon Harbor #3) by JoAnn Ross

I have only just discovered JoAnn Ross recently when I read her Christmas romance, Snowfall on Lighthouse Lane, which is also part of the Honeymoon Harbor series.

I found her writing well practiced and the story entertaining and I was open to reading more of her books.

As winter gave way to spring, another Honeymoon Harbor popped up as a review request and since I love summer romances, I figured this was a great time to say yes to another one of JoAnn Ross’s books!

This cover was especially eye catching and since the story is set in the Pacific Northwest, I couldn’t help but be excited by both the description and cover!

Summary

When he lands in the emergency room after collapsing at the funeral of a colleague and friend, Wall Street hotshot Gabriel Mannion initially rejects the diagnosis of an anxiety attack. But when warned that if he doesn’t change his adrenaline-fueled, workaholic lifestyle he could end up like his friend, Gabe reluctantly returns to his hometown of Honeymoon Harbor to regroup.

As he adjusts to the sight of mountains instead of skyscrapers, Gabe discovers advantages to this small Pacific Northwest town he once couldn’t wait to escape. But it’s irresistible librarian Chelsea Prescott who, along with the two foster children she’s taken under her wing, makes slowing down seem like the best prescription ever.

Over the course of their summer romance, Gabe gets a taste of the life he might have had if he’d taken a different path. But with his return to New York City looming on the horizon, he’ll have to choose between the success he’s worked tirelessly for and a ready-made family who offers a very different, richly rewarding future…if he’ll only take the risk (summary from Goodreads).

Review

I actually think I liked this one better than the holiday one that I read earlier this year. I think this story was much more developed and thought out…..or perhaps I was just geared up for a romance novel this time around. Either way, I liked this one better and found myself quickly turning page after page, immersed in Gabe and Chelsea’s story. For me personally, I really liked Gabe. I (like so many other women) have such a soft spot for ‘bad boys’ and I really enjoyed watching Gabe grow in this story.

The idea of just a summer fling turning into more really appealed to me. Clearly they felt attracted to one another, but neither of them really wanted anything more permanent than a ‘spring fling’, but before they knew it, they were on the fast road to love. This book did have some sexy steaminess included with the romance and I thought it was tasteful and well done.

As with the first book I read in this series, I believe each of the novels can be read as standalone books without feeling like you are lost. I loved the small town feel and I felt that the two foster children storyline added some interest and broke up the romance and give it a deeper purpose, but at times I felt like there was a little too much dialogue and that the book ran slightly on the long side. Surprisingly, given the length of this book, the ending came up rather abruptly and I felt somewhat let down. It wasn’t horrible, but I did finish the book thinking I wanted a little more.

In the end, this book had a lot of heart and many things to love even if the ending was abrupt or a little overly long. I simply can’t get enough of summer time romances, so I ended up rating this one as a 4 star book.

Book Info and Rating