ARC provided by the publisher for review
PARADISE COVE, book two in Jenny Holiday’s Matchmaker Bay series, starts like a lot of small town stories. A big city doctor escapes to small town for a slower pace and cheaper cost of living and falls for a hunky local. But Holiday elevates the trope in a friends-to-lovers (and friends-with-benefits) story that’s funny, sexy, and deeply emotional.
Around town, everyone knows Jake Ramsey’s story. He lost a young son to the flu and his marriage crumbled in the aftermath. The grief is still overwhelming, and he’s known for being the guy who doesn’t say much. He and Dr. Nora Walsh end up meeting in the local beauty shop, and it’s the beginning of an unexpected friendship as she gets settled in town, and finds her new rental needs a lot more help than she thought.
Bonding over a lot of pizza and beer, they keep things low-key, knowing Moonflower Bay’s busy bodies never rest when it comes to matchmaking. Both Nora and Jake know what they want, and it’s not romance (mm-hmm). Once things heat up, they’re pretty combustible. It leads to an easily predicted conflict, but the overall arc (and character growth) for both characters is so good, I can’t be that mad at it. And Jenny handles Jake’s grief with a sensitivity and grace that make it totally memorable.
I loved Paradise Cove. Jenny’s approach to small town and her directness about issues like mental health and feminism make this series one I want to come back to again and again. Paradise Cove is steamier than its cover lets on and it’s one of Jenny’s best. It might be a tough act to follow, but the good news is Maya and Law are up next in SANDCASTLE BEACH, out in March 2021.
4 stars
Jenny will be in conversation TONIGHT, Tuesday, July 28, with Jen Reads Romance in a free, virtual event hosted by Love’s Sweet Arrow. REGISTER HERE.
Get PARADISE COVE at The Ripped Bodice | Bookshop.org | IndieBound | Amazon | Apple Books
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Read an excerpt from Paradise Cove.
Check out my review of Mermaid Inn, the first book in the Matchmaker Bay series.
