DRIFTWOOD COVE by Debbie Mason

Publisher:     Forever

Published:     February 20, 2018

ISBN:        13: 978-1538744178

Genre:      Contemporary Romance

Format:     Print

Obtained via:  Publisher

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  myreviewbooks@aol.com

TWO-1/2 HEARTS

 

Shay Angel has had a rough road from childhood to the present day.  Torn from her family at an early age and sent to live with a beloved uncle until the meddling of a well-meaning but misdirected woman until she was taken from him as well.  Then when she finally has a chance at love events cause her to take a wrong turn and lose that man when she is sent off to prison.  Now, out of prison, making friends or at least one friend, she’s doing her best to stay on the straight and narrow.  But when her uncle goes missing she has no choice but to return to Harmony Harbor.

Michael Gallagher has returned home to Harmony Harbor mainly to take care of his aging dog, Atticus.  He’s also on the trail of a mobster.  He’s also looking for the man who may have made said mobster disappear.  That man happens to be Shay’s uncle.  There is also one woman that Michael has never forgotten—and now she’s on her way to Harmony Harbor. 

Can two people who have been torn apart find their way back to each other?  Especially when life and events seem to conspire to keep them apart?

I’ve been enjoying Debbie Mason’s Harmony Harbor series, looking forward to each new addition.  Every author seems to have one (or two) books that just aren’t as good as the others.  Of course, you can’t appreciate the really fantastic reads if you don’t have a few average ones along the way, right?  DRIFTWOOD COVE is the one that didn’t quite do it for me.  Colleen, Simon and Jasper are really the characters that I love the best in this series.  There were brief appearances by Colleen and Simon—but the story could have been told without their being there. 

Shay and Michael’s story was okay—it didn’t fit in with the rest of the series.  While it was a nice departure into romantic suspense it didn’t flow for me.  Cherry was the bright light in the story.  I loved her scenes.  What a fun characters.  I hope she has her own story in an upcoming book….there are still some single Gallaghers out there.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

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SUGARPLUM WAY by Debbie Mason

 

Publisher:     Forever

Published:     October 31, 2017

ISBN:        978-1538744154

Genre:      Contemporary Romance

Format:     Print

Obtained via:  Publisher

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  myreviewbooks@aol.com

THREE-1/2 HEARTS

 

Several years ago Julia Landon decided she needed to become the Gallagher family’s fairy godmother.  It wasn’t a decision easily made and not one she would have made for herself.  It was one to honor the wishes of a dying man.  To do so she moved to Harmony Harbor and bit by bit has done what she can to bring happiness to the Gallagher family.  She has one more member to sprinkle with her fairy dust and then she can retire her wings.  This member though, is perhaps the hardest of all both because of his own issues and her own feelings for him.  If she let herself, she could easily fall in love with Aidan Gallagher.

Aidan Gallagher didn’t start out to be a dark and brooding man.  But life made some troublesome turns for him…several years under cover for the DEA took him to the dark side of human nature. He and his wife, Harper, split and Harper has done her best to keep him from his daughter, Ella Rose.  Despite his best efforts, his boss, Benson, at the Harmony Harbor police department doesn’t quite trust him to keep the darkness in his life shut down. The last thing he wants in his life is a fairy godmother…especially one he is sure is stalking his family.

Secrets have a way of coming out—even best kept ones that one person thinks protects another.  As Julia’s secrets begin to unfold, Aidan begins to see another side of her as well as into the depths of his own heart. 

Debbie Mason’s Harmony Harbor series is one of my “go to” series when I want or need to believe in magic.  Julia Landon in Mason’s latest, SUGARPLUM WAY would tell you that we conjure our own magic from deep inside ourselves and what can seem like a trick or gift of fate is actually meeting our own heart’s desires.  Julia just doesn’t believe, at least at first, that she too can have her heart’s desire.  I loved the way Mason peels the veils covering Aidan and Julia’s hearts and has them find their way to each other.  When the secret that both ties and comes between them all at once is revealed readers are in for first some heart wrenching and then heart healing emotional scenes. 

This story was focused more on the town of Harmony Harbor than on the Mansion where the Gallagher’s live along with the ghost of their great grandmother, her cat Simon and faithful butler, Jasper.  I missed seeing more of Colleen, the ghostly grandmother, and Simon because they are a piece of humor in the stories.  There was a nice reveal concerning Jasper and since Mason doesn’t focus on just young (i.e., couples in their 20’s) love, I hope he too will receive his own story.

It is always fun to catch up with her secondary characters – the Widows Club and a few other town members as well as where characters from the earlier books are now. 

Mason has something for everyone in her books—be it a young adult, adult or senior, male or female.  They are solid reads, perfect for curling up for a good long read with a happy ending.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

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PRIMROSE LANE by Debbie Mason

Publisher:   Forever
Published:  June 27, 2017
ISBN:        978-1455537235
Genre:       Contemporary Romance, Women’s Fiction
Format:     Print
Obtained via:  Publisher  
Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com

 

THREE-1/2 HEARTS

 

Olivia Davenport has been living a secret life.  Or is it Dana Templeton? But things have finally settled down for her and she’s close to enjoying her life. She is finally on the mend from losing her son and husband.  But a voice from her past keeps reaching out to her—a voice she doesn’t want to hear.

Finn Gallagher, a doctor who has been working with Doctors Without Borders, has been stuck at home for the past few months. Not that he doesn’t love his family—but he’s ready to return to his work. He cannot, however, until he’s recovered from the injuries that sent him home in the first place. And really, the last thing he wants, is for his match making relatives to find him a wife. And…he definitely does not want to get matched up with Olivia. Not because she isn’t attractive—it’s just that she’s got too much baggage for a man who just doesn’t want any commitments. But when that voice from Olivia’s past comes to her present, he cannot help but step in and help the woman out. 

Or did he create a bigger problem?

I’ve been enjoying Debbie Mason’s Harmony Harbor series and was looking forward to her latest, PRIMROSE LANE. Somehow it just didn’t evoke the same emotions the earlier books did for me.  We had bits of Olivia’s character in the earlier books. In PRIMROSE LANE, her and Finn’s story we learn more about her and her struggles.  The loss of a child, especially when the other parent essentially leaves you and the child to deal on your own is perhaps one of life’s most cruellest events. Olivia’s story is a sad one and even though she pulls out of this downward spiral, I didn’t really warm up to the character. She’s likeable and determined. She just didn’t resonate with me as a character.

The character I really didn’t like was Georgina “George”, the child foisted on Olivia. She reminded me way too much of those bratty children you see in restaurants where the parents do nothing about their acting out, forcing the rest of us to have to listen to their screaming and yelling and watch them throwing food around.  While their parents may enjoy having food tossed around and the disruption that follows in their children’s wake, I’m in the camp that does not appreciate them. 

That was George to a T.  And the way the rest of the characters catered to George each time she did something destructive was exactly the way the parents of the brats in restaurants act….they coo at the child that it’s wrong, but do nothing to put a stop to the behaviour. I cheered Olivia on when she brought George to Nathan’s parents…and thought she was an idiot when she went back and got her.  Yes, we learn what drives George and she turns out decent, but for how long until she doesn’t get her way again? If I had not committed to a review of this book I would have stopped reading at the beginning of George’s tantrums. I got it that she had to act out to make the story work...but a few less instances and some remorse on her part would have made her a bit more likeable to me.

I did enjoy Jasper, Colleen and, most of all Simon. Those three make the stories fun and entertaining. Okay--admittedly, I adore Simon.  They make the series—and would make for great characters in a cozy mystery series. They gave the ending a wonderful dramatic turn.

 

It wasn’t a bad read—just not my favorite in the series.

 

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

 

 

STARLIGHT BRIDGE by Debbie Mason

Publisher:    Forever  

Published:   February 28, 2016
ISBN:        978-1455537228
Genre:       Contemporary Romance, Paranormal Overtones
Format:     Ebook
Obtained via:  Publisher  
Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com

 

FOUR-1/2 HEARTS

 

 

Ava DiRossi has loved only one man and it is a man she walked away from a decade ago. She never stopped loving him, but one day she walked away.
 
Griffin Gallagher has loved one woman.  He has cared deeply for another, but not the breath catching love he has always felt for Ava DiRossi. To this day he doesn’t know why Ava left him and he still cannot help but wonder why.

With the death of family matriarch, Colleen, now some four months before, the fate of Greystone remains undecided. With the town’s mayor and real estate mogul Paige Townsend intent on selling the family home, a mansion turned hotel, to have it converted to condos, Colleen structured her will so that her great grandchildren would ultimately decide the outcome.  So far only one of the great grandchildren, Liam Gallagher, is on “team Greystone” but along with his wife, Sophie, and several of the other employees, he’s trying to get his siblings on board.  If it makes his wife happy, it makes him happy.  With Griffin in town it may be time to bring him on board.

Over the past several years Ava and Griffin have more or less managed to avoid each other. But with him back in town and Ava working at Greystone they seem to be crossing paths more often. And then there are Colleen’s memoirs.

Ah, the memoirs aren’t quite memories of Colleen’s life. Rather they are a book filled with virtually everyone in Harmony Harbor’s secrets – including Ava’s. It is when Ava is searching for the illusive book she and Griffin find themselves alone and very much aware that they have never stopped loving each other.

When I read MISTLETOE COTTAGE, the first in Debbie Mason’s Harmony Harbor series, I wondered how I managed to miss her books for so long. She tells such a good story—a toe curling romance with characters you would like to know. Added to the romance are real life situations many of us face or know someone who has and she deals with the conflicts in a compassionate and caring way.

And then, depending on your belief system, she adds either a bit of whimsy or possibility with Colleen’s spirit remaining at Greystone.  (In Mistletoe Cottage Colleen dies at 104 years of age and makes the decision to remain at the manor to help her family).  Reminiscent of Topper, both the movies and television series, Colleen does her best to help her family out—often with mixed results. Those results add a bit of humor to the stories, as does Simon the black cat who can see and hear Colleen and Jasper, the long-time butler who doesn’t see or hear her, but knows she’s around.  Colleen, Jasper and Simon are really my favorite parts of the books, which is saying a lot because so far I’ve really enjoyed both stories.

I did have a bit of a brow raise over what was going on with Griffin’s wife No. 2, Lexi.  It just didn’t ring true to me and I’m not sure how the solution will ultimately play out.  We’ll have to see in book 2.

Each of the books are stand alones and except for Colleen’s part in the stories you do not have to read them in order.  That said, if you do not read them, you are missing out on some fantastic reads. Now I have to wait for book 3, which just cannot come out soon enough to suit me! This is one very special series.

 

 

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

 

A chat with Debbie Mason -- The Woman Behind the Starlight Bridge

Hi Debbie!  Thank you for taking the time to chat with us today!  I read MISTLETOE COTTAGE, book 1 of your Harmony Harbor series and just had to pick up book 2, STARLIGHT BRIDGE as soon as I could. You have created a fantastic series with wonderful characters and a super setting.  

 Aw, thanks so much! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the series.

So are readers can find out a bit more about the woman behind the pen, let’s start with a few simple questions.  

What inspired you to pick up the pen (or sit down at the computer) one day and create the characters in this series that capture the imagination?

 When my publisher decided we’d end my previous series at book 7, I began playing with ideas for a new series. I wanted to come up with characters my readers would enjoy as much as they did the story people in Christmas, Colorado. I love the ocean and Massachusetts and once I’d decided to set the series there, I got to work on the history of my fictional town, which I loosely based on Gloucester. While researching the area, I came across Hammond Castle and it became the inspiration for Greystone Manor. And if you have a castle, you have to have a ghost, so that’s where the idea for Colleen originated. And if you have a ghost, you better give her a reason for being and that’s how the Gallagher family came to be. With twelve great-grandchildren who are currently single, Colleen will be up to her matchmaking tricks for a while. 

 I have to admit Colleen and Simon, along with Jasper, remind me in some ways of one of my favorite TV shows growing up, Topper. What led you to taking Colleen down that path?

 I just looked up Topper. I’d never heard of the show but it’s definitely one I would have watched. Interestingly enough, one of my favorite sitcoms growing up provided partial inspiration for Colleen becoming a ghost. It was The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.

 

 In these first two books your characters deal with some very rough real-life situations. How did you get yourself into a place to write about and then resolve those issues? 

For Starlight Bridge, as well as spending a lot of time doing research on the internet, I read College Girl: A Memoir by Laura Gray-Rosendale and watched the documentary The Hunting Ground. While I was writing the story, I’d check in with my oldest daughter to make sure Ava’s feelings in response to certain situations and how she reacted to them rang true. As well as having her MSW, MPH, and working toward her Ph.D. in Public Health, my daughter has spent years on the frontline working with abused and traumatized women and children. Now that I think about, she’s probably the reason my characters tend to deal with difficult real-life situations.

 

Which of the brothers, including looking ahead at future books, would you most like to come to life? 

I’d have to say the brother whose story I’m currently writing, Aidan Gallagher. He’s the hero in Sugarplum Way, which comes out in October of this year. A Gerard Butler lookalike, Aidan’s a former DEA Agent who now works at the Harmony Harbor Police Department. He’s smart and tough, and you do not want to get on his bad side. But with his daughter and the heroine, he’s a marshmallow.

 You’ve gotten the call, a Hollywood producer is going to bring the Harmony Harbor series to the big screen. Who do you cast in the major roles? 

 

I’ve used mostly actors and actresses for character inspiration, so this is fairly easy. Sadly though, some of the actors and actresses are no longer with us.

 

Colleen Gallagher—Katharine Hepburn.

Kitty Gallagher—Ellen Burstyn.

Rosa DiRossi—Sophia Loren.

Jasper—Christopher Plummer.

Colin Gallagher—Paul Newman.

Griffin Gallagher—Chris Hemsworth.

Ava DiRossi—Eva Mendes.

  

 

Thank you for taking some time with us today! 

Thanks so much for having me.