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Two years ago, the lives of Shelley Anderson and Daniel Stone were torn apart. Can Bart Quinn and Sea View House once again work miracles and bring together two people who deserve happiness?
Shelley Anderson’s fairy tale marriage came to an abrupt end after she found her husband in the arms of another woman. It’s taken her two years, but Shelley is ready to move on and that calls for some changes in her life. Shelley decides to take her two children, Josh and Emily, to Pilgrim Cove for the summer. Bart Quinn rents Shelley the special Sea View House. Just when it appears happiness is on the horizon, Shelley’s ex-husband decides to run for public office. He wants Shelley and the kids back, but for all the wrong reasons.
College Professor, Daniel Stone, lost his wife and unborn child in a terrible accident. Daniel has guarded his heart knowing he can never love another as much as he loved Nikki. Needing to distance himself from the memories, Daniel packs up his dog, Jessie, and takes a job on the other side of the county. After renting the Crow’s Nest apartment over Sea View House, Daniel discovers a family is renting the lower floor and he’s not happy. The last thing he wants is to be reminded of what could have been.
For Shelley the attraction is immediate and before long, Daniel too finds he is falling for Shelley. Before Shelley or Daniel realize what hit them, they are coaching a baseball team and feeling much more than friendship. Daniel is so patient with Shelley and the children and he gives them a much needed sense of security. The sexual tension sizzles until they can’t deny the inevitable.
Shelley’s children bring the book full circle. We get first hand look at the fears and feelings children have about being separated from a parent. Divorced parents everywhere should take a serious look at how Shelley handles the relationship between her ex and her children. Not once is she selfish with her children and she doesn’t talk negatively about her ex in front of them, even when she has reason. She allows her children the opportunity to form their own opinions about their father.
NO ORDINARY SUMMER is the second story in the Pilgrim Cove series, but it certainly weighs in as an equal to the first book A HOUSE ON THE BEACH. This book is full of so many amazing characters and it blends beautifully from beginning to end. We get to visit old friends and make a few new ones along the way. The ROMEO’s (Retired Old Men Eating Out) are again a delightful treat and we get to peak in on the continuing romance of Laura and Matt from A HOUSE ON THE BEACH.
Linda Barrett has an obvious talent for capturing emotions that come with life’s tragedies and triumphs. Even more remarkable is her ability to make the reader feel the emotions from the adult and child point of view. Divorce and death are painful and those involved are changed forever, but Ms. Barrett shows us how love and trust can heal. This beautifully written story will stay with me for a very long time.
Reviewed by Jennifer Ray
for The Road to Romance
August 9, 2004
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