Veena’s review of Butterfly Cove (Summer Island, Book 3) by Christina Skye
Contemporary Romance published by HQN 24 Sep 13
While Christina Skye’s Draycott series remains my all-time favorite, I have enjoyed these all-American romances that combine her love of knitting with modern-day heroes and the strong women who love them.
Olivia Sullivan is back in Summer Island to settle- her father’s estate and lick her wounds. Her high school sweetheart, Rafe, having served his time in the special forces, is also back in town, and to the goggle eyed surprise of the townsfolk, he’s on the police force. Can this once bad boy and town role model get a second chance at love?
Jilly and Walker (Accidental Bride) are prominently featured as the secondary characters in this book. In fact, it’s sometimes hard to keep track of whose romance this is supposed to be. I personally don’t have many complaints because I truly enjoyed their story and loved seeing glimpses of what their life is like. We do also get to catch up with the other characters in the series, which is nice.
In the town’s eyes Olivia has led a perfect, charmed life. How far that is from the truth only Olivia, Rafe, and her closest friends know. Circumstances caused Rafe to abandon Olivia once and he’s determined to allow nothing to stand in the way of their happiness this time around, and he’s got the support of her friends, who are her real family.
I have really enjoyed this sweet contemporary series. Strong men, who have kept our way of life safe at the risk of their own lives, finding and loving sweet, strong women who are not afraid to stand up for what they want. The touch of mystery with Olivia’s father and other incidents keeps the story interesting. For me the piece de resistance is Olivia’s attempt to play bad girl so that she can erase the differences between her and Rafe.
Grade: B
Summary:
Girl’s gone bad…for the town’s new golden boy… Maybe opposites don’t always attract. If they did, architect Olivia Sullivan would have run away with bad boy Rafe Russo when they were teenagers. Instead, Olivia has spent ten years dreaming up designs for a life that hasn’t gone the way she planned. Still reeling from her career’s implosion and her father’s death, Olivia thanks her lucky stars for the support of her three lifelong friends. But this good girl is through sitting on the sidelines. When Rafe returns to the beautiful Oregon coast where they grew up, her former flame ignites a new desire. Now Olivia must take a walk on the wild side to show the new deputy that in matters of love…being bad can feel very good. Freshly back from Afghanistan, rugged ex-Marine and new deputy Rafe is done breaking laws and hearts. He’s always regretted leaving Olivia behind, but now she’s after adventure and he’d better proceed with caution. Because wanting her again might be easy, but fighting for a future together will be his biggest risk yet.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
