Stevie‘s review of Summer on Lovers’ Island (Jewell Cove, Book 3) by Donna Alward
Contemporary Romance published by St. Martin’s Paperbacks 05 May 15
I was charmed by the first book in this series and had high hopes for the following stories, although to date none have quite lived up to my expectations. While I love the town of Jewell Cove, I’ve found at times that life there is a little too idyllic on the surface for my liking, and the problems bubbling underneath often turn out to have simpler solutions than I might expect. On the other hand, Josh has appeared in every story so far, and I felt it was about time he got his own central role.
Josh is a widower, whose marriage wasn’t as happy as the situation he tried to portray to his family back home. His army medic wife was in love with another man and more interested in her career than in starting a family. When she was killed in service, Josh gave up his lucrative job working with his father-in-law and returned to Jewell Cove to become the town’s family doctor.
Lizzie, meanwhile, has been burned out by working long hours as an emergency doctor and by her affair with her boss; coming to Jewell Cove as maternity cover for her college friend Charlie is a chance for her to reassess her career and personal life. She and Josh are soon drawn to each other by more than professional interests, but Lizzie is adamant that she wants to return to the big city and her old job – or one very much like it – particularly since she will be near her widowed mother, who requires round-the-clock care.
I like the treasure hunting subplot to this story; Josh has long believed that two ancestors of some of the townsfolk hid their riches on the Lovers’ Island of the title. However, this story is overshadowed by the (in my opinion) excessive number of pregnancies involving couples from previous books in the series. By the end of the book, I felt distinctly drained by all the expected babies and was wishing that the author could have come up with a wider variety of ways to show that the couples were still together – and as in love as they’d ever been.
That opinion isn’t helped by the eventual resolution of Josh and Lizzie’s various obstacles to coupledom and happiness. I find myself more than ever missing the ghost from the first book of the series and feeling that this story, as well as the two preceding it, could have done with a hint of the supernatural to move things along in less conventional directions.
All in all, not a bad book, but not really a book that makes me want to continue with the series either. Other people, probably those with more interest in reading about new families than me, will quite likely get along with it better than I did.
Grade: C
Summary:
What happens when a seasonal fling turns into the love of a lifetime?
Lizzie Howard’s life has always been adrenaline-charged. Top of her class at Harvard Med and now a gifted trauma doctor, Lizzie’s medical career has always come before rest, relaxation, and especially romance. But when one careless mistake brings her future to a screeching halt, Lizzie’s only chance at reviving it is to temporarily take over a friend’s practice in Jewell Cove. The sleepy Maine coast, a world away from the bustling emergency room Lizzie knows and loves, leaves her feeling more lost than ever–until she meets widowed doctor Joshua Collins, and her heart starts beating a little bit faster…
Coming home to Jewell Cove was Josh’s salvation after his wife died. Looking for peace among the familiar faces of friends and family, he’s grateful to work in the town’s small medical clinic by day and spend his nights trying to forget everything he’s lost. Lizzie’s big-city sensibilities are a brash reminder of the world he’s pushed away, but he can’t deny that together they’ve sparked a flame that crackles higher and brighter every day. Maybe love is the best medicine after all…
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
