Review: Dune Drive by Mariah Stewart

Dune Drive by Mariah Stewart

 

Publisher: Pocket Books

Pages: 388

Format: ARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  Always believing she was an ugly duckling, Chrissy Jenkins thought she had finally turned into a swan when her real-life Prince Charming swept her off her feet. But as his true character began to crack his perfect facade, Chrissy realized that not only was she better off without him, but that she was the only one who had the power to transform her life.

Returning to her ancestral home on Cannonball Island for a family wedding, Chrissy is reintroduced to a legacy she’d all but forgotten. In choosing to stay on the island, she reboots her life, successfully reinventing herself as a sous chef at the Inn at Sinclair’s Point just over the bridge in St. Dennis. But despite her newfound self-confidence, she still doesn’t trust her taste in men. So when she meets Jared Chandler, a handsome ship salvager staying at the inn while he conducts a nearby recovery operation, Chrissy’s certain she can keep him as a friend—even though he’s everything any woman would want in a man. As fellow newcomers, together they discover the charm of the historic bayside town and explore the idyllic island.

But when Chrissy agrees to be Jared’s date for his father’s wedding, they embark on a weekend that will find them each seeing the other in a completely different light, one that will change their lives forever. 

Kritters Thoughts:  The twelfth book in a series and I started the series with this one.  The thing about romance series is that you can start anywhere because each book in the series centers around a different character in the "universe" or one that recently moved to town.  I tend to like to start at the beginning even in these series, but I decided to risk it all and start on this one.  I could tell while reading this book that there was backstory for some of the extra characters that I was missing, but I didn't feel as though it took away from the story of the two main characters.  

This book focused on Chrissy and Jared.  Chrissy moves back to the small town where she has spent a lot of time with her great grandmother.  She is escaping a bad situation and has no idea what is next for herself.  Jared is just in town for a job.  He has friendly connections to the small town, but this isn't a place he would call home until . . . 

As in all romance books, the reader knows we will end in a happy ending, but I always rate romance books on two things.  One, I rate on the sexy times in the books.  I tend to like the books that have less sexy times and have more plot and when an author really leans on growing the relationship to move the story instead of leaning on the sexy times to move the story.  This one did just that, the relationship was a great slow burn, no insta love and it allowed for a great plot to build.  The other thing that I rate romance books on, that this book did well was, the thing that is 2/3 into the book that may break up the couple.  There is always something that takes the couple apart and they must overcome to get to the happy ending and I loved the one for this book!  Of course, I won't spoil, but I loved it.

I am a fan of Mariah Stewart and really want to make it a goal to catch up on her backlist.  

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

 Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Netgalley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.