Zoe Tayler has spent her life doing battle: first fighting her parents for independence and then, after a car accident at eighteen, adjusting to the fact she would not walk again. She remained strong until the day Finn Doherty, the one person she thought she could trust, broke her heart. Now a successful travel writer, Zoe is excited to be reviewing a new luxury hotel for her blog in the beautiful South Pacific—until she meets its owner.
Finn was never good enough for Zoe. He knew it. Zoe’s family knew it. The village of Hawkes Cove made sure he knew it. And then he proved everyone right when he let her down in the worst way possible. Becoming a successful businessman has convinced Finn his past is behind him—until a journalist turns up to review his new resort.
Meeting again stirs up all the old feelings, and all the painful memories that pulled them apart, too. As Finn shows Zoe the exotic wonders of the islands, both face the fact their shared past might just be the beginning of a future. But only if Zoe can win the biggest battle of her life—facing up to her heart’s desire.
Release Date: Jun 4, 2024
Series: Meet Me
Book: 3
Heat Level: Sensual
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: Canary Street
Price: $12.99
Zoe remembers the days she was over the moon for the local bad boy Finn. She wanted to believe that he could have been the one person she could rely on after her debilitating car accident, but he proved to be another failure in life. She has picked up the pieces and learned how to live with her disability. Zoe is now a successful travel writer and spends her time showing the world they can travel despite any physical challenges.
Zoe arrives in Tahiti at a resort only to discover that Finn is the owner. She is flooded with emotions. She is not ready to forgive, but she needs to move forward. Finn agrees to show her around, but she can keep her emotions from getting the best of her.
I fluctuated with this story. There are so many things to love about the plot. There’s the fact that this is a second-chance romance on an island. I love all of that. I even appreciated the author’s ability to show Zoe’s disability and how she navigated various challenges in her travels. However, the character’s development felt stunted in so many ways. The readers are meant to believe that Zoe and Finn have not been in contact for ten years. That’s a long time, and their personalities should have changed. However, they felt young to me. The immaturity was on full display.
The insta-love was another factor for me. I didn’t like that they were almost ready to be full-fledged in a relationship after such a traumatic turn of events from their past. It was like, let’s forget about all that pain and move forward. However, they needed to find a healthy medium. The author throws in a bit of drama disguised as miscommunication, and then they are back in love. Too fast, not enough deep, lasting connection to appeal to romantic sensibilities.
I didn’t realize this was a part of a series. I think that maybe I should go back to get the feels from one of the other books by this author since I’m not that familiar with her writing style.
Overall, this is truly a light romance. Perfect for a lazy afternoon and fans of contemporary romance.
~ Samantha
Amazon | iBooks | B&N | Kobo | Google Play