By Eliza Gordon
Hollie Porter is the chairwoman of Generation Disillusioned: at twenty-five years old, she’s saddled with a job she hates, a boyfriend who’s all wrong for her, and a vexing inability to say no. She’s already near her breaking point, so when one caller too many kicks the bucket during Hollie’s 911 shift, she cashes in the Sweethearts’ Spa & Stay gift certificate from her dad and heads to Revelation Cove, British Columbia. One caveat: she’s going solo. Any sweethearts will have to be found on site.
Hollie hopes to find her beloved otters in the wilds of the Great White North, but instead she’s providing comic relief for staff and guests alike. Even Concierge Ryan, a former NHL star with bad knees and broken dreams, can’t stop her from stumbling from one (mis)adventure to another. Just when Hollie starts to think that a change of venue doesn’t mean a change in circumstances, the island works its charm and she starts to think she might have found the rejuvenation she so desperately desires. But then an uninvited guest crashes the party, forcing her to step out of the discomfort zone where she dwells and save the day … and maybe even herself in the process.
To be honest, as I read the first few chapters I was not certain I would love this book. The pace was a little slow for me and the main character was not grabbing my attention as much as I’d hoped. I picked this book up at my local Chapters from the “Local Authors” bookshelf and was excited to dig into it. It was the title and the cover that drew me to it, being the life-long west coaster I am.
The first couple chapters were a bit dry, I found, and could have used one more round of edits. There was nothing major, just a few sentence errors that caught me off guard.
Once Holly drops the loser boyfriend, things started to look up. The pace of the story went up to how I enjoy my romance books, and the characters became much more interesting. I loved the detail given to the resort staff and guests, especially the two love interests. There is a bit of a red herring that I fell for that caused a surprise when everything was revealed – loved it!
By the time I finished the book I was glad I read it – very different from how I felt at the beginning. I look forward to finding copies of the follow up books – Holly Porter Builds a Raft and F-Stop.
4/5
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