The Bright Spot (Sunrise Cove #5)

Jill Shalvis

Blurb:

Luna Wright is a lot of things, but sweet and trusting isn’t on the list. However, she’s a sucker for the underdog and a hard-luck story. Adopted at birth, with scant knowledge of her biological family, she’s created her own inner circle, a motley crew which includes her bestie Willow, to help her run the struggling but charming Apple Ridge Farm.

With a farm-to-table café as well as a menagerie of rescued animals (complete with a baby goat who keeps escaping to the pantry to eat the secret stash of decidedly not organic potato chips), it’s the best home she’s ever known. But when the owner Silas, who they secretly call The Grinch, passes away, Luna discovers the farm is now under control of his investment manager, the enigmatic Jameson Hayes….and her. And that Silas had many, many secrets.

Now Luna’s carefully controlled corner of the world is threatened and she—along with some help from her friends—has to dig deep to find true strength and the real meaning of love and family.

Themes: Contemporary

Rating: 4.25 stars

Heat Rating: 4

Review:

More humor and romance come to us from Jill Shalvis in her amazing Sunrise Cove series as two unlikely frenemies are forced to come together to find a way to protect the only home either of them knows and the legacy of the one man, they both can honestly call a friend and father. I truly enjoy each new addition to this series, each able to be read completely independently, but that carry a connection of heart, laughter and healing for each character that reminds me why I first fell in love with Jill Shalvis’s right so long ago. Luna Wright has found her family in the most unlikely of people, her coworkers and friends at the Apple Ridge Farm where she manages the café, but when the owner passes away suddenly, leaving her part owner of the business she never imagines that her life will change irrevocably. Jameson Hayes now owns the other half of the, sadly, failing café and as a man of numbers he is determined to prove to Luna why they need to sell to interested parties while they still might be able to make a profit. But a huge secret comes out for Luna and Jameson is keeping an even bigger one of his own, one that could change her world even more. As these two continue to be at cross purposes, Luna tries to prove to Jameson that family and tradition mean more than a number on a page and Jameson soon finds himself family for the strange and enigmatic woman. I loved seeing Luna find a way to bring Jameson out of his shell, making him breathe for the first time in ages and find himself under the suit and tie he’s been hiding so he could open his heart and eyes to the love around him. Jameson tried so hard not to succumb to the secrets that weighed him down, but the pain and fear didn’t stop him from falling in love with Luna and the world she shared with him. The secondary love story between Luna’s bestie Willow and her estranged husband was also awesome and I just love how Shalvis continues to include that second love in all her Sunrise Cove stories. I am looking forward to many more to come as Sunrise Cove continues to draw new folks in and broaden hearts of those already at home there.

*eBook provided by publisher (via NetGalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was provided.