Jen’s review of Hideaway Cove (Windfall Island #2) by Anna Sullivan
SOME PASSIONS CAN’T BE DENIED . . .
Jessi Randal walked away from her last relationship with a baby and a broken heart. Now, years later, the last thing this single mom wants is to give Windfall Island-and all its nosy residents-anything more to gossip about. But the moment she lays eyes on the tall, sexy stranger with the slow Southern drawl, she knows she’s in delicious trouble . . .
Holden Abbot is on the island to find the missing heir to the Stanhope family fortune. It’s his job to charm as many secrets out of the town as possible. And if he can charm Jessi into his bed, even better. When all evidence points to her as the heir, a dangerous enemy sets his sights on Jessi and her son. Now Holden will have to risk everything to protect the family he’s come to love.
I took a chance on a new series when I read Temptation Bay (reviewed here) last year. I enjoyed the story and the author’s voice, so when I saw the next book in the series had come out, I was excited to give it a try. While I didn’t quite enjoy it as much as the first book, I’m happy to say Hideaway Cove was still a good read.
Jessi Randal is the best friend and business partner of Maggie Solomon, the pilot heroine from book 1. Jessi has a young son, Benji, and she’s determined to make his life the best it can be. Benji’s dad skipped town and has never even met his son, so the last thing Jessi wants is to get involved with any more men who might abandon her. Southern boy Holden Abbott is a history researcher/genealogist brought in by the previous hero Dexter to help with the search for the missing heir that started in the first book. (A baby went missing many years ago, and Dexter was hired to see if that baby might have survived and ended up on Windfall Island.) Holden is attracted to Jessi and keeps pushing her to open up and let him in. They start exploring what’s between them, but then Jessi’s ex shows up and complicates the situation even more. Jessi and Holden have to negotiate their new feelings as well as keep working to solve the mystery of the missing heir.
This book is less focused on the larger story line of the missing heir than the first book. There are some more details given and some more potential suspects ruled out, but we don’t learn quite as much as we did before. However, Jessi and Holden’s story does end up intersecting with the mystery in unexpected ways.
Jessi was a fine character, though I didn’t love her as much as I love Maggie. Maggie is a real spitfire–prickly, blunt, and confident. Jessi can stand up for herself, but she just doesn’t have that same intensity that I liked about Maggie. Still, she’s a good mom and works to get over her fear of letting anyone else in when Holden starts pushing her a bit. Holden is kind of an interesting match for her, too. He’s laid back but still able to handle responsibility. He wants to get to know Jessi and realizes her son is part of that package. His Southern ways are also sexy and fun, and they certainly throw Yankee Jessi off balance!
As fun as Holden’s Southern charm is, I didn’t like everything about him. First, he does accept Benji and reach out to him, but he’s also not terribly sensitive to why Jessi is hesitant to start something with him in the first place. He admits he doesn’t want to stick around, just have a fling, and he doesn’t really acknowledge the impact such a fling might have on Benji. He also doesn’t tell Jessi that he’s from a very, very wealthy family. His previous finance had used him for his money, so he is understandably cautious about letting people know about his background. I had no problem with him not telling Jessi at first, but as he gets to know her it’s clear she would not be swayed by his wealth. He even acknowledges this, but still he doesn’t tell her. Of course, eventually the news comes out in an embarrassing way for Jessi. It was totally unnecessary, and Holden was kind of a dick for expecting her to open up while he kept his big secret.
I also felt like some parts of this book were just dragging the larger mystery out unnecessarily. For instance, they don’t do DNA testing on the potential families. I understand that they’re trying to keep the search a secret so they can’t test everyone, but they can at least test people who do know, namely Jessi. They don’t want to do it and put Jessi at risk in case she’s the heir, but wouldn’t it be better to just know ASAP so you could take steps to protect her? It just seemed like a ploy to drag out that story line.
Despite some of the imperfections, I did enjoy reading this book. I’ll definitely be reading the third book when it comes out next year.
Grade: 3.75 out of 5
The Series:
This book is available from Forever. You can purchase it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I have not read this author before. Sounds like a good book.