Series: Hart's Boardwalk

Review: On Hart’s Boardwalk by Samantha Young

Posted March 29, 2018 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: On Hart’s Boardwalk by Samantha YoungReviewer: Rowena
On Hart's Boardwalk by Samantha Young
Series: On Dublin Street #6.7, Hart's Boardwalk #2.5
Also in this series: On Dublin Street , Down London Road (On Dublin Street, #2), Before Jamaica Lane (On Dublin Street, #3), Before Jamaica Lane, Castle Hill, Fall From India Place, Fall From India Place, Fall from India Place , Castle Hill, Echoes of Scotland Street , Moonlight on Nightingale Way, Moonlight on Nightingale Way, One King's Way, One King's Way, One King's Way, On Hart's Boardwalk (On Dublin Street #6.7) , Down London Road, Echoes of Scotland Street, On Dublin Street, The One Real Thing, Every Little Thing
Publisher: Penguin, Intermix
Publication Date: March 20th 2018
Point-of-View: First Person
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 128
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four-stars

One of New York Times bestselling author Samantha Young's most beloved couples returns for the first time in a brand new novella set ten years after her blockbuster bestseller Before Jamaica Lane...

Nate and Liv have a great life together but they miss the spontaneity and freedom they enjoyed early on in their romance. Careers and their children have inevitably kept them busy, so when Nate discovers Liv is feeling disconnected from him, he plans an anniversary trip to the idyllic seaside town of Hartwell, Delaware. There he hopes they will have the opportunity they've been craving--a chance to reinvent themselves and fall in love all over again.

With each new day comes a new adventure, from wedding crashing at the five-star boardwalk hotel to pretending they are two strangers having a chance encounter at the boardwalk bar. In the midst of this daring, sexually-charged game of romantic rediscovery, Nate and Liv discover the only constant they need is each other.

On Hart’s Boardwalk takes us back into the lives of one of my favorite couples from Samantha Young’s On Dublin Street series. Nate and Liv have been together for fourteen years and are close to celebrating their tenth wedding anniversary and as couples do from time to time, they go through rough periods in their relationship and Nate and Liv are right in the middle of theirs.

Things between Nate and Liv aren’t quite right and it is starting to get to Liv. She’s in a relationship that is different from the one that she’s been in from the beginning and things went south when one of Nate’s best friends dies. When that happens, instead of leaning on Liv in his grief, Nate pulls away and each day that passes, Liv worries the worries of a neglected wife. She starts to second guess every single thing in their lives and it hurts her over and over again. When Liv turns 40 years old, Nate plans a getaway for the two of them. That getaway takes them to Hartwell, Delaware. The setting that will connect Samantha Young’s On Dublin Street and Hart’s Boardwalk worlds and this short story brought both worlds together in such a nice way that I was super happy with the entire thing.

It was great to see everyone again. From Josh and Braden to Cam and Jo, Marco and Hannah, everyone was here and I was here for that. I love these characters and my heart hurt for both Liv and Nate and what they were going through together. Samantha Young has created a bunch of special characters and Nate and Liv are a part of that bunch. I really enjoyed seeing them together again and seeing them work through their issues…together.

Nate is one of my favorite men in the On Dublin Streets series and seeing him hurt made me sad but Samantha Young did him a solid by writing this awesome short story that helped heal him from some very deep stuff that he was dealing with. It was great to see Nate, older and not yet wiser and still hopelessly in love with his wife. I loved seeing what comes after the happily ever after and I especially loved seeing two people fight to keep their happily ever after. That’s what Nate and Liv did and I loved them just as much now as I did then.

This was a good one. I definitely recommend.

On Dublin Street Series

Hart’s Boardwalk Series

Grade: 4 out of 5

four-stars


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Guest Review: On Hart’s Boardwalk by Samantha Young

Posted March 22, 2018 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: On Hart’s Boardwalk by Samantha YoungReviewer: Tracy
On Hart's Boardwalk (On Dublin Street #6.7) by Samantha Young
Series: On Dublin Street #6.7, Hart's Boardwalk #2.5
Also in this series: On Dublin Street , Down London Road (On Dublin Street, #2), Before Jamaica Lane (On Dublin Street, #3), Before Jamaica Lane, Castle Hill, Fall From India Place, Fall From India Place, Fall from India Place , Castle Hill, Echoes of Scotland Street , Moonlight on Nightingale Way, Moonlight on Nightingale Way, One King's Way, One King's Way, One King's Way, On Hart's Boardwalk, Down London Road, Echoes of Scotland Street, On Dublin Street, The One Real Thing, Every Little Thing
Publisher: Intermix
Publication Date: March 20th 2018
Format: eARC
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Add It: Goodreads
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four-half-stars

Nate and Liv have a great life together but they miss the spontaneity and freedom they enjoyed early on in their romance. Careers and their children have inevitably kept them busy, so when Nate discovers Liv is feeling disconnected from him, he plans an anniversary trip to the idyllic seaside town of Hartwell, Delaware. There he hopes they will have the opportunity they've been craving--a chance to reinvent themselves and fall in love all over again.

With each new day comes a new adventure, from wedding crashing at the five-star boardwalk hotel to pretending they are two strangers having a chance encounter at the boardwalk bar. In the midst of this daring, sexually-charged game of romantic rediscovery, Nate and Liv discover the only constant they need is each other.

Nate and Liv have been together for 14 years, and married for 10 of those.  They have two beautiful children and Liv is just as in love with Nate now as she was when they first got together.  The problem is that Nate seems to have lost his love for Liv.  Since one of his friends died suddenly Nate has pushed Liv away and when Nate finds out how Liv is truly feeling he plans a trip to Delaware.  At one time, Liv had told Nate of vacations taken near Hartwell, Delaware and Nate wanted to recreate that joy for her.  He wanted to make his own memories, however, so he chose Hartwell.  They have a great location and it’s just the two of them, but can they work through the issues that have been haunting Liv for the past six months?

This was a pretty great novella.  I’ve been reading the Hart’s Boardwalk series so when I saw a novella for that series I was excited.  I had no idea I’d get the wonderful double whammy by getting the On Dublin Street series cast of characters as well as Hart’s Boardwalk characters.

Nate and Liv got their HEA in the novel Before Jamaica Lane, and if you read that you know that these two are incredibly hot together.  Their sex play in this book was no different but the even better than that was watching two people in love communicate and find the core issue to their problems.  It was well written, and Young didn’t slack on giving us the nitty gritty of their relationship – arguments and all.

On top of the greatness of that part of the book we also got to see, as I said, all of the characters from On Dublin Street as well as Hart’s Boardwalk.  I loved reading about the ODS crew and hearing a little about their families now that it’s been years since their HEA’s. HB is a newer series but it was still fun to catch up with those characters as well.

Overall I thought this was really good.  The love, friendship and feeling of contentment it left me with was incredible and I definitely recommend this one.

On Dublin Street Series

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

four-half-stars


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Guest Review: Every Little Thing by Samantha Young

Posted March 8, 2017 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

Guest Review: Every Little Thing by Samantha YoungReviewer: Tracy
Every Little Thing by Samantha Young
Series: Hart's Boardwalk #2
Also in this series: The One Real Thing, On Hart's Boardwalk (On Dublin Street #6.7) , On Hart's Boardwalk
Publisher: Penguin, Berkley
Publication Date: March 7th 2017
Pages: 352
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Hartwell, Delaware—the perfect place to get away from it all, and find what you never knew you needed…

Bailey Hartwell has many reasons to feel content—her successful business, a close circle of friends, and her steady boyfriend…even if their romance feels staid after ten years without a serious commitment. The only challenge in her life comes in the form of sexy businessman Vaughn Tremaine. She thinks the ex-New Yorker acts superior and that he considers her a small-town nobody. But when Bailey’s blindsided by a betrayal, she’s shocked to discover Vaughn is actually a decent guy.

Vaughn admires Bailey’s free spirit, independence, and loyalty. As his passion for her has grown, his antagonism toward her has only worsened. Every little thing Bailey does seduces him. But when Vaughn’s painful emotional past makes him walk away in fear he will hurt her, it opens an old wound in Bailey, and she uncharacteristically retreats.

Once Vaughn begins to realize he’s made the biggest mistake of his life, he has no choice but to fight like he’s never fought before to convince Bailey that the love they’ve found together only comes around once in a lifetime.

Bailey Hartwell and Vaughn Tremaine have been at odds since the man walked into town.  Bailey had tried to move mountains in order to stop the man from building his hotel on the boardwalk.  She failed but she had to try.  It seems that everyone is happy with Vaughn and he seems to be friends with quite a few people but he treats Bailey…not so well. She fights back verbally – the only way she knows how.

The thing is that Bailey is highly attracted to Vaughn and him to her.  The more they feel that attraction the more antagonistic they are to each other.  Vaughn doesn’t feel like he deserves to be happy and Bailey’s such a happy go lucky person.  When her inn is broken in to and Vaughn saves her from the thief they end up in bed together.  Of course Bailey wants more and Vaughn pushes her away in the worst possible way. When Bailey’s sister rolls into town and says she’s there to help run the inn Bailey freaks out but with Vaughn’s help they can work it all out.

I really liked this story.  Bailey seemed like a bit of a crazy girl in book one of this series but I really liked her anyway and of course Vaughn with his dark broodiness was intriguing in book one.  I was so happy they were going to get together because I could tell from their personalities that it would be a pretty epic thing to bring them together.

While I didn’t like that they spent a good portion of the book apart it was all worth it in the end.  We got more background on both Bailey and Vaughn and why they felt like they did about relationships.  It was pretty eye-opening.  Once they got together it was explosive and I was truly happy they got their HEA.

The book brings back characters from the previous book and that was wonderful.  We got to see the characters from book one get married and got to know the others a bit better.  I’ve liked this series so far and I’m anxious to see where it goes next.

Rating: 4 out of 5

four-stars


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Guest Review: The One Real Thing by Samantha Young

Posted September 22, 2016 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

Guest Review: The One Real Thing by Samantha YoungReviewer: Tracy
The One Real Thing by Samantha Young
Series: Hart's Boardwalk #1
Also in this series: Every Little Thing, On Hart's Boardwalk (On Dublin Street #6.7) , On Hart's Boardwalk
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: September 6th 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Welcome to Hartwell, a quiet seaside escape where uncovering old secrets could lead one woman to discover the meaning of a love that lasts…

While Doctor Jessica Huntington engages with the inmates at the women’s correctional facility where she works, she’s always careful to avoid emotional attachments in her personal life. Loss and betrayal taught her that lesson long ago. But when she comes across a set of old love letters in the prison’s library and visits the picturesque town of Hartwell to deliver them to their intended recipient, she finds herself unable to resist the town’s charm—and her attraction to the sexy owner of a local bar proves equally hard to deny.

Since his divorce from his unfaithful ex-wife, Cooper Lawson has focused on what really matters: his family and the boardwalk pub they’ve owned for generations. But the first time Jessica steps into his bar, Cooper is beyond tempted to risk his heart on her. Yet as their attraction grows hotter and Jessica remains stubbornly closed off, he begins to realize it will take more than just passion to convince her there’s only one real thing in life worth fighting for….

Jessica works at a women’s prison.  While there one day she discovers letters hidden in one of the books from the library.  They are letters that were written in 1976 but were never sent.  When she reads them she is struck by the love that the writer – a now deceased inmate – poured into them.  Since they are addressed to a man named George Beckwith she decides to travel to Hartwell, Delaware since her vacation plans went belly up.

From the moment that Jessica arrives in Hartwell she feels at peace.  She’s had some serious issues to deal with in her life and they’ve directed her decisions for years.  After spending time in Hartwell and getting to know the wonderful people there she decides it’s time to stop letting her past decide her future.  One of the decisions she makes is letting love in – and she does that with Cooper Lawson.

Cooper was born and raised in Hartwell and his family has owned a pub on Hart’s Boardwalk for many, many years.  When he runs into Jessica during a rain storm he’s instantly attracted to her.  He makes it a point to get to know her and despite her hesitation at first, she finally caves into him.  She’s not sure what she’s getting herself into as she’s never opened up emotionally but she knows it’s right.

There are, of course, the villains in town who want to take over the boardwalk but the owners of the shops on the boardwalk work together to thwart their plans by working together.

This was an easy book to read.  By that I mean that there wasn’t a great deal of angst and the characters were very easy to get into.  I really liked Jessica.  She was just a tired out woman who had been holding herself back emotionally because of something that happened in her childhood.  On top of that the “event” caused her parents to treat her like a pariah and so she was very alone in the world.  She had her best friend who lived thousands of miles away but that was it.  When she got to Hartwell I loved how the townspeople just took her in.  They were friendly and open and made her feel at home.  The part where the past was revealed was very hard to read but it was such an important part of who Jessica was and it was done well – I just had to power through.

Cooper was one hot hero, let me tell you!  He had been hurt by his now ex-wife who slept with his best friend – so he lost both in the end.  He knew from almost minute one that Jessica was the woman for him but he held himself back to try and figure out his feelings.  Once he decided to go for it he was all in and I loved that.  His best friend showed up a couple of times in the book and I think there’s definitely more explanation there (about why he slept with Cooper’s wife) that will be revealed in future books (I hope!).

The part that had to do with George Beckwith when Jessica finally gets to meet him and give him the letters was incredibly sweet.  I loved George and his acceptance of Jessica and what she was revealing to him.  It made me cry – but in a good way.

Overall I really liked the book and thoroughly enjoyed reading it.  I’m definitely looking forward to reading more in this series in the future.

Rating: 4 out of 5

four-stars


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