Heather Donovan packed her bags and moved to Chesapeake Shores, Maryland with her one year old son when her boyfriend of several years wouldn’t give her what she wanted, marriage. Both Heather and Connor grew up with parents who experienced marital problems, but Connor’s job as a divorce attorney left him even more weary of marriage. From the get-go Connor made it clear that he would not marry, but after time Heather believed marriage was the only way to further their relationship and Connor was not having it.
Heather, with the help of Connor’s family, is able to establish a new life for herself in Chesapeake Shores. She has the entire O’Brien clan behind her back, even if the man she loves is too stubborn to be there as well, the way she needs him. Connor’s family is determined to get him to see what a mistake he is making by not marrying Heather, and though it takes time, Connor starts to see what everyone around him is saying. He realizes, while with a client no less, just what his job is doing to him. When Connor is offered the chance to move back home and practice law locally, he also sees an opportunity to work things out with Heather and being close to son again is a definite plus.
Connor loves Heather, and he knows that he wants to spend the rest of his life with her – that was never the problem – but when he is forced to realize the possibility of losing her, Connor knows what he needs to do. Now if only he can get Heather to agree. Connor does everything he can to show Heather how much he loves her, even buying her her dream house and having it fixed up just the way she wants, but that isn’t what she needs to see to say yes. Finally, gloriously, after doing everything he can think of, it is Connor’s ability to laugh at an unexpected situation that gets Heather to agree to be his wife.
My Thoughts:
I absolutely loved this book. I was sucked in from the first chapter and read the entire thing in two sittings (I would’ve read it in one, but y’know, I had a paper to write).
Driftwood Cottage is so much more than your run-of-the-mill romance. It is a story of self-exploration, of true love conquering, of second chances – for everyone. I loved the family dynamic, everyone is a part of, everyone has a place with this family. The entire O’Brien clan gets their word in this story.
Now, we all know how much I love real people in my books, people who you can identify with, people with flaws, who make mistakes. Driftwood Cottage was filled with real people. In fact, it was not just Heather and Connor who made mistakes or experienced doubt, but in fact many of the other members of both of their families went through their own trials.
There is only one thing that bothered me when reading this book, the ending. The pace of the novel was great for me, but I noticed the page count getting close and closer to that last page wondering how things would turn out. The final pages wrapped up so quickly I couldn’t believe it. I’m sure this is mostly because I was so wrapped up in the story that I just didn’t want the book to end, but I still wish it hadn’t ended so abruptly.
All in all, Sherryl Woods did an amazing job with Driftwood Cottage, giving all of her characters the chance to speak, and even setting the stage for the next two books in the series. I fell in love with the big O’Brien clan and look forward to meeting them again. I actually didn’t realize until after I started reading Driftwood Cottage that it is the fifth book in the Chesapeake Shores series, but now I definitely have plans to go back and read the predecessors to book five.
For anyone interested, Driftwood Cottage hits the shelves March 29, 2011.
Among Stories 