Paradise Cove (Matchmaker Bay #2)

Our pick for the November selection for Between These Sheets book club was Paradise Cove by Jenny Holiday, the second in her Matchmaker Bay series.

Dr. Nora Walsh moves to Moonflower Bay, a small town on a great lake in Canada. She is the new town doctor and quickly assimilates with the locals. She befriends Jake Ramsey, the Aquaman look alike and local carpenter. They quickly fall into a friendship built on trust and understanding. The friendship develops into a friends with benefits situation that gets the whole town talking.

The cover of this book, with its beach towel and shades gives an impression that this is an easy, beach read. It definitely is not. It touches on difficult topics, like loss of a child, death of a loved one, grief and unplanned pregnancy. The writing is really good and heartfelt. And the sex scenes are surprisingly hot and plentiful.

I wish I had read the first in this series to get a better understanding of the cast of characters that make up Moonflower Bay. But this was easily a stand-alone romance that shows the beauty of moving forward past unthinkable tragedy.

Simply put its very near a perfect book!

I love that the gender role tables were turned and we saw Jake as the character healing from grief and loss. Yes, Nora, has her things she was healing from, but in essence, I saw a lot more vulnerability than I feel were typically allowed to see in a male character. It was refreshing!

Nora and Jakes entire relationship is a breath of fresh air. His willingness to be a helper, his presence and ability to just be a friend were huge draws. Their banter made me laugh and I love how straightforward and direct they were. I even found myself reflecting on some of my friendships and what I expect and receive from them.

Also, every secondary character in this book adds to the sheer charm. They meddle, are nosey, and are all intertwined, but its stinking delightful!

This novel has huge emotional impact, eventually. It’s the eventually part that dropped it from five stars to four, for me. I realize that these aren’t supposed to be adventure novels or even very complicated, but I did wander off more often from this one than the first one–until the last few chapters, which I read without pause.

I love the underlying themes these books are built on; friendship, stubbornness, complacency versus questioning oneself, family both blood and chosen, and the power of community. And this one: grief, in all its many stages and traps. If you enjoyed #1, you’ll enjoy this one. I’ll be reading #3.

Oh my gosh, this story has my heart feeling so big at the moment!!! The ending had me tearing up, I absolutely love Jake and Nora. Jake is my favorite type of hero, strong and with few words. The situation with his son is so heartbreaking, but I’m so glad that he realized he deserves happiness. I love this series!!!

An excellent story of finding love when you least expect it and don’t really want it. Great writing and characters make this an enjoyable read.

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