Irene Hannon delivers another lovely tale located in the idyllic town of Hope Harbor, Oregon, in “Sandpiper Cove.”
Adam Stone has been living in the coastal town for a year and a half now. He has a steady construction job, attends church weekly, and volunteers within the community. The only “problem”? He’s an ex-con — one filled with self doubts and insecurities.
The beautiful Lexie Graham is a single mom and chief of police. Her “problem”? She still can’t get over why God would take her husband from her five years earlier, and she can’t get over the guilt of his death.
A series of vandalism bring the two together when Lexie must investigate not only who vandalized Adam’s property, but also injured his beloved dog Clyde. As the two grow closer and closer, they must decide if they can put aside the differences in their backgrounds and pursue a relationship.
In the meantime, Adam becomes closer to teen-ager Brian who is involved in the acts of vandalism — even becoming a role model and mentor to Brian, which amazes the self-doubting Adam.
But “Sandpiper Cove” is more than just a romantic story. It is a lesson in second chances with so many other goodies — adapting being the key to survival; we all have gifts that can brighten others’ lives; we can’t change our past; finding that ember of hope in our lives; believing in one’s self; finding the courage to try again; smoothing out our flaws just takes a little effort; and, as Charley the always awesome taco guy says, “We can’t recognize possibilities unless we’re open to them.”
As Adam prays: “Please keep us all safe, and help us remember that even when clouds hide the sun, it keeps on shining — just like your light.”
In addition to all those great words of wisdom, Hannon also fills her story with great characters — Lexie and Adam are both very real and very flawed, and therefore relatable; Charley always knows just the right thing to say; Lexie’s adorable almost-five-year-old son Matt and mother Annette; Luis, the inspiring handyman from Cuba we met in an earlier book; and the lovable dog Clyde, with his gimpy gait and slow-to-trust demeanor.
I can’t wait to read the next Hope Harbor book. Perhaps we’ll see the story of newspaper editor Marci, who seemed to have a secret?
Five stars out of five.
Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, provided this complimentary copy for my honest, unbiased review.
“Sandpiper Cove” (Hope Harbor series, #3)