Book Description:
Five brothers find love where they least expect it in the Resort to Love Series.
Oregon Coast – Christina Lovejoy finds herself honeymooning alone when she leaves her fiancé at the altar. Dave Lake prayed for a wife and has a bride show up at his bed and breakfast. When she agrees to stay on as his cook, will he be able to convince her not to run away from another chance at romance?
Narelle’s Thoughts:
I love escaping into a story and exploring both familiar and unfamiliar places. During this season of closed borders and stay-at-home requirements for social distancing, I’m looking to arm chair travel via a contemporary Christian romance to international destinations.
In the fall of 2013, after attending the annual ACFW Conference, I stopped over in Oregon on my way home to Australia and visited my husband’s family. We explored the Oregon Coast, including the pretty coastal town of Seaside. I remember walking on the promenade and wondering why there was a swing set in the middle of the sand on the beach. At our Aussie beaches the swing set and playground are typically located in the grassed area of the park adjoining the beach.
I enjoyed reading Inspy Romance author Angela Ruth Strong’s romance novella set at the beach in Seaside. Christina is a runaway bride who goes on her honeymoon by herself at a Seaside Bed and Breakfast. She makes a grand entrance in her wedding dress and immediately creates chaos for Dave, the owner of the Bed and Breakfast.
Seaside is the perfect place for Christina to take stock of her life choices and seek God’s will. Dave falls hard and fast for Christina, but their growing friendship is complicated, and Christina has unfinished business with her jilted fiancé.
I appreciated the strong and organic faith element in the story, and liked how both Dave and Christina walked closely with the Lord. Their romance was fun and quirky and I wanted to see Dave win Christina’s heart.
I love this quote from the story:
“You knew in your head I was going to catch you,” he said in her ear, “but you didn’t feel safe in your heart until you’d experienced me catching you multiple times. It’s the same with God. The more we let Him catch us, the more our hearts trust Him.”
The story includes beach soccer, which brought back fun memories from my younger years growing up on the northern beaches in Sydney, Australia. I enjoyed sports and played soccer, volleyball, cricket, and touch football on the sandy beaches with my church youth group. Including sports in a romance is always a winner for me as a reader, lol.
I recommend Finding Love in Seaside, Oregon, to readers who enjoy fun contemporary romance novellas with a strong faith element. This novella is also part of two series.
Angela Ruth Strong’s Resort to Love series includes the romance stories of Dave’s brothers that are set in different US states. We meet Sam, Dave’s baby brother, in Seaside. We can read Sam’s romance story set in Park City, Utah.
The Prologue (Christina’s wedding day before she runs away to Seaside) is included in Finding Love at the Oregon Coast: a multi-author series that includes the romance stories of Christina’s bridesmaids.
Dive into both series to explore the Oregon Coast and Idaho, California, Montana, and Utah.
I love reading romance stories with characters who cross-over into different series. Do you enjoy reading inter-connected series? Have you read Angela’s books?
A fun loving Aussie girl at heart, Narelle Atkins was born and raised on the beautiful northern beaches in Sydney, Australia. She has settled in Canberra with her husband and children. A lifelong romance reader, she found the perfect genre to write when she discovered inspirational romance. Narelle's contemporary stories of faith and romance are set in Australia and international locations.
I do enjoy reading inter-connected series. I am new to Angela’s books.
Yes, I enjoy Angela’s books. I’ve always wondered about that swing set lol. It really is a strange place for one and the only beach I’ve seen with one on the sand. :)
Thanks for sharing this intro. New author for me.
I have quite a few of Angela’s books in my TBR stack! I follow her on FB and get her newsletter. I do like finding characters from one series in another series, it’s like meeting up with old friends. As long as their backstories aren’t repeated all over again, that is!
My first introduction to Angela’s writing was through the Finding Love at the Oregon Coast multi-author set, and then I followed her through all the Lake brothers’ romances. I love her writing style! And I’ve been to all the areas she’s written about (except for Utah), which adds to the fun.
Hey, thanks Narelle. This was a fun surprise. Glad you enjoyed the novella. It’s one of my favorite settings too!!!
I read the Resort to Love series earlier this year and love to whole thing. I do like series with interconnected characters. I’m currently working my way through the Chapel Cove stories. I recently finished Jaycee Weaver’s series set in Albuquerque, NM. It’s like having a TV series where you look forward to the next episode. Thanks for sharing, Narelle.
I have not read her books. I enjoy interconnected characters in series. Thank you for sharing.
I love reading interconnecting stories and series. It is like recurring characters become like friends.
Hi Mary, I agree, and I hope you’ll have an opportunity to read Angela’s books. Thanks for commenting. 😊
Hi Kimberly, I reckon there’s a story behind the swing set on the beach. If anyone knows, please share it with us. Thanks for commenting. 😊
Hi Yvonne, A pleasure to introduce you to Angela’s books, and I hope you’ll have a chance to read them. Thanks for commenting. 😊
Hi Trudy, I hope you’ll have an opportunity soon to dive into your tbr stack and read some of Angela’s books. Yes, it’s fun to reunite with characters we’ve met before, and it’s tedious to have the backstory rehashed every single time. I used to read a popular mystery author’s series with a female sleuth main character, and I learned to quickly skim read the first few pages of Chapter One in each new book in the series, lol. Thanks for commenting. 😊
Hi Valerie, yes, it’s fun to be familiar with the setting. Utah is a setting I haven’t come across often in CCR’s. Thanks for commenting. 😊
Hi Angela, You’re very welcome. A pleasure to read and recommend your books! 😊
Hi Lincoln, You’re very welcome. Enjoy reading Chapel Cove and Jaycee’s series. I like binge reading series (and tv shows) and absorbing myself the story world. Thanks for commenting. 😊
Hi Lucy, You’re very welcome. I hope you’ll have an opportunity to read Angela’s books. Thanks for commenting. 😊
Hi Pam, yes, it’s fun when characters become like friends, and especially now when we’re not able to see our real life friends in person. Thanks for commenting. 😊
I love inter-connected series because it feeks like a chance to catch up with old friends.
Hi Jessica, yes, I agree! It’s also fun to get a glimpse of the hero and heroine’s married life when they appear in later books. Thanks for commenting. 😊
Fabulous review, Narelle! I have this collection and I’m so looking forward to reading it! 💕🙂
Hi Caitlyn, I hope you’ll have it chance to read it ASAP! Thanks for commenting. 😊