Today I’m sharing my book recommendation for Look for Me by Inspy Romance author Jan Thompson, Book 4 in her Vacation Sweethearts series set in Key Largo, Florida. I jumped into the series at Book 4 and read the book as a standalone. But, as I was reading, some of the series story details seemed familiar. I do think I have read some of the earlier books in the series, which includes the back story for Martin and Corinne.
Here’s the Book Description:
She needs a champion. Just not him.
Four years after his girlfriend ghosted him, Martin MacFarland finds her in Key Largo, abused and pregnant with her second child. Martin wants to be there for her, but she can’t give him a second chance.
Remember the MacFarlands in Smile for Me (Vacation Sweethearts Book 1)? Look for Me is the story of Tina’s brother, Martin. This Christian beach town romance novel with a side of suspense has clean language while dealing with the difficulties of past sins, single motherhood, second chances, redemption, and the mercy of God. It is Book 4 in USA Today bestselling author Jan Thompson’s Vacation Sweethearts series of Christian travel romance novels, a spin-off of her Savannah Sweethearts beach romance series.
She needs a champion…
A single mother on the run, Corinne Anderson has made many mistakes since she broke up with Martin MacFarland four years ago. Each mistake compounds on the other problems in her life.
Down and out, Corinne and her three-year-old daughter end up in the small beach town of Key Largo, hiding from the criminals looking for them. Their witness protection cover blown, Corinne needs all the help she can get.
As long as it’s not from Martin.
Anyone but him…
After his father gives him half the ownership of the MacMuscles Classic Car Restoration business in Savannah, Georgia, Martin MacFarland is convinced that he is ready to settle down and start a family. Unfortunately for him, the only woman he ever loved has vanished without a trace.
After his private investigator tracks her down, Martin drives to Key Largo, praying that Corinne will forgive him for what he did before he became a Christian, and hoping she might consider starting over with him.
Well, she can’t. And she won’t tell him why either.
Yet he won’t leave…
As Martin gets closer to finding out what Corinne is up to or hiding from, will he fall into the same fire that has burned Corinne so many times? Will his love survive the flames?
Narelle’s Thoughts:
I enjoyed reading Look for Me by Jan Thompson. I like second chances romances, and I loved how the story premise was seeded in Martin and Corinne’s relationship history in Savannah, Georgia.
Four years earlier, Martin became a Christian while he was dating Corinne. His new faith dictated that he couldn’t continue his current romantic relationship with Corinne, and the obvious solution was to get married. Corinne didn’t understand why Martin’s new religious beliefs had to change or impact their relationship. She loved Martin, but she didn’t want to get married. Corinne perceived his marriage ultimatum as a rejection, which led to her ghosting Martin and running into a whole new world of trouble.
Fast forward four years, and Corinne’s life is a train wreck. A series of foolish decisions resulted in her hiding out in Key Largo, Florida. She’s now a pregnant single mother with a three year old, and in a witness protection program.
Martin has not forgotten Corinne, and he hires a private investigator who discovers Corinne is working in a Key Largo chocolate shop using a different name. The story opens with Martin visiting Key Largo and wanting to reconnect with Corinne. His presence in Key Largo places Corinne’s life in more danger.
I enjoyed the suspense element in the story, and how the characters relied on their faith to survive and endure many challenging situations. Corinne became a Christian a year earlier in Key Largo, and she has accepted that she has to live with the consequences of her past decisions. I wanted to see Corinne and Martin reunite and have a second chance with Jesus at the center of their relationship. I recommend Look for Me to contemporary romance readers who like a suspense thread plus a strong and overt faith element in the story.
Learn more about Jan Thompson and her books at her website.
Questions For You: Do you ever read series books out of order? Have you read many CCR books set in Florida? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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.
Hi Narelle from the Mitten State, Michigan. This retired avid reader often reads books in a series out of order, especially when a new author, new series catches my interest or is at a special price. Many Michiganders have connections with the sunny state of Florida. I have vacationed in Florida twice, have former students that live there and I have read Jan Thompson’s books and some others with a Florida setting. Enjoy your weekend. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Renate, I will also read books out of order for the reasons you’ve mentioned. Sometimes the book description grabs me more for a later book in the series. I like escaping to the warmer weather in books set in Florida. Enjoy your day and thanks for commenting. 😊
Hi Narelle, this sounds a great story, thanks for recommending!
I sometimes readseries out of order – more so in the past before I had an e reader and I would get books from the library or second hand and it would depend what I found. Now I do sometimes, perhaps if there’s a special price offer, but I do like to try to read in order if I can to avoid spoilers, and when characters reappear it’s nice to know their stories first.
I think I’ve read some CCR set in Florida – I enjoy reading about different places and finding out what they are like.
I have read books out of order, sometimes it’s not a bad thing, and sometimes it is. There was one I read recently, not contemporary, that I read out of order and it was a bad thing! lol!! I live in Florida, and tend to not read books that take place here. I’m more critical when it includes places I’ve been or know about, and especially if they put it in summer with a hurricane!!!
I read book series out of order and in order just what ever I feel like cause usually I don’t have whole series on my kindle cause I don’t buy books from Kindle store I just buy the free ones.
All the time
yes
Yes, I have. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.
Thank you so much, Narelle, for recommending Look for Me. I enjoyed writing this novel and I’m glad you enjoyed reading it!
Hi Ruthie, You’re very welcome. Yes, I could never learn the art of requesting library print books at the right time to avoid reading a series out of order. If the wait times were long, it could take years to read a series in order. I don’t usually read mysteries out of order because of spoilers. I do like binge reading series, so when all the characters reappear, often in the last book, I actually remember who they are. Thanks for commenting. 😊
Hi Trudy, yes, sometimes it can end badly if we are planning to read earlier books in the series. That’s where ‘book amnesia’ can come in handy, lol.
Your hurricane seasons seem to work differently to our southern hemisphere cyclone seasons. It seems like October is when you’re likely to have hurricanes (I could be wrong). One of our worst cyclones, that people will still talk about almost 50 years later, was Cyclone Tracy in 1974 that was a direct hit on the city of Darwin on Christmas morning. That was mid-summer, and we can have cyclones develop anywhere between November and April (wet season). Thanks for commenting. 😊
Hi Kendra, yes, if you’re only reading free ebooks, you’ll likely to be jumping around within a series. If you like audiobooks, many authors (including some of our Inspy Romance authors) have free audiobooks available to listen to on YouTube. Thanks for commenting. 😊
Hi Jcp, I’m glad I’m not the only one. Thanks for commenting. 😊
Hi bn100, me, too. Thanks for commenting. 😊
Hi Debra, You’re very welcome. Thanks for commenting. 😊
Hi Jan, A pleasure to share my thoughts on your book here. I’ll also be mentioning it in an upcoming StoryChats episode (CCR set in Florida). 😊
Our hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, with September being (usually) the most active month. We actually have a storm brewing now, that will probably be making landfall next week. It’s a bit unusual for us to get one November, thought it has happened before. After getting hit by Ian, some areas don’t need more rain. We really could do without the beach erosion, as so many people have built right on the beaches, and the rest of us will have to help pay for beach restoration, though we can’t even get to that section of beach!
Beach erosion has been a problem here, too. I can imagine how waterlogged parts of Florida would be after Ian. I’m praying the storm that’s brewing won’t cause major problems. I only recently discovered that mainland USA is not in the tropics, not even Florida. I’d assumed, because most of our cyclones make landfall in the tropics, that it would be similar for USA and hurricanes.