Review: Shoreline Drive by Lily Everett

Dr. Ben Faulkner is a veterinarian on warm, welcoming Sanctuary Island, a tiny refuge for wild horses tucked off the Atlantic coast. Though he’s dedicated his life to healing animals and rescuing the ones no one wants, Ben is nursing deep wounds of his own. After tragedy tore his family apart, he gave up his dreams of finding happiness long ago…until Merry Preston arrives on the island. Vivacious, friendly, and instantly loveable, Merry is everything Ben is not. She’s also nine months pregnant and attempting to carve out a new life for herself and her unborn child.

Though Ben tries to keep his distance, when a raging storm cuts them off from the mainland, he’s forced to help bring her new baby into the world. It’s a harrowing experience that leaves him with one great certainty: I want these two to be my family. Seeing his opportunity, he makes a dramatic proposal to the young mother: a marriage of convenience. If Merry marries him, he’ll draw up a contract naming her son as his heir and promising to provide for them both. But as they’ll learn, love is more than a business proposition…and it’ll take all the magic hidden in Sanctuary Island to turn Ben’s proposal into something real and lasting.

Series: Sanctuary Island #2
Release Date: January 28th 2014
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Source: Manic Readers
Reviewer: Michelle
Rating:

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Reviewer’s Thoughts

I will preface this review by saying this is the first book that I have read by this author. I loved the storyline: gruff, hardened veterinarian falls for the single mother of the child he delivered and lives happily ever after. The execution of the storyline wasn’t as pleasing as I imagined that it would be.

I never felt vested in the characters. I never warmed up to Ben and felt like he was Merry’s knight in shining armor. It just seemed like the author went over the top with the gruff personality and lacked the warmth needed to make the reader actually like him or care about what happened. I kept waiting for the moment that I would be convinced that he had changed and loved her unconditionally. I am still waiting. I didn’t really enjoy Merry’s character either. I enjoy a strong, independent woman. I just never felt like Merry was her own person. First she came back to her mother for help and then she married Ben.

The author writes from several points of view throughout the story, and I usually like it. However, this time I just felt irked because it seemed like we were essentially repeating the same thing with no point to most of it. I also didn’t like the extra details that went nowhere. I’m sure they are meant to be teasers for later stories, but I would have much rather kept those to a minimum.

There was drama and twists and turns that help to maintain your interest. I didn’t love it, but it’s worth it for you to judge for yourself.