This is a modern day Christian romance novel set on the famous Prince Edward Island.
It is the first in a series by Liz Johnson with the second one due out in the fall of 2016.

The story revolves around Marie Carrington who is fleeing from her past. She leaves her home in Boston to head north to Canada to escape the recent events that are haunting her and bringing her to full blown panic attacks at every turn. Escaping is not enough, though, because she must hide her location from her family and former community, also. Her father must not find her or he will drag her back to relive all of it again in a very public way. She must not be forced to face it all again.

A kind stranger named Jack, an elderly gentleman, crosses her path and steps in to help her. He is struggling with his own burden of trying to get a bed and breakfast up and running in his small community. He is seeking to honor his wife, Rose, who passed away some time ago by opening a place that can shelter others from the storms of life and bring healing to all who stay there. Jack offers Marie a job without knowing anything about her past and she reluctantly accepts the work and the place to stay. The drawback is that she will have to work alongside Jack's angry nephew, Seth, to bring the bed and breakfast up to standard to get it opened on time.

Jack, along with a whole cast of characters, begins to take Marie in and treat her as family. She begins to find her passion in life as God draws her closer and begins to peel away the layers of hurt and rejection.

It is a familiar theme with a predictable but enjoyable romance or two along the way and a beautiful picture of how God the Father is the perfect Father unlike many of our own. As Marie begins to see that God the Father is not like her own harsh father at all and that He really does seek to show her a better life full of love and forgiveness and second chances.

I did enjoy this book. As many of you know, I am not typically a fiction reader but this one was a lovely read about a place so many of us long to see someday. Prince Edward Island is spoken of so often in the Maud Montgomery novels and it is depicted beautifully in this novel. Marie is a fan of the Montgomery novels as well.

It struck a chord with me because it is set around a bed and breakfast and a small community with an antique shop, a scrumptious bakery that made me hungry every time it was mentioned and, of course, the beauty that surrounded all of it. The characters from the community are absolutely charming and lovable for the most part.

I am certainly interested in reading the sequel to continue the story of the people in this story.

This book was sent to me free of charge by Baker Publishing Group's Revell division in exchange for an honest read and review.
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Couldn't get into it after the first couple of chapters. Some skimming ahead convinced me that it was too Hallmark-movie-ish for me. (Sometimes that sort of works for me...but not in this case.)

A romance set on Prince Edward Island.

Marie, broken-hearted and betrayed by her father, ran from Boston with less than $300 in her pocket. Meets Jack Sloane at the ferry terminal to PEI, and he buys her ferry ticket and offers her a job at his bed-and-breakfast He needs Marie to add the “woman’s touch” to his inn.

Seth, betrayed by his fiancé who stole his money and his business came to Prince Edward Island to help his uncle, Jack, renovate a house into a bed-and-breakfast in memory of his wife Rose.

A romance with a slight dash of Christian-romance. Very enjoyable! ( )

Liz Johnson handles a very difficult topic with delicate foreshadowing and discretion. By focusing on the shattering results of the crime instead of the commission of the crime, she makes the main character hugely sympathetic. I enjoyed watching the main character develop and overcome, not all at once, but inch by inch and without it seeming like a foregone conclusion.
Her romantic interest, on the other hand, seemed completely unreasonable. He made a snap decision and stuck with it. I'm glad she liked him, because I never got around to it.
However, I was delighted at how the author wove in an unconventional means of communication for the romantic leads, deftly tucking it into the story as a natural occurrence and then leveraging it later. ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel by Liz Johnson which has a lovely cover. There is hope, humor, and delight for the reader. When one needs to start their life over, where do they go when they are penniless, scared, and has no one to turn to? Marie Carrington lands on Prince Edward Island and lets her decorating talents lead her. She may find faith, a home, and more. The other characters plus Marie are strong and well developed. The plot carries you to the end of the book and does not disappoint.

I recommend this book that I received from Revell Reads/Net Galley for my honest review. ( )