Coming Home to Seashell Harbor

Coming Home to Seashell Harbor was a wonderful introduction to this new series! Miranda Liasson is a new author to me and I really enjoyed her brand of storytelling. Hadley has come home to Seashell Harbor following a very hurtful and very public break-up. She feels a bit like her life is in limbo when she gets home and she's looking forward to spending time with her family and helping her grandmother out at the Pooch Palace, her longtime business. When she gets home, things aren't exactly how she expected, which throws her even more. Tony "Cam" Cammareri grew up in Seashell Harbor, but made it as a professional football player until an injury forced his retirement. Now he's trying to figure out what to do with his life and while he thinks he's got a great idea, things might not go exactly the way he expects when his first love, Hadley, blows back into town. When Cam and Hadley realize they are vying for the same piece of real estate in downtown, things get interesting. They both feel their idea is the right one and it's entertaining to see how each of their families and their friends get involved in the action. Not to mention the furry friends that help to make the story so enjoyable! This was a fun read and I look forward to more in this series and more by this author!

3.5/5 Coming Home to Seashell Harbor by Miranda Liasson, book one in her Seashell Harbor series, is a wonderful, emotional tale of the high school sweethearts getting a second chance after finding themselves back in their hometown for the summer, many years later. Hadley Wells switched career plans from saving the planet to put out fires for Hollywood celebrities. When a very public breakup reveals that her life is not as perfect as she thought, she returns to her hometown of Seashell Harbor, to figure out what she wants truly wants to do with her life. Upon arrival, she discovers her grandmother had fallen breaking a hip and is considering retirement. Oh, and then there’s the return of the town’s prodigal son, Tony, her first love, and first to break her heart. A career-ending injury forced football player Tony Cammareri into an early retirement causing him to focus on his future. Tony is determined to open a restaurant, using his father’s family recipes, but it’s not as simple as all that; including unwanted franchising opportunities. Learning that Hadley is back in town he is determined to apologize for the way he ended things between them back after graduation; despite knowing it wouldn’t be a happy reunion between them. Vying for occupation of her grandmother’s storefront and for control of the town’s future development, Tony and Hadley find themselves on opposing sides as they try to prove with plan would best serve the town. As their rivalry intensifies, Hadley and Tony need to decide what is worth fighting for in order to be happy. Hadley and Tony might have split up seventeen years prior but they still acted like teens, trying to one-up each other. It was difficult to believe they were thiry-somethings by their actions and behaviors. Yet, you could tell they still loved the town where they grew up. The magnetic attraction and chemistry they shared as teens was still there as evident in their inability to stop trying to help each other. I enjoyed all the dogs that played a role in the story and in their reunion. Hadley’s grandmother was a wonderful addition to the story, adding to their competitiveness and finding ways to push them together. Hadley and Tony were truly soul-mates, pieces of the same puzzle that belonged together. It was hard to understand why it took so long for them to realize it. Ms. Liasson wrote a tale that was emotional, sizzling, tale, filled with wonderful dialogue, and endearing characters is a must read. I highly recommend Coming Home to Seashell Harbor to other readers. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

What goes around comes around and bites you in the heart. Coming Home to Seashell Harbor is a journey of reckoning. A story of forgiveness that speaks to the flaws inside that remind us we are human. Liasson grabs hold of emotions with the glitches in life and exposes the hard road to love. Hadley and Tony come of age with a bit of life wisdom and sprinkling of heartache. Not quite perfect comes pretty close to beautiful.