Published: July 28th, 2020
Publisher: Forever
Tropes: Small town romance, friends-to-lovers, fling to forever
Heat level: 🔥🔥🔥
# of pages: 368
My rating: 5 stars
Acquired this book: From the publisher in exchange for honest consideration
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Buy: Amazon Canada || Amazon US || Indigo
Dr. Nora Walsh has just been dumped in spectacular fashion, making it the perfect time for a major life change. She figures taking over the medical practice in tiny Matchmaker Bay for a couple of years will help her get over her broken heart, and then she can head back to the big city. But when the first man she sees looks like a superhero god, she wonders if maybe there's something to small-town living after all.
Jake Ramsey also has a broken heart--one he never expects to heal. He doesn't need people anyway and is content hiding out in his secluded cottage on the beach. But after helping Nora with a medical emergency, he finds himself opening up to the witty, warmhearted doctor. Soon the local matchmakers are working overtime to pair them off, and Jake begins to wonder if his campaign to get Nora to stay is for the town or because he can't bear the thought of her leaving.
I enjoyed Mermaid Inn, the first in Jenny Holiday’s Matchmaker Bay series, and I was excited to return to this charming Canadian small town and its quirky collection of residents.
I was curious about Jake in Sawyer and Eve’s story - he was a man of few words, one who had obviously been hurt, and who mostly preferred to keep to himself. Nora was new in town, and her stay was meant to be a temporary one before moving back to Toronto for good. Neither of them was looking for any sort of romantic entanglement, which any seasoned romance reader knows will lead to lots of delicious push and pull, will-they-won’t-they, and emotional highs and lows. Paradise Cove delivered on all of that and then some.
From their adorable meet-cute to the two of them working together during a medical emergency, to Jake quietly stepping in to fix Nora’s new house and clinic without any sort of expectation or ulterior motive, these two were a joy to watch. They developed a beautiful, close friendship where they relied on each other while still maintaining their own lives and independence. They had fantastic chemistry and hilarious banter, and I loved watching them grow closer and fall for each other without realizing it.
This book was funny and super sexy, but it packed an emotional punch too. It handled grief in an open, realistic way. As someone who is unfortunately well-acquainted with grief, it really resonated with me and made me love this book even more. Jenny Holiday did a fantastic job of balancing really deep, often painful emotions with humour and sexytimes. This book had it all.
Come for the pizza and zombie movies, stay for the giggles, feels, and swoons. I can’t wait to return to Moonflower Bay in the near future, and I’ll definitely be recommending this series to fellow romance lovers in the meantime.
Read my review of Mermaid Inn
Have you read either of the Matchmaker Bay books? What's the last book you read that felt perfectly balanced?
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