Friday, February 7, 2014

Natalie Gibson's Satin Sheets Romance Review of Wind Chime Cafe



Wind Chime Café
by Sophie Moss

Adult Contemporary Romance
Length: 268 pages
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Blurb:
When single mother, Annie Malone, purchases a quirky Main Street café on Heron Island, she thinks she’s finally turned her dream of opening her own restaurant into a reality. Hearing rumors that a developer is about to build a five-star resort on the sleepy Chesapeake Bay island, she plans to transform the café into a premier upscale bistro. But Navy SEAL, Will Dozier, has no intention of selling his grandparents’ property to a developer. Back on Heron Island for the first time in ten years and secretly struggling with PTSD, Will decides that a fling with the new girl is the perfect way to help him “get his head straight.” The last thing Will expects is to fall in love…with his hometown and with Annie. But Will’s life and career are in San Diego with the SEALs. Can Annie’s love and the healing magic of the island be enough to convince him to stay?

Natalie Gibson's Review:
Annie risks her entire life savings to do what she always dreamed about. The timing is forced on her because of a tragedy at Taylor's, her daughter, school. The location is perfect for a restaurant that caters to the tourists visiting a resort that is moving to the area. Annie accidentally tells the owner of the land the developer wants that it is going to be a resort and he is whole heartedly against that. Now she'll have to rely on income from the locals and doubts that possibility. The land owner is Will, a Navy SEAL who's been away from home for a decade. He comes back to sell but when Annie tells him about the resort he stays to fix up the inn his grandparents raised him in. He wants a buyer with integrity. He never expects to fall for the woman whose dreams he is dashing. Annie must keep her heart, and that of her daughter, safe from a man who will be leaving their lives in a matter of weeks. The problem is that Will is in a unique situation to understand what Taylor is experiencing and to help her through it. Having a family may just be what can heal his own physiological wounds. And all that is just the first part of the book. Throw in some barriers and obstacles and the main characters have a lot to overcome to be together.


This had a 'Chocolate' (the movie with Johnny Depp) feel to it. There is a woman and her daughter coming to a new unfamiliar place to open a restaurant and the man they both fall in love with, a man adrift who changes everything but also gets as much from them as he gives. I felt the winds of change blowing from the first page.

Despite the blurb's mention of 'the healing magic of the island', Wind Chime Cafe is not a paranormal romance. This is a contemporary romance that deals with issues of the modern day. The hero is suffering from severe PTSD and the little girl is the only survivor in an attack on her school (similar to Columbine). Those of you familiar with my reviews know I prefer paranormal romance. I was hesitant to pick this one up but The Seal Island Trilogy, the author Sophie Moss' first series, is SO good that I took a chance. I am glad I did. Sophie Moss creates multidimensional characters in believable circumstances who experience real love on the page for us all to enjoy. Wind Chime Cafe is as complex as real life. The characters are rich and well written, even the secondary ones. There is a scene where Annie picks up Taylor from school and it read so clearly that I easily imagined every detail of the squealing chaos of two dozen second graders. The conflicts don't seem manufactured, the dialogue isn't stilted, and the plot isn't forced. As always, Ms. Moss nails the pace of her prose and we are swept away on the journey.

This is a 5 Satin Pillow kind of read and as the love scenes are sexy but not explicit I give it 2 Candle Flames.

   
Sophie is doing a Rafflecopter giveaway in celebration of this great new book!
$50 Amazon Gift Card and Three Signed Paperbacks 
(ebooks if winners live outside US & Canada)



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Sophie Moss is an award-winning author of four full-length romance novels. Known for her captivating Irish fantasy romances and heartwarming contemporary romances with realistic characters and unique island settings, her books have appeared twice in USA Today. As a former journalist, Sophie has been writing professionally for over ten years. She currently lives in San Diego, California, where she’s working on her next novel. When she’s not writing, she’s walking the beach, testing out a new dessert recipe, or fiddling in her garden. Sophie loves to hear from readers. Email her at sophiemosswrites@gmail.com or visit her website at sophiemossauthor.com




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