Wind Chime Cafe (Wind Chime 1) by Sophie Moss-a review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / The Book Depository

WIND CHIME CAFÉ (Wind Chime #1) by Sophie Moss

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 2014

When single mother, Annie Malone, purchases a quirky Main Street cafe 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 cafe 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?

•••••••••••••••

REVIEW: WIND CHIME CAFÉ is the first instalment in Sophie Moss’s adult, contemporary Wind Chime romance series focusing on the people of Heron Island near the Eastern Shore of Maryland. This is Navy SEAL Will Dozier, and café owner and single mother Annie Malone’s story.

Told from third person POV the storyline focuses on the building relationship between Annie and Will. Annie is the new girl in town with dreams of making it big with her own restaurant. Hoping to settle both she and her daughter for the long term, Annie’s dreams are shattered when the five-star resort plans are put on hold. Will Dozier’s family owns the land and the lodge upon which the resort is to be built and Will has no plans to turn over the land to a big corporation whose only concern is the bottom line.

The relationship between Annie and Will is cautious. Annie refuses to allow anyone to get close enough to her daughter or her heart; and Will is considering returning to the SEALs for one final tour of duty. But Will struggles with PTSD and revealing that information to the commanders will place Will on a permanent leave of absence. It is a struggle for both Annie and Will who begin to fall in love with one another knowing that Will had plans to return to active duty.

We are also introduced to Annie’s daughter Taylor-a child who suffers her own form of PTSD and it is this small child that will show Will that love comes in all shapes and sizes.

Sophie Moss introduces a cast of secondary characters that bring color, emotion, realism and history to a storyline that is a true romantic tale. Wind Chime Café is a story with a little bit of everything-romance and sex; betrayal and heartbreak; loving and letting go. The town folk are charming, eclectic, spirited and moving.

WIND CHIME CAFE is a heartwarming, enjoyable and touching story about two people who beat incredible odds and find their way to one another in a sleepy but entertaining town where everyone knows your name, your business and your life.

Reviewed by Sandy