Sweet Caroline by Becky Lower – a Review

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DESCRIPTION
Caroline Stuart never returned to Lobster Cove after an embarrassing summer night when she was fifteen. But her cousin’s marriage was an event she couldn’t miss. Imagine her surprise when she discovers her partner in the bridal party is Grant Jackson, the same boy who humiliated her years ago. She still hates him. Yet, he still excites her. 
Grant had more than the usual problems fitting in as a teenager, being the only boy of mixed heritage in the school. And he’d somehow alienated the one girl he desperately wanted to impress. With Caroline’s return to Lobster Cove, he finally has an opportunity to make amends, if only she’ll listen. If only she’ll let go of the past.

REVIEW

5 out of 5 for this reader folks!

AHHH Becky is back!  AHHH I get to return to Lobster Cove!  AHHHH Neil Diamond’s song “Sweet Caroline” .. bah bah bah!  LOL

Sweet Caroline by Becky Lower is a contemporary romance set in Lobster Cove, Maine (which is the setting for a previous novel), that features all the things I have grown to love from a Becky Lower book.  You will have romance, angst, friendship, history that needs some serious correcting and the healing of very damaged souls.

Caroline Stuart is our leading lady and she is a very easy character to relate to.  She has some heartbreak that she is desperately trying to heal from, and after a many years she is returning home to Lobster Cove despite having left absolutely humiliated many years ago.  Feeling stagnant in her life, Caroline is one hot mess but a hot mess any one of us can find ourselves living.  She is sweet, kind and little too much in her own way, but she has a brave side that makes her so endearing.

Grant Jackson is our leading man and he too is easy to relate to.  He was somewhat of a recluse in his younger years and treasured his friendship with Caroline as teens, until he accidentally screws it up and humiliates her in front of her family and friends.  Having carried this guilt for years, he is surprised and grateful that Caroline has returned home after so many years.  He is going to right the wrongs in their past if it kills him.  Knowing he has to fight through a massive defence that Caroline has built around her, he forges through with kindness, sympathy and empathy and brutal truth that inevitably will lead to romance.

These two characters are so well suited.  Reading another book set in Lobster Cove is like waking up Christmas morning to the smell of my mom’s stuffing.  It’s nostalgic and heartwarming.  Becky has a talent for writing very vivid images and it makes you feel like you are smack dab in the middle of the story.  I have read every single book that Becky has released to date, and this one is right up there on my fave list.

Reviewed by Rachel

Copy supplied for review