STARLIGHT BRIDGE

Excellently written real tear jerker

This is book #2, in the Harmony Harbor series. This book can be read as a standalone novel. For reader enjoyment and understanding, I recommend reading series in order. Griffin & Ava have a past as husband and wife. There is much pain and reminders are everywhere when he returns. How can he not want the love of his life back? Ava knows how she feels for Griffin. She also knows there are too many factors keeping them apart. Can they meet in the middle and conquer the obstacles? I do not do spoilers. I will say that this story has so much to it - you will want to read it all at once, as I did. These characters are so easy to root for, and very much should be together. I cannot wait to read the next book in the Harmony Harbor series! ***This ARC copy was given in exchange for an honest review, by Netgalley and its publishers.

I'm a sucker for a good second chance love story and have been waiting for Griffin and Ava's since I met them in The Christmas Cottage. All I knew at the time was that they had been divorced for more than 10 years and while she still loved him, he had moved on, remarried and divorced, but was still friends with his second wife. Ava is keeping a big secret about why she divorced Griffin, and it is all the secret journal his great grandmother Colleen kept. The problem is no one knows where that journal, and Ava is determined to find it before someone else discovers it and learns its secrets. That is how the books opens and sets the stage for the their second chance at the life and love they once shared. Ava and Griffin’s journey is not easy, events from both the past and present combine to break them apart once more. There was a twist I was not expecting, but it worked out really well. I loved this book from beginning to end, can’t wait for the next one! I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book. I was not compensated for this review, all conclusions are my own.

Circling around the restoration and renewal of Greystone Manor, and the people who are working to make this forgotten gem a going concern. In this book we have Ava, a well-known and regarded chef, brought in by Sophie (the nexus of the project to save the manor) to help out. But there are issues. See, Ava was once married to Griffin, and after a huge mistake, she used her fear to drive her next steps – pushing Griffin away, even though they both still loved one antoher. Now, even though she was back in town to help her dying father, she’s retreated from life and further from Griffin and his family, hoping to keep him away from the real reasons she walked from their marriage. Griffin, for his part, never stopped loving Ava, even remarrying (although now divorced) didn’t keep him from thinking about her, wondering what he did wrong, and having the repeated ill-will toward her from his family reinforced. No one really understands why they split so long ago, and the one person who may have known is long since gone, having never shared the why to a person, but left behind in a memoir. Ava is desperate that the reasons never come to light, so her need to find this memoir, left somewhere in the Manor house, is reaching critical mass. Avoiding Griffin, who is helping with the renovation is a close second on her list. Oh this was fun, when two people are desperate to avoid one another, and interference and coincidental moments are fueled by a ghost and a cat, the façade that Ava has constructed to hide her ever-present love for Griffin is crumbling. And together, despite bickering, ignoring and desperate attempts to not address one another directly, the passion, emotion and connection between them is clear and palpable. They just need to be honest, and despite some childish and petty behavior meant to distract and disrupt the connection from Griffin’s ex Lexi, the developer’s monkey wrenches thrown to discredit the new owners and their attempts to make the business a success and the meddling ghost, the story moves forward until Ava needs to confront or run from the secrets of the past. Given plenty of time to reacquaint themselves, despite the back and forth, the connection and regard that Ava and Griffin have is clear, and while Ava mistakenly and rather childishly decides that her answers are the best ones, the gradual understanding and growth that she finds in the solidity of Griffin and the power of truth and honesty to allow you to move forward is clearly drawn and brings the couple together in ways unexpected. Tension from the threats to the Manor, the attraction between Ava and Griffin and the curious interferences from the ghost add a solid underlayment that draws you forward, keeping you engaged. A wonderful installment in the series, I can’t wait for the next. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Ava doesn't believe in happily-ever-after any longer. She had that once and although it didn't end up as she'd thought it would she hasn't ever stopped loving Griffin, that wasn't why she had asked him for a divorce all those years ago. The reason is written down in Colleen's Book of Memoirs that no one can seem to find. Ava is trying to find the book of secrets before anyone else does. The Widow's Club named Colleen's book~ The Secret Keeper of Harmony Harbor, it has everyone's secrets written in it. If the book were to land in the wrong hands it could devastate or ruin many people. Ava also wants to save and restore Graystone Major from being sold to a developer who wants to tear it down to make room for new condos. All 10 of Colleen's great grandchildren need to decide to sell the place or become what's now called "Team Graystone" to save it. Griffin has come back to Graystone Manor to help them prepare for the bridal show they have coming up, his second exwife thinks he's still in love with Ava his first which he denies... Until he can't anymore and had to admit she's right. However what is he going to do, walk away or fight to have the happily ever after they both deserve?! You'll have to read yet another awesome story about Graystone Manor, Debbie has done an awesome job with this series and i cannot wait for more!!! I voluntarily reviewed an ARC copy of this book via Tasty Book Tours through NetGalley for an honest blog tour review.

Starlight Bridge is the second in Debbie Mason’s Harmony Harbor series. This lighthearted series picks up several months after the last installment. If you read Christmas with an Angel, just ignore it. GG is still trying to find her memoirs and right the wrongs of her life. This time she’s trying to get Griffin and Ava back together, thus ensuring Griffin’s place on Team Graystone. There are a few somewhat predictable twists and it takes far too long to reveal what broke up Griffin and Ava in the first place, though an astute reader will have figured it out fairly early. All in all, this is a solid story that will warm the hearts of small-town lovers. I really enjoy this series and am very much looking forward to the next installment. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this novel.