Seabreeze Christmas

"Ideas coursed through Ivy’s mind. 'I think we have a real opportunity—not only to fill the inn but also to provide a unique experience where we come together as a surrogate family.'" It's the start of the holidays and bookings at the Inn are down which makes Ivy Bay a little worried. Finding yet another box from the Inn's past isn't surprising as the original homeowners continue to remind us of the history and care that they put into the old place. Now it's become a lot more than an eyesore. It's an Inn. It's a Community Center. It has yet to give up all it's secrets....[reminder, another book is coming], all wrapped in the shiny new life the Bay family has given it. I love Jan Moran's work! From "Scent of Triumph" to "Seabreeze Christmas" and beyond, IMHO she's one of the best at what she does: touch your heart like a feather and invite you along for the ride. Highly Recommended 5/5 [disclaimer: I received this book as a gift from the author and voluntarily read and reviewed it]

This is book four in The Summer Beach Series and it continues the story of Ivy, Shelly and the crew. It is thanksgiving and all the family and friends are there to celebrate the success of the Seabreeze Inn after everything that Ivy has gone through. This book is absolutely amazing and there are many surprises along the way with twists and turns that you don't see coming along with kindness, forgiveness, hope, friendship, togetherness, love and family and I can't wait to read the next book in this amazing series. Ian Moran is an amazing author and writer and her books take you right into the story from the first page and you have to keep reading to see what will happen next and the characters and storyline pulled you in and it is so addictive. I definitely recommend you read this book, series and others by Jan and you will definitely not be disappointed. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Probably Shouldn’t Be Your First Foray to the Seabreeze Inn I had read this author's historical fiction and enjoyed it very much, so when I saw this Christmas book at one of my favorite book review sites (when I was on the hunt for holiday reads), I decided to give it a try. As this author is still relatively new to me, I had read no other books in the Seabreeze Inn series. I certainly felt like that put me at a distinct disadvantage for this book. The first scene is one of a giant family gathering for the holidays. The author introduced many characters at once, telling briefly of their relationships to each other, and the main characters. It was a bit too much at once to keep everything and everyone straight. I wonder if that would have been better had I read any of the previous books. It also feels like this book is not just a part of a series, but nearly episodic in nature. What do I mean by that? It doesn't feel like a self-contained story, more like a slice of life without a proper beginning, middle, and end that we so adore (and expect) in story structure. The author was somewhat overly repetitive at times, touching on the same thoughts of the characters repeatedly too close together. This book feels so different from her historical ones; I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that it's the same author. I have to say that I enjoy her historical books better than this contemporary one. I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.