Autumn by the Sea

– Melissa Tagg –

Muir Harbor #1

Larkspur Press

Published 28 September 2021

♥♥♥♥♥

 

Autumn by the Sea is another delicious contemporary romance by one of all-time favourite authors. Seriously. Melissa Tagg never disappoints.

Autumn by the Sea is the perfect blend of mystery, romance, longing for family and meant to be. The characters just worm their way into your heart. The setting is rugged and charming. And that meet cute?!!?? Seriously?!? So cute.

Sydney Rose has only ever wanted a family and somewhere to belong. Maybe that’s why when a stranger approaches her and tells her that he thinks she’s the long-lost granddaughter of Margaret Muir, Sydney Rose jumps on a plane to Maine to discover if maybe, just maybe, she has a family after all. Sydney was not expecting the charming, if a little in need of some love, house on the coast, or Maggie, with her heart so welcoming and so hurt by the past. Nor was Sydney expecting Maggie’s three adopted adult children who are not exactly excited to see Sydney. Just it only takes days for Sydney to feel at home. If she and Neil, Maggie’s eldest adopted and the one holding Muir Farm together, can uncover the truth of the past, maybe Sydney could stay and find her place to belong.

Autumn by the Sea is truly a delightful novel. I really enjoyed the mix of mystery in the book. Not only is Sydney trying to uncover the truth of her heritage, mystery surrounds Maggie’s daughter’s disappearance, as well as the strange occurrences around the farm that have Neil worried.

The romance between Neil and Sydney is incredibly touching. They are not quite enemies to lovers, but they don’t have the smoothest start. Once they get past their initial meeting (beat that meet-cute, I dare you), Neil doesn’t hide his dislike of Sydney’s appearance in his life. He has enough to worry about. But as Sydney learns more about the farm and everything that Neil is doing to keep his family afloat, Sydney’s admiration for him shines through and it isn’t long before they are seeing where things lead between them. Theirs is a very short courtship, but it works. Maybe it’s the depth of what they share with each other or just the Melissa Tagg’s ability to bring them both to the page and bring their chemistry and connection to life that it makes everything so believable.

There is a lot more to the story than just the romance and the mystery behind Sydney’s family. Neil’s siblings, relationships and even Maggie herself have secrets and more hurt in their past to sort out. The teaser at the end has me just desperate for the next book and I sense that a certain family legacy story is going to resurface.

Another beautiful book to savour, perfect for contemporary romance fans who love books with lots of heart.

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

More information

Category: Adult fiction

Genre: Christian Contemporary.

Themes: Romance, relationships, farms, belonging, heritage, family, foster care, adoption

Advisory:  References to drug and alcohol use and addiction.

Published: 28 September 2021 by Larkspur Press

Format: Paperback, ebook.

ISBN: 9780997964240

Find it on Goodreads