Happy Monday, all! Today I am super excited to share my review of another book I group read, Solace Island by Meg Tilly and publishing tomorrow, November 6, 2018, by Berkley!
My Thoughts:
Woo my! Solace Island represents me stretching my reading chops. I really mean S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g. But before I get started, I’ll let you know I enjoyed it!
Billed as romantic suspense, Solace Island is heavy on the romance side for about the first half, and by romance, I mean the racy kind. This is steamy! About halfway through, the suspense hits, and it’s off to the races through the ending.
Maggie is dumped at the altar and to find peace, she heads to her sister Eve’s house on Solace Island in Washington state. The two decide to open up a bakery together. Eve tries to set Maggie up with their handsome neighbor, Luke, also a baker, but Maggie is not interested, at least at first.
When Maggie is almost run over by a car, and Luke then saves her life by pushing her out of the way, the suspense heat is on. Maggie has a feeling that Luke is not who he seems to be. Some unknown threat is looming and stalking Maggie.
From Luke’s perspective, he wants to help Maggie and Eve and moves them into his state-of-the-art, highly secure home; however, he has secrets of his own.
Solace Island is one part steamy romance, one part riveting suspense. The setting of Solace Island won me over instantly. I’ve spent some time on the islands around Washington state, and Meg Tilley easily captured the serenity and beauty (as she should, since she is fortunate to live there!). The writing is smooth and easy-to-read enabling me to finish this book quickly. The ending is original and surprising, and all in all, I enjoyed this exciting, haunting, thrilling book, and I cannot wait for Eve’s story in book 2!
Thanks to Berkley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions are my own.
Synopsis:
A contemporary novel with a strong suspense element from Oscar-nominated actress Meg Tilly set on a peaceful island village in the Pacific Northwest.
Dumped on the eve of her wedding and looking for a quiet place to lick her emotional wounds, Maggie Harris joins her sister on Solace Island, where she hopes to recover from the stunning betrayal. At first, Maggie resists Eve’s impassioned argument about relocating permanently so the sisters can open their own local bakery. What she definitely doesn’t need on her road to recovery are Eve’s efforts to fix her up with their mysterious and alluring neighbor, Luke Benson–even if he is incredibly handsome and desirable.
Just as Maggie starts to get comfortable in her new surroundings, a car tries to run her down in the middle of the street. If it weren’t for Luke’s extremely quick reflexes, Maggie could have been killed, leading her to wonder just who exactly Luke Benson really is…
Luke thought he’d left the violence of the high risk security world behind. But he can’t stand by while Maggie’s life is threatened. Luke will do anything to keep her safe–even moving Maggie and her sister into his house with its state-of-the-art security features. But with the secrets between them and an unknown threat stalking her heels, Luke will have to think fast to prove to Maggie that she can trust him with her life–and with her heart.
Check out these reviews by the other Book Besties:
Berit at Audio Killed the Bookmark
Holly at Dressed to Read
Mackenzie at PhDiva
This sounds like a really smoothly written slice of fun. Though steamy romances aren’t really my thing – I do like the idea of the thriller aspect taking over the second half of the book. Great review, Jennifer!
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Thanks, Sarah! It was a jaunt for me, too, and now I’ll be back to my normal reads for a bit! It was definitely an enjoyable excursion!
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It never hurts to mix it up a little though, does it?
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Love your review, Jennifer!!! This one sure was steeaammmmyyy 🔥🔥 It was new for me too but I really loved the book! So glad we read this together!
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Thanks, Mack! I enjoyed it, too, and I’m happy we read it together! ♥️
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I knew it! how steamy was it?
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It was pretty hot, Jina!
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As long as pretty hot didn’t detract from the storyline, i’m ok with that. In fact, i’m going to see if i can find it.
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Perfectly said Jennifer! So glad to read this one together. ❤
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Thanks, Holls! I always have fun reading with you! 💕
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You know I was surprised to see you reading a romantic suspense, one of my favorite genres. Congrats for really stretching out and trying something different. I prefer the balance to weigh more heavily on the suspense side but when the whole second half is exciting, that works. Thanks for a great review! Who knew this side of Meg Tilly?
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I surprised myself, too, Jonetta, and thank you! I’ll have to give the genre another try soon. Do you have any favorites to recommend?
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Oh, I absolutely do! For me, the queen of the genre is Karen Rose and she’s got a 20+ book series, Romantic Suspense (ignore the city sub series designations as they’re not in published order). The first book is Don’t Tell and it is excellent. Suzanne Brockmann’s Troubleshooters series is fantastic and one of my favorite Indie authors is Lisa Clark O’Neill. Her Southern Comfort series would be particularly appealing given its southern setting.
I’ve many, many more but these are authors who have layers and complexities to their stories that I think are more suitable to your tastes.
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I am not a romance reader however, just finished and loved One Day in December so who knows…maybe my tastes have changed! Enjoyed your review, Jennifer.
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Lovely review and picture. Cannot wait to read this romantic suspense. Happy Monday! 💕📚😍🌺
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Thanks so much, Virginia! I hope you had a lovely Monday! ♥️ 📚
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Terrific review Jennifer – this one sounds terrific!
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Thanks, Mackey! It was a fun one! ♥️
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Love the book cover design.
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I thought it was majestic too!
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Terrific review! I had no idea Meg Tilly was writing now. I don’t usually read steamy romantic suspense but if the suspense is really tense, then I might try it! 😘
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Thanks, Steph! There was a lot of steaminess to this one, and the tension was good, too, but I’m worried the balance may be off if you’re not a fan of steamy romance. ♥️
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You’re welcome! Haha, well I did make my way through all 3 Fifty Shades books so you never know! I guess it depends on my mood and the writing (although Shades writing was godawful lol). I still might pick it up one day! 😉❤
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Wowwwwww a steamy read for a cold/chilly weather! Great recipe for fall reading! 😊
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Oh, that does sound like a good fit, Jee! I like that! A steamy read for fall! ♥️
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😁😁Oooo yeah!
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It’s nice to spice things up a little sometimes! Wonderful review.
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Thanks, Chrissi! Yes, it is!
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Wow awesome review! You all seem to love this one and now I really want to read it! Have an awesome Monday Jen!!💕
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Thanks, Sus! It was a different sort of read for me, but I enjoyed it! I hope your Monday was wonderful, too! ♥️
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Well done for s t r e t c h i n g yourself, just how steamy was it? haha
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Thank you! So steamy I wanted to cover my eyes! 😂
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hehe glad you enjoyed stretching your writing chops 😉 Glad it was so good. Great review!
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Thanks so much! It was a nice breather!
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Glad you liked this one Jennifer!
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Thanks, Carrie! ♥️
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Fabulous review! I’m looking forward to the second book as well!
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Thank you! It’s going to be so fun to read that one, too! ♥️
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I don’t usually do steamy reads, but I have to admit that this one sounds really appealing, especially since it has that suspenseful element. Great review!
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Thanks, Suzanne! It was definitely a different sort of read, but it paid off for me in the end.
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Not sure all that steamy romance is for me, but it’s good to know she did well on the writing side! Now go and have a cold shower… 😉
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😂 I think it may shock me even more if you read a steamy romance than it shocked me that I read one! 😂 Yes, she did well with the writing. It was easy reading, which was perfect for this sort of book.
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Great review! Sounds like a good romantic suspense novel.
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Thank you, Darinda! I enjoyed it!
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I didn’t know Meg Tilly was writing. I’ll have to give this a go- plus there’s a bakery 🙂 My kind of book.
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Yes, isn’t that fun that’s been writing?! Oh gosh, the bakery really adds something. All the food is mouthwatering! I hope you enjoy this one if you try it out!
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Excellent review, Jenn! Sounds like the book is a winner. Love the cover too! Another one to add to the list. 😁❤ xoxo
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Thanks, favorite M! The cover is so dreamy! I love that blue! I’m sorry I keep adding to your TBR! 😊 ♥️ xoxo
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Haha that’s okay! I love it 💜
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