Five big fat romantic, funny, sexy, Meant to Be Stars!!I almost cannot believe that this is a debut novel. I know it's the first debut I've read that has gone to my favorites shelf, and another much needed reminder of what makes romance so special. Beth is living the life of perfection...well, someone else's idea of perfection. Raised by grandparents who continually use her mother's example of what she doesn't want to be, Beth has grown up pleasing everyone but herself, doing what is expected of her. She works at a prestigious law firm and recently became engaged to one of the lawyers on the rise toward partner. Now she's on her way to meet Lucas' family...sans Lucas, due to an emergency at the office...on the tiny island of Anchor. When her irrational fear of boats grabs hold of her on the ferry ride to Anchor, a stranger is there to talk her down and charm her into a warm island welcome. But it turns out Joe Dempsey is on that ferry to meet the blonde gold digging bimbo that his brother has gotten engaged to...yes, he's there to meet Beth...who isn't that kind of woman at all.The sizzle between Joe and Beth is apparent from page one but they force it into the background, ready to become friends and eventually in-laws. But when Lucas arrives on the island only to stay for less than a day before getting called back to work on the mainland, he leaves behind a very unhappy but super understanding fiancee'. It turns out that Anchor and it's inhabitants forces Beth to do some much needed soul searching. Alone on an island where life is about simple pleasures and intimate relationships, she begins to re-evaluate what she values as a person, as a future wife, as a woman. The rat race of the city and her ever-present need to make people like her and accept her has been left behind. Everyone on Anchor, including and most especially Joe, seems to like her for herself, not what she accomplishes or what she can do for them.Joe is just the gruff, grumpy love interest that I enjoy seeing brought to his knees. He's mistrustful of women, but most especially the type of women that his little brother chooses. But wild haired, sweet tempered Beth is more the type of woman that HE would choose. When these two start longing for the companionship of each other rather than the first blush of initial lust, I was captured. This is the forever kind of love story, the kind that defines my idea of what a romance book should be. Yes, there is sexual tension but it's not acted on for a long time. This is a story of two people who simply grow together. They teach each other to be more than they were before.I don't know what I expected when I started this, but it sure wasn't that I would fall in love with this town/island/couple as much as I did. The secondary characters are solid and authentic, and one liners seemed to jump out of nowhere and made me laugh out loud. What a pleasant surprise this turned out to be, and even better...there are more books on the way!!! Looks like Sid and Lucas may just get their own happy ending and won't it be interesting to see where THAT relationship goes?My thanks to Amazon and Montlake Romance via Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for a review. It was a pleasure!!
