“A broken heart bleeds tears.” ― Steve Maraboli
BLURB: Oliver Parrish has been alone in the world since he was born. So when Sheriff Owen “Mack” Macklin shows up on his doorstep to deliver the news that Oliver’s sister has died, he’s beyond surprised. Still, Oliver returns with Mack to Hope Cove, Maine, hoping to get to know the sister he never knew he had. As he tries to snap these new elements into his solitary life, he’s not sure how they might fit.
His life is shaken up further as he falls in love with the irresistible town of Hope Cove, and with Mack, its equally irresistible sheriff. But when he receives devastating news about his sister’s cause of death, Oliver doesn’t know whether to stay and fight for love and a good life, or cut his losses and run.
REVIEW: Oliver Parrish is a man who lives a very isolated life. After growing up in foster homes and never feeling like he fit in anywhere, he finally found his niche in the kitchen. Since he couldn’t afford culinary school, he basically learned everything he knows through hands-on experience, going from job to job. He has landed a good job as a sous chef in a small restaurant in Seattle, Washington.
One night he arrives home to find a man sleeping on his front steps. Sheriff Owen, “call me Mack”, Macklin is looking for Oliver. Unfortunately, he is not the bearer of any kind of good news. It turns out Oliver had a half-sister he never knew about. The bad news is, she passed away recently. Mack informs him that he was best friends with Maggie, his sister, and he invites him to Hope Cove, Maine so Oliver can get to know the woman his sister was.
Oliver spends his time in Hope Cove learning about his sister. It seems everyone liked her, and by reading her journals, he also finds out she and Mack were very close. It seems he also gets the wrong impression of how close the two were, which he realizes as soon as Mack lays a hot and heavy kiss on him.
Oliver and Mack start a romance and everything seems to be going well. Oliver has decided to stay in Hope Cove, he has plans to expand the bakery he has inherited, and he has managed to make some friends along the way. Finally, he has found a place he feels he can call home, and maybe a man he can call his own.
As soon as he starts to feel he has made the right decision, he gets some devastating information that makes him rethink every decision he has made concerning Hope Cove and Mack. This doubt spurs Oliver to return to Seattle and back to his life of routine and isolation. It will take the combined efforts of his business partner and Mack to get Oliver to share his burden and come back home.
This story follows Oliver through getting to know his sister, falling in love with Mack, and realizing his dreams. This is definitely a story of growth and a story of a man making his way in a world that seemed to hold him back in the past.
Cate Ashwood grabbed my heart right from the beginning of this book and I think she has stored it in a box deep in her storage shed somewhere. I was totally invested in this book and the characters. From the young eleven-and-a-half year old that made me laugh, to the tragedy of a man losing his entire family he never even got to meet. The best part about this book? It is only the first of the series, and I can’t wait to see what Cate Ashwood has in store for us next.
You can buy Brokenhearted here:
