Starfish Pier by Irene Hannon // Revell Reads Review

A year ago, ex-Delta Force operator Steven Roark left the rigors of combat behind to run fishing charters in Hope Harbor, decompress, and talk some sense into his kid brother. Business is good--but making peace with his past is more challenging than he expected.

First-grade teacher Holly Miller leads a quiet, low-profile existence--until she's recruited to advocate for a cause that's dear to her heart. When she solicits Steven's assistance, sparks fly--especially after they find themselves on opposite sides of an issue that disrupts their placid seaside community.

As these two seemingly incompatible souls search for common ground, might they discover a deeper connection--and find that love can banish darkness and light the way to a future filled with promise?

Bestselling and award-winning author Irene Hannon invites you back to Hope Harbor--where hearts heal . . . and love blooms.

My Review

I'm familiar with Irene Hannon but for her action-suspense novels. This kind of story is not what I'm used to from her but they were good. I guess I'm just surprised she writes such drastically different kinds of stories.

True to form, this story has two intertwining plots. You could even say three. It's never just about the two MCs and I like that about the stories in this series. There are things bigger than the two people.

Hannon tackles a VERY touchy subject when she put pro-life and extended it to capital punishment. The pre-born and elderly are easy. Military and capital punishment are not always so cut and dried. I found myself disagreeing with some of Holly's arguments and honestly, the aversion to the cannon felt a little silly, but I think it was a tangible way to make the bigger point.

Another huge issue here is how much can you accept in differences of opinion with the person you date and/or marry. What things are too big and what things can you agree to disagree on? There are some frank discussions that are really good for thinking about this topic.

I found that I could connect to these characters more than many of the others in the previous books. I do wish that more of the past characters would be around other than a mention here or a brief comment there. Charley is still the absolute best, though :)

Many thanks to Revell and Netgalley for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own and a favorable review was not required.