Review: Driftwood Cottage by Sherryl Woods

First line: Heather Donovan propped open the front door and stood just inside the brightly lit storefront in Chesapeake Shores so she could inhale the scent of sea air from the bay across Shore Road.

From the back cover: Single mom Heather Donovan’s dreams of home and family are tantalizingly within reach when she settles in Chesapeake Shores. The welcoming arms of the boisterous, loving O’Brien clan embrace her and her son. But accepting their support seems to further alienate her son’s father, Connor O’Brien. His parents’ divorce and his career as a high-powered divorce attorney have left him jaded about marriage.

Then everything changes. Will the possibility of a future without Heather make Connor look at love and his career differently? Heather’s just about given up on her old dreams – of love, of family and especially of Driftwood Cottage, the home she secretly wishes were hers. It’s going to take a lot of persuasion – and some help from the O’Brien family – to make Heather believe that some dreams are worth fighting for.

My thoughts: This is the 5th book in Sherryl Woods’ Chesapeake Shores series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I love catching up with boisterous O’Brien clan – with each visit it’s like catching up with old friends and making new ones. This time, the story focuses on Heather and Connor. Refusing to budge on his decision about marriage, even after their son is born, Heather moves out of their Baltimore apartment and settles in Chesapeake Shores. Opening up a quilt store right next to Connor’s mother’s art gallery causes Connor to start to rethink his ways. Then when he is presented with the opportunity to move back home and practice law locally, he sees a chance to spend more time with his son and possibly make things right with Heather. With the help from his meddlesome family and friends, can these two find their way back together? Driftwood Cottage really tugs at your heartstrings as you watch the characters realize they need to make changes and that there are shades of grey in all situations. It is much more than your run-of-the-mill romance. It is a story of self-exploration and of second chances – for everyone.I laughed and cried as I read this book and look forward to the next installment in this series.

(I borrowed this book from the library.)