Cottage at the Beach

Schoolteacher Erica Rowe works with at-risk teens in a special program at the school, and she’s trying to save the program which is in danger of closing. Erica lives with her sister (who has cancer) and her niece and she has an adorable dog, a Goldendoodle named Ziggy. Trey Harrison is a K-9 officer who is forced to take time-off after an injury. King is his wonderful canine partner and companion. Trey will be working with Erica as her volunteer assistant while he is recuperating in the small-town of Pleasant Shores near the Chesapeake Bay. At first the two don’t always see eye-to-eye but there is a definite attraction there that neither can ignore.<br /><br />This was a thoroughly enjoyable and lovely romance with so much more to it than just the romance. The story was filled with many endearing characters who really made the town come to life. I enjoyed the at-risk teens that Erica and Trey worked with. I really liked the storyline with Julie who is recently divorced and trying to move on while her ex is getting ready to marry a girl half his age. The two dogs, King and Ziggy, were simply wonderful and adorable and added so much to the story. I loved the setting in the beautiful and cozy beachside town of Pleasant Shores. A very entertaining and emotional read.

<i>Cottage at the Beach</i> by Lee Tobin McClain is the first book in her new The Off Season series. <br /><br />Trey Harrison is an injured K9 cop sent to the small town of Pleasant Shores to recuperate and volunteer with a local academy behavioral support program for at-risk teens. His job and future rest not only on his physical recovery but also on his mental and psychological recovery and his performance as a volunteer. <br /><br />Erica Rowe is Trey’s neighbor in Pleasant Shores. She is the primary teacher for the behavioral support program. She’s initially not impressed with Trey’s interactions with the teens but warms to him as he warms to the kids. <br /><br />The school’s non-fraternization policy isn’t the only thing holding back a relationship between Trey and Erica, despite their strong attraction to each other, he wants kids and she can’t have them. <br /><br /><i>Cottage at the Beach</i> is a great way to start a series. Ms. McClain has introduced strong, believable characters and an interesting plot. The setting is beautiful and is used smartly. This isn’t just a heartwarming romance. The author touches on some important aspects of being a woman in a time when we have access to more information than we ever have. Do we really want to know everything, and if we do, what will we do with the information? <br /><br />I throughly enjoyed this novel. I rate it <b>5 out of 5</b> stars and recommend it to all lovers of heartwarming romance. <br /><br />My thanks to the author, HARLEQUIN – Romance (US &amp; Canada) and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. However, the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine and mine alone.<br />

I think this author isn’t for me. The narrator didn’t help, but the schmaltzy, cheesy dialogue and narration didn’t work for me. Neither did the caricature way the bad guys were presented. Or the way the author purposely had the characters speak vaguely - so of course the other would misunderstand them. It was all over when the hero proposed even though they had a big misunderstanding at the single date they went on. ?<br /><br />So, no more by this author for me.

The Off Season series is up to #6 and I have read a couple from the middle of the series. Enjoying Lee Tobin McClain's sweet and clean romance, I decided to go back to the beginning and listen to the rest of the series. I am glad I did as I really enjoyed this first book, Cottage at the Beach. Trey Harrison is a K-9 officer who was injured on the job. His chief has arranged for him to stay at Hero's Cottage in the small town of Pleasant Shores to recuperate and volunteer with a local academy behavioral support program for at-risk teens. This is where he meets Erica Rowe, the teacher responsible for the program. Both Trey and Erica begin to have feelings for one another, but her main objective is to appease her boss, the miserable principal, who is out to shut down her program. <br /><br />There were things I loved about this book and things that frustrated me. I loved how Erica and Trey worked with the youth and got them involved with helping the community. I loved how their relationship grew and developed and I loved getting to know the various kids and seeing how much they wanted to be accepted and help others. I was heartbroken whenever someone made derogatory comments about them being troubled kids, criminals or a bad influence. I felt their hurt when they overheard those comments and lashed out. I know that the treatment of Trey's dog was a plotline in the story, but I didn't like reading about it. I also detested the principal, whose main role was to increase enrollment at the private school to offset the many scholarship students. I know that really happens in private schools, but as a retired educator, it always bothers me to hear about people who are running schools with no experience working with kids and seemingly, not even liking them. The story of working with the older residents in town was sweet. There is a theme of a woman not being able to have children "ruining" any chance of getting married or having a relationship, which is something that seems out of touch. I did enjoy this story and getting to know the town of Pleasant Shores and some of it's residents. Themes of animal treatment/training, troubled teens, judging others, multi-generational friendship, helping others, dealing/living with cancer and romance are all part of this story. If you enjoy a wholesome, sweet contemporary romance with some serious issues, I recommend you pick this book up and give this series a try. The audiobook was narrated by Sandy Rustin, a new narrator to me. I enjoyed her performance for the most part, but her male voices left much to be desired. At times I didn't even realize who was supposed to be speaking.

Cottage at the Beach is a good read. It kept my attention throughout most of the book. <br /><br />The one drawback I had with the book is there is more than one storyline in the book. I was not sure how Julie and her encounters with her ex-husband related to the story of Erica and Trey. <br /><br />There were some surprises in the book which kept you wanting to see what would happen next. <br /><br />All in all this was a good book. <br />

Bella storia con due cani adorabili e alcuni momenti assai commoventi. Ci sono un sacco di personaggi che poi avranno il proprio libro, come accade spesso con le serie romance, ma all'inizio ero un po' spiazzata da tutti questi nomi.

I found this rather soap-operaish. Typical handsome man with issues meets gorgeous (and repeatedly mentioned) tiny girl with issues. Neither can manage to share with the other but are madly in love regardless. Throw in several supporting characters (also with issues) several dogs (adorable) insurmountable (supposedly) problems and a crisis or two, and tada! we're off to a predictable conclusion. I presume I was underwhelmed because I don't typically read romance. For those who do, this is a clean, fast read.

Very few authors create a book world that makes me want to pack up everything I own and move there, but this author does it time and again. This new series is set in a small beach town on the Chesapeake Bay, complete with small-town politics, troubled teens, quirky neighbors and an unruly dog. It’s also the home of Healing Heroes, a program where injured first responders can come to heal. Police officer, Trey Harrison, and his K9 partner, King, are the program's most recent clients.<br /><br />Trey is only interested in doing his rehab and getting back to his job in the city. He doesn’t want to make nice with the neighbors. He doesn’t want to become a part of the community. And he definitely doesn’t want to work with at-risk teens or their prickly but beautiful teacher, but that's a condition of him being part of Healing Heroes and staying in the beach-side cottage that will be his home for the next several weeks.<br /><br />Erica Rowe has her hands full. She’s the sole support of her niece and her sister who is fighting cancer, her dog is badly in need of obedience school, and her program teaching troubled teens is in danger of being shut down. The last thing she needs is a cop with an attitude who's working with her teens against his will.<br /><br />Love them or hate them, all of these characters will leave their mark. From a recently divorced grandmother trying to find her new purpose and a teen trying to figure out where she fits, to a school principal who needs to crawl back under the rock he came from and troubled teens bonding with senior citizens, all of these characters bring the story alive with their distinctive personalities. In no time at all I was invested in every aspect of this multi-layered storyline.<br /><br />This one deals with some hard life lessons wrapped in themes of forgiveness, healing, community and second chances. Beautifully told through flawed, complex, relatable characters, the strong emotions are a direct hit to the heart, making this a remarkable, unforgettable read that you won’t want to miss.

Trey liebt seine regeltreue Arbeit als Polizist der Hundestaffel. Doch er hat einen Fehler gemacht: Durch seine eigene Schuld wurde er im Einsatz verwundet und hat damit alles aufs Spiel gesetzt. Alles, was er jetzt will, ist gemeinsam mit seinem Schäferhund und ständigen treuen Begleiter King wieder in den Dienst zurückzukehren. Seine letzte Chance ist das „Healing Heros“-Programm, das ihm helfen soll, wieder fit zu werden. Doch Trey fühlt sich nicht wie ein Held und in dem kleinen Ort in Chesapeake Bay völlig fehl am Platz. Als er auch noch Erica und ihrem chaotischen Goldendoodle Ziggy begegnet, ist ihm klar, dass dieses Vorhaben nur in einer Katastrophe enden kann …<br />Meinung<br />Der Schreibstil ist einfühlsam, klar und deutlich, aber stellenweise auch sehr emotional. Das Buch regt an vielen Stellen zum Nachdenken an. Die verschiedenen Charaktere sind sehr gut beschrieben, ausgearbeitet, und sie entwickeln sich im Laufe der Geschichte gut weiter. Die Handlung ist nachvollziehbar und gut aufgebaut, wenn auch manchmal vorhersehbar.<br />Das Setting ist wunderschön und bildhaft beschrieben.<br />Thematisch ist es sehr vielschichtig.<br />Große Lese Empfehlung

Sweet romance (wish I had been warned before I started), about an injured cop, freshly divorced, coming to stay at a small coastal town. He’s set to rehab and volunteer until his disability checks start or he goes back to work. Next door is a teacher with a niece and sister battling cancer. After maybe 3 kisses, 1 date and not much time spent together, they love each other. While there may have been some chemistry, it was mainly them trying not to be a couple and put the program for at risk students in jeopardy. No real relationship was formed between them.