This RITA® Reader Challenge 2015 review was written by Mandi. This story was nominated for the RITA® in the Mid-Length Contemporary category.

Here is Mandi's review:

As a lifetime resident of small towns, I recognize that a small town can be a wondrous and unique thing. It’s never just a place of residency; it’s a community filled with friends and neighbors. Because of this, it can take a long time before one truly feels like they belong. Despite this being the final book in the series, this was my first visit to Lucky Harbor. Unfortunately, as a first-time visitor, I couldn’t truly appreciate and understand all of this book’s charms the way a long time citizen of Lucky Harbor probably would have.

The story primarily centers around Tanner and Callie. Tanner is an ex-navy seal and ex-underwater explosives expert / current diving expert and part owner of a charter boat (shared with his two recently coupled best friends) who is struggling with his bad leg and recently reunited teenage son. He is also an ex-adrenaline junkie, the town’s ex-football star, and Callie’s ex-crush. And he has the requisite perfectly defined abs.

Callie is a stunningly beautiful and endearingly awkward ex-nerd / current mastermind behind one of the most popular virtual wedding planning websites who just happens to be both anti-romance and in Lucky Harbor to determine her grandmother’s sanity. Oh, she also happens to be the granddaughter of Lucille, which–according to my friend who has actually read the majority of Lucky Harbor books–is kind of a big deal.

Through a series of meet-cutes that includes sinfully delicious doughnuts and awkward wardrobe choices, Tanner and Callie progress from not-quite-friends to not-quite-friends with benefits. But of course there’s more to the story. Along the way Tanner and Callie learn how to get past their disastrous ex-relationships and insecurities and realize the importance of giving love a chance.

Unfortunately, I was never truly engaged by the story. I honestly don’t know if that is because of the issues with the story itself (ex. too many coincidences, stereotyped characters, too-quickly resolved issues, and plot points that went unresolved–seriously, whatever happened with his always painful leg?) or if I was just too distracted by all of the bits I knew I was missing. For example, there were references to Lucille being crazy and outrageous, but I never got to see any of that in this book. And there were moments where Tanner and his buddies mourned a friend that didn’t survive some explosion and another moment where a sheriff randomly kissed a massage therapist. I am assuming that the author was revisiting past favorites and trying to tie up some loose ends, but, for this outsider, it just made me wish that I was reading those books instead of this one.

There are some really great things about this book. The setting is charming and the characters are generally likable. The book is mostly well written, and I really liked the subplot surrounding Tanner’s son. I can definitely see how long time readers may perceive this book as a heartwarming return and a fitting goodbye to a place they deeply cherish. But for this reader, it was just a cute distraction on my way to the next destination.