This is such a touching story and definitely gripped at my heart strings. I definitely want to read more from this author in the future.

Enjoy the small town aspect of Sanctuary Island and the sweet romance! Like the whole opposites attracting scenario; not huge on the fake dating aspect, but still a fun, entertaining read. I liked the chemistry between Quinn and Marcus. They got together in the last book, but Marcus has issues, so he closed things down with Quinn. Their small town is holding it against Marcus and not going to his bar because of it, so Quinn offers for them to fake date to help his business. Quinn is also having to deal with her parents having some issues. I like Marcus’ gruff nature and Quinn’s light hearted attitude; they have a fun dynamic. Overall, an entertaining, sweet romance!

Lily Everett’s Sanctuary Island series is one of my favorite contemporary romance series to date. The setting is a small town with fields of wild horses. It all seems to be very calm and peaceful and a place that I would love to actually live.

Previously, I have read and reviewed Sanctuary Island, Shoreline Drive, Heartbreak Cove, and Close To Home. Home At Last is the sixth book in the series but can also be read a stand alone. It follows the same basic formula as the other Sanctuary Island containing characters that are easy to root for and a setting that is easy to fall in love with.

Home At Last follows the relationship of Marcus and Quinn. Marcus moved away from Sanctuary Island after his mother’s death years ago. Quinn is ten years his junior and was his neighbor growing up. She also always had feelings for him but never told anybody. She gets her chance to be with him when he moves back but just as quickly as this happens it ends. And now no one will trust Marcus or come near his new bar in town because he broke the heart of the “towns sweetheart”. Quinn comes up with a plan for them to “fake date” for a while in order to save his reputation and her parents failing marriage. Except there is nothing fake about their chemistry and connection…

As always, Lily Everett just nails these characters and makes me fall in love with them. They felt so real to me because they were human. They had made mistakes in the past and were continuing to make mistakes but, were trying to do better together. Marcus has a bit of “bad boy” reputation especially since he left for years without talking to anyone. Quinn is perceived “good girl” but, she has had difficulty finding her true passion in life making her sort of wishy-washy. She is afraid that her parents are disappointed in her and that this disappointment is putting additional stress on their marriage. Her heart is always in a good place especially when it comes to Marcus and/or her parents.

I also love that Home At Last brought me back to Sanctuary Island again. I just love this little town. There is so much history there; and the imagery is just breathtaking. I also enjoyed how Marcus and Quinn’s new relationship was a even juxtaposition to her parents long standing relationship. Both couples are dealing with rough patches and may even even more similar than they realize. It was nice to read about them learning from each other and growing together.

Home At Last is such an easy book to read. It is filled with small town glitz, real characters with quirks, and so much heart that you will just keep turning the pages and let it take you away. If you love small town reads as much as I do, I highly recommend that you check out this Sanctuary Island series, I do not think you will be disappointed!

Quinn has been in love with her next door neighbor Marcus so when he left after his mom died she thought she would never see him again. Marcus can back and opened the Buttercup Inn and she is determined to get him to notice her. Marcus is ten years older than her and he thinks he is too old for her plus he will not love again he has lost his mother and Buttercup so he won't risk his heart again. Quinn was watching her parents house and she needs to not stay there so she convinces Marcus to let her have the other room over the bar. When Quinn goes home she finds out her parents are having marriage problems and her mother has enlisted Dr. Ron to help them. When Dr. Ron shows up and says her parents see her not settling down is the cause of their problem she tells them that she and Marcus are dating. She convinces Marcus to date her for two weeks till her parents anniversary and after meeting Dr. Ron, Marcus asks her to marry him. This helps Quinn and does help his bar get some business even though he didn't do it for that, he is convinced he is not good enough for and too old. Quinn is just such a happy soul and Marcus has so many hurts inside that even Quinn has got her work cut out for her to try to make everybody happy.

Quinn has been in love with Marcus since she was a teenager. With 10 years between them, he dated and dumped her leaving the island to become a bodyguard. Sanctuary Island is a small town and she is their sweetheart. People didn’t like what happened so when Marcus returns to run a bar, they won’t patronize the bar. Marcus and Quinn agreed to pretend to be engaged so Quinn can try to save her parent’s marriage and Marcus to get the town to patronize his bar. The book was hard to put down.

I have not had a chance to read this book, Once I have gotten a chance to read it I will edit this review to reflect my thoughts and feeling on the book.

Though this title was better than the first one I read from the author, it was still too intertwined. The author seems to forget that some people haven't read their whole series. At times, things characters say, or do, is too much, that you feel left out.

So the story of the bad boy and most loved girl on Sanctuary Island continues… and this bad boy has to prove that he has changed and can give this woman what she wants and what she needs. Quinn and Marcus began their story as children, being the only two kids on their little corner of the small island, but once he left the island for a whole new life after the death of his mother, Quinn’s life changed forever. Now Marcus has returned and they have already had a disastrous affair that left them dealing with town nosiness, hurt feelings, and the awkward relationship of two people so obviously meant to be together but unable to find a way to let go of their pasts to achieve that future. Marcus knew that getting involved with Quinn would cause him heartache, but he never imagined it would leave him ostracized on the island he grew up on and struggling to make his dream of a pub on the island a success. When Quinn comes to him offering to help the pub’s success become reality, Marcus knows there will be a catch, and oh boy does it turn out to be a big one. Quinn has grown up, but those around her have never let her forget her flighty ways and her inability to settle in the past. She needs his help in order to get her parents back to the loving connected couple they were all her life and she is willing to use his need for the pub to succeed against him. Unable to truly deny her anything, Marcus agrees to pose as her fake fiance, but quickly they find themselves again dealing with the all too real passion they bring out of one another and the emotions Marcus hides from. I loved seeing Marcus find his way, with Quinn’s help, but I was very sad to see that it took almost losing the love of his life in order for him to wake up and understand that his past might have shaped him, but it doesn’t have to control him going forward. While he obviously loves Quinn he denies that feeling to her and remains determined to keep her out of his life, and that made me almost as sad and angry as it did Quinn. Quinn is the kind of woman I have never been able to truly understand, having a simple and loving childhood, she has always been able to move through life from one thing to another without having to really face the consequences most of us do, but when she is confronted with a way to grow up and truly help those she loves she jumps on the chance. I enjoyed seeing her mature and prove to those around her that she is no longer the irresponsible and capricious girl that most still think she is, but my favorite moment of her growth was her realization that the relationship she could build with Marcus would have to be balanced and equal if they ever had a chance to be together long term. I loved the heat and sexual chemistry between these two, even if they tried so hard to fight it almost every moment. I cannot wait to see what comes next for the citizens of Sanctuary Island and the mystical wild horses that make the island so magical and such a great location for this series. Keep up the magical work Lily!

The Skinny

Quinn is trying to figure out her adult life, but she's kind of flighty and non-committal. When her parents return to Sanctuary Island from their travels, Quinn decides it is time to move out and try adulting. She convinces Marcus to let her live upstairs above the Buttercup Inn, the bar he restored and is opening after he has finally come back home.

Soon there is trouble in paradise, and Quinn's parents announce their impending divorce. Little Princess Quinn can't believe her parents want a divorce - they are the most in love couple she has ever known. In order to save her parents marriage, she again convinces Marcus to do something for her: a fake engagement. Not only is Quinn the belle of the isle, now Marcus has some redeeming qualities around town. Then her mother's "marriage guru" comes to town. In order to "work his magic," both couples have to live together in Quinn's family home while working through their issues. Ron believes there are so many bad vibes and tries to sabotage the Harper's marriage at every turn, only adding to the reasons her mother thinks the divorce should happen.

While squashed together all uncomfy and too cozy, Quinn continues to think about how and why Marcus left the island in the first place. She never saw him again after his mother's death so many years before. When her proddings to visit his dad don't have Marcus trudging down the lane to his own childhood home, Quinn pays his father a visit and finds the most extraordinary surprise - or two, rather. One of the surprises is for Marcus, and the other is for her parents and just could be the one thing to save their marriage.



The Players

Quinn - the island darling who can't get it together

Marcus - the prodigal son returned home, pissed off the town for dumping Quinn

Ingrid - Quinn's mother, a hippie-type spacey free spirit

Paul - Quinn's father, a logical man and retired, often gives in to Ingrid or Quinn

Ron - the snaky marriage guru friend Ingrid met while traveling who's going to "save" the Harper marriage



The Quote

Marcus was this close to bolting again. She was like a National Geographic photographer in the wild or something - she didn't want to spook him.



The Highs and Lows

Quinn. She is the quirky redhead darling of Sanctuary Island. Growing up she had the biggest crush on the next door neighbor boy, Marcus. She grew up and is a bit of an airhead at times, never committing to any one thing. She's flighty, and sadly her parents and everyone around town know it, but they love her just the same. The other thing about Quinn is she is incredibly loving and loyal, sometimes even to her own detriment.

Marcus. He broke up with Quinn and the whole town is pissed. They're boycotting his bar and his bottom line is suffering for it. If this keeps up, he'll go belly up. Quinn proposes he pretend to be her boyfriend for four weeks. Not only would that convince her parents she's able to hold down something, she strikes a deal with Marcus. Be her boyfriend and she'd get the customers rolling in. In order to save his business, he agrees.

The Plot. After her parents announce their divorce, Quinn will do anything to show them they shouldn't. Her mother is a gullible flake and her dad is is a retiree who doesn't know what to do with his life. They've never believed she'd ever do anything of consequence with her life - she couldn't even finish college or hold a steady job! Now she's determined to show them that she's serious and committed. When Ron stipulates that both relationships need to be all under the same household, Quinn is totally on board. For whatever odd reason, Marcus seems to be as well - and he's making his devotion and adoration of Quinn believable. It is a zany, crazy, and brainwashing adventure. I wasn't expecting the entire storyline to focus on Quinn's parents, especially after so much build up between Quinn and Marcus in the previous book. I was looking forward to really exploring their little old married-couple-like relationship, but I feel it was slightly smothered by her parents' drama. There was a lot of redundancy and repetition in that whole process that left me wanting to just bash some of their heads together so they'd see the light.

The Villain. "Doctor" Ron is an unlicensed marriage guru who believes in the colors of the wind and all that. He is an enterprising and conniving man, no more than a con artist. And he's conned Quinn's mother to kingdom come. Nothing her father says or does is good enough; clearly, he can't agree to take this seriously and work on their marriage, blaming Ron at every turn while Ron continues to urge them that there is just too much negativity and they should sell their home, cut their losses, and move on. He's such a skeez and slime ball. He's weird and kinda creepy. I hated him. I wished he'd choke on a blueberry or something.

Marcus's Father. I found Quinn's enduring wish to reunite Marcus and his father endearing. When Marcus finally went back home, I was just as surprised at he at what he found his father had been up to. He also shared some interesting news with Quinn and Marcus - interesting news about good old Ron's wife and her own business enterprises. It is the crucial thing that Quinn needs to save her parents marriage.

I was skeptical of Marcus and Quinn's relationship as seen in Close to Home, not because of their age difference -- although often mentioned -- but because Marcus seemed to return to Sanctuary Island with a lot of baggage. I had hopes that Home at Last would address those issues and allow Quinn and Marcus to have a HEA free of secrets or half-truths, but it did not.

Marcus spends a lot of time running: running from his mother's death, running from his boss's, running from the fragile relationship he has with his father. He kind of runs from Quinn too. But I didn't believe *any* of his past issues were fully and completely addressed. He talks with his father and boom! -- they have an immediate reconnection. He tells Quinn a little about his former boss and boom! -- any guilt he felt is gone.

The majority of Home at Last kept Marcus and Quinn's real romance as a backseat to their fake one in order to help Quinn's parents resolve their marriage problems. So this is me, being disappointed in that.

It’s hard to believe that we’re already at book six in this engaging series. I was anxious for Marcus and Quinn’s story since getting to know them and their undeniable attraction in book five, CLOSE TO HOME. Sanctuary Island latches onto your heart and you can’t wait to come back to this quirky island of healing. There are always surprises and this one has some doozies.

Marcus Beckett harbors secrets and is a hard man to love. He has been broken by love, and he has no desire to repeat it. Marcus believes he’s unlovable, and for most of this novel, I believed him. He pushes Quinn away at every turn. Little by little his true nature reveals itself, and when he comes clean in the end, it’s beautiful.

Quinn Harper is the quirkier of the pair. She’s a free spirit who reflects her mother more than she realizes it. This story is as much about Quinn’s parents’ failing marriage as it is about her pretend engagement to Marcus. It’s because of Quinn’s parents’ possible divorce that Marcus gets roped into becoming Quinn’s pretend fiancé.

When both couples must live together and are forced to work with a ridiculous, conniving marriage guru, life gets interesting, volatile, and explosive. I began to believe that none of them would end up in a happily-ever-after relationship. The slime-ball marriage guru is very good at creating havoc for his own gain. He’s the creepy villain you’ll love to hate.

Primarily a relationship novel, it’s not riddled with suspense or multiple subplots to keep the story moving forward. That’s probably why I had a much harder time staying connected to this story during a time of distractions in my own life. It’s a much slower pace than previous books, but it still packs a punch.

This novel is essentially a comfort read with quirky characters who aren’t always easy to love. As always, author Lily Everett pulls out the emotion that choked me up. Ms. Everett is gifted at creating rare characters with numerous flaws, who you can’t resist loving in the end. I cried like a baby over some of the circumstances. Once the emotional roller coaster gets rolling down the hill, it’s a wild ride to the end.

HOME AT LAST closed too quickly, leaving me wanting more, but it was extremely effective in reminding me why I love this author’s style. Start at the beginning with SANCTUARY ISLAND and continue through the series. I’m sure you’ll enjoy them as much as I have.

Review by Dorine, courtesy of Romance Junkies.

I didn't care for this book but to be fair I feel if I had read the books before this one, maybe I would have been able to follow a little better.

Marcus and Quinn’s story started in the previous book, CLOSE TO HOME. They were definitely my favorite thing about that book because their relationship had a ton of spark and combustion. At the end of that book they weren’t together and I couldn’t wait to see which direction this book would take them. I was so pleasantly surprised with what the author did in this book. HOME AT LAST is possibly my favorite book in this series, and that may just be because it has a bit more romance than women’s fiction than we’ve seen in the previous books in the series. That being said, I think you could read this one without having read the previous books.

Quinn was the girl next door, many years younger than Marcus. Her childhood crush turned into very adult attraction when Marcus comes back to town. A bit broken by what his life has made him go through. He comes with a very surly and grumpy attitude, which I weirdly found endearing. Quinn’s young spunk is just what he needs to feel re-invigorated about life. She pushes him to be happy and doesn’t take no for an answer. I loved that about her character. At the same time she’s dealing with figuring out the direction of her life and career and her parents possibly divorcing.

I was expecting something a little darker in Marcus’s past to justify some of his thoughts and actions, but it was all a bit simple in my opinion. That was one place I thought this story could go a little deeper, but it goes well with the easier feel of the book and series.

You also get a side story, not really calling it a secondary romance, but dealing with Quinn’s parents trying to save their marriage or going for divorce. This was also woven nicely in with the main romance and felt relevant to the story so it was a nice addition.

HOME AT LAST has small town charm and was a fast read. I believe this is the last book in the series, but I’ll be sure to be on the lookout for more books by Lily Everett. There’s a comfortable warmth to the stories she tells under this pen name and if you like your romance a bit sweeter than this will definitely be a good series to read.

I read the earlier book in the series, Close To Home, and had high hopes for this one. In Close To Home, the story of Marcus and Quinn is set up as a sweet, loving tale of two people who are seeking answers about the past and their lives. In this book, it seems as if the author has turned in a totally opposite direction. Quinn has followed Marcus with a sort of blind attraction all her life. Marcus left after his mother’s death, became a body guard, tired of that, and has returned to open a bar in town. The one problem Marcus has is that the town’s people do not come to his bar, causing it to languish, because they feel that he has treated Quinn, the town’s “little girl”, who is loved and protected by all, poorly, and ditched her mercilessly. This story is the tale of how they work through this history and get together.

Quinn, trying to heal her parent’s failing marriage, has decided that she and Quinn should begin a “pretend” relationship for one month, which, she believes, should help her parents’ marriage, as well as bring the town people to the bar. However, while dining with her parents to celebrate their getting together, Marcus proposes to Quin, which only confuses things more.

I found the plot of this story absurd and unrealistic. I did not understand or buy Quinn’s logic that having a relationship with Marcus would heal her parents’ marriage. In a marriage, if things have begun to “go south”, the partners in the marriage, not their child, need to recognize this (it seems as if Quinn’s parents sort of did) and work together to either make the marriage work again or to call it quits. Quinn’s idea that having a relationship with Marcus would solve the problems in her parents’ marriage came across as both unrealistic and childish. I also could not understand why Marcus, out of the blue, proposed to Quinn, as getting out of an engagement would probably be harder than getting out of a one-month relationship. If he did indeed want to marry Quinn, Marcus had a strange way of showing his love for her. Neither Marcus nor Quinn seemed ready for marriage at this point. In fact, both seemed a bit immature and not ready to settle down, with definite unresolved issues that would hamper any long-term, solid relationship. Finally, I think that, from the start, the relationship guru, who hooked himself up with Quinn’s mother, was a real jerk and probably a large part of the problem with the marriage. These facts made it difficult for me read and stay with the book.

This book and the first book are the only things I have read by the author. I am not sure, after reading this book whether I would enjoy reading her other books. The basic plot and story line of this book were a bit much to take for me. Nevertheless, based on the first book, though there were some problems with that one, I am ready to give the author another chance. The books are written well and flow nicely, though both do have some problems for me. If you read and liked the first book, you will probably enjoy this one, or, like me, you may find it difficult to take. I may have just looked at things differently. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

I am such a sucker for a friends to lovers, crush turns carnal, good girl captures bad boy plot…throw the clichés at me, I love them all. And Home at Last by Lily Everett has all these storylines and more! Marcus Beckett, high-powered bodyguard comes back to Sanctuary Island after a long absence to open a bar. Only problem: no patrons…because he dumped everybody’s sweetheart, Quinn Harper. There can only be one solution *drum-roll* a fake engagement! Quinn has had feelings for Marcus FOREVER but she really needs his help to distract her parents who seem to be on a fast train to a divorce. Lily Everett is a comfort read for me. I love her characters. Especially when they blurt out their innermost feelings.

“Just remember that there are people here on Sanctuary Island who l-love you.”
Instead of softening, his expression turned flinty. “Love. That’s just an excuse people give when they want to control you. People who love you think they own you, and that you owe them something, no matter what they do. Well, fu—forget that. I don’t owe anyone here a damn thing.”
Well, he’s a goner, isn’t it? Because Quinn sees beyond his words: “Something about the way Marcus ground his teeth, the red rims of his eyes, told her he was in the same boat.” My favorite for March 2017—and best news, there are other Sanctuary Island books to enjoy.

Home was just the feeling that I got as I settled in to read the latest addition to the Sanctuary Island series. Marcus was back but what drove him away the first time has nothing to do with what may send him packing this time around. He done something many of the islands residence cannot accept. On the other hand Quinn the island darling proposes a way to make things right for him and maybe provide some distraction for herself at the same time. This was a fake relationship with the potential for making both their worlds right again but for different reasons. The both were escaping something in their lives and together they found a chance to really turn off the outside world and explore what lay ahead of them together. This was a beautiful second chance romance that was better the second time around. They had time to grow with one another. Learn about each other. And ultimately find that they had more in common than either one of them would have dreamed of.

Warm, caring, beautiful and opening. The characters put you right at home on the island. There are always more sides to the situation than the one presented. Sanctuary Island has yet another side of its beauty revealed with the story of Quinn and Marcus. Put up the latest addition to the series. It’s a good place to start if you are new to it and it will be a great way to continue on if you have already begun.

An enjoyable read for sure! Loved the characters and the plot line. Well done.

Lily Everett is always enjoyable to read, and having met the hero and heroine in her previous novel, I was so looking forward to Marcus and Quinn's story. However the plot of a pretend engagement to help resolve problems facing Quinn's parents and their marriage seemed to fall a bit short. I felt that the misunderstandings and missed opportunities between Marcus and Quinn went on way too long and never really rang true. The plot seemed a bit unbelievable in general, and the characters never really captured my full attention. That said, I will still look forward to Lily Everett's next book.

After his mothers funeral, Marcus Beckett had left Sanctuary Island with the intention of never returning. But now, after living the dangerous job he’d had as a bodyguard for some high value politicians, he was ready to return and enjoy a solitary life as the proprietor of a small neighborhood bar in his hometown.

Unfortunately, Marcus had made a huge mistake. He had seduced and then dumped the town’s sweetheart, Quinn Harper. Marcus actually thought he was doing Quinn a kindness – a great gal like Quinn had no business with a broken man like him! Consequently, his business was taking a hit by the customers who thought his treatment of Quinn was not nice and they were now boycotting his bar.

Quinn was worried sick over her parents as her mother seemed enthralled with her latest marriage counselor who seemed more like he was counseling for a divorce than a reconciliation between her parents. As such Quinn came up with a fake four-week courtship where by she would convince Marcus to play along and pretend they were seriously dating, letting he r parents know that all was well in her life and letting the townspeople know it was all right to come and frequent Marcus’ bar again.

*** In this stand-alone story HOME AT LAST by Lily Everett, we are once again visiting the charming area of Sanctuary Island and some of the marvelous characters that you’ve met in previous books from this SANCTUARY ISLAND series. Marcus and Quinn had began a relationship in the previous book of this series which had ended in a humiliating breakup for Quinn. Wanting desperately to save her parents marriage, Quinn begged Marcus to go along with her scheme and even though Marcus was reluctant he couldn’t deny that he really did want Quinn as much as she wanted him.

The pacing was done very well and this was an easy read. The growth Marcus maintained after he finally opened up about his past and came to terms with his aversion of his father made it easier to be honest with Quinn. Loved the storyline regarding the conman marriage counselor and loved seeing him get his comeuppance. Bottom line: A really fun and heartwarming story that is perfectly enjoyable.

Marilyn Rondeau

I felt like I missed most of the story of their relationship because I hadn't read the previous book. I actually didn't know that it was part of a series. I still enjoyed the story of the fake romance turning into a real one. There were some parts I just didn't understand, like why nobody stood up to the guru, but whatever.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.