On Love’s Gentle Shore by Liz Johnson is a wonderful story of coming home and realizing that everything was not necessarily as you thought. It is a story of finding and giving forgiveness for the past.
Natalie Ryan grew up on Prince Edward Island. Her father was the town drunk and philanderer and her mother had mental health issues. As soon as she graduated from high school, Natalie escaped to Nashville to create a new life for herself. She becomes engaged to music producer, Russel whose brother lives on PEI. Russel thinks he is doing her a favor when he arranges to have the wedding on the island. Little does he know but he does not know the real Natalie at all. She comes back to make the final arrangements for the wedding and quickly feels pulled into the past which she is desperately trying to hide from Russel. She learns many things about herself that she didn’t know or understand as a child growing up on the island. She also reconnects with her best friend, Justin who people on the island had expected her to marry before her sudden departure. Will it change the way she sees herself today? Will she be able to follow through with her plan to marry Russel? Will Russel still want to marry her if he learns of her past?
Natalie thinks she has escaped her past and is now a different person but can we ever truly escape the past that has made us who we are today? This character is very well-written and her struggles are felt by the reader. She learns she may have been mistaken about who truly cared about her as she grew and who she thought were against her. Justin also has to confront the past and learn to deal with it in order to move on. His struggles are felt strongly by the reader and I rooted for him to find his true calling in life. Russel seems to me very stereotypical and self-centered. There is a lot going on in the story and it kept me engaged in reading till the end. I give this book 5 of 5 stars.
I received an advance copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I had already read Where Two Hearts Meet and the Red Door Inn, which are the two earlier books in this series, so I was invested in the characters. However, it is completely fine as a standalone book, and you don't need any of the background to be able to follow it. This book pulled at me, making me want to finish it all in one sitting, because it was "will she? won't she?" all the way to the very end! The writing is very descriptive, and if you've never been to PEI, you'll feel as though you have. I don't want to say too much, to not give anything away, but it combines so many classic storylines - and every girl needs a best friend to fall in love with! - in a unique, new way that will keep you rooting for the main characters right up to the last page. Sadly, this is the final book in this series....I recommend all three!

What fun to return to the shores of Prince Edward Island. This series has continued to delight, and the third book, On Love's Gentle Shore, share the same mix of love story and characters who yearn to find a place to call home.

For Natalie, returning home to Prince Edward Island only brings back the childhood trauma that she tried to outrun years ago. But her fiancé, music producer Russell Jacobs, decides that PEI is the perfect place to hold their wedding. Before Natalie knows it, she is back home neck deep in wedding preparations and face to face with old memories and people she would rather have never seen again. And then there is Justin. Her childhood best friend, he was her everything until she ran and he never followed. Thrown together with Justin, Natalie will have to face her past if she wants to follow her heart in the future.

On Love's Gentle Shore starts with a combination of my two favourite love story beginnings - best friends to more and love at first hate, well at if not hate a whole lot of unresolved anger and feelings of betrayal. Natalie and Justin have so much history, but so much of it has been left unresolved. Natalie returning to the island gives them a chance to rekindle their friendship and maybe, finally, explore what might have been. I loved watching their relationship move away from anger and bitterness and back towards the deep friendship they kindled from the age of five. They have a beautiful connection.

The writing is very descriptive in this book. There were times when I just couldn't take any more detailed descriptions of the delicious delicacies that Caden creates. I get it already, it tastes amazing. Stop it, you're making me hungry! But there is no doubt that the writing places the reader firmly within the gorgeous setting of PEI and within the middle of the characters' emotions.

I truly enjoyed Natalie's story. Everything she has overcome is so heartbreaking and seeing her get her happy ending is wonderful. Justin is equally wonderful. He is a fantastic best friend - every girl needs a Justin. But there is no doubt that they were always destined for more than friendship. As Natalie wrestles with her past, Justin faces his grief over losing Natalie all those years ago, and they both must assess what they want for the future. Faith is an underpinning factor in this story, but doesn't take much of the focus. Natalie wrestles with a God that could love her, as feeling unloved is something she has struggled with all her life. Justin's simple faith has always been a comfort to her, but something she didn't pursue herself.

On Love's Gentle Shore is a delightful contemporary romance, with charming main characters, a strong romance founded in friendship, and wonderful secondary characters, many of whom are old favourites from the previous two books in the series.

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

This is an incredibly well written book! Wish I could give it 10 stars!

To be honest, I started this book with a bit of caution. I'm not a fan of love triangles or of abandoning someone you've said to love for a considerable time for a recent discovered love. I was happy to see this is not what this story is about and I knew I would give this book five stars after a few pages. In fact, I think this is Liz Johnson's finest book to date, and I completely adored the other two in this series.

This book does involve a lot of heartbreak and it does involve finding love. But what stands out is that it is about finding truth. Finding truth about yourself. Finding truth about forgiveness. Finding truth about love. Finding truth about family.

Fifteen years ago Natalie O'Ryan left an island that had given her more heartache than any child should ever face. But, in the process, she ended up leaving behind her best friend, the rock in her messy life, the one that pointed her to hope and whose family had made her feel a part of it. However, she left rightly thinking he'd come for her or somehow contact her. When this didn't happen, she thought the impossible had happen - he became one more person who had stopped loving her and had abandoned her. Consequently, bitterness took one more space in her heart, and, out of fear for many justified reasons, she decided that in her new life she wouldn't let people see her past history, wouldn't let people see her true self - she would do her best to protect herself from ever being unloved again.

Justin Kane never understood why his best friend turned her back on him and their plans one night and never looked back, taking a part of himself with her. Plus, he would never imagine their reunion would involve her wedding in his barn and he being somewhat cast as her right hand. However, the Natalie he sees now doesn't remind him much of the person she used to be. She's not the Natalie whose temper many times took the best of her, making her freckled nose twitch, eyes become full of daggers and ears turn red. A Natalie he actually used to enjoy teasing her and making her ferocious side come out. A Natalie he never thought twice before defending her from unruly tongues and bullies.

Natalie and Justin's reunion is bittersweet, full of hurt and lashed out words. Until they understand the misunderstanding that happened. Until they see what could have been. Until they remember what they brought out in each other. The author smoothly, gently and with compassion wrote these two character's journey back to each other. It is clear as day, even during their rough start, how close they were and how important their friendship used to be. I had to hold tears many times for them and specially for Natalie's story.

Coming back to PEI hasn't been at all what Natalie thought it would be. Facing her past will challenge her to truly think about the person she wants to be and what she wants to let dictate her actions. She will discover she had all she ever dreamed of all along, and she can have even more if she's willing to take a risk and let go,

I have to mention how completely perfect the cover of this book is. But to find out why you'll have to read it ;-)

What a lovely conclusion to this series! It may be my favorite of the three. Liz Johnson is fantastic at balancing sweet romance, sparky chemistry, and deeper issues that connect with her readers. Can't wait to see what see offers next!