Here we find ourselves ensconced in yet another small-island-town. A small-island-town that has charm, beauty, and peace. Caleb is famous. Faith is a child of someone famous. Together they know maybe just a bit too much of what fame can do to a soul. The both find their way to the small-town of Cloud Bay for different but the same reason. They both want to have some peace, a little fun, just some carefree distraction.

I had fun and this was a carefree distraction for my afternoon. I enjoyed Cloud Bay, Caleb and Faith, the ins and outs of fame and if it is truly the life one wants to lead. There were some good character, good interaction, sweet banter, slow fun, laid-back entertainment. This was a start to a new community of romance.

The romantic cover drew me in, and the blurb's promise of a small town romance enhanced the allure. The setting between the daughter of a rock star and the pro athlete is unique, and the island as the premise of the new series sounded charming. As this is the book one of new series, there are bundles of secondary characters introduced to the reader, the author pays a considerate amount of attention to setting the scene for the series.
Faith Harper is keeping her father's legacy alive by arranging the annual music festival at the island. She loves what she does, and she does it well, yet there's a good amount of yearning for more in her, a certain kind of restlessness. She still has unresolved issues with her father who passed away several years ago. Her fear of being hurt and left behind keeps her from meaningful relationships and falling in love. She is independent and capable yet at times she seems not only lost but easily swerved by other's opinion and a bit immature.
Caleb White is at the crossroads in his life. His retirement, even though sort of planned, was still executed poorly. With no future plans, he is taking a break on the island, and Faith seems to be the perfect person to take the break with. I felt like I got to know only the celebrity Caleb, who is kind and charming to all, people are drawn to him, and he likes to entertain them. He constantly tried to pull Faith from her responsibilities showing his 'golden boy' attitude, but that was played off as his increasing attraction and desire towards her.
The relationship between Caleb and Faith at the beginning was mostly physical and when they finally had the time to go deeper and really get to know each other and develop sincere feelings towards each other - that part of the story, that week, was covered in passing and thus the resolve of the tale was more of a 'happy for now'.
Need You Now is a good start and foundation for the series. It awakens the curiosity towards the stories to come and the characters that were introduced. It is entertaining with the business of music festival and the work and passion that it takes to put out the show every year. The divided focus between the festival, the developing romance, and setting the scene for the series left the relationship between Caleb and Faith as a lighthearted, passion filled tryst that an epilog could have given more depth to, but maybe they will have a chance in the future books to develop their connection into something more meaningful and lasting.
~ Three Spoons with a teaspoon on the side

Need You Now by Emma Douglas
Cloud Bay #1

An island off the California coast is home to Faith Harper, daughter of legendary Rock Star Gray Harper. She is one week from putting on a huge music festival – Cloud Fest – when she meets recently retired tennis pro, Caleb White. The two are drawn to one another from the beginning but neither is really in the market for more than just a summer fling… But, as with many such stories, more than a fling is definitely a possibility.

This is the introduction to a new series that has a cozy small town feel to it with wonderful characters filling the pages. Each and every one of them deserves to eventually meet their mate and have their HEA as the series progresses. I was drawn in, enjoyed the interactions between Faith and Caleb and was glad that there was not a cliffhanger ending. I found Faith smart, strong, open minded, caring and eventually willing to do the work necessary to reach the deserved HEA. Caleb was a great match for Faith – warm, caring, great lover, strong and emotionally open – he, too, had a few things to work through before the HEA he deserved could happen.

I am eagerly looking forward to the next book in the series and just found out that at this moment in time there are two more books in the series that will deal with Faith’s her half siblings Mina and Zach. That means there is room for a spin-off series OR further books in the series as there are more than just Mina and Zach that caught my eye while reading Need You Now.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4 Stars

Emma Douglas does a fabulous job setting the scene and introducing the main characters in the first few pages of her novel Need You Now. I could sense the anticipation of the crowd as they disembarked from the ferry, feel their excitement of attending the CloudFest music festival on Lansing Island and identify with the connection Faith made with the blue- eyed stranger in the black SUV. Need You Now is well-paced novel with dynamic characters, great dialogue and well-plotted storyline.
Faith Harper is a strong, independent, complicated woman. Need You Now is Faith’s story. As the daughter of the late Grey Harper, lead singer for the band Blacklight, she has been part of the music scene since she made her debut in one of her father’s videos as a teenager. Faith saw her father marry and divorce three times and was accustomed to him being away for months at a time when his band band toured. Faith has made different choices. She lives on a small island with her mom and sister and runs the family business. For the past six years, she has managed CloudFest, preserving her father’s legacy.
Tennis star Caleb White, the blue-eyed man in the SUV, has travelled to Lansing to attend CloudFest. He’s announced his retirement and needs to hide out from the media. He is looking for some downtime but, he meets Faith and his world is turned upside down. Loved the instant attraction between this couple, their sexual chemistry and how the relationship developed during the musical festival.
Need You Now has all the feels; the storyline is emotional and the conversations between Faith and Caleb are witty, honest and at times poignant. The island setting and the small town feel appealed to me. Family plays an important part in the novel and Lou and Mina are my two favorite secondary characters. The author does an excellent job crafting Blacklight’s lead guitarist Danny Ryan—he was the character that puzzled me during the book. Was he looking out for Faith or feeding her insecurities? The author does a fabulous job weaving the need to sort through Grey’s storage unit through the storyline. Did Grey record a final album? This thread intrigued me and I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Faith struggles to come to terms with her relationship with Caleb. She breaks up with Caleb after an insightful conversation with Danny. Emma Douglas does a great job writing this chapter – I felt for Caleb and was surprised at Faith’s cold hearted demeanor. I would have liked an epilogue to tie up several of the loose story threads but the conclusion satisfied me as a reader.

Emma Douglas is another new author for me to read with Need You Now, Cloud Bay Book 1. This is a small island town that begins with a festival that Faith has been in charge of planning. So early on we see her as a capable, independent woman.

Having famous parentage gives her celebrity insight second hand with the love interest in the story being a retired sports superstar. Both understand the rules of their fling until one wants more. The romance follows a common trope as they work out their relationship.

I enjoyed the island flavor of the story as well as the small-town life. Getting to know the people and place is always important in the first book of a series. Ms. Douglas does a marvelous job of that making me want to read more about the people and life in Cloud Bay.

Faith Harper is the daughter of the late great rocker Gray Harper. Years after his death and she still hosts the music fest he and his band founded in the 90s. After growing up around rockers, Faith’s dedication is to her family and her job. She never saw any good come out of relationships. That is until she meets Caleb White, a retired tennis star that she just can’t get out of her mind from the first moment she saw his eyes.
This was a quick and cute contemporary story with lots of steamy scenes. Right from the beginning you get a good feel for what kind of character Faith is as well as how growing up with the father she had has shaped her entire life and not necessarily in a good way. Up until now, she’s always been able to abide by her own personal rules. However, once she meets Caleb, something about her makes her shoot her rules out the window. The author did a great job of setting up the meet-cute. The book was pretty straight-forward. There wasn’t a whole lot of drama so if you’re looking for something pretty upbeat then this will definitely work. I recommend.

This was a little different from the usual "famous people" romances I've read in the past. The ones I've read in the past has one or the other unaware or unfamiliar with the famous person and their work. In this both Caleb and Faith know exactly who each other are. It was nice to start out that above board and open. They're both pretty honest about their intentions as well. Neither feels like they are ready for anything long term but are both interested in a casual fling.

I liked them both and liked them together as well. Their chemistry was evident and they were really just fun to watch interact. I had a few minor issues. A few times Faith's reaction to the deepening connection made me want to shake her and while I liked Caleb I never felt like I got to see what was going on in his head as much as I would have liked.

Minor issues aside, this was a fantastic start to a contemporary romance series. I can never resist a small town romance and when you put that town on an island I am hooked! I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Faith, Caleb, and the rest of the side characters. I can't wait until my next visit to Cloud Bay!

It’s always exciting, to me, when I begin that first story of a new series. A brand new world to explore and new people to meet is one of my personal reading pleasures Need You Now has all the elements of a series that I look for – small town, large-ish family, secondary characters who will most likely play a part in the entire series and couples to like..

I’ll say upfront that I adored Caleb. And, unfortunately that I certainly did not adore Faith. She has a ways to go to get back into my good graces, and perhaps that’s intended for it seems their romance has a happy for now, continues to develop feel to it by the ending of their story. I get being afraid, even if you won’t admit to that feeling yet the way Faith treated a very good man grated more than it endeared. The very least someone deserves at a breaking off moment is a reason. Her silence, her refusal to say why was so unfair… and beneath the character that I’d hoped she would become. As I said, I hope we’ll get to see more of Caleb and Faith’s relationship as a secondary part of the rest of the series. Because my opinion of her right now is that she does not deserve him. Harsh, perhaps – but that’s my reaction, intended or not.

Don’t let my annoyance of one character’s actions lead you to believe that this isn’t a great story – it really is, and one that lays the groundwork for the series. I have every intention of following these characters, and I definitely want Mina’s story next. I’d recommend this story and encourage you to make up your own mind about Faith. Life forms us into who we are as adults, and I’m hopeful that Caleb’s love and influence will soften both her heart and her actions.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

Faith Harper is the daughter of a deceased legendary Rock Star. She and her two half siblings were raised by her mom while their dad flitted in and out of their lives. Faith has taken over Harper Inc. and running the music festival, established by her dad, every year since her dad died. She loves the island she lives on and has no desire to live anywhere else. Caleb catches her eye when he and his friend come for the music festival.

Caleb White is a recently retired, #1 ranked professional tennis player. He is taking some time out of the spotlight to decide what he wants to do with the rest of his life. His friend invites him to a music festival for a couple weeks and he goes. He meets Faith and he’s a goner.

These two eventually begin a fling that’s supposed to only last for the limited time Caleb is on the island and remain a secret. Faith’s dad, while a decent dad, was a definite womanizer and left a trail of broken hearts. Her mom has remained single with no serious relationships since her dad. Faith is determined to keep her life commitment, entanglement and love free.

I never became a big fan of Faith’s. She got really bogged down in her dad’s legacy. She let other people cloud her judgment and easily sway her thoughts/opinions.

The conflict between Caleb and Faith wraps up in a matter of a couple of pages and seems more like a HFN than an HEA. No epilogue, so I’m hoping their story continues in the next book.

As this is the beginning of the series, we meet a lot of people.

I’m on the fence about this one. It felt like a lot of extraneous information at the beginning, and some woven throughout the book, which made the story drag. Maybe this info is useful later on in the series? Lots of detail about what is involved in organizing the music festival, the positive as well as the headaches. Too much for my tastes. There was more about the music business and the festival than about Faith and Caleb. They needed more character development together, especially if we are to believe they have a chance of making it work.

This is my first book by this author. I will most likely read the next one to see where she takes the series and how relevant all the info from this book turns out to be.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher.

The Blacklight band put the small town of Cloud Bay on the map.
Every year, there is CloudFest, with the best of music. The island is crowded with tourists and everyone wants to take the piece of the musical legend that exists there.
Faith Harper is the daughter of one of the band members, Grey Harper, recently dead.
The other members of the band have never played together again, having their separate professional lives, but their names are still connected.
Faith coordinates the festival and every year, as soon as the festival is over, she finds a way to travel far away for a vacation. Faith knows that flings that occur throughout the festival do not last forever, but she would gladly find her Mr. Right.

Caleb White, a tennis celebrity, has announced his retirement.
After more than 20 years dedicated to the sport, after his last shoulder surgery, he knows that his performance will never be the same. His announcement caught everyone in suspense, and now he needs to get his life and his head in order.
His friend, Liam Sullivan, entertainment lawyer, invites Caleb to spend a few days away from worries during the CloudFest.
There, Caleb is surprised to meet the charming coordinator of the festival and daughter of Grey Harper, Faith.

Their connection is immediate and the romance takes off.
The problem is that for Caleb, their relationship could grow, but for Faith, getting involved with a Harper was too dangerous.

Could Caleb convince Harper that he was not like the men she had to deal with all her life? Would Faith have to put her fears aside and play headlong into a happy ending romance?

First book in the Cloud Bay series, and the author's first book I read.
A fun reading that brings the modern fears of a complicated relationship.

"You're the good stuff. The real thing. The addiction I'm pretty sure I'm not going to ever kick"
4 stars

What a wonderful start to a new series by a new-to-me author! I really enjoyed reading “Need You Now”! This touching and sweet story with lovable characters hits all the right notes! Emma Douglas has definitely captured my interest with this first book featuring the Harper siblings and I’m looking forward to getting to know more about all of them!

Welcome to Lansing Island, a small island off the coast of California, home to some rich and famous rock musicians. Faith Harper’s father was a world famous rock star. Since his death, she has been busy keeping the family legacy, running a music business and organizing a world renowned music festival. Faith took over when her father died, but she never took the time to figure out what she really wanted to do with her life. She loves her family but she has unresolved issues with her brother, who tends to let her down.

Caleb White is a tennis champion who recently announced his retirement from pro tennis. For the first time in years, his time is his own and he is decided to have some fun. His stay on Lansing Island is a welcome escape from real world, a break before he figures out what he will do with the rest of his life.

After a chance encounter, Faith and Caleb hit it off. Neither of them is looking for a relationship, they enjoy spending time together in their happy bubble. The romance between them is slow growing and an absolute joy to watch unfold. What started out as a harmless flirtation is soon becoming much more, these two really have great chemistry.

I loved the premise of this new series, this delightful and romantic story of love and friendship has a charming small town vibe and is filled with easy to love characters. This is definitely a sigh worthy story that just makes you feel good! I can’t wait to read more in this series! 4.5 Stars

"Need You Now"
By Emma Douglas
St. Martin's paperbacks

Contemporary Romance - Release Date: August 29, 2017


ReaderToReader.com review for Net Galley download


Can lust become love? Is it possible to fall in love in just two weeks?

Faith Harper, daughter of a well-known rock star now deceased is carrying on her father's legacy by continuing to hold the annual CloudFest music festival at Cloud Bay on the small island of Lansing, CA. As usual, she is stressed with the preparations needed to pull off this feat.

Danny Ryan, lead guitarist of Faith's dad's band, Blacklight, rents his home to a friend for the festivities. One of the tenants is Caleb White, recently retired tennis champ who is looking for rest, relaxation, and time to decide what to do with his future.

Faith is immediately attracted to the handsome jock, and he feels the same. But Faith has a rule to never get involved with someone on the island. Now she's going to break that rule.

Tension is high when Faith's brother Zach, cancels his appearance as the surprise guest. Flustered and angry, Faith runs to Danny's house and to Caleb. Though it's against her better judgment, she finds solace in his arms and bed.

The days pass, and both Faith and Caleb are drawn to each other until Faith orders him to leave, knowing nothing would come of their romance. Heartbroken, she tries to remain strong, realizing she may have lost the best thing in her life.

Caleb also is distraught, but what is he to do? He needs to figure out the rest of his life, and he knows Faith loves her home and will never leave. Could it possibly work?

Steamy and sensual, "Need You Now" is geared to a physical attraction that becomes an entirely different situation.

When I read the blurb about this book I really couldn't wait to read it. I loved the idea of it being a small-town on a island. What fun, right?

The story started off really well I was there with the characters and enjoying where it was going, and then somewhere it took a turn for me and it just lost my interest. I'm not sure how that happened!

It wasn't like I didn't like the characters because I did. Yes, they are a little one-dimensional but I had hopes that as the story went on they would get better. But they didn't, Faith did but I think the only reason for that was that we were included in her thoughts. With Caleb we weren't. So you never really knew what he was thinking which at times made him unlikable. Ann that added up to just okay characters.

I have to say that if you're a fan of first person this book would be for you, or if you really don't care because that's how real life is and you don't know what your partner is thinking (to much reality for me) then I think you might like this more.

For me it just wasn't enough. Not bad writing, not bad characters, it just didn't all come together and feel like a true romantic story.

Ever since her dad Grey died, Faith Harper has been in charge of the business she runs with her family in the small town of Cloud Bay on the island of Lansing off the coast of California. She's really caught up in the running Harper Inc, the family business, and so does not have time for relationships, or so she thought. Caleb White and his friend Liam are renting a house on the island so that they can go to the CloudFest does the island's only music festival and main source of income during the summer months.

Caleb is an ex-tennis player who first sets eyes on Faith on the day of the festival. He and Faith meet in the most unexpected of places, and, reluctantly (for Faith, at least) a kind of timid, slightly awkward friendship emerges between them that I was glad to see.

The book is very family – orientated, and the island setting gives it a cosy feel. Faith and her mother Lou are incredibly close. Faith definitely has her work cut out over much of the book with trying to arrange the island's festival and try to get clear what she thinks about Caleb.

She gets on well with her sister Mina and their brother Zach is hardly around, having commitments with his own band.

The book presents an interesting family dynamic, with many of the members living close together, and having a common interest in music. Mina, who, in Faith's own words, is the "married to her childhood sweetheart at 18 type person," lives in a cottage at the base of a lighthouse and loves storms and painting. She is not remotely interested in music, but takes an interest in what Faith does now and then, and offers her opinion. I like it that two sisters who have different interests get on well.

After an initial slowness, which I felt strange at first but which, as I read on, ultimately allowed me to really get to know the characters and setting, the pacing picked up and so did the frequency with which Caleb and Faith saw eachother. I felt a a sense of anticipation as to what might happen between Faith and Caleb when they first met, and even more after every time they see eachother and that's what kept me reading, aside from the island/ family themes. From the outset, Caleb seems friendly and gentlemanly towards Faith, who seems hostile as she is not interested in settling down. Faith's social circle are her best friends Theo and Ivy. Ivy is one of just 6 employees at Harper Inc. What I enjoyed about the book most was that the plot seems quite simple, but is tightly woven to produce the atmosphere of the town, island and festival and the business of festival time contrasts with how quiet the quaint-sounding town's few shops, bars and distillery usually are.

Music and memories are in Faith's blood and on her mind as her dad left her the family home and the rest of the family members all live close by. Blacklight was her dad's band, and the star of the show during many CloudFest shows in years past, and her dad's former fellow band member colleagues are like uncles to Faith.

Will the CloudFest be a success this year?
Will Caleb and Faith's relationship develop further?

Read the book to find out!
This is the first book I have read by Emma Douglas, and it is a sweet and tender book that has it's moments of drama. I'm looking forward to reading more from Emma Douglas.

This is the first book by Emma Douglas I have read and I do like her style of writing. However, I never got the emotion that I think this book wanted me to have. Unfortunately I had no real strong emotions for either Faith or Caleb. In fact, at times, I was irritated with Faith’s inability to let go of her past with her famous father. The storyline was interesting with a music festival being held on an island off of LA where Faith, as the daughter of the late lead singer of a rock band, continues the festival that was started by her father. Faith has stayed on this small island because she feels safe. Caleb, a tennis star, has come to the island during the festival because he has just retired as a number one tennis star, and wants to get away…..to an island having its yearly music festival. Caleb and Faith feel a strong connection, but it was hard for me to feel it for them. The book of course has a HEA, but it did not feel all that realistic to me. This book just never got out of first gear for me. That being said, I will look for more books by the author as I think she writes very well. This book just didn't “wow” me. Thanks as always to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this for an honest review.

3 - "If you're looking for love... I'm not your girl." Stars.

Emma Douglas begins the new Cloud Bay series, telling the stories and loves of the Harper siblings with middle daughter Faith’s story coming first.

"Sometimes you need a little crazy."

Living on a small island, and being known by everyone who lives there means that Faith has kept her romantic dalliances off the island and of the commitment-free variety up to now. Her father, the now deceased, but once a world famous rocker was well known for his womanizing ways, and as such love is something Faith firmly believes she is not interested in falling into. Especially when the only experience she has of it is seeing those around her (as well as herself) get hurt, abandoned and let down by it.

Caleb is at a crossroads in his life having decided to retire from his career as a professional tennis player whilst at the top of his game, coming to Cloud Bay for its renowned music festival, is the start of his r’n’r before he decides on what direction he now wants to take his life. One thing he didn’t expect was to meet and basically fall for Faith Harper in a matter of days.

"Let go… I’ve got you."

This isn’t my first read by this author, I have read all of the New York Saints books that were released under the name Melanie Scott, and on the whole they were pretty enjoyable reads, and Need You Now had all of the components the a good series starter needs as well, including offering up a beautiful locale and plenty of secondary characters on which to base future books. This is something which this publisher has excelled at in the last couple of years with the likes of Laura Trentham, Donna Alward and Lily Everett all releasing hugely successful and enjoyable series of the same nature, but this book just missed the mark for me in relation to hitting the same enjoyment levels of the aforementioned authors in that, there seemed to be and overload of erroneous information in the first half of the book, which knocked the pacing and development off and I really, really struggled to warm to Faith.

"I come from a long line of people who do dumb shit when they’re scared."

And these feelings were just compounded in the last 20% of the book. I could totally understand her reluctance to see anything with Caleb as anything more than a fling, but what really pissed me off was the fact that she allowed people who had less than stellar track records at relationships themselves convince her to cut him off at the knees without even so much as having a conversation with him about where their relationship was going before doing so.

My other problem is the fact that the resolution to the conflict was then dealt with in a matter pf paragraphs in such a cut and dried manner, I felt that Faith had gotten off extremely lightly in regards to her behavior, so much so that I kind to wished that she hadn’t ended up with Caleb. The lack of an epilogue didn’t help either as the story pretty much cut off without giving any indication as to how things were going between them. I am going to assume that this is because their relationship will continue to play out in the forthcoming books.

A Season of You, due for release in October, takes us back to Cloud Bay for Christmas to give us Mina Harper's story. The youngest of the siblings and a widow too boot, I have a feeling her story will be pulling all the feels after learning about her in this book.

3.5 stars rounded up. Faith Harper is the daughter of a former rock star. After he died, she has taken over running Harper Inc & planning the week long music festival on Cloud Bay called CloudFest. She's determined she'll never be left behind again. Her father left her, her brother left her. She'll do flings but only with guys off island. It's too hard to have any privacy on island. She didn't anticipate meeting a man that would challenge her stance on relationships.

Caleb White has shocked the tennis world by announcing his retirement just after reaching the Wimbledon semifinals. He hadn't expected the media frenzy it had created. When a friend asked him to accompany him to CloudFest, he thought it was an opportunity to hole up & relax for a while, maybe have a fling. He didn't anticipate meeting someone like Faith.

I enjoyed the build up to this story & Faith's background. The chemistry between Faith & Caleb kept off the page & the reader can feel the intensity buildup. I was unable to establish an emotional connection with Caleb. Other than his tennis career, we weren't privy to much of his background or POV. The writer did manage to use this book to set the stage for the series & I am interested to read the next & see if it's more evenly balanced.

My Rating:

3.5

Favorite Quotes:

Ivy didn’t share her views on island guys. She was newly moved in with her boyfriend. She had a bad dose of love cooties.

That man is worth a squee or two.

“Are you training to be a ninja or something?” she said, trying to calm her heartbeat and look innocent at the same time. “I think I’m going to buy you some clothes that aren’t black. At least that way I’ll see you coming.”

Because every night this week, I’ve fallen asleep wishing the day was just a little longer so I could have some more time with you. Because I want to be with you.

My Review:

Need You Now had an interesting premise and chunks of fun and entertaining threads. I enjoyed and welcomed the author’s use of humor and quirky characters, and while the story had promise, the narrative appeared to miss the mark and became overly ambitious in setting up the rest of the series as there were flurries of background data, reams of detailed event planning and logistics, and other unresolved secondary story threads. Not to say the story was bad, it wasn’t. I enjoyed the humor, sizzle, and fun of the couple losing themselves in their blossoming relationship, but I had trouble maintaining my interest and attention with too much minutia of her organizational efforts and difficulties in setting up her musical festival, although other readers may enjoy those types of details. Just a bit of paring down those aspects would have greatly enhanced my level of engagement and rating.

Light entertaining read with a unique setting (an island with a music festival!) and two nice characters in Caleb and Faith. Faith, the daughter of a rock star, is wary life with a famous partner. Caleb,a former tennis player, is just not sure what he wants for his future life. That said, they certainly begin to want each other in this nicely written romance. I liked that these two came from different worlds. The dialogue was snappy, the journey to couple hood well plotted, and the novel generally a good read. Thanks to net galley for the ARC. Thumbs up!