I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I think this was an okay read for the most part. I thought a lot of it was predictable and the sort of "supernatural" element could have been omitted. But, I did really enjoy the characters. I thought it flowed pretty well and wasn't confusing when it traveled before time periods like some books tend to do. There was some pretty vulgar language in it, so if you aren't a fan of that, you should be aware.

The House on Harbor Hill by Shelly Stratton is set in Camden Beach, Maryland in September of 2016. Delilah Grey offers help to those who she believes needs it. Tracey Walters arrives home to find an invitation on her door from Delilah that states her door is always open. Tracey and her two kids left her abusive husband, Paul after he hit Caleb and she worries that Paul will track them down. When Tracey is given one month to vacate her apartment and with no other options, she takes Delilah up on her offer. Delilah helps others to help alleviate her guilt. She has secrets that have haunted her all these years (in more than one way). A man keeps showing up offering to buy Harbor Hill, but Delilah has no intention of selling (despite the man’s outrageous offers). Aidan Dominguez grew up at Harbor Hill thanks to the generosity of Delilah. He returned four years ago and now works as the handyman/landscaper. Aidan is not prepared for his attraction to the newest resident. He came to Harbor Hill to escape his own troubles and is not ready to love again. Tracey settles in to the new home and starts to move forward, but then the past comes knocking. Unfortunately, that is not the only threat to the residents of Harbor Hill. What will happen to Aidan, Tracey and Delilah?

The House on Harbor Hill sounded like a great book. Mystery, intrigue, suspense, romance, a cute kid and some heartfelt moments. It is a story about people finding forgiveness and peace, so they can have a second chance at life. The writing was satisfactory, but the pacing was varied. There are three different stories happening in The House on Harbor Hill. It switches between them throughout the story, so we get the backstory on all three characters. We go from 2016 to 1968 to get Delilah’s story (my favorite character in the book). Delilah has the voice of her dead husband talking to her (criticizing, taunting). I was never sure if it was a ghost or just in her head. The House on Harbor Hill ended predictably. I knew how their stories would play out after reading just a small part of the book. I did feel that The House on Harbor Hill needed an epilogue to adequately wrap up the book. I was left with a few unanswered questions at the end of the book. The House on Harbor Hill addresses some sensitive issues (domestic violence and racism). I felt that the author handled them well, but I did feel the racism was overdone (mentioned quite often). There is a reading group guide at the end of the book. I do want to let readers know that the book contains violence and foul language (the language was completely unnecessary). I am giving The House on Harbor Hill 3 out of 5 stars (It was okay). This book was just not for me.

This is part historical fiction, part mystery. I enjoyed the authors talent for transitioning between two time periods deftly. This was a enthralling read and one I could not put down.
This is the story of Delilah Grey. She owns a large home called Harbor Hill and uses the house to help women in need. She sees women going through abuse and brings them into her home to stay and recover. She offers friendship and a safe environment at free room and board. She is harboring her own secrets as she was acquitted of her husband’s mysterious death decades ago, but she has questions remaining unresolved about his death that continue to haunt her .
When she takes in Tracey and her two children she hopes to help this woman running from a abusive relationship. She has gone into hiding from her abusive husband. When she arrives at Harbor Hill, she hopes to have a fresh start with her kids. Between Tracey and Delilah together they begin to face their fears and past . Just when Tracey begins doing well her ex finds her and the suspense builds when Delilah has to save her and the kids.
I loved the premise of this book and the characters. The writing is fast paced and the author has a pleasing writing style. I enjoyed reading this book.
Thank you for the ARC which does not influence my review.

The House on Harbor Hill by Shelly Stratton
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 5/5 stars


I had half a review written when I realized it wasn’t anywhere close to expressing how I feel about this book. Here’s the breakdown:

Plot #1: The House on Harbor Hill opens with an aging Delilah Grey doing what she has spent the vast majority of her life doing, extending a helping hand to a woman in need. Delilah’s own past has made her keenly aware of the women around her who need her help, and once she’s spotted someone, she extends an invitation to her home. Delilah genuinely wants to help these women and once they have come to her home, they are welcome to stay for as long as they need. To many, Delilah is a good Samaritan, a selfless woman always willing to give more than she receives, but to those with long memories, Delilah is something quite different.

Plot #2: Tracey is a woman on the run, a very scared woman whose purpose in life is to survive and protect her children. After a year on the run, Tracey is out of money and desperate for help. She’s heard the rumors about Delilah Grey, but sanctuary is what Delilah is offering and Tracey is desperate. Delilah’s home is spacious, beautiful, and most importantly, safe. There is space for her kids, a room of her own, and the opportunity for Tracey to find her feet, heal, and make plans for she and her kids’ future. Delilah asks for little in return and Tracey and her children quickly settle in and become a part of life at the house on Harbor Hill.

Characters: This book is full of rich, developed characters who run the gamut of qualities and characteristics. From the truly vile and reprehensible to the selfless and kind, this book has someone for everyone. What nearly every character has in common, is being broken to some greater or lesser degree. The brokenness of each character informs his or her actions, and some of those actions are magnificent in their level of awful. The degree of brokenness also deepens and enriches each character which always makes for a better read.

Transitions and Pacing: The House on Harbor Hill opens in the present with Delilah taking in Tracey and her children. As with so many things in life, the past informs the present, and to understand Delilah and her desire to help women in danger, you have to understand her own miserable past. As such, after an extensive opening section, the book transitions to the past which helps the reader understand how Delilah came to be the woman she is today. The entire book unfolds at a steady pace, but has moments, very dramatic and scary moments when the scenes unfold at breakneck speed. There aren’t any slow spots, only steady pacing broken up by crazy moments.

The Bottom Line: I can’t say I loved this book because it deals with some very serious and horrifying issues, but I do love how those issues are handled. The House on Harbor Hill is a purely fictional read, but it deals with real-world issues we are, sadly far too familiar with in this day and age. Stratton has created a cast of characters, especially the women who are, at times, weak and vulnerable, and, ultimately, strong and determined. There is excellent evolution of character, especially in Delilah and Tracey whose stories are so very similar though separated by decades. The transitions from the past to the present is one of my favorite writing devices and only served to enhance this story. The pacing is perfect for the story, and I was involved and interested from start to finish.

A mystery mixed with a women's fiction mixed with some historical fiction story and this interesting book came out of that combination. Delilah Grey is an outcast in a small town, but she refuses to leave the small town and instead help those who were in a similar boat than she was at a time when no one stood up for her. Tracey has run away from a toxic relationship and finds solace in Delilah's home, but can you always stay on the run from your problems?

Without completely spoiling the good bits of this book, I will say that I loved this story a lot. I loved how it wasn't completely a historical fiction book, but had small hints of times of the past and how some things have changed and some have not. I loved how it was a women's fiction book with a story about marriage and relationships and the ups and downs of those things. I also loved that there was a mystery around Delilah that slowly unfolded and the mystery part of the book really kept me reading until the end I wanted to know the ins and the outs of Delilah and want really happened to make her who she was in the present day.

I had recently read a book about the start of sit ins and race relations in the South, so to read this one quickly after was so an interesting coupling. After reading this one and the other, I almost wanted to pick up a non fiction about race relations and the US to just do a huge deep dive into that topic.

After reading this book, I looked up Shelly Stratton and she has one book on her backlist and I may have to add it to my TBR and read it quickly to see her progression from that book to this one.

Delilah made her home in Harbor Hill a sanctuary for women needing security and a chance to rebuild their lives. Delilah tend to women one at a time offering her support, kindness, and understanding along with free room and board Tracey is an abused wife always on the run from her husband Paul, then he finds her. Tracey had two small kids- thirteen month old Maggie and also a son named Caleb who has been fed a lot of disappointment for the last eighteen months. . Aidan lived at Harbor Hill with his mother Rosario after living in their cars for months.Aidan had been eight anf they lived with Delilah for eight years. Aidan had returned four years ago when his world imploded. Delilah had an abusive and hard life. And she had a lot of secrets. Delilah only asked for respect and companionship. Back she had not received that as a young woman. Delilah had been acquitted of her rich husbands death. Tracey won’t say where she’s from or what sent her into hiding. But she reminds Delilah of the hopeful spirited girl she had once been. Tracey found an envelope taped to her door from Delilah offering her help. Tracey worked at the hotel restaurant she just didn’t make enough. Tracey wanted a better job but she was a full time mom and a college dropout. Tracey had fled from her home one year ago. Tracey had went to the local welfare office but they needed her husband’s name and address for child support but Tracey didn’t want her husband to know where she and the kids were. He’d come after them, he’d try to make her go back and Tracey was never going back. Tracey hurried out of the office. Then Tracey finds an eviction notice on her door. Then Tracey thought of Delilah’s note that said her door was always open. At Delilah’s she remembered when she had seen Claudra with the same desperation in her eyes years ago when Delilah had sent the note to. Delilah had heard a voice whispering in her ear for the last forty years. Delilah had tried to get rid of the voice for years, had been blessed by her minister and she had read the bible until her vision blurred and she even gone to a mystic healer. Harbor Hill not only serves as a place of substance and healing but also a place to bury things and Aidan had a lot of pain and scars.Aidan had been a high powered attorney in Chicago. Aidan wished he had been more attentive to his own wife Trish. Back then Aidan worked fourteen hours a day at the law firm and doing whatever he had to do to make partner. Delilah seen Tracey at the grocery store and spoke to her Tracey basically ignored her and didn’t want to be around Delilah. But at the check out Tracey’s card was denied and she didn’t have enough cash to cover her bill but Delilah stepped up and paid for all the groceries. Tracey waited forDelilah and told hr thank you and then agreed to bring her kids and to have dinner with Delilah.
I enjoyed reading this book. I was POed when Aidan threatened Delilah of stopping Tracey from going there if she didn’t go to the doctors who did he think he was she opened her home to him as a kid and as a man I just thought he stepped way over the line to a woman who had been nothing but good to him. That really took me a minute to get over. As you can tell I felt like I was there and became involved with the characters and that was great. I liked how Delilah tried so hard to help women who needed a place to go kids or not. I felt the author did a good job with the abuse given by spouses. I also felt it was a realistic portrayal. I liked the plot and pace of this book. I liked the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I recommend.

Delilah has had a tough life, she was acquitted of the murder of her husband but she will never be accepted in Harbor Hill and uses her mansion to take in woman who have been abused or need help. When Tracey comes to her with her two small children she feels something different towards her......Tracey has a strength that she remembers in herself and a bond is formed.

A lovely moving story with great characters and showing the strength of some women who succeed against all odds

Well done novel with both a mystery and a message about domestic violence. Delilah has a lot of secrets but she's also an angel to women fleeing abuse. Tracey and her children open something. in her. This goes back and forth in time a bit but that's key to the story. It's nicely written with sympathetic characters (loved Aiden as well). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

From the cover to the blurb, to the story inside, The House on Harbor Hill is my TOTAL Literary Fiction catnip from an author that I adore and always trust to take me on an emotional journal. I couldn't wait to get my hands on it, and after begging to read this book, then being granted an advance copy from NetGalley, I devoured it in just a couple of days.
I never know what to say in reviews... I'm not auditioning for the NYT book review here. I don't want to rehash the blurb, nor go through all the events of the book, not because I am lazy but because I like it best when I can discover the nuances and nooks and crannies of a story myself.
This was... simply a good read. A mix of a murder mystery from the past and a current tale of a woman in between the stages of her life, who takes a helping hand when she really needs it... and how that benefitted her and her children immensely.
Secondary characters filter through and fill out this story so well. I loved Delilah's fellow maids. That part of the story scratched my historical fiction itch.
There's so much to take in, when reading this novel. One thing that stands out is that a) sometimes no one understands what you've been through except those who've been through it to and b) History repeats itself, and like hindsight, you recognize things because you've seen it before.
I highly encourage everyone to grab this book, put it on your list, and then sit back and relax and enjoy the read. This isn't a fast paced wham-bam-zoom storyline. This is a beautifully drawn-out tale that's finally able to be told.
Enjoy!

"My door is always open."
This was an amazing novel, with of a woman named Delilah whose life was abusive and difficult and yet what she gives and offers is love, hope and happiness in a world that is anything but,to some.
We go from time in 1968 when there was servants for the rich, and people who were abused by others, to present day where people still are many are still abused.
Delilah gives help to those who are in need and is only asking for the respect and companionship that she missed as a young woman.
I loved the writing of this book and the characters that came to be. It will not soon be forgotten!

This is a very moving novel revolving around spousal abuse and the affects it has on two women years apart in age but close in their horrifying experiences. The harshness, brutality and fear of Delilah Buford and Tracey _________________ are hard to read yet alone picture and written in such a manner that portrays their reality and that the reader can comprehend the brutality as it happened or occurs.
Delilah has made her home, Harbor Hill, a sanctuary for women needing security and a chance to rebuild their lives. Delilah tends to one woman at a time, offering her support, kindness and understanding along with room and board at no cost. Tracey is a woman hiding out from her abusive husband, always on the run when he finds her.
The beauty of the novel is the relationships formed by Delilah, Tracey, Tracey’s two small children and Aiden. Aiden lived at Harbor Hill when he was a young boy and returned as an adult when his world imploded. They all find something that they need in each other: healing, comfort, acceptance, and love.

Moving and unforgettable is what a blurb said - and it was exactly that. I loved this book. How lovely it would be if we all could find our own Harbor House with Delilah in residence.