This was a cute new start to a series by Jenny Holiday, whose Bridesmaids Behaving Badly Series I really enjoyed reading last year. Evie Abbott is back in the small Canadian town, where she spent every summer as a girl, after inheriting her beloved late aunt's Mermaid Inn. While she's there she's forced to spend time with the boy who broke her hear all those years ago, local Police Chief Sawyer Collins. I liked the small town romance aspect and I really loved all the side characters. I'm also really looking forward to future books featuring some of the other characters. Overall it was a cute, fast read! Would recommend!

It took me a long time to become invested in this formulaic story about a woman who returns to the small town she fled after getting her heart broken due to the passing of her grandmother. When she is forced to stay by a provision in the will she must also face the boy she once loved. I have read this tale a time or two or three and this book doesn't diverge from the predictable path. Holiday's deft writing does elevate the story from boredom inducing as she writes likeable characters with relatable emotions. I am interested in reading more in this series although I hope the quirky small town is toned down.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. I have not read the bonus novella.

3.5* rounded down. This was very predictable: the heroine is left property (here a mermaid-themed inn) in a small town where every one is in everyone else's business and every one knows every one else and every one wishes the heroine would move back to the small town from the big city (here Toronto). The heroine is determined not to stay in the small town, especially as the hero, her first love who broke her heart, is still living here and is all grown up. Certain other small town characters are clearly set up for future instalments in this series.

There were a few developments which redeemed the second half of the book for me to an extent and they mainly concerned Clara, the hero's sister, who was a great character with an interesting story arc. I found the hero and heroine annoying and the quaint quirkiness of Moonflower/Matchmaker Bay was just too much for me (all those mermaids and raspberries and festivals and anti-festivals and parades). I would much rather live in Toronto.

The life of librarian and list maker extraordinaire, Eve Abbott, has just taken quite a twist. Her great-aunt Lucille, who was the epitome of life twists, has left the Mermaid Inn in Moonflower Bay to Eve with the stipulation that Eve can’t sell the inn for a year. Not only does this get in the way of Eve acquiring her dream job, but staying in this small town for a year absolutely cannot happen. How will she manage to avoid “He Who Shall Not Be Named," the guy who broke her eighteen-year-old heart? Not only is he still in town, but he's the police chief and an integral part of the town's fabric.

Holiday does it again with this first book in a new small-town romance series, creating a vivid, lively, inviting setting in which the reader finds herself effortlessly immersed. With quirky, colorful secondary characters and a set of spry, meddling, geriatric matchmakers, you'll find yourself falling in love and desperately wanting more of this small-town charm. And I dare you not to fall for Sawyer, a guy whose need to care, protect and do the right thing is only overshadowed by his big heart and his love for his Evie.

If you like small-town romance with unforgettable, charming characters, a swoon-worthy hero, and a heroine who learns that family can be a place and home is the people who reside in her heart, you’ll adore this wonderful, humorous, heart-warming story. Great-aunt Lucille is right, life can get twisty, but the best things are often unexpected and those twists can lead to the most rewarding life.

Mermaid Inn is a decent read. Evie fled the town ten years before after her heart was broken. Now she is back to fix up the inn her aunt left her and return to her life in Toronto. Of course, that doesn't happen. She begins a relationship with Sawyer, who broke her heart. The plot is predictable. Evie annoyed me at times and her lists were aggravating. I liked the cover. Thanks to NetGalley for the early read.

Jenny Holiday takes her funny, sparky contemporary romance voice into the world of Women’s Fiction as she explores Matchmaker Bay in Mermaid Inn.

Librarian Eve 'Don’t-Call-Her-Evie' Abbot has been named the owner of her grandmother’s beloved Mermaid Inn.  She plans on getting it repaired and turning it right around so she can get back to her busy (read: disastrous) life in the city. Evie once loved the Mermaid Inn and the town in which it was situated, but when her high school boyfriend broke her heart by cheating on her she refused to return to the place for the bad memories it spawned.  Unfortunately, when she gets stuck on the roof of the inn without a ladder, he’s the guy who arrives to help her.

That ex-boyfriend happens to be the local sheriff, Sawyer Collins, and when he sees Evie stuck on the roof of the Mermaid Inn all of his old feelings rush back. Unfortunately, things with Evie are Complicated and Sawyer Knows he Messed Up but doesn’t know how to communicate it.

As Evie struggles to modernize the Mermaid Inn, she finds herself falling back in love with Matchmaker’s Bay – and with Sawyer.  But will she go back to the city when she’s offered her dream job?  Or will Matchmaker’s Bay have its say and keep her grounded?

Jenny Holiday’s funny, breezy voice and wonderful sense of humor light Mermaid Inn’s way, and make Sawyer and Evie’s relationship take flight.

Evie is a sassy, lively mess – and while I admit I wasn’t a hundred percent on board with her list-making quirk, which sometimes takes over the narrative, that sassiness ultimately overrode this flaw.

Sawyer, meanwhile, overcame some marginally dickish behavior to become a great hero and a fun one. I really enjoyed his openness, and his eventual warmth with Evie.  His grovel and apology is magnificent and perfect.

Second chance romances are always fun, but the reader will have to traverse over the teenage mistakes that tore these two apart, which might be a bit of a problem for those who don’t like cheating, even when it’s just a kiss.  But it’s a rewarding ride in the end.

Both characters have some really great friends. I loved Maya in particular, and I liked the notion of Evie’s practical librarian ways and her struggles with her grandmother’s idea of interior design (gluing everything down to keep people from stealing it!) and hotel management (Pepto pink rooms). For Evie, her struggle is between accepting the twists and turns of life or hiding away in a safe place because she doesn’t want to deal with the rejection life has handed her.  For Sawyer, it’s how to communicate like a grown-up with the woman he loves.

The book is also about life in a small town versus life in a city, and Holiday is clear-sighted about the flaws and boons of life in a small town, from cheesy traditions to the spare beauty of life in a beach town community.

The worst flaw the book has is that sometimes the cutesy quirk gets a little too cutesy and a little too quirky.  But readers should be able to overlook that in exchange for an entertaining, wonderfully funny, romantic as all get out, easy, breezy good time at the Mermaid Inn.

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Mermaid Inn by Jenny Holiday offers readers a plethora of romance brilliance all in one book—from small town matchmakers and anti- festivals to murder mystery plays and an inn filled with mermaid memorabilia. Jenny Holiday’s newest novel follows the story of Eve and Sawyer as they meet back up after years apart. When Eve comes back to the small town to see to the inn her aunt has left in her will—she must confront her feelings for Sawyer and what happened in their past. Mermaid Inn is a second chance romance with all of the quirks, banter, romance, and loveliness that readers will expect from a Jenny Holiday novel.

I'll admit, one of the main reasons I chose to read this story is because of the cover. How beautiful is it? Completely eye catching! But then I dove into the story and got lost in the pages. This is an amazing second chance romance. I felt entwined with the characters and I felt like I met a new set of friends. I loved everything about it honestly, and hope the authors writes many more books in the series! Highly recommended!

Cute fluffy story! Easy read, good character development.

I was provided with an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

After the death of her beloved Aunt leaves librarian Eve in ownership of the falling apart Mermaid Inn, she must return to the the place she once loved but left forever after her high school sweetheart destroyed her heart. Now the police chief and sporting a stupid stupid beard that Eve absolutely does not like, not one bit, Sawyer Collins is an inescapable nuisance who also seems to be doing everything in his power to make sure Eve is happy, despite what he did all those years ago.

A slow burn romance full of heart that pays off on steam after making you die for it, this is a great series starter from Jenny Holiday! I cannot wait for more as I delighted in all the secondary characters. I especially enjoyed watching Eve and Sawyer learn to talk to one another and communicate their desires. Super sexy and I adore a second-chance romance. This one is done quite well, and Sawyer's big mistake is thoroughly explored and the grovel fits the crime.

Also! I am in the mentions of this book! I was so lucky to help Jenny just a bit, talking about library jobs! Thank you Jenny.

I reviewed a free copy from the publisher. Thank you!

Brand new Jenny Holiday series count me in!

I absolutely adored this book. This is a second chance romance set in a quirky lake town in Canada, It reminded me of watching Gilmore Girls with it's characters. Loved all of the mermaid references and home improvement.

I really loved the romance and that they had to work to get together.,

One thing for sure I am looking forward to reading book 2 in the series. I want Jake's book now!