Ive been waiting for the story of Colfax and velvet and I was so excited when the book released.. Im so glad that Colfax decided to put his pride and insecurities aside and fight for the women that he obviously still loves her and always loved her. I really wanted Colfax to put more effort into proving to Velvet that he loved her. he spent so much time and did so much damage when he tried to convince her that it was just an affair i felt he should've done more grovelling. overall, i still enjoyed the story and im glad that velvet got her happily ever after

Brenda Jackson returns to Catalina Cove with an emotional, and steamy, story of second chances. I became intrigued by Velvet and her mysterious background while reading book five, One Christmas Wish so, of course, I was excited to learn book six would be her story. It was another satisfying visit to the place, and with the characters, who have made Catalina Cove one of my favorite fictional stops.

Whether this is your first, or sixth, visit to Catalina Cove, Jackson's descriptions bring the small bayou town to life. Each visit makes me wish even more that it was a real place. I want to walk the path along the river, start my day with the mouth-watering blueberry muffins at the Witherspoon Café, sip a cold beverage while watching the sun set, indulge in the daily soup special at the Green Fig, dig into delicious, freshly-caught seafood, and hang out with all my favorite Catalina Cove residents.

Let's talk about those residents. While each book focuses on a primary couple, Jackson surrounds them with a lively secondary cast of characters who bring friendship, conflict, and intrigue to the story. It feels very much like actually living in a small town, with all it's quirks and complications.

And then there's our main couple, Velvet and Jaye. He's set on earning a second chance. She's set on flipping the romantic tables, offering him a no-strings affair with hearts definitely not engaged. He broke hers once; she's not going to give him an opportunity to do it again. I enjoyed their journey. While they reconnected sexually almost immediately, the author took her time with them emotionally. Trust lost takes time to recapture and Velvet needed that time - along with Jaye's actions - to reach a point where she was willing to reopen her heart. It was worth the wait.

As I mentioned earlier, The House on Blueberry Lane is the sixth book in Brenda Jackson's Catalina Cove series. While characters from earlier books make appearances in this one, and Velvet was introduced in book five, it can definitely be enjoyed as a standalone. However, don't be surprised if once you finish The House on Blueberry Lane, you immediately search out the other books in the series. I recommend them all.

ARC received for fair and unbiased review

THE HOUSE ON BLUEBERRY LANE – Brenda Jackson
Catalina Cove, Book 6
HQN
ISBN: 978-1-335-62097-2
July 26, 2022
Contemporary Romance

Catalina Cove, Louisiana – Present Day

After a failed romance with a man who made it clear that he didn’t do marriage, Velvet Spencer moved to Catalina Cove, where she teaches and has built a new life. Much to her surprise, the man who she left behind in Phoenix, Jaye Colfax, is now in town to open a bank—and he’s living upstairs in the other duplex where she lives. Velvet is aware that she can’t avoid Jaye, but she hopes to make it clear to him that she has no plans to just hop back into bed with him. Yet, the sexual attraction is too hard to ignore. After battling with herself, Velvet decides that she can do a fling with Jaye to scratch the itch. After all, he’s only in town for six months.

The thing is, Jaye is in Catalina Cove because he realized soon after she left him that she was “the one.” Though he is still leery of marriage, he hopes that he can build on a relationship with her that leads to a trip down the aisle. She makes it clear that she is still stinging from his rebuffing her in Phoenix after she indicated she wanted more than to be his bed buddy. Jaye’s plan is to woo Velvet and convince her that he’s changed. Will it work?

There’s a lot of dancing around each other by Velvet and Jaye in THE HOUSE ON BLUEBERRY LANE, a return to Catalina Cove by Brenda Jackson. Their affair in Phoenix was a sizzler, but it sputtered out when Velvet realized it was going nowhere. Jaye and his brothers had been abandoned by their unfaithful mother when they were children and it soured him on marriage. Velvet exited Jaye’s life and he began to realize how much he missed her. She hadn’t told him where she’d gone but a hired PI quickly located her in the remote little town on the Louisiana coast. Now all he needed was an excuse to be there, and it comes up when his family’s company acquires a bank in Catalina Cove. And things get even better when Jaye rents the duplex above Velvet’s. However, things won’t be easy for him to land her again.

Velvet is a wealthy heiress who has blended into the background of the company that was left to her upon her parents’ untimely deaths. Instead, she does what she loves doing, being a teacher. As a side story in THE HOUSE ON BLUEBERRY LANE, she is dealing with a student who thinks math is not needed to pass his grade because he plans to be a baseball player. It doesn’t help that the boy’s dad feels the same way and they butt heads. Everything comes together by the end of the tale. Velvet resists Jaye at first, but soon they’re hitting the sheets. But she convinces herself that she will only have an affair with him until he leaves again.

I haven’t read the prior five books in the Catalina Cove series, but I had no trouble following THE HOUSE ON BLUEBERRY LANE and the minor characters that are part of the series. Velvet is beloved by all, and Jaye is soon welcomed with open arms by the people of the town. Readers will enjoy this warm-hearted tale that has plenty of sensuality to satisfy romance readers looking for heat. Be sure to not miss this enjoyable tale.

Patti Fischer