Member Reviews

"Sandcastle Inn" by Irene Hannon is a charming and heartwarming read that seamlessly blends romance and personal growth against the backdrop of a picturesque coastal town. The story follows a widowed innkeeper, who grapples with her past while navigating the complexities of reopening her family’s seaside inn. Hannon masterfully crafts relatable characters, each dealing with their own challenges, which adds depth to the narrative.

The setting is beautifully described, evoking a sense of nostalgia and longing, making readers feel as if they’re walking along the sandy shores themselves. The themes of healing, community, and second chances resonate throughout the book, making it both uplifting and reflective.

Hannon’s writing is engaging and lyrical, pulling readers into the emotional journey of the characters. Overall, "Sandcastle Inn" is a delightful escape that will leave you with a warm heart and a renewed belief in the power of love and resilience. Perfect for fans of contemporary romance, this novel is a wonderful addition to Hannon's body of work.

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This was a great listen. The Sandcastle Inn by Irene Hannon was upbeat with a few twists in the plot. I enjoyed this book.

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Irene Hannon does it again. I absolutely love this series and all the characters. I have been reading these books for years, and she delivers another amazing story again. It is an easy read that will keep you engaged from page one. You will fall in love with these characters as a stand-alone novel or as part of this long series. I would highly recommend this book to all of my friends and family. It is a clean romance novel with Christian themes such as prayer.

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Title: Sandcastle Inn
By: Irene Hannon

Genre:
Fiction, Christian, Romance, Contemporary

Memorable Quotes:
"Expecting perfection may be a bit arrogant. Only God is perfect.”

“The danger of being too locked into plans is that we can breeze right past forks in the road that could lead to an even better destination than the one we had in mind.”

Summary/Review:
After an intense hardship, Matt Quinn takes a career break as a veterinarian. He moves in with his sister Kay and attempts to help her renovate a bed and breakfast. Sandcastle Inn needs extensive renovations and suddenly, Matt finds himself completing most of the repairs on his own. Vienna Price has taken a hit in her career, and as a last resort finds herself back at home. Her mom, Bev, knows everyone in town and quickly works to help Vienna find a temporary place to land her feet. I love Irene Hannon books! She is one of my favorite authors for a quick pick me up, good feeling story.

When I began reading this novel, I wasn’t aware it was part of a series. The novel is written in a way that stands on its own. With no prior knowledge of the series, I was still able to read along and devoured Hannon’s writing. She has a talent for drawing a reader into the storyline, the characters are flawed, yet relatable and realistic. The overall theme of love lost and found, is worth the quick, unforgettable read! I can’t wait to read the other volumes in this Hope Harbor Series.

Thank you to Irene Hannon, RB Media, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

#reluctantreaderreads
#Sandcastleinn
#Irenehannon
#RBmedia
#netgalley
#audiobook
#advancedreadereditions

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"Sandcastle Inn" is a sweet, contemporary romance of two people who are struggling to find their way.

Vienna Price has had a difficult relationship with her mother over the years, mostly because they are polar opposites. So, when she loses her job and goes home to regroup, she doesn't have high hopes for a peaceful visit. And yet, things have changed...

And when Matt Quinn visits town to bail his sister out of a mess she's gotten herself into, the last thing he expects to find is someone who might just possibly mend his broken heart.

I truly enjoyed the storyline, as two people try to find their way through their troubles to find happiness and love again. And there were some great secondary characters as well, each of whom provided useful insights and inspiration to help Vienna and Matt along their journey to wholeness and, ultimately, each other.

I only just noticed that this is the tenth book in a series. So it definitely worked effectively as a standalone story, but I may just have to go find some of the other installments in the series too. :-)

Thank you to Irene Hannon, RB Media, and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

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This was such a fun return to Hope Harbor! Sandcastle Inn was such a wonderful place to visit. Not only do we get a romance between Matt and VIenna but a wonderful mother-daughter relationship as well. I love all the little nuggets of wisdom throughout the book. Charley is one of my all-time favorite characters...along with Floyd and Gladys. The banter between Father Murphy and Reverend Baker is top-notch as usual. I really hope there will be more Hope Harbor books!

I read/listened to this book in one day and love Therese Plummer's narration.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: 2 April 2024

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This one starts out a little dismal but ends up alright. There were lots of characters that were struggling through issues in this book and they all seemed to find their way just fine. It did feel like at times there was maybe some excess plot or just some things that weren’t really needed for the story or the romance. The romance also felt like it wasn’t really focused on and then all the sudden they love each other.

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I really enjoyed this book. As always Irene Hannon's writing captures the reader and draws them into the seaside town of Hope Harbour. I love that there are so many storylines that are woven together to remind the reader of God's love and the love relationships can bring us. It's also great to see the recurring characters throughout the series such as Charley, and the seagulls. The narrator was well chosen. She spoke clearly and with animation that drew me into the story.

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Sandcastle inn is a sweet contemporary romance novel set in Hope Harbour. I had no idea that this was actually the tenth book in the series.

Matt Quinn is a veterinarian who visits his sister, Kay, to help her manage and revamp her BnB.

Vienna Price has lost her job so she ventures out to her mother in Hope Harbour. Where she later spends her time helping Matt as he gives the inn some much need tlc.

I actually liked Andrew and Paige so much! Much more than the main characters actually so I hope they get their own book!

Overall, it's a sweet romance. However, there wasn't anything that stood out to me. Personally, I prefer Irene's Romantic suspense as opposed to contemporary romances.

My rating is 3 stars.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Author for the Audiobook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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SANDASTLE INN is a sweet story about fresh starts, forgiving yourself, letting go, and pushing through when life is difficult. It's about family, friendship, trust, and love. Fans of clean romance, Christian romance and this author will enjoy spending time in this cozy beach town with these lovable characters.

This was a nice escape read and perfect for readers looking for a beach read. I enjoyed these characters from the start. They're flawed and complicated while also being likable and people I'd love to have as family or friends in real life. There's also two different storylines, the first on two characters who are supposed to be visiting and find themselves slipping into love, and second a married couple who are trying to find their way. I liked the first storyline the most while also finding the second enjoyable. I love that initial shock of chemistry between two people and watching them fall in love. I thought the author did a good job letting these characters figure things out and work through their challenges to sweet, happy endings, which allowed for a bit of character development. The inspirational elements were weaved through well and didn't feel forced. I also really enjoyed the story and the setting. Who wouldn't want to escape to a cozy seaside town and a bed and breakfast under renovation? Plus one of the characters owns a bookshop. It was a nice little escape and rejuvenation as a reader.

In the end, was it what I wished for? This was an enjoyable story from beginning to end. It was a great setting, with lovable characters, and a sweet romance. Definitely a recommended read!

Content: Clean
Source: I received a complimentary copy through Celebrate Lit, which did not require a positive review. All opinions are my own.

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I requested Sandcastle Inn because I am a fan of Irene Hannon. I was unaware though that this is the tenth book in a series. I was able to follow the story line, so I believe it could easily be read as a standalone.
I absolutely loved the characters and would love to live in a town like Hope Harbor. I am now going to go back and catch up with all of these great character's from the beginning.
Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for my audio ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

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I listened to this title via audiobook narration. This charming romance takes place in a small coastal town in Oregon and not any surprise to me, involves a dilapidated Bed and Breakfast in need of repair. Vienna just lost her high powered, prestigious job and returns to the seaside town of Hope Harbor, where her mother has retired to. They have had a strained relationship in the past so having to share this unsettling news with her mother makes VIenna reticent to arrive in Hope Harbor.
Kay purchases the antiquated B&B but needs to return back to her home to take care of her surrogate mother after her surgery, so she leaves her brother, Matt, to refurbish the outdated Inn before he has to return to his veterinary practice.
Paige and Andrew are down on their luck due to embezzlement from their once successful construction business and are living in a borrowed tent for the time being. Paige's parents never accepted Andrew. This left a strong rift in Paige and Andrew's relationship with them, leaving the chasm between them six years of not speaking.
There are few other endearing characters, including Charlie, the local taco maker, who is, also, very wise.
There are relationship and situational conflicts that ebb and flow, but things have a way of working out in the end.... don't they?
I love this delightful story and I want to be pulled into this town to get to know everyone there. The charm of the characters and their alacrity to help each other drew me into this story immediately. I absolutely adored the two resident seagulls, Floyd and Gladys, who Hannon weaved throughout to make this story even more endearing. How have I never seen this series before now? I am hooked and want to read more!!
Thanks to #NetGalley and #BakerPublishingGroup for the advanced reader's copy. All thought and opinions are my own.

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I have read six of the books in this series and was really happy to get back into this hopeful and inspiring world author Irene Hannon has created. The name of Hope Harbor is so fitting for the way this book reads, it makes you believe in miracles, in people, and fresh chances. I really liked the small-town vibes. It played out like a Hallmark movie but better.
I listened to the audiobook version and Therese Plummer did a great job narrating the entire story. I felt like she did the different POVs well enough to be able to follow along and know which perspective the story was currently being told in. She was easy to listen to and carried the dialogue well. Something I liked about this book in particular was the way it followed not just one couple, but two. I really liked the way everyone's lives interconnected and how the author used that to show how we can have an impact on one another as well as how we can unknowingly be the answer to another's prayers.
The book was enjoyable, it was easy to listen to, and had a really happy ending that made me smile. I recommend both this book and the audiobook version.
I received an advance listening copy from Netgalley and RB Media. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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This was a fantastic, wholesome, enjoyable audiobook with a great narrator. There was just the right amount of characters to get to know and keep track of. A brother comes to help his sister with a B&B that she purchased, a daughter who lost her job comes to regroup at her mom’s, and a couple who’s down on their luck comes to town to start over. I enjoyed how they were all woven into each other’s lives & how they helped one another. The ending had a little twist and I truly enjoyed it. I look forward to the next book in the series.
This would also be a fantastic beach read this summer.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this great arc audiobook.

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Sandcastle Inn (Hope Harbor #10)
Irene Hannon
This is the 10th installment I the Hope Harbor series. Sandcastle Inn stands well alone; I had no idea this was a series.
Vienna Price returned to Oregon for a short visit with her mother and to formulate a new plan for her life; she had recently lost her job which was her life. Vienna loves her mother but the two look at the world with very different perspectives. Her plan is to stay in a hotel to avoid confrontation with her mother.
Veterinarian Matt Quinn came to Hope Harbor to help Kaye, his sister and for rest and relaxation. The loss of his wife and daughter a few years before left him feeling hopeless. His sister purchased a bed and breakfast sight unseen. He was shocked at the condition of the place; it needed work desperately. His sister had to leave town to take care of a friend leaving Matt to deal with the bed and breakfast.
Vienna’s expertise is with hotels and bed and breakfast; she offers to assist Matt in the remodeling process and rebranding.
Hope Harbor is a unique town; I do not know of anywhere that is so friendly, helpful and filled with hope. This tale features three situations that are sad and seem hopeless. Vienna lost her job, which was so important to her. Matt lost his family. Andrew and Paige are down on their luck and living in a tent. They all come to Hope Harbor sad and feeling hopeless, but they discover hope in Hope Harbor. This book is filled with the Christian theme of hope and forgiveness.
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book for review.

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4.5 Stars! When I requested to read Sandcastle Inn by Irene Hannon I was not aware that it was the tenth book in the Hope Harbor series. That being said, I discovered that it could easily be read as a stand-alone book. I believe that Irene Hannon included a few characters who appeared in all the books in this series but also introduced new characters into each subsequent book. Sandcastle Inn was my first book that I had read by Irene Hannon and the first book that I had read in this series. I.istened to the audiobook that was narrated by Therese Plummer. She did an excellent job narrating this book. The pace of the book was perfect and it was well plotted. Irene Hannon masterfully included elements of romance, hope and second chances in her book, Sandcastle Inn.

As the title suggests, the tenth book in this series was about the Sandcastle Inn, an inn that was in dire need of repairs and renovations if Kay, the new owner of the Inn, was going to convert her recent purchase into a thriving and successful Bread and Breakfast. The Sandcastle Inn was located in the small, quaint town of Hope Harbor that was situated off the coast of Oregon. Its need for repairs beckoned several of the characters towards its location and served as the backdrop for their newly formed relationships.

Among the characters was Matt Quinn, Kay’s younger brother, who had taken an extensive break from his veterinarian practice in San Francisco to help his sister get the Sandcastle Inn up and running. Matt had recently suffered a very tragic loss. His arrival in Hope Harbor was meant to not only help his sister with getting the repairs started on the Sandcastle Inn but also to help himself try and recover from his loss. Kay was grateful for Matt’s presence because she was traveling back to where she and Matt had grown up. The woman who had practically adopted them when their parents died was having major surgery and Kay wanted to be there for her.

Another visitor to Hope Harbor was Vienna Price. Vienna’s mother, Bev, had settled in Hope Harbor a few years ago. Bev owned a bookstore there and marched to the beat of her own drum. Her wardrobe was quirky as were some of her ideas. Above everything else, Bev wanted nothing more than to rekindle her relationship with her daughter, Vienna. Her parenting skills had not always been conventional but she loved Vienna with her whole heart. Vienna had decided to visit her mother but had reservations about how much time they should actually spend together. She loved her mother but too much time spent together in close quarters might prove problematic. It had been a long time since the two of them had spent time together. Vienna had been so absorbed in climbing the corporate ladder in her job that she rarely made time for anything else. All the hours and devotion she had put into her job had been wasted and totally overlooked by her boss she realized when she was let go from her position. Vienna saw this as an opportunity to reconnect with her mother so she headed for Hope Harbor.

Then there was Andrew and Paige. They were a married couple who were down on their luck. A person that they had trusted impeccably took advantage of their trust and destroyed their business and reputation not to mention that that person absconded with all their money. Andrew and Paige were homeless and broke but their love for one another was so strong. How would the Sandcastle Inn become the catalyst for all these people to come together, learn how to hope again, find purpose, get a second chance at life and find romance?

I have to mention that I really enjoyed the character of Charley, the man who operated the fish taco stand in Hope Harbor. It was my understanding that Charley was a character that had appeared in prior books in this series. He was wise and his advice was often very good and worth following. Charley also claimed an affinity with two sea gulls named Floyd and Gladys. All the characters, old and new, were flawed and because of that they were endearing and believable. The Hope Harbor series was an enjoyable find. Even though I read the tenth book first, I totally enjoyed it and hope to read more books in this series including the first one. I highly recommend Sandcastle Inn by Irene Hannon.

Thank you to RB Media for allowing me to listen to the audiobook of Sandcastle Inn by Irene Hannon through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Super cute cozy romance. A bit on the religious side. But still a good read for those of us not religious.

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"Sandcastle Inn" is the tenth book in the Hope Harbor series, written by Irene Hannon and narrated by Thérèse Plummer. Although this is the first book I have read or listened to in the series, I found the characters to be believable and delightful, even the secondary characters, such as Paige and Andrew, a couple who have fallen on hard times after a business failure. The story revolves around the restoration of an inn on the Oregon coast and is wonderfully charming.

Vienna Price, a marketing professional, is down on her luck and has returned to Hope Harbor to regroup and visit her mother, Bev. When she decides to help Matt and Kay upgrade the bed and breakfast, she soon finds a new direction for her life.

Matt Quinn, a veterinarian, comes to town to help his sister's struggling B&B while she's away to help a friend. He's not prepared for the amount of work the inn needs and had hoped to take the time to decompress after some shattering losses.

The book has many different stories, making it entertaining and enjoyable right to the end. However, I did find that the ending was a bit rushed, as everything seemed to come together within a few pages or minutes in the audiobook version.

Thérèse Plummer did a great job narrating the characters in this story, and I really enjoyed her portrayal of them.

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Audiobook Sandcastle Inn
Series: Hope Harbor Book #10 (Hope is a Great name for this series!)
Author: Irene Hannon
Genre: Romance (An Inspirational Feel Good story)
Format: 🎧
Audiobook Narrator: Therese Plummer
Publisher: RB Media
Pub Date was: April 2. 2024
Star Rating: 5 Stars
Pages: 354

Hope Harbor, Oregon is the star of this series.
Charlie Lopez is an artist and fish taco maker, who makes one kind taco a day – today it is the catch of the day so a rock fish it is.
Matt Quinn is a vet and in town visiting his sister Kay and helping supervise the renovation on her new but ‘need in repair, B &B ‘The Beach View Inn’ on Starfish Road. Matt has no idea why his sister brought the Inn as she has never expressed an interesting being an innkeeper.
What even worst is she is out of town helping a very dear friend who is recovering from surgery.

Matt is not familiar with the town folk and not sure how to go about finding workers.
His sister Kay is out of town helping a friend so it is up to Matt.
The suggestion is made to check out the community bulletin board which is at "Bev’s Book Nook” a local bookstore. Bev, is a retired librarian and the owner of the bookstore and is able to show Matt a new post from a carpenter.
Bev doesn’t know the couple Andrew and Paige Thomas but got the impressing they were in need work. Bev also suggests her daughter Vienna Price who is visiting and has works had a high end hotel and might add valuable renovation suggestion.

Matt now has a team all are dealing with some personal difficulties and end up renovating the Inn but also some repairs with their own lives.
The back stories from all these characters will have you in love with all of them.

This is Number Ten in this series and although it was my first – I loved this story as well as the characters. I read a lot of thrillers and sometime a nice enjoyable story full of hope is just right!
Story is listed as Christian and I know many readers are turned off by that – they think they are going to be forced to read about religion; which is not the case. Story is really an inspirational story - asking for God’s help when things are bad ~ instead of screaming profanity as what happened in a lot of the stories I read.

I truly am looking forward to next in this series.

Want to thank NetGalley and RB Media for granting me this audio Galley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for April 2, 2024.

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This sweet mystery left me smiling. I enjoyed the coastal setting. Vienna’s evolving relationship with her mom, how both main characters dealt with their different types of grief, and several characters discovering new dreams were all highlights for me. I liked learning about the marketing research that goes into details large and small when (re)launching a B&B. The narrator differentiated characters well and the pacing rolled with the level of intensity in the plot. Although in the Hope Harbor series this novel can easily be read alone. Those who have read others will enjoy references to characters from previous titles. Recommended.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a review audiobook. All opinions expressed are my own.

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