“You’re going to love Puffin Island.” – 3.25/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: long lost families, journalists, beaches, birds, new names, swimming lessons, cute dogs, waffles and chocolate milk.

Windswept, isolated and ruggedly beautiful, Puffin Island is a haven for day-trippers and daydreamers alike. But this charming community has a way of bringing people together in the most unexpected ways…

It’s been a summer of firsts for Emily Donovan. From becoming a stand-in mom to her niece Lizzie to arriving on Puffin Island, her life has become virtually unrecognizable. Between desperately safeguarding Lizzie and her overwhelming fear of the ocean—which surrounds her everywhere she goes!—Emily has lost count of the number of “just breathe” pep talks she’s given herself. And that’s before charismatic local yacht club owner Ryan Cooper kisses her…

Ryan knows all about secrets. And it’s clear that newcomer Emily—with her haunted eyes and the little girl she won’t let out of her sight—is hiding from something besides the crazy chemistry between them. So Ryan decides he’s going to make it his personal mission to help her unwind and enjoy the sparks! But can Puffin Island work its magic on Emily and get her to take the biggest leap of trust of all—putting her heart in someone else’s hands?

My first ever Sarah Morgan book and to be completely honest, it was a little underwhelming. I liked the story and the island/birds elements, and I truly believe it had potential to become a great romance book… but it felt underdeveloped. Neither the characters or the romance were explored to their max. I would say a lot that happens in this book is just too “perfect” or convenient for the story. I’ll give you a few examples of why I felt this way:

• Lizzie, the little girl, behaved in a very unrealistic way. She literally had just lost her mother and she was an angel the entire time: there was no sign of trauma by living in a different place without a single person she knew; she trusted everyone and was open to people, she didn’t cry… nothing! She threw no tantrums and just had an instant connection with her aunt – convenient to the story, right? I’m not saying that would be impossible to happen, but I would think it’s extremely unrealistic for a kid who lost everything to be so trusting and calm so instantly.
• The romance was underwhelming. The main characters’ interactions were mostly sexual, and that would have been fine if the author sold it like that in the story. The problem is that the author sells it like it’s a really deep, soulmate connection and it never feels like that.
• The quick change of heart of the main characters. They both had very strong beliefs and trains of thoughts that they keep defending throughout the book… until they change their thoughts in a heartbeat. This was confusing to me and made the book too “perfect” and convenient. Not a fan of this as well.
• Following the last point: I was a little disappointed with the ending. If you also read the book, you know exactly what I’m talking about. I’m not going to talk about it because I don’t want to spoil anything, but It didn’t feel realistic knowing it didn’t align with the characters’ backgrounds and personal beliefs, so I personally think the ending didn’t make sense.

Now with all of this said, one curious thing happened: while I wasn’t super invested in the main characters and romance, I’m now really curious about the future relationship between Sky and Alec! I found out the third book in the series is about their romance, and for that reason only… I’m continuing the series!

Another thing I found surprising about this book is that I didn’t know it was going to be so steamy. I definitely judged the book by the cover, and I thought this would be more of a sweet kind of beach read. If that is important for you to know, keep in mind that this is steamier than it looks!

I still think the atmosphere was beautiful and inspiring, but the characters/relationships felt a little off in this one.