Fortunate Harbor by Emilie Richards

Join five women connected only by their growing friendship and the road that runs like a lifeline between their cottages in a run-down Florida development called Happiness Key.

Tracy Deloche finally gets a chance to swap business for a romantic evening with Marsh Egan, but dinner goes cold when she spots her ex-husband prowling outside her cottage. CJ is supposed to be in prison and out of her life for good. Exactly what is this modern-day pirate seeking and what will it mean for Tracy's future?

Janya Kapur envies every pregnant woman she sees, but Rishi, her husband, is suddenly reluctant to talk about children. Is he disappointed in her inability to conceive? Their marriage was a contract between strangers. Can they ever hope for anything more?

Waitress Wanda Gray loses her job after new owners turn the Dancing Shrimp into a tapas bar. Wise neighbor Alice Brooks's suggestion that Wanda start her own business seems like a brilliant solution, until Wanda starts Pie War I with the owners of the local bakery.

When the empty cottage at Happiness Key is rented by single mother Dana Turner, everything seems perfect. With Alice volunteering to watch Dana's daughter while she works and Wanda's offer of a job, this spit of Florida Gulf Coast land should be a fortunate harbor for a mother and daughter who have moved far too often. Except for Dana's shocking secret.

As the women of Happiness Key struggle to discover the truth in time to help their new neighbor, their only weapon is friendship. But will friendship be enough?

My Thoughts:

While Fortunate Harbor took me just about a month to read I have to say that it was not from the content... I have just been overly busy and trying to squeeze in 5 minutes here or there to read was just not cutting it. I hate that my son had to get sick before I could sit down and really devote enough time to reading this book. That being said I just finished Fortunate Harbor and I am definitely quite pleased and may have just found another author to grace my list of to read more of.

Fortunate Harbor is my first encounter with Emilie Richards and I have definitely enjoyed the ride.  This is the second book in a series, but other than the well established relationship between four of the women on Happiness Key you would never know that you have been dropped into an on going plot. Tracy Deloche is the owner of the property and the five little cottages that bless the area. The cottages are rented out to Wanda and her husband Kenny (a cop), Janya and her husband Rishi, and Alice and her Granddaughter Olivia. Like I said these four ladies were brought together previously in another book and from what I gather from the information given in Fortunate Harbor, the death of the fifth renter brought them together.

They are all experiencing shifts in some part of their lives. Alice is raising her granddaughter and trying to get her through a rough past with a father in prison and a mother who has past away.  Janya and Rishi have past the early stages of marriage and are now ready to conceive, only they are experiencing some troubles of their own that are preventing them from sealing that deal. Wanda's love of baking pies is going to move her in another direction after she walks out/loses her job working at the Dancing Shrimp. Tracy is the head of the rec department. Her love life is in tatters when both her ex and her new boyfriend's ex drop back into their lives.

Wanda brings home a stray... Dana a single mom who is running from a past that no one can guess, has every excuse in the book why she should not get caught up with these lovely ladies and let her guard down.

There is a buried treasure to be found, love to cultivate, exes to get rid of, secrets to unearth, and wonderful pies to indulge in.  This sweet read about friendship and troubled pasts was exactly that a sweet read. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a light read with little romance and no steam.

4 stars