I'm not much on books which feature fake engagements done to deal with parents but this is a well written and entertaining romance nonetheless. I liked Marcus and Quinn and hoped they would be able to get together (I knew they would in the end.) I like the Sanctuary Island books because there's always healing of old pain, which in this case is Marcus'. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. You can read this as a standalone but then you'll want to read the others. I'm hoping for another book from Everettt.

Home At Last by Lily Everett is the second book I read from her Sanctuary Island series. I am really liking the people from Sanctuary. You have your wacky town folks everyone loves, but also just good neighbors that treat everyone as family, even when they are all up on your business.

Marcus Beckett is from Sanctuary Island, but after losing his mother and walking away from his father, he never looked back. But after years in the military and protecting others, he needed to go back home. Determined to live his life on his own, he opens a bar on the island. But seducing and breaking the heart of the town's sweetheart leaves him in a tough spot.

Quinn Harper is loved by everyone on Sanctuary Island. She is happy carefree and believes in love. And then she see Marcus Beckett. She was infatuated with him for years before he left. But with a ten year difference, she knew she never had a chance. But once he is back, she worms her way into his life and he breaks her heart.

But Marcus realizes he is not good enough for Quinn. So he lets her go. But now he is the town pariah. Until Quinn makes him an offer he can't refuse. Pretend to be a couple and convince everyone, including her parents who are in their own marital problems.

This was great story of finding love and learning to let go. Quinn is good and honest and fresh air for Marcus. Marcus is dark, brooding and broken, but Quinn sees past that to the man behind all that. Can they find a way to be together? To accept each other as they are?

This was a sweet love story, with some angst and laugh out loud moments. Quinn's parents were so sweet and endearing. Marriage is hard and requires works. I loved how Quinn never gave up. A great read I would recommend.

Happy reading!

Oh, how I love a broody and broken hero and Marcus Beckett fits that mold perfectly. I, also love that the heroine, Quinn, has had a crush on him since she nearly 12 years old while he was 22. Their two contrasting personalities played off each other perfectly.

This is only my second book by Lily Everett that I have read with the first being the book immediately preceding this one, Close to Home. Close to Home introduced both Marcus and Quinn and I was looking forward to their continuing story. Along with Marcus and Quinn's story, there is a lighter romantic story line involving Quinn's parents. While I didn't necessarily care for the concurrent story lines in Close to Home, I didn't mind it in this book. The two story lines were interconnected and flowed well together.

I've truly enjoyed Home at Last and have already purchased some of Lily Everett's back list. I look forward to immersing myself in the earlier stories involving Sanctuary Island and its residents.

I just could not get into this book. It seems well written but it just didn't grab my attention at the time

In the previous book, Close to Home, we met Marcus Beckett and Quinn Harper. They both grew up on Sanctuary Island, next door neighbors, but are 10 years apart in age. Quinn always had a crush on Marcus and used to follow him around like a little puppy dog. While Marcus was away at college, his mom died of cancer. Mad at his dad for not telling him she was dying, he quit college, joined the army, and never looked back. 14 years later Marcus is back on Sanctuary Island.

Quinn is tired of her parents believing her to be flighty and never wanting to grow up. What they don't realize is that Quinn has finally found a job that she really likes and wants to make a career out of it....she just doesn't know how that job came to be!

Quinn and Marcus start dating for a little bit but he quickly breaks it off with her because he feels she deserves better than him. What he didn't understand was that breaking it off with the town's favorite resident was going to bring him nothing but problems....including no one coming to his newly opened bar.

Quinn's parents marriage has hit a brick wall. Quinn thinks that if she can show her parents that she is all grown up and settling down that they won't spend so much time arguing about her. Quinn comes up with a plan....her and Marcus pretend to be back together. This will make her parents happy and it should get the town folks coming into his bar. Marcus reluctantly agrees.

What Marcus didn't count on was that he was really enjoying being with Quinn again. When some marriage guru Quinn's mom has hired suggests that Quinn and Marcus move into her parents home for two weeks so everyone can see how well everyone gets along...that's when the fun begins!

I really liked Quinn. She was just super sweet and fun. I really liked Marcus too. He was a little brooding but based on his background it was understandable. Together they really brought out the best in each other. It was fun watching the two of them go from pretending to real very quickly.

I really enjoyed meeting Marcus father. I wish more of the story had included him...especially after the two of them aired out their grievances. I really loved Quinn and Marcus happy ending as well as Quinn's parents. Overall, another really great book from this author in such a fun, quaint town.

Marcus came back to Sanctuary Island and now owned the bar The Buttercup Inn. But it was empty but for one person Patty Cuthbert. But Marcus had screwed then dumped Sanctuary island’s sweetheart Quinn. This town takes care of it’s own per Patty. When Marcus came home the first thing he did was sleep with Quinn the literal girl next store and ten years younger than him. Marcus had let Quinn move upstairs. Every time Marcus was in the same room as Quinn her sunshine smile and cute freckles made him itch to touch her. Quinn stopped to Marcus. Quinn said she could get the townspeople to come into the bar and stop boycotting it all Marcus had to do was pretend to be Quinn’s boyfriend for the next four weeks as her parents seem to be fighting over her and this would show them she had a job and a serious boyfriend. But in a month would be their thirtieth wedding anniversary if Quinn couldn’t get them to renew their vows inside a month she would let them go and get a divorce if that was what they wanted. Quinn told Marcus not to worry she knew they weren’t really back together but the town knew they had been together and would verify it to her parents. It wouldn’t be much according to Quinn a couple of dinners maybe a picnic or something. Just enough to make her parents believe they were in love. Then Marcus agreed to it. Marcus told Quinn he needed her to promise not to get caught up in the act. Quinn had a moment of doubt about her ability to get through the next four weeks with her heart and sanity intact. Marcus hated how Quinn's Parents hurt her without meaning to. Then Marcus proposed to Quinn as all Marcus could think about was protecting Quinn from pain. Quinn’s mother Ingrid had a marriage Guru Ron and he came to Sanctuary island from N. Mexico to supposedly help Quinn’s parents fix their marriage. Then Ingrid invited Quinn and Marcus to also stay with them as well as Ron. Marcus gave in and said he would stay the two weeks with her parents as that is how long Ron would be there.
I liked this story a lot. It had a good plot and well written. I liked how Marcus tried to put Quinn first even if she didn’t see it that way. I liked Quinn as a person she was really a sweet person and she definitely loved Marcus no doubt about that. I felt bad that Marcus had lost people he loved and he felt guilt for Buttercup’s death. I was glad when he finally talked to his dad. This was just a good enjoyable read and I loved how the story was ended. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this story and I recommend.

Another lovely story in the Sanctuary Island series, the reader will not be disappointed at all. Great characters and emotions, you are so engrossed in the story you forget what time it is. Wonderful!

This is #6 in the Sanctuary Island series.  Marcus and Quinn grew up together as neighbors.  Quinn had a crush on Marcus as a teen.  He was lost because he lost his mother and left Sanctuary Island.  Marcus has been back trying to get his bar going, but he made a mistake by dumping the town's sweetheart, Quinn.  What is Marcus to do?  Quinn comes up with a plan- a 4 week fake engagement.

"Home is where the heart is" is the first thing us readers will read in the description.  I think both Marcus and Quinn had to find their true home and by doing so, they found their heart in one another.



Another great book in the Sanctuary Island!!


☆☆☆☆☆
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.
Recommend this book? Yes! Author? Yes!
Read more from this author? Yes!

This is the latest of the Sanctuary Island series and it is just as good as all the others. I have loved this series but Ms Everett at the beginning of the book tells the reader that this couple was one of her favorites and I can see why. Marcus is such cranky curmudgeon and Quinn is such a light happy person that it was so much fun to watch this couple get together. Quinn's mom and dad are also going through issues and they play a big part in this book. This has just been such a wonderful series that I hope it continues! Thanks as always to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book for an honest review.

HOME AT LAST by Lily Everett is a wonderfully heartwarming story of love, loss, and learning to believe in yourself again, set in the stunning community of Sanctuary Island. Quinn Harper is a vibrant and likeable character who has loved Marcus since she was a child, even though he carelessly tossed her to one side after their brief relationship when he returned to the island. Now her parents are back home but they are struggling with their own relationship and Quinn will do anything to stop them from making some rash decisions like selling her childhood home or get a divorce - even make up a fictitious boyfriend. Now all she needs to do is convince Marcus to play the part...

Marcus Beckett is back on Sanctuary Island hoping to make a life for himself with his new bar. But having hurt Quinn, the whole island is avoiding him and his new Inn. When Quinn informs him of her plan to save her family, while at the same time restoring his chances at making his business a success, he foolishly agrees. But as Marcus and Quinn spend more time together, it becomes harder to control the incredible heat between them. But Marcus has shut his heart off from love, as he has always lost those that mattered most, and he believes that Quinn is better off without him.

Throw in a relationship guru with an ulterior motive, some standing stones, and an old relationship that needs to be confronted, and HOME AT LAST by Lily Everett is a story that will melt your heart and make you swoon in all the right places. With strong, relatable characters, magical scenery, and well-paced throughout there is never a dull moment in this story - a top read!

When I read the previous book, in my heart I wanted to have the story of Marcus Beckett and I was happy to see that the author did it.
Marcus and Quinn have an old story. Although he is ten years older than her, it has never stopped her from wanting to have something more with him. He was about to go to college and she was still a girl riding a bike on Sanctuary Island, and that made him to give her the nickname Turbo.
At that time, his mother dies of cancer and being hurt by a mount of things, Marcus leaves the town and enlists in militarism.

14 years ahead he returns to Sanctuary Island.
Quinn is no longer a child, but Marcus, despite being drawn to her, still thinks he was not the right man for her.
Quinn was inconsequential, but she still kept that girl-like way, and everyone in town loved her.
Facing problems with her parents - they were almost divorcing - Quinn asks Marcus for help, and for that they would have to make the whole town believe they had a serious relationship.
Marcus is reluctant to accept, but this fake romance would also give him some benefit since, because of her, his bar was being boycotted by the locals.

While they kept the façade of in love, and help her parents realize that they should not break up, Marcus and Quinn are better known each other: their desires, their fears and plans. And when he least expects it, Marcus finds himself in love with Quinn for real.
But it was all pretense and the courtship would end. Or not...

I loved the connection between the characters. Complex and fun. And the ending was perfect.
5 stars

Alternately funny and heart-warming and sexy, I really enjoyed this dual story of two couples finding out what real love is.

Marcus and Quinn’s story started in the previous book. Marcus is battling his demons and Quinn was his ray of sunshine until he pushed her away. Marcus has daddy issues, is ex-military, ex-secret service, returned to his small hometown on an island to open a bar.

Quinn is the hometown sweetheart. She is lighthearted, caring, moves from job to job and is still trying to figure out who she is.

When Marcus broke up with her, the town sided with her, of course. This puts his business in jeopardy, as none of the town will go there now. Quinn goes to Marcus with a plan to help them both.

The whole issue with Quinn’s parents, and “Dr.” Ron’s involvement had my eyes rolling. I wanted to yell at her dad to grow a pair. Her flighty mom was ridiculous. And Quinn feeling responsible for her parents’ happiness? How old is she?

I found it hard to believe Marcus caved so quickly and easily to Quinn’s request to be her fake boyfriend. This doesn’t jibe with his character in the previous book.

This book focused more on Quinn’s parent’s issues than Marcus and Quinn. Not enough was spent actually with them and working out their issues. This is my second book by this author. I am not inspired to continue with the series.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC provided by NetGalley.

*Happy sigh* I expected to enjoy this one. I had really enjoyed getting to know Quinn and Marcus is the previous book. They had great chemistry and serious baggage and brought out the best in each other even though they didn't really realize it. I wasn't expecting all the feels and alll the sweetness that this story contained. Plus, there's a fake relationship!! I love a fake relationship! And with all good fake relationships the reasoning makes some sense, benefits both characters and is totally a cover for the fact that this really isn't such a fake couple after all.
I loved getting to know Marcus better. In the previous book there were slight hints as to his past and while it took awhile to get the full story I enjoyed the peeks behind his reserve - especially his friendship with. It's Patty.
Quinn's parents play a big role in the story and and the plot is very much focused on their marriage. I normally worry when a character gets too wrapped up in their parents' lives as it can feel a bit childlike. However, in this case the concern made a lot of since. As well I didn't feel like Quinn's reaction was too off the mark. My parents got divorced when I was an adult and there is a certain feeling of being adrift - and I was a whole lot more settled than Quinn was. I also really enjoyed that the book really shows the challenges of a long term marriage and how it can be as difficult or more difficult than a relationship that is just starting out.
This was a really wonderful contemporary romance that focuses on a number of different relationships with all the complications and wonder. I truly enjoued this visit to Sanctuary Island and loved getting to know Quinn and Marcus.

DNF @ 38%

I tried to give this book a chance, I really did, because although I didn’t like Quinn in the last book (Close to Home), I did like Marcus. For me, their secondary romance was an annoying distraction in the last book, but I’d already agreed to review this one, so I wanted to give it a chance.

So I tried. I got to around 20% and had to put it down because of something ridiculous. I tried again, got to almost 40% and realised that I just didn’t care how this ended. Well, actually, I already knew how it ended but I didn’t want to read it.

Mostly because of Quinn. Everyone in her life – her parents, Marcus, the entire flipping island – infantilises her. And Quinn lets them, practically encourages them. She’s twenty six! Plenty of people don’t know at that age what they want to do with their lives, and that’s fine, but it’s the way she flits about, wilfully not growing up or getting serious – even about a job she truly loves – that irritates me. Then there’s her broken heart, which she completely set herself up for.

Marcus was never her boyfriend. It was sex. They never went out on dates, they weren’t seen in public, they just slept together. Which is what Quinn lied to Marcus about wanting, and he told her it was all he had to give. It was only when she started using their relationship – and working in the bar – as an excuse not to take her supposedly dream job that Marcus pulled the plug. And woe, poor little Quinny is broken hearted and so sad, so the entire island must boycott his bar in return.

Really? Because it’s his fault she's immature and can’t handle anything happening in her life. No, no, it’s not and Quinn should have sorted that shit out, not come up with her ridiculous scheme to keep her parents together by pretending to date Marcus.

Which Marcus makes worse by proposing. That was when I lost all sympathy for him. You want her so badly, even though she’s shallow, flighty and has zero empathy and pushes you to talk about subjects that are clearly painful, before she gets angry about you walking off because she’s too self-absorbed to realise you’re hurting? Well, good luck, buddy! I’m out.

And that was when I realised I didn’t want to finish this book. Quinn is clearly never going to grow up, and with Marcus to look after her she won’t ever have to. I don’t know what he gets in return, or even what he sees in her, because to me they seem all wrong for each other, but that’s what this book is heading for and I didn’t want to know.

Quinn Harper had been in love with Marcus Beckett since she was a very young girl. They lived next door and she was always hanging around his house with his mother who was always good to Quinn. She never made her feel like she was a bother. Marcus was ten years older than she was but she was certain he could love her, too. Then his mom died and he left Sanctuary Island for good.

Marcus Beckett was supposed to be a doctor like his father but when his mom died, he left home and joined the army. He was bitter towards his dad who he felt never understood him and kept him from his dying mother. He had come back to Sanctuary Island to open The Buttercup Inn (a bar) but he had started and ended a relationship with Quinn Harper. The residents of the island loved Quinn and were never going to forgive Marcus for hurting Quinn. Quinn came to him with a proposal. She wanted him to be her fake boyfriend so help save her parents marriage. Marcus secretly loved Quinn but felt he wasn't good enough for her. She deserved someone better than him.

I won't give away the story's ending but there is a happily ever after ending. I enjoyed this story very much. It is the second in the series that I have read. My one criticism of the book is the sex. It isn't as descriptive or graphic as some other books but I still felt it wasn't necessary to get the fact that Quinn and Marcus had chemistry.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Quinn Harper has loved Marcus Beckett for as long as she can remember, but the one time she convinced him to give them a shot he wound up breaking her heart. But she hasn't quite given up on him yet, she knows that they would be good together, and hopes that eventually he will see it too, and finally come around. When she discovers her parents marriage is starting to unravel she comes up with a little plan to keep them together, but now she just has to convince Marcus to go along... and maybe just maybe he'll see what he's been missing out on all along!

After living life on the dangerous side for the last few years Marcus Beckett is ready to give it all up for something a little calmer, and knows returning home to Sanctuary Island might just give him exactly that. But some of the folks in town might not be so happy to see him return, they haven't forgotten about him breaking their beloved resident Quinn Harper's heart... which might make his little plan to open a successful business in town a little difficult. Now he is forced to try and prove to them that he made a mistake, one that he doesn't plan on repeating, and lucky for him Quinn has the perfect plan in place to make that happen!

This charming little read whisked me off to Sanctuary Island, introduced me to some endearing characters that stole my heart, and had me never wanting to leave! This was my first read from this author and I have to say her beautifully crafted story not only warmed my heart, but also turned me into a fan, one that plans to make a return visit to the series very soon! This story had it all, touching story line, swoon worthy romance, and a charming little town filled with some truly unforgettable characters that I can't wait to get back to! Highly recommend you give this one a try, it is sure to give you the feels, touch your heart, and take you on a very enjoyable literary escape!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this title.

There’s so much to love about Sanctuary Island and Lily Everett once again delivers a romance that shows off the quirky, small town personality that sets the stage for her stories. There’s a fake engagement, second chances at love and family ties, a scam artist, and of course all the wonderful personalities that make up this tight-knit town.

Although this was Marcus and Quinn’s story, Quinn’s parents played a big role in everything that goes down – especially when Quinn finds out that she may be one of the contributing factors to her parents’ marriage problems. Asking Marcus to pretend to be her boyfriend seems like the best plan of attack to show her parents that she is settling down…but when Marcus suddenly announces they are engaged and then Quinn’s parents want them to move in with them for a couple weeks for some serious marriage/family counseling, it’s only a matter of time before the act become more real than show.

Marcus and Quinn were seriously hot together. You could always feel the underlying sparks that would fly every time these two would even so much as think about each other. It was fun watching them both try to keep their arrangement in the friend zone – especially when they had to share Quinn’s old room. But of course those sparks made it near impossible for them to keep their hands off each other – especially when they had to share a bed.

There were several other subplots going on that were nicely woven into Marcus and Quinn’s story and helped set the stage for their shot at a second chance, the two biggest being Quinn’s parent’s marriage problems and Marcus’s estrangement from his father.

Quinn’s parents were struggling to find a new normal now that her dad had retired. Their marriage was hitting some serious bumps and the marriage counselor they have brought in may have more than counseling on his agenda – and he has sucked Marcus and Quinn into his counseling drama. Watching Quinn’s parents struggle was heart-breaking at times and I found myself rooting for them to get their happy ever after as well. You could just feel the love pouring off of her dad and the frustration coming from her mom, and it was so hard to see them both so hurt.

Marcus also has some issues from his past he needs to deal with, namely settling things between himself and his father, a man he hasn’t spoken to since he left home after his mother died. He’s always blamed his dad for not letting him know sooner that his mother was closet to dying, which denied him the chance to come home to say goodbye before she passed. And when Quinn goes to visit Marcus’s dad and we find out there is something important that Marcus needs to know but he’s too bull-headed to go see the man and find out, I couldn’t help but keep hoping that Marcus would man-up and at least see his father and maybe start the healing process.

One of the things I really liked was that when Marcus and Quinn realized that their attraction may have run deeper than the physical, they both agreed to try and see where a relationship may lead – not a lot of angst and drama around it, they both just came to the same conclusion and decided to see where things went. And with the drama surrounding Quinn’s parents, it was nice not to have to deal with too much drama between these two.

Once again I was captivated by all the happenings on Sanctuary Island. The townspeople all play a part in adding color and personality to these books, and as I’ve said before, I think this is a place I’d really like to find on the map. Even though this is a series I think you can easily read this one as a stand-alone. Marcus and Quinn show up in the previous book, but I don’t think their story loses anything if you start here. I would definitely recommend this book and series as one to try!

After falling in love with her last novel, Close to Home, I pounced upon Lily Everett’s Home at Last, and I am delighted to say that I was not the slightest bit disappointed. Heartwarming, believable and captivating from start to finish, Home at Last is a poignant and passionate read you will not easily forget!

Marcus Beckett had left the small town of Sanctuary Island after his mother’s funeral for the bright city lights where he had found employment as a bodyguard. However, the stress and danger of his job had soon got to him and Marcus had decided that there really was no place like home, so he had packed his bags and headed back to his home town and started running the neighbourhood bar. Life for Marcus was a pretty lonely and desolate one – until he clapped eyes on Quinn Harper, Sanctuary Island’s sweetheart and the town’s golden girl. Mutual desire had quickly given way to a passion that simply couldn’t be denied. But despite the fact that Quinn had unearthed feelings deep in Marcus which he had never felt before, he knew that their relationship did not have any hope of surviving, so he decided that the only choice he had was to dump Quinn and to go back to his solitary existence. But little did Marcus realise that his decision to end things with Quinn was going to incur the wrath of the town’s residents and with his best customers now refusing to cross his threshold, he realises that he’s got to come up with a plan – or else risk losing not just his livelihood, but the peaceful life which he treasures so much. Luckily for him, kind-hearted Quinn has come up with the perfect solution to put a stop to all of his troubles: a fake four-week relationship!

Distraction is something Quinn is desperately in need of. She needs to keep her mind off her parents’ marital troubles and if her neighbours desist from this ridiculous grudge against Marcus and go back to drinking in his bar, so much the better. But Quinn hadn’t counted on their convenient arrangement leading to something far deeper – something that will not just ignite the spark of desire that sizzles between them, but will also heal both of their hearts.

Will Quinn and Marcus’ fake engagement become the real thing? Or are there too many obstacles standing in the way of their happy ever after?

There is magic on every page of Lily Everett’s Home at Last. Romantic, emotional, dramatic and simply spellbinding from beginning to end, Lily Everett aims straight for the heart and does not miss with this beguiling and enthralling tale that I just couldn’t bear to put down. Humour, sensuality, passion and emotion are deftly intertwined in this unforgettable romantic read and readers are sure to fall in love with brooding Marcus and spirited Quinn.

Captivating, thrilling and emotional from start to finish, if you’re looking for the contemporary romance of the year, then look no further than Lily Everett’s Home at Last!