Vacancy

This sixth book in the Love Story series continues the pull at the heartstrings writing that Ms Ewens established beginning with in the first book. Matt and Hollis' story is emotional and self reflective, yet riddled with witty banter, and sharp, smart dialogue, all encompassing a story that centers around love and family. Ms Ewens writes about strong women who have so much depth and dimension, their personalities are genuine and not simply contrived...they each are unique and have a life all their own.

That the author continues to incorporate the characters from the previous books into her current story is genius in that it reminds the reader just how much of the emotional attachment that was created with those characters...and to the extent they still affect us. All the secondary characters played such a pivotal part in the rhythm and flow of the story, the bond between Hollis and her sisters was poignant and humorous at the same time. Uncle Matt is a gem, oh that we all could have a relative who understood us so well...and the culmination of Sage and Garrett's story from Stirred with their wedding, was quite touching. I continue to look for more books by this author as I know I'll never be disappointed and always entertained with the getting lost in a good story.

This book was provided by the Publisher and Netgalley for my honest review.

I received a copy of this story from NetGalley for an honest review.

This is my first Tracy Ewens book, and I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It took me a few chapters, to fall for Matt and Hollis, but once I really started getting into the story, I thought the author did a great job with these two characters, so much so that I ended up really liking a second chance romance, which are not my favorite. Somehow this story really engaged me till the end and I was really rooting for Matt and Hollis to get back together. I also loved the dual point of view, and Hollis' uncle, he made me smile with his stories. This is a good rainy day read.

In this latest book in the Love Story series (I have read almost all of them so far), we get to know Hollis, a driven, workaholic who is having a breakdown of some sort and staying at her uncle's beachside vacation rentals. Often, when a heroine is too career-oriented and too "Type A," I have a hard time relating to her. This wasn't at all the case with Hollis. She, like so many of Ewens's characters, is incredibly well-written and easily relatable. Even when you want to smack her for overreacting. :)

Her ex-boyfriend, Matt, who is also back in the beachside town, is also a great character. He is almost as stubborn as Hollis, but throughout the story is able to get over himself quite a bit and be honest... and hang back when he sees he is pushing too far. I especially loved that he got emotional about things, which is not often the way of romance heroes.

There are several slow reveals in this, which helps you get to know the characters more and you actually care about the reveals more as a result. Flashbacks are partially used to explain how the characters got where they are, and why they belong together, and they were used in a way that worked. The issue that drove these two apart in college is well-handled, and, having gone through similar myself, I really appreciated that and the fact that it was included. The other problems are also very real life.

Something else I really liked about this, and the series as a whole, is how we see siblings and how their various roles and family dynamics affect them and have molded them into who they are. Hollis is the eldest sister of four, daughter of very driven people and has a unique perspective as a result. Her perspective being very different than her sister's the book before makes this standalone, but creates a nice connecting thread.

This story is a well-blended one with some serious topics and a lot of fun and humor as well. You can't help but love these characters and be rooting for them to figure their sh- irttails out (little joke there ;) ).

I absolutely loved the setting of this book, in the small seaside town! The story unfolded showing you glimpses of their pasts along the way so you could piece together their history. I enjoyed reading Hollis and Matt current and past relationships develop but I found it hard to see why he didn't go after her to begin with long ago!! The little bit about her uncle's history was surprising but added to the depth of the story.