Driftwood Cottage (Chesapeake Shores #5) by Sherryl Woods
Contemporary Romance
March 29, 2011
Paperback
Mira

Reviewed by Tori

Favorite Quote: “Marriage is just a piece of paper right? If it’s so damn insignificant then why are you fighting so hard to avoid signing it?”

BLURB: Single mom Heather Donovan’s dreams of home and family are tantalizingly within reach when she settles in Chesapeake Shores. The welcoming arms of the boisterous, loving O’Brien clan embrace her and her son. But accepting their support seems to further alienate her son’s father, Connor O’Brien. His parents’ divorce and his career as a high-powered divorce attorney have left him jaded about marriage.

Then everything changes. Will the possibility of a future without Heather make Connor look at love and his career differently? Heather’s just about given up on her old dreams—of love, of family and especially of Driftwood Cottage, the home she secretly wishes were hers. It’s going to take a lot of persuasion—and some help from the O’Brien family—to make Heather believe that some dreams are worth fighting for. (Goodreads)

Driftwood Cottage is #5 in Sherry Woods lightweight romantic contemporary Chesapeake Shores series surrounding the O’Brien family. The O’Brien’s are a large, noisy, loving, meddling family that schemes and plots to get things moving in what they feel is the right direction. Not in a mean way-just a devious well meaning way. Each book in the series features a member of the O’Brien family and their trials and tribulations when it comes to relationships. They can all be read as a stand alones, though you do see various characters from previous books and it may make you curious enough to go back and see how they came together.

Driftwood Cottage focuses on the relationship of Heather Donovan and Connor O’Brien. Heather and Conner had a long term live in relationship and a child together. When Heather realizes that Connor’s refusal to marry stems from some deep seated issues (he never got over his parents divorce and he even hid her & the baby from his family for awhile) she decides that her and Mick (their child) deserve better and leaves Connor. She moves to Chesapeake Shores to start over.

Once in Chesapeake Shores, Heather is instantly accepted into the O’Brien clan and surrounded with love. They do their best to try and help Connor see the mistake he is making by allowing Heather to get away but Connor is stubborn and doesn’t see what getting married has to do with showing his love and commitment for Heather.

As Connor and Heather try to work through their impasse it becomes apparent they are both simply repeating the same arguments over and over without any resolution. When Heather is in a life threatening accident, Connor gets a wake up call and realizes that Heather and Mick are more important than his job and fears and tries to make things right. But Heather isn’t buying Connor’s change of heart and now the O’Brien’s have to change strategies and make Heather see that her dreams are in her reach-if she’d just take a chance.

I found myself liking yet annoyed with both Heather and Connor. In the beginning they both are hurt and can’t understand why the other doesn’t want what they want. The blame is subtly placed on Connor for the situation. As we get to know both of them better, we realize that both of them have deep seated issues that need to be addressed. They are stubborn, opinionated, and hold tight to their views. I found Connor’s reasoning against marriage a bit strange. Handling divorces day in and day out plus his parents divorce has left a bad taste in his mouth but at times he seems to go a little overboard. Heather I found gave mixed signals. Why would someone who wants a fresh start and repeatedly avoids and pushes Connor out of her life move to his family’s home town? Plus, she is very quick to accuse Connor of trying to undermine or trick her when I saw none of that.

The majority of the book consists of conversations about why Connor and Heather don’t get married yet it’s not until almost the end that we see actual headway.

The secondary characters, the O’Brien’s, save the day (and the book) with their meddling, boisterous ways. Personable, energetic characters that bring depth, emotion, and humor to the story. While some of their ideas are a bit over the top; Connor’s sister Abby gets very irritating with her meddling, everything in done out of love for this couple. I found myself exhausted by the end of the book. This family would kill me in a week.

We, of course, get a our HEA as Heather and Connor both grow and come to terms with their insecurities concerning love, marriage, and the fear of the unknown. We also get some interesting clues to some future romances that bear watching.

All in all a sweet light story that once again takes us into the lives of the unusual O’Brien’s and the men and woman who love them.

Rating: C

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