Carolina Girl by Virginia Kantra (Dare Island #2)
Contemporary Romance
June 4, 2013
Berkley

Reviewed by Helyce

Meg Fletcher grew up on Dare Island and spent her youth doing everything she could to make sure she ended up anywhere else. And she succeeded. She lives in New York, has a great, high paying job, owns a condo with her boyfriend of six years, and is living life exactly how she planned…far away from Dare Island. But when she arrives at work one morning to learn that she’s been “let go” her world is turned upside down. When she find out that her boyfriend knew about the reorganization and didn’t fight for her position, she is furious. With few options, she finds herself on a plane, back home to Dare Island.

Sam Grady grew up on Dare Island as well. The son of a highly successful real estate mogul, Sam didn’t want for much-except perhaps the attention of his father. By the time he was a teenager, his dad had been married several times and was so into his work, Sam was left to fend for himself. When the Fletcher’s moved to Dare Island, Sam became friends with Meg’s older brother Matt and spent so much time with the Fletcher’s that he became an honorary member of the family. As they grew up, Sam was very aware of Meg, but their one night of teenaged fumbling, pushed them apart.

Now, Sam and Meg are back on Dare Island and no matter how much time has passed, Sam is determined to make right what happened so many years ago.

Carolina Girl picks up where Carolina Home ended. The Fletcher’s are still recovering from the accident that put Meg’s mom in the hospital. She’d come home to help out at the inn, but headed back to New York once things settled down. Unbeknownst to her, the company she’d been working for had done some reorganizing and on the day she returns to work, she finds out she doesn’t have a job anymore. After working so hard to get away from Dare Island, she realizes she has no choice but to head home until she can figure out what to do next.

What Meg didn’t count on, was Sam Grady. He’s also back on the island helping out his dad who is recovering from a stroke. Sam and Meg have some history that includes one night together, in their teens, after which Sam ignored Meg and neither brought up the incident again. But Meg’s always had a thing for Sam and Sam has never forgotten Meg. Even after all these years, he still feels guilty for what happened and is determined to make it right.

This second chance love story hit all the right buttons for me. Sam is successful and sexy and I couldn’t wait for him to soften up and crack that shell that Meg had around her. I didn’t like Meg at first-I didn’t really understand why she hated life on the island so much. Her childhood sounded idyllic once they settled on Dare Island. Yes, she did have to help out a lot with the family owned inn and I can certainly see her wanting to get away from it all while in her teens. But for me, the sense of family came through more strongly, and it seemed Meg forgot that part of it all and chose to distance herself completely from not only the inn, but her family. Everything she’d done up until her getting fired had kept her away not only from the island, but from people who loved and cared about her. Though she claims to be happy, she starts to question what she really wants once she’s home.

Sam has never forgotten his one night with Meg or forgiven himself for how he handled the “morning after”. Now that he has Meg close, he wants to make it right. I loved how Sam went about wooing Meg. He took it slow, and made the most of the moments he was given. He knew that Derek was not the right man for Meg and though he set his sights on doing everything he could, he was patient and didn’t push…too much.

The author really took her time before putting these two together and it was really starting to get on my nerves until I realized that perhaps she didn’t want to make Meg a cheater. Yes, there are a few stolen kisses, but this couple doesn’t truly get physical until Meg has ended her relationship with Derek. But once she does, she does not hold back.

There is a lot of reflection in this story-Meg with her mother and Sam with his father. So many misunderstanding that could have been cleared up years before with simple honesty, but no one was willing to make the first move. Though there is focus on the romance and building the relationship between Sam and Meg, there is also some much needed healing in the relationship between Sam and his father.

This is what I call a ‘feel good’ romance. I love the setting, I love that it has a family at its center but nothing came too easy for the couple and they had real things to deal with in order to be together in the end. I’m very much looking forward to what the author plans to do in book three which will be Luke’s book. He’s off in Afghanistan and has left his young daughter in the care of his parents. We don’t know too much about him but I have a feeling his story may be the more emotional of the three.

Rating: B

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