Lovely, sweet story about a widow with two teenagers who moves back to her grandmother's home on an island in South Carolina who meets a widower who doesn't know what to do with himself. Together they heal, open a bookstore and learn to find love.

Both educated and haunted Deborah and Asa meet in the village muffin shop and start a friendship. He decides to help her get her bookstore started by working part-time since she intrigues him and has him feeling things he hasn't felt in over a year, since his wife and 6 yr. old son were killed in a car crash. Deborah doesn't have a clue what is up with Asa and always wanting to be around her. How could she be interested in another man when her husband of 26 yrs dies mere weeks before? Sure she left Charleston to get away from all those who had turned their backs on Louis, her husband, and publicly denounced him only to pretend they did no such thing when the truth came out about that incident involving a female student and a compromising situation.

We learn about her children, Whitney the 17 yr old son getting to go off to school and 15 yr old Crystal who's biggest concern is making it to cheerleader practice and what to wear to the Valentine's dance. The locals provide some comic relief from some emotional situations.

The ending was a little predictable but some how fit this couple. Like I said in the beginning, a sweet love story that provides a nice afternoon read. ( )

Read like a rush job to fill some romantic magazine ( )

I wanted to love this book but it moved very slowly and I just couldn't get into it. The characters didn't hold me enthralled like I wanted them to. The setting is amazing and I did fall in love with the island but it wasn't enough to keep me invested in the story. Check out these other reviews for a different opinion:

Novel Reflections
Peace. Love. Books.
Lisa's World of Books
The Romance Dish ( )

I really enjoyed this book, and look forward to reading more books from this author!! ( )

This was a beautiful well written story about lost loves, going home, family, the love of friends, community, and renewed faith. I enjoyed Sanctuary Cove and throughout reading about this town and the people in it, I found myself wondering where I would fit in it. I immediately wanted to look it up on Google and search the listings for a place in town to call my own. This story is about Deborah and Asa who've both experienced loss and are trying to carve out a place for themselves to belong. Through friendship and companionship they find love. Deborah is a devoted mother to her two teen children and who I found to be quite independent, despite being married for over 20 years. She has strong values and long history on the Island.

I enjoyed learning about the Gullah people, the island and Deborah's family history. This was more of a contemporary novel than a romance. There are some romantic scenes but I wouldn't call them streamy or hot. If you are looking to curl up with a good read, be transported to an intoxicating and serene location and dream of being a snowbird, this is the book for you. ( )