Series: Chesapeake Diaries (Book 11)
Architect Cassidy Logan has sworn off good-looking adventurers. Newly divorced, she’s focused on building ecologically friendly, historically accurate homes on the Chesapeake Bay for her father’s construction company. Traveling to Cannonball Island -- where there has been no new construction in nearly one hundred years -- Cass is sensitive to the heritage of the island, and has come up with plans so perfect she’s determined to buy a home for herself. Even the fact that Owen Parker -- a local who she dismisses as a lightweight and a player -- seems to be everywhere isn’t enough to deter her from building her dream house.
Owen Parker is and always has been sinfully handsome and wickedly clever, a magnet for mischief as well as girls. He’s a rolling stone, going and doing whatever appeals to him, from flying a mail plane in Alaska to working on a cattle ranch in Australia, a shrimp boat in Louisiana, and surfing and diving in Costa Rica. When an old friend offers him a job salvaging a sunken ship on the Chesapeake Bay, Owen gladly accepts. Something’s been telling him it was time to head home to Cannonball Island, and a job is as good an excuse as any. And he’s totally smitten by the pretty architect on the scene, but it seems he’s finally met a woman who’s immune to his charms. Sooner or later, Owen will have to face the reason why he always runs, because this time, leaving just might be harder than staying.
This was my first book by Mariah Stewart, but it will not be the last. Even though this is the 11th book in the series, I never felt lost, only intrigued. I will definitely add the other books to my "want to read" list. I loved the setting of the islands of the Chesapeake Bay in the early autumn, with the descriptions of the warm days and cool nights. The homes and businesses were ones I'd love to visit, from having tea with Grace at the Inn or ice cream at One or Two Scoops in St. Dennis, to visiting with Ruby at the general store on Cannonball Island.
I was immediately drawn into the lives of the two main characters, Cassidy and Owen. Cassidy is an architect with her father's construction company. She has designed a series of houses to be built on the island, ones that retain the style and history of the originals, to the point of using materials saved from the old houses in the new ones. I loved her enthusiasm, as every day seemed to give her new ideas on ways to bring the past and the future together. Something not in her plans is getting involved with Owen Parker, local playboy and rolling stone.
Owen is one of the island's more notorious residents. He is handsome, fun-loving, and hasn't run very fast when the girls chased him, though he doesn't stay caught for long. He's spent years going where his whims take him, from Alaska to Australia, but lately, he's felt nostalgic for home. When a friend offers him a job as a diver helping to excavate a sunken ship, he jumps at the chance. It doesn't take long for him to be drawn to Cass, but she doesn't want anything to do with him.
I loved the development of the relationship between Owen and Cass. Both of them have failed marriages in their pasts, making them wary of getting involved. Cass was married to a man who was never home, having decided that his military career was more important than their marriage. She's determined not to get involved with another rolling stone. Owen married the girl who was always there when he came back from one of his trips, thinking it was time for him to settle down, but friendship and habit weren't enough to sustain the marriage and keep him from wandering. Owen was attracted to Cass from the moment he met her, but she wouldn't give him the time of day, no matter how hard he tried. Fortune smiled on him, though, when the ship excavation disrupted her construction plans, giving him the chance to offer his assistance. I loved seeing Owen approach his goal of getting to know her from a different angle, and being very smart about it. Instead of making it personal, he offered to help her find another solution, and at the same time show her around the island. Cass is, of course, skeptical at first, but relaxes when he behaves himself.
I loved the way that Cass's enthusiasm for the island and everything about it made Owen look at her as more than just another conquest. It didn't take long for him to realize that he had gone past wanting her to needing her in his life. I loved seeing him find multiple little ways to help her learn about the island, from showing her the little cemeteries to taking her crabbing. Even when his attempts went wrong (the trip on the schooner), his sensitivity to her needs was amazing. It was fun to watch Cass realize that she was fighting a losing battle when it came to resisting Owen. In spite of frequently reminding herself that he was a player, she discovered that there was much more to him than she expected. But just when things looked especially promising for them, an unexpected twist turns Owen's life upside down. I ached for Owen, who didn't know how to handle it and feared becoming a man like his father. I also ached for Cass, who believed that her dreams were crumbling in front of her. It took some blunt talk from family members for each of them to overcome their fears and realize that they could handle anything if they did it together.
I loved the importance of family and community in the book. Owen's great-grandmother, Ruby, was my favorite of the secondary characters. She's one hundred years old, with the Southern grace and steel to go along with those years. She also has the "sight" but doesn't use it to interfere in people's lives, though she will occasionally make a comment to get someone thinking. Thanks to her age, Ruby also has an encyclopedic knowledge of the area, and the stories she told gave extra depth to the magic of the island. I loved how various people in the community embraced Cass and her ideas for ways to preserve and showcase the island's history. There were some terrific scenes of that support, from Grace's teas to a possible collaboration with Owen's sister. I can't wait to go back and read the earlier books.
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