Rating: 
Summary: Anything and everything ocean and sea!!!!
Review: I was torn about whether to give this four or three stars. It's probably a three star novel at best; however, I just love anything to do with sailing, nautical themes, water, fish, etc.. and "Safe Harbor" is all about that.I really felt like I was on that sailboat right along with Quinn and Allie Grayson, two teenage sisters recently orphaned, as they sailed from Long Island Sound to Martha's Vinyard in stormy weather......as the boat capsizes!!!! Do they survive? Read on! Luanne Rice's writing about ocean and sea is so wonderful that you do feel right there, even though there's nothing particular urgent in terms of actual plot twists. That's ok, because Luanne Rice is really a writer for whom you visit to check in with good friends and their day-to-day life, which is what this book is. This book is important if you are going to be reading Luanne Rice's "True Blue" (which came after "Safe Harbor") as the character of "Quinn Grayson" is featured extensively in both "True Blue" and here, "Safe Harbor". Luanne Rice does very well going inside the mind of a teenager in grief from her parent's death, and being raised by her Aunt "Dana" Underhill. And, all of this takes place on the wonderful "Hubbard's Point", an idyllic seaside Connecticut town that author Luanne Rice began setting about the last 7 of her novels in.
Rating:
Summary: A big fan
Review: I'm a big fan of Ms. Rice. I think she's officially my new favorite author (I needed an update from Danielle Steel...)Anyway, it did take me a little while to get "into" this story. Where as some of her books I'll be immediately enthralled. But once the story really got going, I enjoyed it. I don't think it was boring. Maybe yes, not her best book, but I'd definitley recommend reading it. I thought there were a lot of great scenes. Very sad story and the suspense kept the pages turning to see what would unfold.
Rating:
Summary: It's a little less than a 4, but definitely more than a 3!
Review: If you're a fan of Luanne Rice or have read one of her many other books, you will instantly see the similarities here - Girl & Boy meet after knowing each other for years, traumas & dramatics involving children, recognizing one's own fears & dreams, overcoming & making them come true. It's all there. I liked this story and I more or less liked the characters, although I found the character of Quinn (Dana's 12 year old niece) a little troubling. While I know she is meant to be a sympathetic character, I found her character somewhat unbalanced - at times she behaved like the 12 year old she is, at others she became a 4 year old. Some of her actions and words that came from her mouth are not typical of a 12 year old today, no matter how much grief they have experienced in their life. I found her behavior at times troubling & I wished I could reach into the pages, yank her out & give her a good lecturing. An adolescent in the "real world" who behaved as Quinn did throughout the book would either be on some type of medication or in therapy or both. Looking beyond that, I pretty much enjoyed the story, even though I was able to predict what would happen by Chapter 3!!! If you're a fan of Luanne Rice or like a good family-love story, you'll probably enjoy this book. I look forward to her next piece of work but hope that she may start varying her storylines a little - It's becoming hard to tell where one book ends and the next one begins. They're all so similar!!!
Rating:
Summary: A safe book
Review: It's not often that a book really stays with you for a few days after you finish it. For some reason, this was that kind of book for me. I don't know why--the plot was tame, the characters weren't all that deep--but what was there was intense. Dana is the guardian of her two nieces after their mother and father die in a boating accident. Quinn, the oldest, has some issues. I guess she was the character that I most related to. Allie is the younger of the two and she is the more needy. She needs constant reassurance that she is loved and that no one is going to leave her. Dana and her sister Lily were extremely close. When they were younger, they ran a sailing school. At that school, they saved the life of a young boy named Sam. Sam vowed to protect them as long as he lived. Now he is drawn to Dana. This relationship was plausible, if a little unbalanced. Dana didn't want the relationship and it seemed like Sam was pushing her... I kept waiting for the plot to get really mysterious and have some big scandal with the death of Lily and her husband. There is a mystery, but it is pretty minor. The book is mainly about how Dana deals with the parenting of two young children, and their recovery from their parents' deaths. If you need a break from intense/serious reading, this is the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Predictable Romantic Novel
Review: Safe Harbor is a continuation of Luanne Rice's Firefly Beach. Ms Rice takes up the story of the younger brother. The story is well written. The Heroine finds herself in her early 40's suddenly a mother figure to her two nieces who have been suddenly orphaned. This follows her younger lover betraying the older artist with a model. The Hero has had a 'thing' for the heroine since childhood, and spends the course of the novel attempting to overcome her defensiveness against love with a younger man as well as trying to resolve the problems of the children of the family. Worth your time and money, if you like modern romance novels.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Romantic Read
Review: Safe Harbor is a continuation of Luanne Rice's Firefly Beach. Ms Rice takes up the story of the younger brother. The story is well written. The Heroine finds herself in her early 40's suddenly a mother figure to her two nieces who have been suddenly orphaned. This follows her younger lover betraying the older artist with a model. The Hero has had a 'thing' for the heroine since childhood, and spends the course of the novel attempting to overcome her defensiveness against love with a younger man as well as trying to resolve the problems of the children of the family. Worth your time and money, if you like modern romance novels.
Rating:
Summary: Predictable Romantic Novel
Review: The only reason I finished this silly book is because I thought
MAYBE there might be a twist regarding the death of Lily and
Mark. I thought the whole book was dragged out and so predictable.
I could have come up with this plot in my sleep. And what a cheesy
way to wrap up a mysterious death, read the dead person's diary!! (And
still find nothing too surprising) I bet this author and publisher is laughing
all the way to the bank. This book went straight into the
dumpster.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting Beginning But...
Review: This book is fine as a beach book, but don't look for more than that. But if that's what you're looking for, then you'll enjoy this story of an aunt who is forced to become the guardian of her two young nieces after the death of her beloved sister. I liked the change of pace romance - when we first meet the romantic leads, he is eight years old and she is twenty. She's his sailing instructor and saves him when he almost drowns. The story is then resumed twenty-one years later. The aunt is an interesting character because she is clearly not maternal, and is used to living a life as an artist, most recently in France. While she loves her nieces, it's obvious that being forced to take care of two children and live in a place where she is surrounded by memories of her sister is not her idea of happiness. The two nieces, while precocious, were believable as children who had been orphaned. The book provides a nice image of a New England coastline summer, and the references to Newport brought back memories. The romance perked along nicely, with the usual conflicts brought upon by the aunt's insecurity due to a recent disasterous romance. My only problem with the book was that the denouement of the problem in the parents' marriage didn't match the tension that had been built up, and was rather disappointing because the reason was rather silly. But the rest of the book was enjoyable enough to make up for that, so I ended up liking the book.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting Beginning But...
Review: This book is fine as a beach book, but don't look for more than that. But if that's what you're looking for, then you'll enjoy this story of an aunt who is forced to become the guardian of her two young nieces after the death of her beloved sister. I liked the change of pace romance - when we first meet the romantic leads, he is eight years old and she is twenty. She's his sailing instructor and saves him when he almost drowns. The story is then resumed twenty-one years later. The aunt is an interesting character because she is clearly not maternal, and is used to living a life as an artist, most recently in France. While she loves her nieces, it's obvious that being forced to take care of two children and live in a place where she is surrounded by memories of her sister is not her idea of happiness. The two nieces, while precocious, were believable as children who had been orphaned. The book provides a nice image of a New England coastline summer, and the references to Newport brought back memories. The romance perked along nicely, with the usual conflicts brought upon by the aunt's insecurity due to a recent disasterous romance. My only problem with the book was that the denouement of the problem in the parents' marriage didn't match the tension that had been built up, and was rather disappointing because the reason was rather silly. But the rest of the book was enjoyable enough to make up for that, so I ended up liking the book.
Rating:
Summary: A Safe Book
Review: This is the story of sisters,Dana and Lily,their love for each other,their love of the sea. As young women, when giving sailing lessons, they take on eight year old Sam,a poor boy. When Sam nearly drowns and is saved by them he vows to protect them forever. Dana becomes a renowned artist of the sea.Lily marries Mark,producing Quinn and Allie. The tragic sailing death of Lily and Mark forces Dana to leave France and her lover. She returns to Hubbard's Point, Connecticut to care for Quinn and Allie. What follows is the tale of Dana's efforts to be a mother to Allie and the rebellous twelve year old Quinn who is convinced her parents' death was not an accident. Sam is now an oceanographer. He reenters Dana's life at a time when she desperately needs help,fullfilling his boyhood promise to care for her,loving her at the same time.However,the story,although very well written,tends to become tedious and repetitious. The character development is excellent;each person is fully dimensional. It is typical Luanne Rice,a sweet story of family conflicts,love, tragedies, and near tragedies with a happy ending ,following a near disaster. It is a pleasant read,but I think a lesser Luanne Rice book. If you know nothing about the sea or sailing you will become familiar with them just by reading this,as the entire story revolves around both.
| 
