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Rating: 
Summary: Terribly average . . .
Review: I listened to this as an unabridged audiobook and if it weren't for the fact that I was trapped in a car with no other form of entertainment to be found I more than likely would've given up on this one mid-way through. The characters were too blah to hold my attention and their attraction to each other just didn't come alive for me. It turns out this story is the third in a series but it easily stands alone since its plot isn't exactly complicated. Octavia Brightwell is relatively new to Eclipse Bay and runs a successful art gallery. She arrived in Eclipse Bay to soothe the rift between the Madison & Harte families that her dear departed aunt caused years earlier. Once Octavia realizes the feud has been mended without her help she decides it's time to leave Eclipse Bay. She's also desperate to get away from gorgeous, heartbreaker Nick Harte who continually pesters her for a date. When she finally makes up her mind to high-tail it out of town she agrees to the date with Nick (don't ask). They soon become romantically entangled and banter back and forth denying their true feelings. Before long the two find themselves partners in the search for a valuable missing painting and, well, I bet you can figure out the rest . . . These two are very much stock characters. We have Nick who lost the love of his life years earlier and has never allowed himself to fall in love again (and has a reputation for loving 'em and leaving 'em before the night is over) and then we have the "free spirit" Octavia who sort of floats through life and avoids romantic entanglements. Stock characters are all fine and good when they're written with depth and emotion but these two were just flat out bland and their relationship lacked any sort of spark. Nick also has an annoying habit of referring to Octavia as a "fairy queen" that made me cringe every time he uttered the words.
There are also pop-up appearances by characters who I only guess starred in previous books. They add a little to the story but their visits did not convince me that I need to search for the previous books in this series. There are also far too many over the top weird/quirky/cult-y/odd speaking secondary characters populating this story to be believed. The few bits of fun banter and Nick's enjoyable little boy Carson are about all that I'll be remembering about "Summer In Eclipse Bay" once I finish writing this review.
Rating: 
Summary: It's the 3rd in a trilogy - I just HAD to read it!
Review: I'm giving this a "4", mostly because it's JAK & she's tops in my book, but was a little disillusioned by it's lackluster. Not that I don't recommend it - but the characters, most of them the spunky & strange ones from the previous 2 installments, were getting just a bit tiresome. Nick & Octavia were destined from the beginning to pair up & I "know" this going in, but it was fun seeing them through the dilemmas to the end. Carson is a charmer, and I look for JAK to dredge him up someday when he grows up and becomes an adult Harte. Winchester, as always, is a star. You won't be disappointed to buy this book and read it just to satisfy your curiousity if you read the Eclipse Bay and Dawn at Eclipse Bay, but don't expect fireworks.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining lightweight romance
Review: The conclusion of the cheerful Eclipse Bay trilogy ties things up nicely. The hero and heroine, Nick Harte and Octavia Brightwell don't have quite the richness of the earlier book's characters (especially the delightfully droll Gabe Madison of Dawn in Eclipse Bay, the best of the series) but they are more than adequate. The best thing about this series (and many of Jayne Ann's books) are the quirky,almost Capra-esque supporting characters. The grumpy grandpas, the deliciously loony Arizona, the dumb-as-dirt n'er do wells who pick a fight with Nick and his pal Jeremy, Winston the World's Classiest Schnauser, all make the book worth reading. The plot is practically non-existent, but Jayne Ann excels at making nothing into very entertaining nothing.
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