Safe Harbor

Rating:
Summary: Another endearing, heart-tugging tale
Review: As a Luanne Rice fan, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Safe Harbor and as usual, could not put this Rice book down either! Rice has the endearing quality of drawing the reader right into the world she is portraying and making the reader one of the family. One cannot help but become intensely involved with the character's lives. Rice also paints a realistic picture for the reader, and not some made-up fantasy world, where one cannot really relate to the experiences that they are reading about.

Rice does a wonderful job portraying the deep bond of two sisters and the aftermath of Dana having to raise her sister, Lily's children, after her and her husband's untimely death. Family issues arise, centered on Lily's two girls, Quinn and Allie, and once again Rice portrays the intense emotions from the entire family, so that the reader can feel them and experience them. Throwing a bit of mystery into the untimely deaths, the reader is left wondering for a long time just exactly what is up.

The themes of Rice's books seem to center around the family unit and how each member copes when tragedy enters into their lives. Yet it is done poignantly and with depth and sensitivity, that the reader is left with a renewed sense of hope, and that love can and will prevail. The romance angle woven into this story is not overwhelming or intoxicating, but has just the right dose of sweetness so that the reader is rooting for Sam and urging him to never give up on Dana! The reader comes to know the characters so intimately, that one cannot wait to get to the next chapter!

I found this story to be endearing and touching and it is classic Rice at her best! Rice fans will not be disappointed, and I found this book to be one of her best!

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 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.

Rating:
Summary: Good Enough Reading, but not her best (still I'm a Rice fan)
Review: This story is of two generations of sisters, Dana and Lily, and Lily's daughters, Quinn and Allie. Dana Underhill, the main character, is a well-known artist, known for her ability to capture on canvas, her most passionate love, the sea. Living and painting in France when a tragedy takes the life of her beloved sister, Dana comes home to Hubbards Point, Connecticut, where she and her sister, Lily first learned to sail and fell in love with the sea. Now her life is about to change entirely as she is thrust with the responsibility of raising her two nieces who are struggling to accept the death of their parents, in what may or may not be an accident on a sailboat. A former student, Sam Trevor who fell in love with Dana when she taught him to sail at the age of 8, has never forgotten her, re-enters her life as an adult only to find his feelings for her are strong and he wants to be at her side to help her through this awful time in her life. The relationship between them is interesting enough, but not the heart-stopping emotional kind that brings tears to your eyes. As usual Ms. Rice does a great job of portraying the young people in this story, their frustrations, anxieties and all the emotions involved in losing their parents, and acceptance in what life hands them. I think this book lacks some of the passion that her other novels have had. It was one I found I could set down for a day or two and get back to it, as opposed to not being able to put it down and reading far into the night. I am a Luanne Rice fan. I especially liked Cloud Nine and Follow the Stars Home.