Book Review: Rosemary Cottage

Author: Colleen Coble

Publication Date: July 9, 2013
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Series: Hope Beach # 2

The cottage by the sea offers Amy a refuge to mourn her brother’s death and perhaps even discover a new love. But what if Ben’s death was no accident?

Rosemary Cottage on the Outer Banks of North Carolina has been in Amy Lang’s family for generations and offers her a haven within its peaceful walls. There she hopes to discover what really happened to her brother, Ben, even as she tries to come to grips with his death in the ocean months before.

She hopes the Coast Guard team will help her find closure, but they are quick to dismiss her concerns of foul play. Everyone in Hope Beach regards the suspicious e-mail she received as a vicious prank. When it seems discovering what happened to Ben will take longer than she expected, Amy moves her midwifery practice to Hope Beach.

Coast Guard officer Curtis Ireland may hold the key to many of her questions, but he also hides a secret that will change her world forever. And her own secrets could tear apart the fragile love developing between them. Will Amy have the courage to put down her mask and let Curtis love her for who she is? And can they both weather the danger that threatens to destroy the most precious thing in their lives?

The distant sound of the sea blended with the hum of bees seeking the spring flowers. The clumps of blue-green vegetation gave off a spring fragrance Amy Lang recognized as rosemary. Rosemary for remembrance. She stood on the stone walk beside her friend Libby and stared at the house with memories washing over her.

She looked like a mermaid with her dark hair streaming down her back to her waist. Her eyes were an unusual color – part green and part golden – and they were full of love and laughter as she looked toward the camera.

Amy hesitated, then nodded. “His death was no accident.”

What if she moved here? The thought tempted Amy Living in this place was like going back in time to a happier, safer place. It would be a rewarding life. And she could get her overseeing physician on board. He’d told her for a long time that she should move to one of the places around the state that really needed her.

Amy Lang goes to Rosemary Cottage in hopes of healing some unsettling wounds and trying to start fresh again. She needs to grieve for her brother, Ben, who was lost at sea. Amy does not believe everyone else in thinking that he died of a surfing accident gone wrong; she thinks there is more to blame than that. While staying the beautiful Outer Banks, Amy meets Curtis Ireland, a Coast Guard officer who always knows what it feels like to lose a sibling. These two bond over more than just grief and agony. They start to form a real friendship, and maybe hope for more than that. Do Amy and Curtis both find the healing they need? Visit Rosemary Cottage and find out!

What I love best about this series is the setting, obviously! I am a North Carolinian and can honestly testify to just how beautiful and majestic the Outer Banks really are. Coble takes us to a place full of such mystifying allure and sets it all on its head. Amy and Curtis face such trials and tribulations in a place that is meant for healing and tranquility. However, even with all that is going on around them, readers will still be able to feel the comfort and peace that comes with a story setting like Hope Beach and Rosemary Cottage.

As always with Colleen Coble, there are twists and turns that will come unexpected to the reader all throughout the book. I usually find myself making empty predictions at the start of all her books, and then I learn that I was terribly wrong somewhere down the line. I very much enjoyed the mystery and the intrigue that fed into Amy and Curtis’s lives. I was glad that Curtis agreed to help Amy find out more about the disappearance of her brother, and I think they worked well together as leading characters. But isn’t that always the case with Colleen Coble?!

***A copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Thomas Nelson in exchange for my honest review***