Release Blitz + Review: "Puffin Bay" by Annie Dyer

I'm excited to take part in the release blitz celebrating "Puffin Bay" by Annie Dyer, book #1 of the Puffin Bay series. It's part of Dyer's Callaghan Green world and features cameo appearances from a number of familiar characters, but works well as a standalone.

Four years ago, Amelie decided to leave London and invest in a pub in the small coastal town of Puffin Bay, on the Welsh island of Anglesey. Since then, she's become an integral part of the community, with plans on how to revitalize the town and create more year-round jobs that don't depend on tourism. Unfortunately, those plans may be in jeopardy after out-of-town investor Roman Tominey purchases several properties that Amelie's had her eye on. She's concerned that his ideas to develop them will only benefit his company's bottom line, not the community. When a storm rolls in one evening and Roman and Amelie are stuck together in her bar, the sparks that have been flying between them finally ignite, and they're forced to admit the attraction that underlies their animosity. But Roman never stays in one place long enough to have a relationship, and besides, he's already got too much on his plate with a cantankerous grandfather recovering from hip replacement surgery and a newly discovered teenage son who's coming to visit for the summer. Are he and Amelie destined for a summer fling, or has he finally found the place - and person - who can make him want to stay?

I really enjoyed the fun, quirky vibe of Puffin Bay and its characters, and there is plenty of potential for future stories set in this world. Since it was the first book of the series, a fair amount of time was devoted to establishing the setting and introducing secondary characters, and if I'm being honest, I was more interested in some of them than I was in Amelie and Roman. That's not to say that I didn't like them, because I did. I was amused by their witty banter and empathized with the struggles they faced in working through the baggage leftover from their childhoods. Overall, they really seemed to bring out the best in each other, and I love where they ended up.

I'd recommend "Puffin Bay" for all contemporary romance fans and look forward to the next book of the series.

 

*Review copy provided by the author via Wildfire Marketing Solutions. All opinions expressed are my own.

 

 

About "Puffin Bay"

Heartbreak led me to Puffin Bay, searching for peace in a small, coastal town. Four years later, my bar is thriving and my next business is just what the town needs.

It doesn’t need Roman Tominey. Arrogant, city-boy, suit-wearing grump - he knows how to push every one of my buttons, and after an evening of bad decisions, he knows how to push that one too.

When Roman’s newly found teenage son joins him, Roman’s summer stay is extended. We spend the days arguing over a building project the local council insist we do together, and the evenings with him sneaking into my room.

Then Roman’s ideas for Puffin Bay’s development cause all out war between us.

Those sparks between us? They become weapons.

Only Roman doesn’t fire his. It seems he wants something more than another zero on the end of his bank balance and he might just discard his suit - and its buttons - to keep on pressing mine.