Sea Glass Sunrise by Donna Kauffman (review) ADULT title

5 out of 5 stars!

ADULT romance

Sea Glass Sunrise by Donna Kauffman is the first book in ‘The Brides of Blueberry Cove’ series, and centers on Hannah McCrae, who has returned to her hometown of Blueberry Cove in Maine for her brother Logan’s wedding. Determined to hide her own heartbreak and rejoice in her homecoming and renewed sense of family, Hannah is unprepared for the alluring effects of multiple encounters with Cade Blue, a scion of a long-estranged former Blueberry Cove inhabitant. Contrasting with the flurry of preparations and excitement over the upcoming nuptials, an unsettling undercurrent of change threatens to disrupt the comfortable sense of community that is part of Blueberry Cove, and unfortunately, Cade seems to be at the heart of the disturbance. Hannah will have to decide where her loyalties lie and what her heart really wants, but others will definitely have influence on her decision—whether she wants to admit it or not.


This delightful contemporary romance is set in a small town in Maine and evokes the beauty and camaraderie that is so attractive about a community where generations of families have grown up together. This author has a wonderful talent for painting word portraits and creating an endearing story that makes one wish to be part of Blueberry Cove. The sniffle-inducing warmth and kinship that is immediately apparent when the siblings get together is heartwarming, and the comfort with which they shift from unconditional support to razzing to sibling solidarity makes one wish for a family exactly like theirs.  


The challenges that each of the main characters is facing gives depth to the story and an opportunity to understand their underlying strength and vulnerabilities while their repartee and interactions demonstrate how suitable it is for a relationship between them to flower. This passage aptly demonstrates the wry self-deprecating humor of the heroine, who is contemplating the disconcerting aftereffects of an accident—“It was now Friday morning, and the color under her eyes was turning a lovely shade of seaweed green with a soupcon of eggplant purple. It gave her a certain Zombies of the Apocalypse je ne sais quoi.” And this gives an inkling of her impact on the hero—“Something about a woman dressed like a bad Vivien Leigh stunt double, but still looking as cool as Grace Kelly on her best day, driving a hot rod—and a stick shift, no less—turned him right around. And on.” Sigh.

I love that there are so many vivid and quirky characters who will undoubtedly get their time in the spotlight and I definitely want to read the stories that lead up to this point, as I suspect is implied in ‘The Bachelors of Blueberry Cove’ series. There are many great scenes in this story (and a delicious recipe at the end) which reminds me why small town romances are so much fun to read and makes me anxious to visit Blueberry Cove again and again through other stories by this wonderfully talented author.  

© Night Owl Reviews 

I received a copy of this title in return for an honest review.