We are back in Townsend Harbor and this time it’s Gemma’s twin sister Lyra’s story. As Lyra tries to pick up the pieces of her life after previous events veered her off course, things go topsy-turvy when she bumps into Cypress Forrester, a complicated crush from her past. Sparks fly in this delightful romcom.
by Kerrigan Byrne, Cynthia St. Aubin
Series: Townsend Harbor #4
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Source: Author
Purchase*: Amazon *affiliate
Heat Level:
Everyone thinks LYRA MCKENDRICK is magic. She’s not, for the record, just a lawyer who predicted a few outcomes that were blown out of proportion in the robust Townsend Harbor rumor mill. After a messy breakup in which she lost her thriving practice, she’s returned to her hometown to lick her wounds and is persuaded by a local town cook to capitalize on her cringe-worthy reputation by running the local new-age shop. How hard could it be to sell chakra-cleansing crystals, libraries worth of tarot cards, crops of candles, and enough incense to choke out Willie Nelson’s entire entourage? When one of Townsend Harbor’s many ancient trees threatens her plumbing, she engages Cypress Forrester, aka “Cy the Tree Guy” to rid her of the problem. Instead, he seems intent on becoming one.
Cy’s family have been arborists and healers for generations, and they’re firm believers in the mysticism of trees, among other things. When she hires him to chop down an endangered tree to save her business, they find themselves on opposite ends of a battle neither of them is willing to lose. As a man tethered by indigenous roots to the earth, Cy immediately realizes Lyra is a woman who lives in her head, which often disassociates her from her heart, body, and intuition. It’s how she always finds “practical” explanations for the series of unexplained, serendipitous coincidences that keep thrusting them together. Alone. But Cy knows better, and he realizes that he must tempt her out of her thoughts and back into her body, and what better way to do that than by a thorough seduction?
As a former New England defense attorney, Lyra’s life was on the fast-track with a finance who turned out to be a total loser. Lyra McKendrick could best be described as prickly, and I enjoyed getting her story, especially after the events of the last book. After her breakup, she has come home to Townsend Harbor. When a historic tree damages the plumbing in her sister’s shop, they call in arborist Cypress Forrester. Cy and Lyra share a complicated history, and I loved this story of second chances and character growth.
The story and romance that unfolded delivered a charming second chance story with plenty of heat and lots of laughter. I love the diverse and unique characters in this series and was glad to see Lyra get her own happily ever after. The authors didn’t change her personality, just her perspective, and I enjoyed watching everything unfold.
Fans of romantic comedy, small-town romances and realistic characters will want to pack their bags for a trip to Townsend Harbor. Star-Crossed can be enjoyed as standalone, but watch out for minor spoilers regarding previous characters.
About Cynthia St. Aubin
USA Today bestselling author Cynthia St. Aubin wrote her first play at age eight and made her brothers perform it for the admission price of gum wrappers. A steal, considering she provided the wrappers in advance. Though her early work debuted to mixed reviews, she never quite gave up on the writing thing, even while earning a mostly useless master's degree in art history and taking her turn as a cube monkey in the corporate warren.
About Kerrigan Byrne
Kerrigan has done many things to pay the bills, from law enforcement to belly dance instructor. Now she’s finally able to have the career she’d decided upon at thirteen when she announced to her very skeptical family that she was going to “grow up to be a romance novelist.” Whether she’s writing about Celtic Druids, Victorian bad boys, or brash Irish FBI Agents, Kerrigan uses her borderline-obsessive passion for history, her extensive Celtic ancestry, and her love of Shakespeare in almost every story. She lives in a little Victorian coast town on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State with her wonderful husband. When she’s not writing you can find her sailing, beach combing, kayaking, visiting wineries, breweries, and restaurants with friends, and hiking…okay…wandering aimlessly clenching bear spray in the mountains.
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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram
Katherine
This sounds like a Hallmark movie premise with the arborist and the high profile workaholic but much edgier! This sounds really fun and definitely like a book I’d enjoy.
Kimberly
Maybe. It was a lot of fun to read.
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature)
I do really want to read this one! It sounds so good! Great review, guess I need to start at the beginning of the series though?
Kimberly
Each will hold its own. You’ll get couple spoilers though.
Sophia Rose
I’ve had my eye on this series through each of your tempting reviews. 🙂
Kimberly
It’s a fun series Sophia. I hope you get to them 🙂