Cedar Cove is a town that will be familiar to many readers as the home of many of Debbie Macombers characters over the years. For these readers, The Inn at Rose Harbor will be both familiar and something slightly new. Though the settings the same, and a few previously seen characters may crop up in small cameo roles, the novel marks the beginning of a spin-off series focusing on newcomer innkeeper Jo Marie Rose and her guests.
Its a series that appears to be largely about grief, grieving, and catharsis, with just about everyone who appears in its pages having been touched by death or tragedy in some way. Jo Marie is of course one of these: shes purchased the inn with the money inherited upon the sudden death of her new husband. The Inn is named, she tells us, Rose for Paul Rose, my husband of less than a year; the man I will always love and for whom I will grieve for whatever remains of my own life. Harbour for the place I have set my anchor as the storms of loss batter me.
Jo Marie is welcomed into the town with nary a funny look: it appears that the locals here are about as friendly as it gets, with new pals stopping in to give her business tips, and others sitting her down for tea and biscuits. Even her guests, the nervous Abby, back in town for a wedding, and the quiet Josh, whos caring for his ailing step-father, are happy to stop and chat and indulge in a little therapy over home-cooked food. Jo Marie cant shake the feeling that theres some sort of higher calling here: It was because of Paul that I was living in Cedar Cove. Hed sent two wounded souls to be my first guests at the B&B, and now he had thrust a dog in my path. Not just any dog either, but one wounded in both spirit and heart.
Although Jo Marie spends a good deal of time speaking to the dead, shes not the only one, and readers might be a little bemused by the spiritual overtones here. Abby, who left town after a tragic car accident involving her best friend, has a ghostly conversation while visiting her friends grave, for example. And handyman Mark is beset by a niggling feeling that sends him running off to save Jo Marie: I kept thinking that you were in some sort of trouble…listen, Im no knight looking to rescue a damsel in distress. I tried to ignore the feeling, but the harder I tried the stronger the impression came back.
Its all a bit heavy-handed, and the weak writing doesnt atone for this. Though Macomber has clearly created thoughtful histories for her characters, she simply sets it all out on the page in chunks of lengthy exposition rather than allowing the characters to let us see this histories coming through in glimpses through their actions or reactions. Instead we get things like: Richard had made his dislike all too obvious, so rather than working towards building a positive relationship with his stepfather, Josh had gone out of his way to goad him. And: It seemed to Abby as though her entire life had been rent in two by that fateful night. Before the accident. After the accident. Though the occasional bit of exposition is fine and dandy, here it makes up the bulk of the book, and to its detriment.
The use of alternating points of view is also confusing. The book switches between three viewpoints: those of Josh and Abby, in third person, and that of Jo Marie, in first person. I couldnt help but feel that this was a strange decision on the behalf of the author. By making Jo Marie the first person narrator, theres a sense that she should own the narrative, or at least play a large role in it. But thats not really the case. She receives roughly equal page time to the others, and her story is frequently subordinated to those of her guests. In addition, the use of the Josh and Abby viewpoints suggests that there should be some sort of link between the two, but other than the fact theyre staying in the same hotel, there isnt.
Theres also a surprising simplicity to the narrative and the way that the characters problems are resolved. Josh and Abby have some substantial demons to deal with, but they manage to do so quite successfully over the course of a single weekend. (Not to mention rekindle some childhood romances while theyre at it, too.) I get that this is a feel-good book, but given the astonishing amount of death and despair and so forth the characters are working through, the resolutions of their character arcs just feel so very easy.
The Inn at Rose Harbor is certainly a quick, light read thats designed to tug at the heartstrings (although not too much), and to offer up characters youd want to befriend in real life. Its safe, its warm, and its kindly, but the weak writing, slight plot, and odd infusions of mysticism meant that this one didnt quite work for me.
Rating: 
(okay)
With thanks to Random House Australia for the review copy
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A well-balanced review! This author has so many devoted fans that her books must be striking a chord with them. It just goes to show that comfort reading for one person is annoying to another. Im with you on these series, but thats my womens fiction prejudice speaking.
Thanks, Laurie! Yes, 150 million books sold certainly indicates that the authors doing something that resonates with readers! I think its not just a matter of personal taste, but its also the different reasons that people read as well. I tend not to read in order to come away with a feel good sensation, but rather to feel that Ive come away with some new knowledge or understanding about people or the world, which is why certain books appeal to me more than others.
Ive enjoyed several of these title when I have needed to turn my brain off for a while.
Shelleyrae