Customer Reviews

The Inn At Eagle Point (Chesapeake Shores)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Abby winters is the oldest of five children and help raised her siblings after her mother and father divorced. Abby eventually left for NY work where she has a job on wallstreet, has been divorced and is the mother of two twin girls.

Jess is the youngest of the five siblings and is trying to open in inn and she runs into financial trouble. She calls Abby to come down to Chesapeake shores to help her out. But leaves out the guy in charge of her loan is Abby's high school sweetheart Trace.

Trace makes Abby stay in Cheapshores to be in charge of Jess's finances. Trace and Abby work on there relationship with roadblocks along the way which include Abby's ex Wes, her parents, and siblings.

This was the first book I've read by Sherryl Woods and I really enjoyed it. I'm waiting for Bree's story at the end of this month I can't wait.

This is one of those books that I found myself picking up at the store and putting back down again, repeatedly. The cover is very attractive and reminds me of a Debbie Macomber book cover (same publisher for both authors, so that makes sense). I eventually purchased it after looking up the reviews here on Amazon and was very excited to find a new author that I thought I was really going to like.

After reading this, I have to say it was just all right. The writing isn't bad and the story isn't bad, but it takes a long time to unfold with not much happening. I am perfectly fine with slower-moving stories if there is lots of local color and sense of place to the book but that wasn't the case. The setting of Chesapeake Bay offered the author plenty of opportunity to have very descriptive language regarding the physical locale but that opportunity wasn't seized. The small town setting also afforded an opportunity for great secondary characters that could have added color to the story, but that opportunity also languished. The main story just plodded along without any real "spark" and the book didn't really hold my interest. Again, not bad just bland -- I have read much worse !

In summary, I was looking for another Debbie Macomber type author and thought I had found her. In reality, I won't be reading the rest of the series and will stick with Ms. Macomber or Emilie Richards when looking for fun, light reading.

seems to be key in this first book of our new Chesapeake Shores series by a favorite author, Sherryl Woods. This book hit the spot. I don't want to summarize the book, seeing as a lot of people have already done that.

However, I have read other books by her and this read didn't disappoint. I couldn't decide on one favorite character, by the end they all had me in the palm of their hands.

I especially loved at the end, I knew there are a few lines hanging on for other books. Although I could guess a few of the endings that might happen, I was really thrilled with the ride. Abby, Jess, Mick, Grandma, Maggie, Trace and all the others would love to have you visit! Problem is we can't stay! -- Enjoy the ride!

In Chesapeake Bay, Jess O'Brien realizes she is in financial trouble and the inn she is renovating may have to go on the market. Jess asks her older sister Abby Winters, a financial genius, to come home to help save the inn from foreclosure.

Abby plans to assist Jess a bit, but will not stay long as she and the rest of the family are somewhat estrange though she took care of them when mom deserted them. To her chagrin, her former lover, Trace Riley holds the mortgage paper that Jess must pay off or lose everything. He demands she stay in town if she wants to buy time for her sibling. Abby never forgot Trace and still wants him, but a bad marriage and relocating her five years old twins (Caitlyn and Carrie) at a time the ex Wes wants full custody cause her to hesitate as she grasps she who hesitates may be lost, but she feels lost either way.

Leaving Serenity, South Carolina, Sherryl Woods introduces her fans to the Chesapeake Shores series with an engaging contemporary family drama. The cast is solid especially the lead female protagonist who finds herself feeling engulfed by a 360 degree blob as her sister, other family members, her kids, her ex and her former lover place conflicting demands on her. Although too many plot machinations occur to limit the heroine's choices detract from the tale (making Abby choose would have left her more vulnerable from those she failed to satiate), fans will enjoy the story of the over-achiever.

Harriet Klausner

Seventeen-year-old Abby O'Brien was the sibling who was there for her sister Jess after their mother left the family. For nearly fifteen years, she, along with their grandmother, filled in for her absent mother and nearly absent father. Now Jess needs help and Abby once again comes running, but what is she running back to?

Abigail O'Brien works on Wall Street and she's successful-and divorced. She shares custody of her twin daughters with ex-husband Wes. When Jess calls, Abby hesitates. Business is hectic and she's certain she can't manage an extended stay in Chesapeake Shores, but she's always the one who has bailed Jess out after one of her "screw ups", and she won't let her down now.

Jess has worked hard turning the Inn at Eagle Point into a bed and breakfast, but having ADD makes it difficult for Jess to focus, and she's gotten behind on her payments to the bank. To avoid foreclosure, Abby steps in and takes over the finances, a move that displeases both her and Jess. Jess doesn't want the oversight and Abby doesn't want the bank's demands that she stay in Chesapeake Shores until things are on an even keel.

Ten years ago, Abby walked out on Trace Riley, and now he's the bank's loan officer. Not only is their meeting difficult, it's Trace who sets the rules under which the bank will hold off on the foreclosure. But shortly after arriving, Abby discovers her feeling for Trace have never diminished, and his for her are as strong as ever. Can she sort out the problems with the Inn, her feelings for Trace and the disagreements between her boisterous family members?

Ms. Woods brings readers a delightful story in this first book in the Chesapeake Shores series. Strong writing, wonderful characterizations and a charming setting are staples in the talented Ms. Woods' repertoire of women's fiction. Grab a cup of tea and read about the wonderful O'Briens. Each book in the series stands alone, but read in order makes for a wonderful understanding of this delightful, meddlesome and utterly charming Irish-American family.

Personal and public agendas are flying in the first of this new fictional romance series. The O'Brien clan is quite a motley crew of individuals who have been so busy pushing their memories into oblivion as possible that the fireworks are always near the surface. The sparks stem from fury in some scenes and oh so fiery, repressed passion in others! Whichever turn the reader takes, he or she is bound to be mesmerized by this vibrant family, beginning with Abby O'Brien Winters, a woman who thinks she knows her own mind - today at least!

Abby, divorced and the mother of twin girls, has a successful financial career in Manhattan, New York. She desperately could use some vacation time but is still surprised by the desperate call she receives from her sister, Jess. Abby drops all and travels to the lovely Chesapeake Shores in Maryland, a community her father built but never really stuck around long enough to cement with his children. Abby and Jess have very different reactions to their mother leaving when they were very young and to their father, the master of incompleteness. Communication is sorely in need of healing, if not an almost impossible goal for either to obtain.

For now, Abby must contend with helping Jess save the Inn at Eagle Point, which is in dire financial condition and which Jess will lose unless Abby agrees to an old lover, Trace Riley's demand that she help to manage the Inn in order to assure it can survive with an adequate income generated from its guests. The demand is outrageous but Abby doesn't have much choice if she wishes to help her fragile (in some ways) sibling. But complications will arrive there as well; an ex-husband who uses Abby's move to further his own needs, a threat to take her to court for legal, full-time custody of the twins.

These are just a few of the conflicts racing through these lively pages. While there are multiple problems, they are depicted in a smooth, linear fashion that never confuses the reader.

Sherryl Woods has created the first of a funny, challenging, heart-rending, passionate and endearing story, a family portrait so powerful that the reader will eagerly await more in another O'Brien tale in the near future!

Very nicely done!

Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on April 6, 2009

Sherryl Woods has unleashed yet another wonderful series in her first book "The Inn at Eagle Point". She has created just enough buzz about other family member stories to keep you intrigued enough to anticipate what/who the next book might be about.

I love the fact that I can start a Sherryl Woods series and read about a whole family by the end of the series, although I must say that I always find I am quite sad and lost once I am finished .

I loved the Sweet Magnolia series and this series is proving to be just as heartwarming and welcoming.

This couldn't have been a better choice of books!

STORY BRIEF:
A spread out family with a handful of conflicts among different family members.

The main couple:
Abby and Trace were in love fifteen years ago, but Abby left him to pursue a career in New York City. She now works for a brokerage firm managing investments for clients. She married Wes who divorced her. She now has twin daughters five years old. Wes loves the girls and sees them frequently. Abby comes to Chesapeake Shores for a while to help her sister. While there she runs into Trace. Trace lives elsewhere, but his father asked Trace to come to Chesapeake Shores for six months. Trace has a successful business as a freelance commercial artist doing ads for large companies. Trace still loves Abby and asks her out several times. They go on walks, have lunches, etc.

Secondary characters:
Jess is Abby's youngest sister who has ADHD. Jess bought a hotel using bank loans in their hometown Chesapeake Shores. She has been remodeling and decorating but has been irresponsible with the finances. The bank is going to foreclose. Jess asks Abby to come help with the banking problem. The bank will not foreclose as long as Abby stays in the area to manage the Inn's finances. Abby is able to continue serving her New York clients while she stays in the area with Jess.

Megan and Mick are the parents of Jess and Abby. They divorced fifteen years ago. Megan left Mick alone with his mother to raise their five children. Megan would like relationships with her grown children but that hasn't happened, except for the oldest Abby. Jess has never forgiven Megan for leaving and has refused to talk to her all these years.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
This was ok and kept my interest, but it was easy to put down. I wasn't pulled in with a need to keep reading. It was more of an acceptable something to read to fill some time. It's mostly family interactions, conflicts, and resolving them. For example: Jess is irresponsible and tries to hide her spending, Abby has to say no to Jess, Jess is upset. Wes comes to visit his daughters and doesn't like seeing Abby with another man Trace. Wes has other problems, and he wants custody of the girls. Abby is now worried about those things. Abby and Trace still love each other, but Abby thinks it can not work. Once or twice I was tired of hearing the same argument.

It needed more interesting dialogue. Conversations are ordinary, everyday things that are predictable and frequently used. Also, it could have used more intriguing, unusual, or colorful characters.

Technically this book qualifies as "romance," but it feels more like "women's relationship fiction." There was one sex scene. It felt out of place, as if the author was required to include it but didn't feel like doing it.

I liked seeing how Abby learned that she had been verbally abused and never realized it at the time. Wes was passive-aggressive and judgmental toward Abby. I enjoyed the way Trace desired Abby and the way he treated her. That was the best part of the book. It felt good since I easily identified with Abby.

DATA:
Story length: 378 pages. Swearing language: mild. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: one, 3 pages long. Setting: current day Chesapeake Shores, Maryland, and New York City, NY. Copyright: 2009. Genre: contemporary romance and women's relationship fiction.

This was my first read by this author and I was disappointed. While I enjoyed the descriptions written in the third-person of the characters' backgrounds and the relationships between them, the first-party writing style she most frequently invokes to describe the characters' own supposed thoughts and emotions are very one dimensional and made them completely unbelievable to me as real people. The plot was also simplistic, albeit moderately interesting. Overall, I could not enjoy the book because the writing style was so distracting with nearly every thought and phrase being unnecessary editorialized with endless caveats. The sex scene between the main characters was also completely gratuitous and acted only to diminish any meaningful impact of the story. And like this review, it was also too long. By the end, I didn't care what happened to any of the characters and couldn't wait to finish the book so that I could delete it from my Kindle and move on to something better.

I Love the O'Brien Family and the Small Town (Chesapeake Shores) I've Always wanted to live in a Small Town...I ordered the Next 4 books in the Series I Can't Wait to SEE what happens ....This is the First Time I've Read Any of "Sherryl Woods Novels" I Fell in love with this Story Right Away!! I ENJOY Ms Woods Style of Writing I'm Sure I'll Love the Rest of this Series!!

I Normally Read "Nora Roberts" Novels....Then I Started Reading "Kristin Hannah's Novels" I "ENJOY" them Both Very Much!
I Guess im Branching Out Now Finding Move Authors That I Enjoy!! Ordered 3 Novels By "Fern Michaels"....< I've heard from Friends that Ms Michaels is a Great Author as well...I will Find out Soon.

Thanks! Ms.Woods For This Series it Was Beauitfully Written!!