Customer Reviews

Safe Harbor

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This story is of two generations of sisters, Dana and Lily, and Lily's daughters, Quinn and Allie. Dana Underhill, the main character, is a well-known artist, known for her ability to capture on canvas, her most passionate love, the sea. Living and painting in France when a tragedy takes the life of her beloved sister, Dana comes home to Hubbards Point, Connecticut, where she and her sister, Lily first learned to sail and fell in love with the sea. Now her life is about to change entirely as she is thrust with the responsibility of raising her two nieces who are struggling to accept the death of their parents, in what may or may not be an accident on a sailboat. A former student, Sam Trevor who fell in love with Dana when she taught him to sail at the age of 8, has never forgotten her, re-enters her life as an adult only to find his feelings for her are strong and he wants to be at her side to help her through this awful time in her life. The relationship between them is interesting enough, but not the heart-stopping emotional kind that brings tears to your eyes. As usual Ms. Rice does a great job of portraying the young people in this story, their frustrations, anxieties and all the emotions involved in losing their parents, and acceptance in what life hands them. I think this book lacks some of the passion that her other novels have had. It was one I found I could set down for a day or two and get back to it, as opposed to not being able to put it down and reading far into the night. I am a Luanne Rice fan. I especially liked Cloud Nine and Follow the Stars Home.

I'm a big fan of Ms. Rice. I think she's officially my new favorite author (I needed an update from Danielle Steel...)Anyway, it did take me a little while to get "into" this story. Where as some of her books I'll be immediately enthralled. But once the story really got going, I enjoyed it. I don't think it was boring. Maybe yes, not her best book, but I'd definitley recommend reading it. I thought there were a lot of great scenes. Very sad story and the suspense kept the pages turning to see what would unfold.

This was my first Luanne Rice book. It was definitely not a "kleenex" book but it wasn't dull either. The book paralleled two generations of sisters and conveyed well the dynamics between the relationships. Although Lily was the "dead sister", she had a strong, well-defined presence and I felt like I knew her by the end of the book.

Overall, though, I found it hard to warm up to the characters. I couldn't relate to Dana's free-spirited, artsy nature. Sam reminded me of an over-ardent puppy gamboling after its master. The romance between him and Dana didn't seem believable and I hard time getting past the difference in their ages. Allie was dependent and rather brainless (still sucking her thumb at age ten and carrying around a stuffed animal!), while Quinn was obnoxious and foul-mouthed. She didn't ring true as a twelve year old, especially the mature writing in her diary. I was taken aback by the foul way she spoke in front of adults, and no one made a move to correct her. The scandal involving Mark and Lily turned out to be tame and relatively meaningless.

Despite those drawbacks, the plot moved along nicely and it was a pleasant read, although nothing that moved me intensely or stayed with me after I closed the book. Since everyone is raving about Cloud Nine, I'll give Luanne Rice one more try before I write her off.

Dana Underhill has just had an unexpected and totally traumatic life change. She must go from being a well known artist in France to become a mother to her two nieces in Long Island Sound. Tragically, Dana's sister and brother-in-law have been killed, and now Dana must take on, with the help of Grandma, two sullen and emotionally destroyed children, both girls. At first Dana plans to take Allie and Quinn back to France with her, to introduce them to a new lifestyle, to move them away from the tragedy. But a link with an old swimming student and fate steps in to change Dana's mind. Quinn is convinced her mother's death could not have been an accident, after all, it had been family tradition to take swimming lessons until the age of ten or so in the event of an emergency, and there was no way her mother, Lily, could have succumbed to a simple sailing accident. Quinn is determined to find out the truth, and she is the anchor that holds the story together. Well put and well written, not striking, but a good afternoon read.

This is the story of sisters,Dana and Lily,their love for each other,their love of the sea. As young women, when giving sailing lessons, they take on eight year old Sam,a poor boy. When Sam nearly drowns and is saved by them he vows to protect them forever. Dana becomes a renowned artist of the sea.Lily marries Mark,producing Quinn and Allie. The tragic sailing death of Lily and Mark forces Dana to leave France and her lover. She returns to Hubbard's Point, Connecticut to care for Quinn and Allie. What follows is the tale of Dana's efforts to be a mother to Allie and the rebellous twelve year old Quinn who is convinced her parents' death was not an accident. Sam is now an oceanographer. He reenters Dana's life at a time when she desperately needs help,fullfilling his boyhood promise to care for her,loving her at the same time.However,the story,although very well written,tends to become tedious and repetitious. The character development is excellent;each person is fully dimensional. It is typical Luanne Rice,a sweet story of family conflicts,love, tragedies, and near tragedies with a happy ending ,following a near disaster. It is a pleasant read,but I think a lesser Luanne Rice book. If you know nothing about the sea or sailing you will become familiar with them just by reading this,as the entire story revolves around both.

As a Luanne Rice fan, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Safe Harbor and as usual, could not put this Rice book down either! Rice has the endearing quality of drawing the reader right into the world she is portraying and making the reader one of the family. One cannot help but become intensely involved with the character's lives. Rice also paints a realistic picture for the reader, and not some made-up fantasy world, where one cannot really relate to the experiences that they are reading about.

Rice does a wonderful job portraying the deep bond of two sisters and the aftermath of Dana having to raise her sister, Lily's children, after her and her husband's untimely death. Family issues arise, centered on Lily's two girls, Quinn and Allie, and once again Rice portrays the intense emotions from the entire family, so that the reader can feel them and experience them. Throwing a bit of mystery into the untimely deaths, the reader is left wondering for a long time just exactly what is up.

The themes of Rice's books seem to center around the family unit and how each member copes when tragedy enters into their lives. Yet it is done poignantly and with depth and sensitivity, that the reader is left with a renewed sense of hope, and that love can and will prevail. The romance angle woven into this story is not overwhelming or intoxicating, but has just the right dose of sweetness so that the reader is rooting for Sam and urging him to never give up on Dana! The reader comes to know the characters so intimately, that one cannot wait to get to the next chapter!

I found this story to be endearing and touching and it is classic Rice at her best! Rice fans will not be disappointed, and I found this book to be one of her best!

When they were younger, Dana and Lily taught sailing in Newport. Dana also painted oceanscapes as she dreamed of becoming an artist. The siblings even saved the life of student Sam Trevor, who vowed to keep his two females saviors safe from harm.

Over two decades later, Dana is sailing the seven seas painting wherever she goes. Lily married Mark and they have two preteen children. However, the world turns upside down when Lily and Mark drown and Dana comes home to raise her two nieces struggling with their sudden loss. Dana, also grappling with her sibling's death, wonders how to raise two grieving preadolescents when Sam, an oceanography professor at Yale, enters her life again. Sam remembers his youthful pledge to the sisters and provides mental and logistical support to Dana especially with trying to understand the mystery of how two-experienced "Mer" people drown. As they begin to fall in love, Dana must overcome her fear of commitment and her problems with being several years older than her former student is if they are to form a permanent relationship.

SAFE HARBOR is a safe bet for readers who relish a relationship drama with a bit of mystery and the convalescing power of love. The story line breezes forward through the actions of the three dimensional key cast members especially the lead characters and the two children. Fans of ocean air, sandy beaches, and a top rate romance will enjoy Luanne Rice's latest offering.

Harriet Klausner

I thoroughly enjoyed this book as I do most of Luanne Rice.

Dana lived a great life with her talent as an artist over in France. But when a tragedy happens that totally shakes up her family picture; she heads back to home.

Dana's sister Lily, and her husband both drowned in a sailing accident, leaving their two daughters behind. So now Dana must take responsibilty for Allie, the youngest, and Quinn the oldest.
Allie is taking her grief in her stride; but Quinn is killing mad and angry at the whole situation. So besides Dana's own grief she must deal with, she has to deal with the challenge of Quinn as well.

Sam Trevor was a lost love many years ago of both Dana and Lily. He shows up, and is a form of support to both Dana and the girls.
Sam starts to really fall in love with Dana, but Dana won't let herself get too close to him. So time will tell what happens between the two.

Quinn is also angry because she is convinced something else happened to her parents other than the way it appears to be. So since Sam is an oceanographer, Quinn puts him to work at the bottom of the sea to find out what secret might lie in deep waters on the boat where the drowned.

Tru;y a good read. I highly recommend it!

Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

Dana Underhill has just returned to Connecticut from years abroad in Paris. She is reeling from her recent divorce and now has to deal with the grief of losing her sister as well. She returns, planning to just take her two nieces back to Paris, but things have a way or turning out different than expected. Allie, the younger of the two children is taking everything in stride and working through her grief pretty well. The older of the two, Quinn is stubborn and resentful over everything, and is convinced there is more to the death of her parents then has been revealed.

Sam Trevor is an old friend of Dana who also has recently returned to town. He's always had feelings for her, even as a young boy when Dana was his sailing instructor. As he renews his friendship and makes plans with Quinn to recover her parents' sailboat, his bond to Dana grows stronger, resulting in a new love.

With Safe Harbor, once again Luanne Rice proves her talent for writing heart wrenching stories full of strong emotion and tender love. The author is skilled at representing all kinds of relationships in her stories and this one is no different. Readers will especially be drawn into Quinn's story, feeling her pain, her anger, her frustration at losing her parents. She is the rebellious preteen, but by the end of the story her behavior will be completely understood.

There were a couple flaws in the story though. The ending to the book was a bit too perfect, too predictable for readers to fully enjoy it. Also, the relationship between Dana and Sam, though well developed was a little too unbelievable. As much as one can understand and enjoy relationships between a woman and a younger man, there seemed to be too much of an age difference for this reader to totally buy it. Granted the abridged version of the novel was listened too, no actual numbers were given to show what the age gap was, but there was definitely the feeling that there was a significant difference in ages, too much possibly for some to find it believable.

? Kelley A. Hartsell, December 2005. All rights reserved.

I was torn about whether to give this four or three stars. It's probably a three star novel at best; however, I just love anything to do with sailing, nautical themes, water, fish, etc.. and "Safe Harbor" is all about that.

I really felt like I was on that sailboat right along with Quinn and Allie Grayson, two teenage sisters recently orphaned, as they sailed from Long Island Sound to Martha's Vinyard in stormy weather......as the boat capsizes!!!! Do they survive? Read on!

Luanne Rice's writing about ocean and sea is so wonderful that you do feel right there, even though there's nothing particular urgent in terms of actual plot twists. That's ok, because Luanne Rice is really a writer for whom you visit to check in with good friends and their day-to-day life, which is what this book is.

This book is important if you are going to be reading Luanne Rice's "True Blue" (which came after "Safe Harbor") as the character of "Quinn Grayson" is featured extensively in both "True Blue" and here, "Safe Harbor".

Luanne Rice does very well going inside the mind of a teenager in grief from her parent's death, and being raised by her Aunt "Dana" Underhill.

And, all of this takes place on the wonderful "Hubbard's Point", an idyllic seaside Connecticut town that author Luanne Rice began setting about the last 7 of her novels in.