Customer Reviews

Summer in Eclipse Bay

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The conclusion of the cheerful Eclipse Bay trilogy ties things up nicely. The hero and heroine, Nick Harte and Octavia Brightwell don't have quite the richness of the earlier book's characters (especially the delightfully droll Gabe Madison of Dawn in Eclipse Bay, the best of the series) but they are more than adequate. The best thing about this series (and many of Jayne Ann's books) are the quirky,almost Capra-esque supporting characters. The grumpy grandpas, the deliciously loony Arizona, the dumb-as-dirt n'er do wells who pick a fight with Nick and his pal Jeremy, Winston the World's Classiest Schnauser, all make the book worth reading. The plot is practically non-existent, but Jayne Ann excels at making nothing into very entertaining nothing.

We've returned to Eclipse Bay, home of the much-talked about Harte-Madison feud and the surprising romances in earlier books, Eclipse Bay and Dawn in Eclipse Bay.

This time a stranger has come to town - Olivia Brightwell, who hides a secret purpose in opening an art gallery in the little seaside town. The older generation might have a suspicion about why she's in town. But Nick Harte's main worry is whether he'll spend the entire summer collecting rejections from the new girl in town, or whether his 5-year-old son Carson will blame him for messing up Carson's relationship with his friend Olivia.

Soon enough everyone's worried about other things, like Nick's love them and leave them reputation, a valuable missing painting, and whether or not Nick has given Olivia The Talk (a lecture about keeping things light that has become famous among the females of Eclipse Bay).

This book has all of Ms. Krentz's signature touches -- family ties, down-home atmosphere, a dash of mystery, and a couple who spends enough time worrying about what the other one might do that it takes a while to figure out that they're falling in love. Highly recommended.

With "Summer in Eclipse Bay," JAK takes us back to the remote coastal town one last time, concluding the trilogy with a fizzle rather than a bang. This time we follow the escapades of Nick "Heartless Harte" Harte, a father who's been burned in marriage once, and Octavia Brightwell, the redheaded "fairy of Eclipse Bay" who has returned to repair the damages caused by her great aunt, only to find the divide repaired on its own. Deciding that she is not needed, Octavia vows to leave Eclipse Bay at the end of the summer, but Nick Harte has other ideas.

The attraction is instantaneous, and though Octavia is hesistant to commit to any sort of relationship in her free-floating status, Nick eventually wears her down and the romance proceeds from there, aided by the mystery of a painting stolen from Octavia's gallery.

The romance element is enjoyable but not exceptional: Nick and Octavia are a pleasant couple that is driven more by chemistry and timing than complimentary personalities, and the plot relies more on romantic cliches than its predacessors. Ideas like "the talk" (of non-commitment) and the "curse" that prevents the hero from staying overnight weigh the plot down, and heavy handed pasts do little to lighten the mood.

So the novel's bouyancy is left to the mystery plot, which carries it nicely. Nick's career as a mystery writer leads to a sleuthing job that draws him head first into trouble and excitement, providing the energy that keeps the pages turning, while Octavia's dealings with the gossip circles in town provide many opportunities to laugh aloud. Rafe and Hannah from the first book return with a renewed vigor, but Gabe and Lillian from the second are noticeably absent.

In the end, however, it is the colorful and quirky townsfolk of Eclipse Bay who give this book its real charm. Old favorites return, bringing with them a delightful new contingent. It is when paired with these offbeat neighbors that Nick and Octavia shine; going toe to toe with the locals adds wit and humor where the romance itself lacks it.

All in all, only a somewhat stale romance keeps this book from a five-star rating. This book earns its place as a contender in the Eclipse bay trilogy with with and humor and wit. For those just picking up JAKs first trilogy, this may not be the place to start; but for those of us ready to fall in love not with Nick and Octavia, but with Eclipse Bay itself, this book is a skillfully crafted delight that rounds out the trilogy nicely.

After thoroughly enjoying the first two books of this series, I eagerly grabbed Summer off the shelf and settled in for an entertaining read. But Nick and Octavia never came alive like the Madison men and Harte women of the previous books. JAK continues her wonderful cast of secondary characters, human and non (especially Winston who she portrays so strikingly in just a few sentences that he becomes a major figure). However, even the two family patriarchs lost some of the punch of the earlier books. Did JAK lose interest in this group? After foreshadowing the main characters in the earlier stories, did she find they didn't work out as planned? Count me in as a devoted reader, however....although I may check out a few pages more carefully next time before making a purchase. Summer ended up in the library/charity shop pile.

I'm giving this a "4", mostly because it's JAK & she's tops in my book, but was a little disillusioned by it's lackluster. Not that I don't recommend it - but the characters, most of them the spunky & strange ones from the previous 2 installments, were getting just a bit tiresome. Nick & Octavia were destined from the beginning to pair up & I "know" this going in, but it was fun seeing them through the dilemmas to the end. Carson is a charmer, and I look for JAK to dredge him up someday when he grows up and becomes an adult Harte. Winchester, as always, is a star. You won't be disappointed to buy this book and read it just to satisfy your curiousity if you read the Eclipse Bay and Dawn at Eclipse Bay, but don't expect fireworks.

I was very interested in reading this book because the very fisrt book that got me into her was A SHARED DREAM. It had a good story line as well as summer in eclipse i still havent had the chance to read the first two but if theyre anything like this one im sure ill buy it and read it.
JAK makes it so easy to read her books and enjoy them that its hard to put them down.
KEEP ON ROCKIN'

If you want my honest opinion I'm not a big Jayne Ann Krentz fan. I can't stand any of those crystal balls or the future. But since I read the other 2 books in this trilogy I figured I had nothing to lose by reading this one. So I eagerly awaited this books arrival and read it the instant it arrived on my door. Sure enough, I wasn't dissappointed and I didn't regret ordering it. It starts out simple enough with Nick Harte asking out Octavia Brightwell. For the seventh time. She finally says yes and she falls in love. Even with his son too. Of course, every happy ending has its share of problems. Nick's family is known around the whole town for it's legendary feud with the Madisons. Then there's the person, the one that every town has; the crazy one. I would of given it 5 stars if it wasn't for the stupid astrology stuff.

Loved this book! Lately JAK has seemed to take a darker turn and this seems to thankfully reverse that trend. The focus is much more on the relationship and less on the mystery. The mystery is less 'heavy' - no one dies in this book! It's pretty easy to figure out (as usual) but since it has only a minor part in the plot it doesn't matter. I enjoyed the relief from the spooky atmosphere of Smoke & Mirrors.
Great details in the secondary characters. I particularly liked the town 'losers'. Some of the dialog was actually hilarious and I found myself laughing out loud! I noticed also the dialog seems more realistic - the two unemployed barflies did not sound too much like college professors.

Despite many JAK trademarks (Is there really a 'talent' for hanging pictures? Will there ever be a blonde heroine?) I could not think of an obvious comparison with any other work. It seems quite original.

One word of warning, watch out for the trailer for the next book! After this wonderful story, it looks like she's going right back to creepy.

I listened to this as an unabridged audiobook and if it weren't for the fact that I was trapped in a car with no other form of entertainment to be found I more than likely would've given up on this one mid-way through. The characters were too blah to hold my attention and their attraction to each other just didn't come alive for me.

It turns out this story is the third in a series but it easily stands alone since its plot isn't exactly complicated. Octavia Brightwell is relatively new to Eclipse Bay and runs a successful art gallery. She arrived in Eclipse Bay to soothe the rift between the Madison & Harte families that her dear departed aunt caused years earlier. Once Octavia realizes the feud has been mended without her help she decides it's time to leave Eclipse Bay. She's also desperate to get away from gorgeous, heartbreaker Nick Harte who continually pesters her for a date. When she finally makes up her mind to high-tail it out of town she agrees to the date with Nick (don't ask). They soon become romantically entangled and banter back and forth denying their true feelings. Before long the two find themselves partners in the search for a valuable missing painting and, well, I bet you can figure out the rest . . .

These two are very much stock characters. We have Nick who lost the love of his life years earlier and has never allowed himself to fall in love again (and has a reputation for loving `em and leaving `em before the night is over) and then we have the "free spirit" Octavia who sort of floats through life and avoids romantic entanglements. Stock characters are all fine and good when they're written with depth and emotion but these two were just flat out bland and their relationship lacked any sort of spark. Nick also has an annoying habit of referring to Octavia as a "fairy queen" that made me cringe every time he uttered the words.

There are also pop-up appearances by characters who I only guess starred in previous books. They add a little to the story but their visits did not convince me that I need to search for the previous books in this series. There are also far too many over the top weird/quirky/cult-y/odd speaking secondary characters populating this story to be believed.

The few bits of fun banter and Nick's enjoyable little boy Carson are about all that I'll be remembering about "Summer In Eclipse Bay" once I finish writing this review.

if you feel like reading a romance novel like we used to read at 17, this is not a bad read. some of the dialogue is actually funny.