A missing wife… father Alex moved on from heartbreak in the only way he knew how. Josie trusted him. When secrets from the past resurface, will they find a way to heal, or has their path to happiness been crushed beyond repair?
Shimmering Emeralds: Levi’s a little bit country. Meg’s a whole lot of rock and roll. Can these two opposites meet in the middle or will their past mistakes rob them of their second chance at romance?
When tragedies bring the residents of coastal Brunswick Bay Harbor together in ways they never could have imagined, will these intriguing characters find their happily-ever-afters, or will their secrets destroy them? Meet them now and find out.
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This was an amazing set of books. They were outstanding, to say the least. I loved everything about them. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book in exchange for a free copy.
The book is a good small town romance read. The book is a good box set of stories. Each one of the stories does end in a cliffhanger. The story has a good story line. The characters are good, and they have good chemistry.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The Brunswick Bay Harbor Gems: Books 1-3 was a great read by Ann Omasta. This box set consisted of; Shattered Diamonds, Shining Pearls, and Shimmering Emeralds. These books follow different couples in Brunswick Bay Harbor, Maine. Shattered Diamonds followed Josie figuring out where her life is going after her Olympic dreams were destroyed. She meets Alex who is trying to fix his life up after the disppearance of his wife. Shining Pearls follows Alex as he moves on with Josie but secrets that surface could break them apart. Shimmering Emeralds follows Levi and Meg, who are complete opposites that are hoping for a second chance at romance. I loved reading these books and cant wait to read more by Ann Omasta.
Shattered Diamonds
This is an amazingly well-written story. My heart broke for Alex every time one of the townspeople snubbed him. Josie’s unattainable dreams tugged at my emotions. And Hannah is such a vivacious little sprite; she’s utterly charming and completely infectious. The other reviewers aren’t kidding when they say that’s one heck of a cliff-hanger ending. Normally I avoid any book that has even a whiff of love-triangle around it, but this story now has me torn in shreds, dying to know how it’s all going to turn out.
Shining Pearls
This book left me a bit of an emotional mess. After spending the previous book investing in Josie and Alex as a couple, it hurt my heart to see the devastation and venom that Josie had to deal with this time around. It was all of that, mostly unjustified, bitterness and bile that had me giving this book the side-eye and I spent a large portion of this book going “b*tch, please.” Alex is just clueless about the emotional stuff. He spends a lot of time hurting the women in his life when I don’t think that’s what he meant to do. I liked the author’s solution in the end, it was just a roller-coaster getting there. Now I can’t wait to see what this latest twist brings into their lives.
Shimmering Emeralds
I had a tough time with this book. I adored the ending but getting there felt a bit like an uphill battle at times. The continuity issues in this book drove me mental. Firstly, ICU doesn’t operate like just another room in the hospital and it frustrated the living daylights out of me that this was the way it was portrayed here. Add to that, the multitude of patient confidentiality violations shown in this story and I was practically frothing at the mouth. I also had problems getting past all of Meg’s judgmental and hypocritical attitudes. I couldn’t understand why it was fine for her to behave like a raving harpy, but then she’d get mad at anyone else who did the same. Levi and Harper were just about perfect to me. Levi’s so sweet and stoic. He handles everyone’s venom and blame with an equanimity I can only admire. And Harper’s the same precious little imp I’d already come to love in the previous books, she just takes center stage in this one. Now that I’ve started to get to know Dani, I’m intrigued to see what the author has in store for her.
I received a complimentary advanced copy of this book through Booksprout.
This series has both romance and action in a small-town setting. I have enjoyed each volume as it came out. Here are my thoughts for each of the three stories in the set:
Shattered Diamonds
Romance built on sand; will the tide sweep it into oblivion?
August 1, 2019
4.5stars
The ending really ratcheted up my overall impression of this story. I can’t wait to read the follow-on! The whole issue of hero Alex’s missing wife Claire just lays low and simmers in the background throughout the story. I did find it odd that, with so many of the local people concerned about her disappearance, there’s little mention of any police investigation.
Alex’s daughter Hannah is a favorite character for me. Her joy and sorrow gave this romance lots of heart. I liked the way young Hannah moved Alex and Josie closer. The absent Claire left me a bit ambivalent about whether Alex and Josie should have been trying harder to resist any mutual attraction, but it was a difficult, frustrating, nebulous situation so I can understand their actions. There’s some steam, but the majority of the story focused on building emotional connections.
I enjoyed it and would recommend it despite the cliffhanger ending. The continuation is set for release in a few weeks, so I won’t have to wait for months to learn how their dilemma resolved itself.
Shining Pearls
Drama, drama, drama: Alex, what have you done?
August 22, 2019
4stars
This love triangle romance set in small-town coastal Pacific Northwest with a smitten other man and an innocent young girl caught in the fallout is an enjoyable, fairly fast-paced continuation of the characters and situation from Shattered Diamonds. The story is told from the alternate POVs of swimming coach Josie and “returned from the dead” Claire, who has trouble reconciling the fact that her husband’s and her young daughter’s lives moved on in her absence in the year she abruptly disappeared without a trace and no warning. Their close-knit family and friends are all dealing, each in his or her own way, with the repercussions of Claire’s absence and sudden return. Josie has some tough truths to face, not the least of which is how closely should she rely on Dean, her best friend who obviously carries a torch for her. I felt that the man in the middle, Claire’s husband Alex, became a bit less likable in this part of the series because of the way he deals with Josie. Meanwhile, Josie grows up and faces some hard truths, Claire makes a laudable effort to keep their family going and ensure their daughter’s continued cheery outlook, and the whole crew anticipate happy changes.
This is an easy read, with a bit of heat, and a HFN (hurrah!) until the last page, which sets up a whole new drama for the same characters. I don’t know how I feel about that. Yes, it makes me wonder about the next book but I rather like stories to have a satisfying end. Should I just ignore the teaser to get my happy ending?
Shimmering Emeralds
Excitement and dread as a school outing changes lives
4-4.5stars
This latest in Omasta’s series about the residents of a small New England town started with a kick and, though the pace slowed after some initial action, it had no trouble keeping my interest through the HEA ending. The heroine’s long-term secret was obvious to me but the lightbulb moment for Levi, her former love, took a good while to hit and needed an awkwardly timed revelation as he seemed clueless! My favorite character– Levi, for sure, as he puts up with a lot, including a bunch of the heroine’s family, friends and even the local police, who heap blame on him. He weathers all the barbs and accusations like a real trooper. This is a quick, easy to read mild heat romance with plenty of drama. I enjoyed it and look forward to the next in the series.
I read a complimentary advance copy of each book in the set; this is my voluntary and honest review.
I was quite enjoying how the nanny rescues the dad from his loss of his wife. I detested how the town villified him. However, comes book 2 and they now villify the nanny who ends up ‘settling for’. Then in book 3 one of the top villifiers of book 1 gets a happy ending.
Too much of a focus on sex. Couldn’t finish.
I could not figure out how book 1 would have a happy ending for all concerned, and of course it didn’t!!
I liked the books but the premise bothered me
In order to prevent giving anything away I can only say that Dean and Levi were the only likable characters. The rest deserve their turmoil.
I did receive an ARC copy of this book, and I expect issues but these books have been published and when I checked against my purchased single copies of book 1 and 2 and the same issues were present. It’s not like this author to leave a book with so many edits so I checked for updates but there wasn’t any and now the same issues are in the boxset so I’m not sure what to think. Normally I would hack off a few stars as I hate books that are up for sale with this many edits but I have to assume it is a mistake of some sort and I hope the author works it out. I love a boxset. Even though, most times, I have already purchased each,book separately, if I’m offered the boxset at a reasonable price I will buy. It lets me get rid of the senate stand alone’s and I get to read the series in place. This box set is slightly different even though it’s titled books 1 to 3 in the Brunswick Bay series; this is actually Books 1 and 2 and book 1 ends in a cliffhanger so I was happy to have book 2 and the 3rd book is more of a stand alone. Book 1 and 2 probably isn’t my fav by this author. Book 1 centers around Alex. His wife has been missing for a year and a half but her body hadn’t show up so even though he had an emotional connection he was still married and unavailable for more. The 2nd book was more the 2nd half of a duet and Alex was not as liable in the 2nd book! It’s was a bit odd.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
An Odd Collection for a Box Set
This is a slightly different box set than most. I adore box sets, as they’re quite a bargain, and if all from one author, it’s a great way to binge-read a series. Most of the box sets that I read, though, take place in the same world or community, but each book mostly stands alone—with its own couple and that couple’s relationship trajectory. This felt more like a duet comprised of books 1 and 2 and a standalone, so that felt a little odd. Book 1 definitely ended on a cliffhanger, so I was glad to have the series so I could just keep on reading. I find myself disappointed in the duet, though. I felt a little ill at ease with book 1, as the central couple became closer, though mostly on an emotional level, because the man’s wife had been missing for a year. Her body hadn’t shown up anywhere, so technically he was still married. And then the second half of the duet depicts how that resolves. I liked Alex in the first book, but I wasn’t so wild about him in the second book. There are definitely some issues with grammar, punctuation, and usage in this novel, enough to be distracting at times. I did receive an ARC copy of this book, but I did check the Look Inside feature at Amazon, and the problems were still present in the published edition. The one that particularly drove me a little crazy was the occasional unnecessary use of a comma between the subject and the verb. The author liked to construct some complicated sentences, which I adore, but to pull that off successfully, you need to know how to punctuate them.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
I really liked these three books! The only reason I gave 4 instead of 5 stars is that each book ends on a cliffhanger and I usually stay away from books like that. After reading Shattered Diamonds I was hooked and had to read Shining Pearls and then onto Shimmering Emeralds. Each book has drama as well as romance and is well written. I enjoyed these books and look forward to the rest of the series!