One of New York Times bestselling author Samantha Young’s most beloved couples returns for the first time in a brand new novella set ten years after her blockbuster bestseller Before Jamaica Lane…Nate and Liv have a great life together but they miss the spontaneity and freedom they enjoyed early on in their romance. Careers and their children have inevitably kept them busy, so when Nate … their children have inevitably kept them busy, so when Nate discovers Liv is feeling disconnected from him, he plans an anniversary trip to the idyllic seaside town of Hartwell, Delaware. There he hopes they will have the opportunity they’ve been craving–a chance to reinvent themselves and fall in love all over again.
With each new day comes a new adventure, from wedding crashing at the five-star boardwalk hotel to pretending they are two strangers having a chance encounter at the boardwalk bar. In the midst of this daring, sexually-charged game of romantic rediscovery, Nate and Liv discover the only constant they need is each other.
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“…almost too beautiful to bear.”
I was thrilled to get my hands on this amazing crossover story that brought Nate & Liv from On Dublin Street to Hart’s Boardwalk years later. Being older myself, I really enjoyed reading about this couple a decade later, after they’d been married and had children together.
Nate & Liv have settled into their careers and their children’s lives, staying busy with their extracurricular activities. Finding alone-time is not the priority that it used to be, at least it hasn’t been for the last six months. As Liv approaches her 40th birthday she struggles with feelings of insecurity and worries about her marriage. Is she no longer enough to keep her handsome husband happy?
What a brilliant idea it was for the author to send her beloved characters to Hart’s Boardwalk for their vacation. Who could visit such an amazing place full of amazing people and not be affected? I know that I was, even though my visit was through the pages of my Kindle. Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed my voyeuristic vacation with Nate & Liv. So much so that I might have to check my Kindle case for sand from the beach.
This beautiful fusion was a sweet read that merged characters from both series, giving me the full deal and leaving me with a smile on my face. I’m really looking forward to the next installment of Hart’s Boardwalk, fingers crossed that it will feature a certain shy bookstore owner. The line forms here…
In this novella we get to catch up with Liv and Nate. They’ve been married for 10 years and are raising their two kids. It’s no secret that I love this series. What I loved so much about OHB was the realness. Yes, we read to escape our own lives but there is also something to be said for being able to connect with characters and a story on a personal level. I think for those of us that have been married for a significant amount of time can relate to the issues and feelings that Liv and Nate deal with. It was great seeing them get back to their roots and enjoyed the crossover with the Hart’s series.
This was a short and sweet read. I like getting to see what the characters from past books are up to.
If you are an On Dublin Street fan by Samantha Young, then you NEED to read this book!! I should also add in there that if you haven’t read Samantha’s On Dublin Street, this book will make no sense to you at all…
The main characters for On Hart’s Boardwalk are Olivia (Liv) & Nate from Before Jamaican Lane (On Dublin Street #3). Fast forward almost 10 years from the ending of Before Jamaican Lane and you have a married Olivia & Nate with kiddos. I know, KIDDOS!
I LOVE going back and re-visiting characters from series that I have loved for year. Not only do we get to see Olivia & Nate, but we get to see the entire gang from the On Dublin Street series. It was fun to catch up with them.
Olivia and Nate seem to be going through a rough patch in their marriage. They are just so busy with life that they don’t seem to have time for each other. So, Nate decided to surprise Liv with a vacation to America. This is where the Hart’s Boardwalk series comes into play. Full disclosure, I have not read the Hart’s Boardwalk series. Although my girlfriend has and she loved it, so know that it is on my TBR list. Nate’s hope is to rekindle their love to the time and place when they were dating.
I loved the concept of this book. I hated the constant whining that Olivia did throughout this book!!! I was about ready to pop into the book and smack her!
Nate, oh Nate… I still love Nate now just as much as I loved him in Before Jamaican Lane. He was swoony in this book. The way he was with Liv was breathtaking. I love how he loved her through all of her insecurities of their relationship.
This book left me wanting more from Samantha Young! I wanted more from the On Dublin Street characters!!! Maybe she can start a series with their children!!! I would buy that in a heartbeat!
Holy crap, this novella pulled on my heartstrings. This is the story of two beloved characters from the On Dublin Street series, Olivia & Nate. Honestly, I forgot how much I missed the On Dublin Street gang right until I picked up this book and was thrown back into the world where everyone is still there and just as you remember them (though a little older).
Samantha Young has created characters that stick in your mind and make you never want to leave them. They make you smile, cry, laugh and want to scream at times. I love the character development & just the writing style is a refreshing take on the romance genre.
When you pick up a Samantha Young book, you know you’re in for a treat. This is why she quickly became my favorite romance author. Her books are well written & the plot lines are always intriguing.
Hands down, this is a great novella & I cannot wait to read what she has next.
**I received this in exchange for an honest review but I’m about to preorder it on B&N because I know that I have to own it.**
Nate and Liv have always been my favorite couple of this series so I was hugely excited to see they were getting a novella follow up story!
The first chapter stunned me a bit and made my heart hurt, but looks can be deceiving! In truth, Nate and Liv are going through a rough patch after 14 years together, and I have to admit their issues resonated with me more than I care to think about. Busy lives, kids and stressful jobs can get in the way of the most passionate couples, but Liv is terrified to talk to Nate about her fears. Their moment of reckoning is painful, but Nate’s solution is swoony, romantic and all Nate Sawyer!
I loved their getaway to the boardwalk, and it was my introduction to one of the author’s other series that I really need to get caught up on. Nate and Liv still have some issues,to work out but they recapture their magic in ways that remind why I adore them so much to begin with!
If you are new to this author’s books or if you have missed any of the stories in either series, don’t hesitate to jump into On Hart’s Boardwalk! It can easily be read as an introductory tale or as a re-visting of familiar friends and faces, and I hope you fall in love with these characters as much as I have.
Two of Samantha Young’s adult romance series’ collide in a palpable novella featuring one of my all-time favorite fictional couples: Liv and Nate from Before Jamaica Lane (installment #3 in the On Dublin Street series). Set ten years after Before Jamaica Lane, fans get to catch up on pretty much everyone from the series. As you can gather from the title, a chunk of this novella takes place with the characters and in the setting of the Hart’s Boardwalk series so Samantha Young’s adult fans are going to have a field day revisiting with some of their fav’s. As for the storyline, Ms. Young shows stressors of marriage and parenting, and how they are exacerbated when couples don’t communicate well. Don’t worry though, Liv and Nate have still got it and this novella is over all too soon leaving you homesick for these characters all over again. On Hart’s Boardwalk is an excellent addition to both of these series and I personally would love to see more novellas like this one.
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Ruthie –
This is a rather delicious crossover novella which takes us back to the wonderful couple of Nate and Liv. We find them at a point in their lives where their closeness seems to have got lost and they need a chance to reconnect. Nate knows that he needs to face some demons and restore the balance to the marriage, so he whisks Liv away to the States for a romantic holiday.
The start of the book is a little unnerving, but brilliant! I enjoyed the story greatly, and they still have all the heat they did back in the day. My only complaint would be that there was lots of descriptive text about peripheral things which I didn’t need. Really, Liv and Nate’s story was all I wanted to read.
Super sexy, quick read, which I am sure many women will leave for their husbands to read and get some ideas!!
Avid Reader –
M/F Romance
Triggers: Death
I want to start this review by saying that if you have not read the previous books in this series, I highly suggest that you do. I have read them all and love each and every one of them. These characters really speak to the reader and are approachable.
Liv and Nate are always described as such a great couple – the couple that everyone aspires to be. In this instance, Liv and Nate are trying to figure out where their lives are going. They’ve hit the decade mark in their marriage and with having a few kiddos in tow, Liv and Nate need to find their spark again.
This is such an emotional read. It is real, raw, and organic. The characters relate to real life in that they have issues with communication and need to learn how to do that again. Being young and in love is a great space to be in but being in a marriage is also a fantastic place to be.
Finding a happy medium is what is key in this story. That happily ever after does exist, it just may take a little bit of work. I loved how Nate and Liv worked through their lives and supported each other. There were the steamy scenes I’ve come to expect from this series and I absolutely loved this couple, yet again.
Reviewers received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.
‘Marriages are not perfect because people aren’t perfect.’
These are sage words that all married couples should remember, even fictional ones, because life isn’t easy…there’s a tremendous amount of ups and downs and even the most in love and strongest couples go through rough patches, and it’s during those times that these two individuals who pledged their lives to one another need to try harder, never give up, and never stop fighting for a love that’s meant to be forever.
When I saw that Samantha Young was writing another story about, Nate and Liv, one of my favorite couples of her On Dublin Street series, I couldn’t get my hands on an ARC quick enough because I wanted to see how they were doing after the unconventional way that these two started their relationship in Before Jamaica Lane, and while it hurts my heart when a pair of characters I adore struggle with their marriage, it’s a realistic portrayal of what any couple might encounter as they spend their years together.
When On Hart’s Boardwalk begins, Liv feels completely disconnected from Nate…I would go so far as to say that she feels shut out on an emotional level and it’s that distance that she can’t seem to shorten that has Liv’s insecurities and neediness wreaking havoc on her heart. For 10 blissful years of marriage, Liv and Nate have been a team, creating an incredible life together and raising their two girls in a loving environment, but with the death of one of Nate’s good friends, things have changed between Liv and Nate; she feels invisible and undesired and until those issues are discussed and resolved, Liv suffers silently and the tension between them will never dissipate if an honest conversation doesn’t occur.
I can’t tell you how much I adored the continuation of Nate and Olivia’s story…partly because their situation is extremely relatable and it will definitely resonate with readers but also because it allowed me to revisit a cast characters that I miss desperately. Because Young creates multifaceted characters, readers feel like they truly know and understand them and it makes reading about them that much more enjoyable.
The fact that Young brings two of her series together and provides Nate and Liv with an opportunity to reconnect in Hartwell, Delaware, makes the setting a perfect backdrop for them to find their way back to one another, and the cameos characters from the Hart’s Boardwalk series provides readers with further insight into how the couples are doing and it also gives readers an outside perspective on just how good Nate and Liv look together and just how much love surrounds them.
Marriage is definitely an adventure, and the message that Young seems to send to her readers through Liv and Nate’s story is that as long as the good times outweigh the bad ones and the couple doesn’t give up on one another then they can tackle anything that life throws at them, and that idea resonates from the pages of On Hart’s Boardwalk in a sexy, sweet, and heartfelt way.
“I can’t lose you, babe. You’d take my soul with you.”
I’m not gonna lie. This one hurt. As a HUGE FAN of Samantha Young’s work, I expect a romance with TONS of emotion. I expect to experience ALL THE FEELS when I dive into her stories, but this…this was SO MUCH MORE heartbreaking than I could have ever imagined. Some of you may be familiar with Nate and Liv, some of you may not. Either way, your heart will break for them for the first time, or ALL OVER AGAIN. On Hart’s Boardwalk shows us what could happen AFTER a happily ever after. For some couples, that’s all they need. For others, they require something MORE, something NECESSARY, something CRUCIAL in order to get back to where they were before…back to that happily ever after that we all read about. This beautiful, sexy, heartWRENCHING novella gives us a glimpse of two beloved characters that are struggling for their second HEA, their second chance at fighting for the couple that they know they can be, the couple that we have all rooted for since day one. There will be tears. There will be heartache, but has Ms. Young ever steered you wrong? I didn’t think so. Not all happily ever afters stick the first go-round.
4.25 stars-ON HART’S BOARDWALK is instalment 2.5 of Samantha Young’s contemporary, adult HART’S BOARDWALK romance series that in turn is a spin-off from the author’s ON DUBLIN STREET series. ON HART’S BOARDWALK is a continuing look at Nate and Olivia Sawyer (Before Jamaica Lane) as they approach Olivia’s fortieth birthday, and the celebration of ten years of marriage. ON HART’S BOARDWALK can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines (in either series) is revealed where necessary.
Told from first person point of view (Olivia Sawyer) ON HART’S BOARDWALK is a heartbreaking story that fast forwards ten years in the life of Nate and Olivia, as our heroine struggles with the approach of her fortieth birthday, and the apparent loss of affection from the man that she loves. Nate and Olivia’s love life has lost the spontaneity and romance with the birth of two children, busy lifestyles and busier jobs but Olivia has always battled issues of low self-esteem that are currently exacerbated by her husband’s apparent disinterest, and the approach of her fortieth birthday. Nate will overhear Olivia talking to her friends, and in this Nate struggles to accept Olivia’s concerns. What ensues is the couple’s battle to move forward, and bring the romance and spontaneity back into their lives as they head to America and Hartwell Delaware to celebrate their ten year anniversary.
ON HART’S BOARDWALK is both a heartbreaking and heart warming story; an emotional roller coaster ride as one man struggles with the loss of a friend, and one woman battles issues of the past that continue to affect her self-esteem and ability to let go. The secondary and supporting characters are familiar, colorful and fun; the romance is sexy, provocative and inspiring. ON HART’S BOARDWALK is an uplifting and spirited look at a rekindling romance that had yet to completely fall apart.
4.5 Stars
This is a novella and a revisit to Nate and Liv from the On Dublin Street series. I absolutely loved these two in Before Jamaica Lane. I think second to Joss & Braden they were my favourite couple from the series, so I was a little disappointed that I didn’t feel quite as much connection to these characters in this book.
On Harts Boardwalk is set several years after Before Jamaica Lane and having been married for a number of years, Liv senses all is not well within her marriage. She also seemed to have the same body insecurities as she did way back when which I am sure a lot of women can relate to. I know I can.
Nate and Liv find themselves in the small seaside town of Hartwell from the Harts Boardwalk series, which is where the two series combine.
For such a short read, it took me a little longer than I would have liked, to get into this book. But once it picked up I did begin to really enjoy it.
Again I’m not sure it was entirely necessary to revisit Nate and Liv but overall not a bad little read.
Olivia is sad somethings wrong with her husband Nate or maybe it’s just her because she was turning forty she just felt like Nate didn’t love her anymore. When Nate overhears Olivia talking about it with her friend he knew he had been pushing her away but the conversation he overheard sounded like she was leaving him. With two beautiful young girls Nate and Olivia have lost their way and maybe a surprise for Olivia will help.
Reviewed on behalf of Once upon an Alpha