Welcome to Safe Haven, where love–and a second chance–is just around the corner… Sunny, carefree days splashing in the ocean–it’s the life Anna George has always wanted for her five-year-old twins. And now that they’ve made it to Safe Haven, South Carolina, she won’t let anyone stand in her way. Not the abusive ex she’s just escaped and not the rugged contractor who caught her setting up … setting up house in the shuttered beachfront cabins he’s refurbishing. When he offers Anna and her daughters a place to stay in exchange for her help with renovations, she’s tempted. His gentle way with her girls makes her want to trust him, but she’s been wrong before…
A family is the last thing contractor and former military man Sean O’Dwyer wants right now. But when he discovers Anna and her girls, he recognizes kindred spirits. They’re survivors who’ve seen the worst of people, just like he has, and he’ll do anything he can to help them. As he and Anna spend their days bringing the cottages back to life and their nights sharing kisses in the warm bayou breezes, Sean must choose between the life he always wanted and the family he can’t live without.
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This is my first book by this author. Based on book titles, I expected this to be a romance novel and nothing else. I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that it was way more than a romance novel – even though there is romance in it. The book is about spousal abuse and how it affects not only the partner being abused but also the children who are aware of the situation.
Anna arrives in Safe Haven, SC, after a long drive from MN with her 5 year old twins. Even though she didn’t know anyone in this small town, she had spent time here as a child and had fond memories of it. She also believed that it was somewhere safe for her to hide from her abusive husband. She soon meets Sean, the ex army contractor who is renovating the cabin that she broke into. Because of his childhood, he recognizes that he and Anna are survivors and he offers her a job with the renovations in exchange for a place to live. He also tries to help her twin daughters who are non-verbal around strangers. Can he and Anna find peace and a life together or will their past memories keep them apart?
Overall, I thought that this was a well written story with a lot of interesting characters in this small town. I realized near the end that some of the questions wouldn’t be answered in this book and that it was the first book in a new series. I am interested in these characters and look forward to the next book in the Safe Haven series.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
One childhood summer years ago, Anna George and her parents spent an idyllic vacation in Safe Haven, South Carolina. Now, Anna and her five-year-old twins, Hope & Hailey, need a safe haven far from her abusive ex, so she takes them from their Montana home to the one place she felt safe and cared for. Arriving at the quaint cabins they stayed in, she finds them closed for renovations. Undeterred, she finds a way in and sets up housekeeping in the most secluded cabin she can find. She barely has the girls settled for the night when a knock at the door tells her they’ve already been discovered.
Sean O’Dwyer knows how it feels to be abandoned. At 13, he watched as his violent father abducted his mother from the streets of Safe Haven leaving him to keep his two younger brothers safe. Raised in foster care, Sean truly trusts few people, so he is extra suspicious when he discovers a squatter in one of the cabins he is renovating. Finding that she has twin daughters throws a wrench in his plans to boot her out of the cabin. When he sees the bruises she hides, the protector in him comes out in full force. Can Sean gain Anna’s trust enough to learn what or who she is hiding from?
This was a fantastic beginning to Lee Tobin McClain’s Low Country series. I listened to the audio version of this book from my local library, and Tanya Eby does a great job with the narration! There are actually a couple of stories wrapped into one book that will make readers want to pick up the rest of the series. I look forward to reading Low Country Dreams.
This was my first time reading Lee Tobin McClain. I saw this book and thought about getting it then when it came up on sale I jumped at it. I still didn’t read it right away but I finally did.
This one starts off with heartbreak. I don’t want to ruin too much yet for you so that’s all I can tell you. You’ll have to read it to understand what I’m talking about. I will tell you that the beginning of this book drew me in so much that I couldn’t wait to keep reading it.
This whole series is about women being abused and those that help them. We start off with Sean who’s back home and going to be fixing up a bunch of summer cabins. He’s not a happy person right now. Much has happened in his past and he’s home to heal his mind and heart. Part of that healing isn’t in taking care of a woman and her two girls.
He really should have known he’d be lost the second he allowed them to stay in one of the cabins. Plus pretty quickly he realizes that Anna and her girls are in trouble. Since Sean knows trouble, he can’t help himself, he needed to help her.
Poor Anna, she’s running for her life and her daughters. What she doesn’t need right now is someone in her business. She can’t trust anyone.
So when she allows Sean in hers and her daughter’s life she’s not sure if it’s a good idea. I like how much she struggled with the thought of bringing a new man into their lives after what they went through with their father.
But they all work well together and after a while, Sean finds that he likes spending time with Anna and her daughters and that they make him want to live, not just be. Anna also learns through Sean and his family about trust and that sometimes you have to trust people.
This was a wonderful story that I was so happy that I read. I liked Sean and his family and wanted to know more about them. I loved how he and his brothers held together even though they could have pulled about. If you are looking for an emotionally driven series for the summer you must get this series.
Heartfelt, tender, and inspiring!
Low Country Hero is a heartwarming, emotive tale that takes us to Safe Haven, South Carolina and into the lives of Anna George, a young mother on the run with two little girls, no money, and an abusive ex that won’t let her go that easily, and Sean O’Dwyer, a dependable, compassionate contractor whose past has left him not only burdened with guilt but determined to stay familyless.
The prose is smooth and fluid. The characters are scarred, kind, diligent, and wary. And the plot is an uplifting, feel-good tale with a sliver of suspense that’s full of touching moments, friendship, family, community, introspection, acceptance, support, special needs children, romance, love, and the devasting effects of domestic abuse.
Overall, Low Country Hero is a sweet surprise, and a real treat with its engaging storylines, intriguing characters, underlying thread of revelations to come, and reminder that kindness is incredibly powerful and that a true home is one in which you feel safe, loved, and happy.
Typical romance novel. Does accurately portray the trauma of surviving domestic abuse.
This is the first book by Lee Tobin McClain that I have read, and I’ll definitely be back for more. This is a story of starting over, moving forward, family, hope, forgiveness, compassion, and love. Both Anna and Sean come from situations where abuse shaped their lives. Together, surrounded by family and a community where people look out for each other, they strive to move forward and embrace life and love. Heartwarming with a bit of suspense, this is a riveting novel that I highly recommend!
Low Country Hero was a drama filled intense, riveting read with characters that faced many challenges including domestic violence, past foster care placement, running away, overcoming and surrendering to God’s purpose for their lives. The Prologue gave enough insight into Sean O’Dwyer’s past as a young teenager to understand his present day struggles. When he discovered a young mother with her five year old twins hiding on property he ws renovating, he could identify with her fears from his own mother’s life.
Low Country is the first book in Lee Tobin McClain new series Safe Haven. I was filled with awe in how she captured every emotion along with twists and turns to keep the pages flowing. I enjoyed the sneak peek for Low Country Dreams which will focus on Liam O’Dwyer, who is an officer in Safe Haven. So I’m abiding time till I have a copy of Low Country Dreams to read.
I won a complimentary copy of Low Country Hero from the author through a Facebook party. I was not required to write a review for this book but have shared my own thoughts.
A charming story that pulls the reader into a fascinating world and is consistently entertaining.
I really enjoyed this book! Wow! It kept me enthralled from beginning to end
This book was my first from this author and won’t be my last especially as Low Country Hero is the first of a new series. With an interesting and enthralling setting that plays a major part in the story, Lee Tobin McClain introduces us to two main characters who have very delicate and painful histories. McClain, from the third person POV, gives us a slow burning romance with a skittish heroine running from her past and a tortured hero slamming right back into his own. They meet somewhere in the middle and the protection he provides coupled with the safety she feels intertwines into a complicated story of letting go and letting in.
The colorful cast of characters in this story kept me engaged the entire time. It’s not just the hero and heroine’s story as McClain makes it plain through her subplot and her detailed points of the setting that a lot more is happening in Safe Haven. She prepares us through these two characters for more to come while giving us a lovely story of redemption and kinship through these two. All the characters provide rich details of the past and illuminating thoughts on the future. Some of the inner dialogue and conflict became cumbersome and boring to me as I thought it drug a bit in spots and really kept me from falling in love with the story. But overall I enjoyed this book and look forward to more in this series.
Low Country Hero was my first time reading Lee Tobin McClain’s work and I wasn’t disappointed. The first title in the Safe Haven series is an emotional, heartfelt and inspiring story with a touch of intrigue and suspense. Anna and Sean’s story is one of family, friendship and community told in multiple points of view.
The hero and heroine are both strong, courageous, and damaged characters.
Anna George has been dealt a bad hand in life. She’s a survivor, and has dealt with her fair share of loss, heartache and abuse and is determined for her young daughters to find safety, happiness and community.
Sean O’Dwyer a former foster child, and military man is kind, caring and compassionate man who has his own suitcase full of baggage.
This title is a slow burn romance, that doesn’t have the heat and steam that other romances have, but it certainly doesn’t lack emotion.
I really enjoyed the secondary characters and cannot wait to see where this series goes next.
A great start to a new series!
This a book about overcoming insecurities to find love.
I enjoyed the storyline,the amazing characters,the suspense,twists and turns.
The subject of domestic violence and how it affects the entire family was dealt with in a sensitive manner.
This book is recommended for those who love Christian romantic suspense.
3.5 stars for this newest release from Lee Tobin McClain. It’s a story of heartbreak and suffering but also of love and triumph, set in a small town of Safe Haven. The main characters Anna and Sean are real and likable and they both have broken and painful pasts. Anna’s twin daughters are adorable and steal many scenes in the story. The author addresses quite a few difficult topics in this book like domestic violence and foster care. The book is well-written with a nicely paced plot and lots of fun secondary characters. It’s the beginning of the series and I expect the stories of Cash and Liam, Sean’s younger brothers, will be equally as interesting to read.
I was given a copy of the book by the publisher and the author and was under no obligation to post a positive review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.
Low Country Hero is a riveting story that grabs your attention at Chapter 1 and keeps on throughout the book. It is set in a small southern coastal town where everyone knows just about everyone. A town where nearly everyone has your back and is ready at a moment’s notice to step in when needed. Sean and Anna’s story in the first in a series of three. It is heartfelt, and romantic, but tension-filled, as Anna hides out from her abusive ex while also learning to let her guard down and trust. A wholly satisfying read. Ms. McClain leaves you longing for more – which you’ll get in the promising second story of the series – but by no means will you feel cheated at the details left unfinished. You’ll just be looking for bok #2, as will I. I was given a copy of this book from the author. It in no way affected this review. The thoughts and opinions are my own.
WOW! What a great story. I could not put this book down. Ms. McClain was able to tackle the very tough subject of abuse from the perspective of the abused spouse as well as that of how the abuse affects the children as an adult. I loved the characters of Anna and Sean as well as the others in the story. I like the way that Sean was able to earn the trust of Anna and her girls. And I loved that Anna was able to learn to trust. I don’t want to say too much because I hate spoilers and I don’t want to give anything away. My one disappointment is that one of the story threads did not get resolved, but since this is book one of a series, I am sure that will happen in books two and three. I would recommend this book.
I received an advance copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.
With every romance I read, I look for that one story that will leave its indelible mark. The one that will uplift and inspire. The one that will shine a light in the darkness, remind me of the good still out there in our world and restore my faith in humanity. The one that will encourage me to be a better version of myself and leave me better for having read it. Low Country Hero is that story.
Sean O’Dwyer was raised in the small, seaside town of Safe Haven, SC, and doesn’t remember much of his life before his arrival there at age thirteen. The memory of his abusive father haunts him into adulthood, however, and his last memory of his mother was watching his father forcefully drag her to his truck and drive away, leaving Sean and his two younger brothers alone and abandoned. Anna George has her own issues, having escaped her abusive, common-law husband and fled to Safe Haven with her young twin daughters. Hayley and Hope bear the weight of witnessing their mother’s abuse, manifested in selective mutism and distrust of strangers.
I wanted nothing more than to wrap my arms around the thirteen-year-old Sean and take away all of his pain. Although he had wonderful, loving role models and a benevolent community who helped him grow into a strong, caring man, the evil of his abusive father and the fracture of losing his mother run so deep that healing the hurt is nearly impossible. But fight it as he may, Anna, with all too familiar fading bruises, and her adorable twin daughters somehow manage to work their way through the crack in Sean’s heart and, bit by bit, slowly knit the pieces back together.
Trust isn’t something that comes easily to Anna, understandably, especially when it comes to men, where she always assumes the worst. But in the same way she and her daughter’s play a role in Sean’s healing, the wonderful people of Safe Haven manage over time to work similar miracles in Anna’s heart and psyche, enfolding her into their community and lives, giving her the unconditional love and acceptance she’s never before experienced. When danger catches up with her, it’s no longer Anna fighting alone, but the whole town fighting for her and her daughters.
Honestly, I’m at a loss to explain how truly amazing this book is. These two strong, courageous characters, devastatingly damaged by similar circumstances yet affected in very different ways, instantly won my heart. If that’s not enough, the adorable, precious twins absconded with that very same heart. The vivid descriptions of my beloved low country felt like coming home, and I fell in love a third time with the colorful, charming secondary characters.
Then there is the story itself. While it lacks the sensuality some readers prefer, it more than makes up for it with palpable chemistry, many faces of love and deep, heartfelt emotions. It reaches to the reader’s soul with subtle complexities, hidden depths, understated analogies and inspiring messages. This beautiful, evocative, heartwarming book is one that will stay with me for a lifetime and I can’t wait to return to Safe Haven for the next brother, Liam’s, story. Low Country Hero is easily in my top five inspiring reads for the year, and you won’t want to miss this phenomenal book!
*I reviewed an advance copy of this book freely and voluntarily, having made no commitment to provide a review and receiving no compensation of any kind from any source for this review.
When Anna and the twins escaped Beau she never expected to be surrounded by the wonderful people she met. Sean is still struggling with the disappearance of his mother when he was a teenager. Watching these two relationship grow will have you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what happens next. The characters in this book are all very special people who feel like family. I had the honor to review this book for the author for a honest review. I would give this book a higher rating than a five star review if I could. This is a very inspirational book.