A wounded man.A single mom.One summer love…maybe.Lily Corwyn can do it all, or so she wants everyone to think. Juggling a three-ring circus of kids, doggy daycare and guest cottages in her beloved seaside village of Cinnamon Bay is all in a day’s work. When Ben Aldaine, her high school best friend, returns to town, Lily’s independent and hectic life is upended. Now, Ben’s teaching her daughter to … and hectic life is upended. Now, Ben’s teaching her daughter to drive, mending broken windows and melting her heart…but the last thing she wants is to trust in love and risk another broken promise.
War correspondent, Ben Aldaine, needs a place to heal his body and mind after a roadside bombing. With a little help from chance, or maybe fate, he’s landed back in his hometown. On the Bay’s Boardwalk, an accidental encounter with Lily Corwyn has Ben bumping into old dreams of his first crush and wondering if Lily’s the one who got away.
With doggy antics, a hunt for a mythical spice, and hot, stolen kisses, Ben and Lily have one sultry summer to discover that when it comes to love, there’s no time for maybes…
Cinnamon Bay Romances…
Delve into a new world of romance, mystery, and magic in the quirky, coastal town of Cinnamon Bay, North Carolina.
Fall in love with your newest book boyfriend…one click-it today!
Cinnamon Bay Series (each story is stand alone with its own HEA)
Love on the Boardwalk (prequel novel) by Connie Dave et al.
September Breeze by Nikki Lynn Barrett
Playing Doctor by Monique McDonell
Jewel of the Bay by Brea Viragh
Must Love Maybe by Holly Cortelyou
Treasure of My Heart by Shannyn Leah
Hers to Choose by Connie Davé
more
Busy single mom?
Yep.
Wounded good guy?
Yep.
Lily is a very busy single mom. Ben is back home after being wounded in a roadside bomb. He was a correspondent but needs to recover.
They used to be besties in high school.
Will time and distance reveal they should be more?
This is a small-town romance, where legends influence the lives of the people in Cinnamon Bay. Lily Corwyn thinks she has it all together until Ben Aldaine comes barreling back into her life. The old attraction is still there but both main characters are carrying so much baggage that they find it almost impossible to let go and enjoy a moment together. Lily has her two daughters to think about. However, it would seem that Ben landed in their lives at about the right time to help her daughter come to terms with her own harsh experiences. The story is sweet, although not altogether clean, it does stir up longings in one for that ultimate romance. The story does come to happy conclusion and is a standalone. I received a copy of this book as a gift and this is my honest and voluntary review.
Lily Corwyn is divorced and lives in the seaside village of Cinnamon Bay and she owns two business, a Doggy Daycare and Guest Cottages and has two teenage daughters Honor and Emmie. Lily’s daughter Honor is dealing traumatic incident as she was shot at a Mall in Atlanta. Lily grew up in Cinnamon Bay, NC. Ben is a war correspondent who travels all over the world but, he is recovering from a bombing injury. Ben spent some time as a youth in Cinnamon Bay but, is passing thru on his way to an assignment. Honor and Ben both are dealing with different types of PTSD. Lily is dealing with the fact of feeling that she doesn’t deserve love after what happened in her first marriage and her mother’s opinion of her doesn’t help. There was a chance encounter with his high school friend Lily on the boardwalk and Hattie, who is one of the beloved matchmaking trio, gives them each a cup of the magic potion, Cafe Amour. Well Ben’s assignment in Miami falls through and Ben is sent to Lily’s regarding renting a Cottage. Ben is in the process of writing a book and his publisher wants him to finish it soon. It turned out that Ben got along with Lily’s nice, well- mannered well-behaved teenager daughters. Ben ended up teaching Honor to drive and was able to help Honor with her PTSD by talking about his own and telling her some of the techniques he uses. Ben knows that Lily has big time issues with commitment and trust due to her marriage/divorce but, Ben is patient, loving and caring and takes it slow with Lily. I love the way the PTSD and Mental Health issues were written about. I loved that the sex scenes were mild and not graphic in regards to body parts. A very well written book by Holly Cortelyou!! I truly loved this book!!
Lily Corwyn has lost her belief that forever love exists. Her divorce hurt her deeply. Now she lives in Cinnamon Bay where she’s raising her two daughters. Lily is an inspiration. She took control of her life after her husband left. Now she runs her guest cottages and her doggie daycare. I liked that she’s an independent woman. Ben Aldaine stopped by his old hometown for a quick visit where he meets his former best friend, Lily. Their chemistry was apparent. Their interaction was sweet and flirty. It made me smile. Ben is suffering PTSD after being injured while covering a story overseas. I like Lily and Ben. Both have suffered heartbreak. I wanted them to find happiness. They deserved it. The setting is magical. The perfect place for a HEA. Their dialogue is filled with humor and love. I couldn’t put this book down. I cared for These two. I wanted them to find the love they deserved. I enjoy Holly Cortelyou’s stories. She has an easy to read style that I love.
I received a copy of this book which I voluntarily read and reviewed. My comments are my honest opinion.
A very good friends-to-lovers story. No unrealistic insta-love and then sex on page two, just attraction (actually lingering previous attraction from many years ago) that turned into a slow burn romance that I really enjoyed. Ben has had an exciting career as a globe-trotting journalist. After an injury, he is at a crossroads and taking a few days in Cinnamon Bay when he runs across Lily, his former crush. Lily is divorced with two kids, running a business and very independent. The daughters were an enhancement to the story, but the author didn’t let them take over as some authors do- this is after all a romance between Ben and Lily. I thought the author had a unique hook between Ben and Lily’s daughter, Honor, with both of them having gone through a traumatic event. I loved Ben, but wanted to shake Lily a few times during the book, but all’s well that ends well and I enjoyed their journey along the way.
I did receive an ARC of this book from the author, but my review is voluntary.
Again I long to be on the beach at Cinnamon Bay. Holly Cortelyou gives us a moving portrayal of a second chance love for Ben and Lily, complicated by Lily’s conviction that she doesn’t deserve love after betrayal in her first marriage and her mother’s opinion of her. Faulty assumptions by each of the other’s feelings leads to a summer of joy ,then confusion, and, ultimately, a split before a family unit can be formed.
I loved caring, patient, accepting Ben. Even with his problems, he was a calming element, never pushing or controlling. I viewed him as a hopeful teddy bear, just wanting to resolve his unrequited love. Lilly’s daughters, Honor and Emmie, are nice, well-behaved teenagers. Scary, huh? Lily was my greatest frustration. She was so constricted in her need to be complete within herself, that , when offered love, she had to reject it as an “intermission from reality”, sure to revert to her normal life at the end of August. I am against abuse, but that woman needed to be gently shaken, then hugged tightly until she regained some sense of self-worth. I especially appreciated the author’s addressing of PTSD caused by differing circumstances and the way Ben was able to guide Honor to find her path to recovery. The story concludes as well as can be expected, to the satisfaction of all the characters. Doesn’t that make you wonder?
I voluntarily read an Advanced Reader Copy of this book and the views expressed are my honest opinions.
I am really enjoying this Cinnamon Bay series. This book was really interesting. It was so much fun to read of two high school best friends meeting again many years later and finding out one of them had a crush on the other one.
I enjoyed Lily’s strength and her loving relationship with her daughters, Honor and Emmie and how she was too independent and had trust issues after her divorce four years ago. It was also fun to see the town’s matchmakers get both Ben and Lily to drink the famous cafe amour.
I think the best part of this story was the message of hope. Hope for Ben to heal from the explosion, hope for Honor to heal from being randomly shot at in a mall, and hope for Lily to overcome her past issues and to open her heart and mind to a second chance with a guy she was in love with.
I cannot wait to see what the other books in the series are like. I received an advance copy of this book and I willingly chose to write an honest review.
“Must Love Maybe” is a contemporary second chance romance set in the fictional coastal town of Cinnamon Bay North Carolina. Lily, a divorcee with two teen age daughters runs an animal kennel and a resort with guest cottages. Ben is a war correspondent recovering from a bombing injury who spent some time as a youth in Cinnamon Bay and is passing thru on his way to an assignment. The story begins with him having a chance encounter and reconnecting with his high school friend Lily on the boardwalk. When his assignment falls thru he decides to stay thru the summer and work on a novel. With a light matchmaking help from Hattie and Café Amour he ends up renting one of Lily’s cottages. .I absolutely love Holly’s writing style and how she weaves her storylines. Her stories captivate and her characters are well defined, personable and multidimensional. Ben and Lily’s story is romantic, flirty and an entertaining read. Yes they both have issues to deal with and how they resolved those issues made for an enjoyable and romantic read. Their characters are engaging, multi-dimensional, strong willed, and have great chemistry. Their scenes together are sometimes emotional and also fun and heartwarming. I love how Ben was able to help Honor work thru her trauma because he was experiencing the same kind of emotional. I also like that he recognized Lily had major commitment and trust issues because of her divorce and he was careful and patient in their relationship. This is a feel good story that I could not put down and ended with a perfect epilogue. It’s a winner in my book.
I received an ARC of this book from the author. It was a pleasure to give my honest opinion about the book.
I am so enjoying this Cinnamon Bay series by the different authors. I was amazed at how much Lily was able to achieve in her business. Especially with raising her two daughters on her own after her divorce a few years ago. I think sometimes we can be too independent and not see the wonderful people around us who want to help. I was so happy to see her bump into Ben who she hadn’t seen since high school. Even though he is a big war correspondent and travelled all over the country he occasionally had thoughts of high school Lily. It was interesting when he decided to stay in Cinnamon Bay for awhile to work on his writing. Ben is so good with her children. Of course, I love the three older women in town who believe in the powers of the coffee. They always amuse me in some way. This is a good book that I encourage you to read. I voluntarily read an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book.
Will Cinnamon Bay be enough for Ben and will Lily take another chance at love? This couple seems perfect for each other and I was very drawn into this story by Holly’s easy writing flow. She wrote these characters to be kind, caring and helpful to one another, yet there was an animal magnetism they just couldn’t deny. I also loved the relationship Ben had with Lily’s daughters, Emmie and Honor, especially Honor with whom he shared such a common understanding. Holly also wrote about the mental health issues in a natural, warm way.
In Must Love Maybe, Holly Cortelyou has given us another wonderful family in the Cinnamon Bay series that I heartily recommend. Next up is Treasure of My Heart by Shannyn Leah and I’m excited to read hers as well.
Very good story.
Cute summer beach read with lots of great characters, animals & a bit on magical intrigue.