The New York Times bestselling author of On Dublin Street is back with the first in a sexy new romance series set in a small town on the Delaware coastline. Welcome to Hartwell, a quiet seaside escape where uncovering old secrets could lead one woman to discover the meaning of a love that lasts… engages with the inmates at the women’s correctional facility where she works, she’s always careful to avoid emotional attachments in her personal life. Loss and betrayal taught her that lesson long ago. But when she comes across a set of old love letters in the prison’s library and visits the picturesque town of Hartwell to deliver them to their intended recipient, she finds herself unable to resist the town’s charm—and her attraction to the sexy owner of a local bar proves equally hard to deny.
Since his divorce from his unfaithful ex-wife, Cooper Lawson has focused on what really matters: his family and the boardwalk pub they’ve owned for generations. But the first time Jessica steps into his bar, Cooper is beyond tempted to risk his heart on her.
Yet as their attraction grows hotter and Jessica remains stubbornly closed off, he begins to realize it will take more than just passion to convince her there’s only one real thing in life worth fighting for….
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“Charismatic characters, witty dialogue, blazing-hot sex scenes, and real-life issues make this book an easy one to devour.” A great start to a new series.
½
The One Real Thing is the first installment in Samantha Young’s adult contemporary romance series titled Hart’s Boardwalk. This story features likable characters with tortured pasts, the beauty of giving ourselves permission to start over, and a sensitive perspective of caring for other human beings who have made mistakes. The One Real Thing was pleasantly enjoyable but I was hopeful there would be more attention and substance given to the “found letters” component of the story. Overall though, I liked this book and will plan to continue the series.
My favorite quote:
“Sometimes life just doesn’t work out the way you hoped and no matter what age you are there comes a time to change it.”
The One Real Things is a fantastic start to the new series of Hart’s Boardwalk. This is series will become your new addiction. You will fall in love with the people of Hartwell. Jessica is lovely and you have that feeling that she is a bit lost and searching for something. She never expected to fall in love with the town and people of Hartwell. You feel for her once her secrets come out to why she is holding back. You feel Jessica’s fight she struggles with when it comes to Cooper. I love Cooper so much and so will you. Once you get to know him is just more then you would imagine. You feel the attraction from the beginning that builds between Cooper and Jessica. The One Real Thing is just the beginning and I so can’t wait for more of Hart’s Boardwalk to come.
I really enjoy other books by Samantha Young, but The One Real Thing just didn’t quite do it for me. I liked this small town and the people who had businesses on the boardwalk. The small town feel was great and part of the story was very enjoyable. I just didn’t care for Jessica at all. She was a very bland character and I did not see the attraction Cooper had for her. Their relationship did nothing for me even though I really loved Cooper. He was a great character. I really want to read Bailey’s story now because she was more interesting than Jessica.
3.5 Stars
I have read quite a few of Samantha Young’s books and I have enjoyed them all. The One Real Thing is no exception to that. I love a good story that has a setting at a beach resort. The fictional Hartwell, Delaware sounds like the perfect place to take a vacation to in the summer. And I’d love to meet the year-round residents- Bailey, the innkeeper; Emery, the coffee shop/bookstore owner; Vaughn, the hotel owner, Cat and Joey- but most of all, I’d love to meet Cooper, the bar owner, and Jessica, who discovers this seaside town because she found some 40 year old letters in a book. These characters were very likeable, and well-written.
One of the things that took some getting used to was that parst of the book was told in first-person POV (Jessica’s), and the other part, while told from Cooper’s POV, was written in third-person. I found that a little weird, and thought that there had to be a reason why (but I didn’t figure it out).
I also found that the book started out well and interesting, and it ended the same way, but I found much of the middle to be a little boring and drawn out. That won’t keep me from reading the other books in this series, as well as other books by Samantha Young!
Il y a très longtemps que j’ai cette saga dans ma bibliothèque et comme je vais lire le troisième tome début mai, il était évident que j’allais découvrir les précédents personnages . Mais pourquoi ai je attendu autant de temps pour lire ce premier tome qui est juste génial ? Je me suis régalée avec cette small Town romance qui pose les bases . Hartwell est une ville côtière apaisante et douce avec des personnages super attachants .
Jessica Huntington est une jeune femme de 33 ans qui travaille en tant que docteur dans un centre pénitencier. Elle n’a pas forcément un vue très épanouie mais elle ne s’en rendra réellement compte que quand elle arrivera à Hartwell. Elle a un sex friend Andrew avec qui elle passe quelques moments sympathiques. Elle n’a plus de famille et son seul meilleur ami habite très loin de chez elle . Elle travaille énormément et elle ne prend pas de temps pour elle . En découvrant une série de quatre lettres dans un livre à la prison, elle est très touchée par l’histoire de Sarah et décide d’aller remettre les lettres à George. En arrivant pour trois semaines de vacances , elle ne s’attendait pas à découvrir une telle ville . Sa vie va prendre un nouveau tournant et elle prendra conscience de certaines choses .
Pendant son séjour , elle va résider dans l’auberge de Bailey Hartwell , qui est une bouffée d’oxygène et qui connaît la ville comme sa poche . Elle fait partie des membres fondateurs de la ville même si les commerçants doivent faire face aux attaques répétés du richissime Ian Devlin qui veut racheter les commerces en bord de mer. Les commerçants sont soudés et dans cette petite ville tout se sait très vite. L’arrivée de Jessica ne passera pas inaperçu et elle sera très bien accueillie. J’ai adoré ce personnage car elle est très intéressante et on sent qu’elle cache quelque chose qui l’a meurtrie. On a quelques indices mais on va aussi assister à la remise en question de sa vie , de ses choix de carrière. Elle trouvera en Bailey une amie sans failles mais elle sera aussi sous le charme de Cooper . Ce dernier va aussi la bousculer dans le sens où il suscitera de vives émotions en elle . Andrew va sans conteste souffrir de la comparaison mais pourra t’elle remettre en cause toute une vie après trois semaines passées en sa compagnie ?
Cooper Lawson est le héros de 36 ans de cet tome et nous sommes sous le charme dès qu’il entre en scène . Il tient d’une main de maître le bar du coin . Il est très à l’écoute des autres qui le lui rendent bien. On le sent intrigué dès l’arrivée de Jessica et il ne reculera devant rien pour tenter de la percer à jour . Il est clair sur son passé amoureux et il est évident que son ex femme Dana Kellerman est une sacrée épine qu’il tente d’enlever de son pied . Il a été meurtrie par cette rupture et il n’est pas prêt de faire confiance de nouveau . Il prend du bon temps avec les femmes de passage mais on sent qu’avec Jessica ça pourrait être autre chose . J’ai aussi adoré son empathie et le lien qu’il a su tisser avec les autres habitants . On a cette atmosphère familiale géniale et on a envie de savoir s’il parviendra à se faire une place dans la vie de Jessica .
Bref, j’ai dévoré ce premier tome en quelques heures et je ne vais pas tarder à lire le tome 2 pour en savoir plus sur Bailey et un autre personnage qu’on a découvert dans ce tome . J’ai adoré l’ambiance apaisante de cette ville et même si on sait que certaines tensions restent présentes on ne doute pas que l’amour et l’amitié sauront faire face à toute éventuelle nouvelle épreuve. Fondez pour The One Real Thing qui est une romance parfaite pour un excellent moment de lecture .
I love how Samantha Young make you feel so deeply when reading her stories. The One Real Thing is made up of such a wonderful group of characters and the quaint, lovely town of Hartwell. You’ll fall in love with everything about this story. I can’t wait for more from this series.
I love Jessica and Cooper! Jessica is such a smart, beautiful, caring character. She’s hiding something from her past that keeps her distant from forming close relationships with others. Her journey is filled with courage and strength and it’s beautiful to watch it all unfold. She and Cooper have such an intense connection and I enjoyed all their moments together. This was such a heartwarming story filled with friendships and love. I can’t wait for more!
Another amazing story from Samantha Young. I’m already desperate for the next instalment!
I absolutely adore Samantha Young’s writing and the stories she tells are beautiful. With so many layers to this book, I found that I was kept on tenterhooks throughout. You know you’ve found a great story when you don’t want to put the book down and The One Real Thing definitely kept me enthralled.
The story sets out by introducing us to Jessica Huntington. A general surgeon who, having lost her way in her career, now finds herself working within a women’s correctional and rehabilitation facility. Jessica thinks that she enjoys her job and she does until she comes across the seaside city of Hartwell. After finding hidden letters within a book from the prison library, Jessica decides to find the recipient of the unposted letters which are now forty years old.
With leave due, and Jessica’s plans unexpectedly cancelled, she decides to hand deliver the letters in the hope that they can bring some peace to those involved in the emotive story held within them.
Arriving in Hartwell, Jessica immediately finds peace within the boardwalk. Staying in Bailey Hartwell’s Inn, Jessica soon finds a loyal friend in Bailey and the pair quickly become firm friends. But it’s Cooper Lawson who really captures Jessica’s attention. After running into him, and seeking an escape from the rain in his bar, Jessica and Cooper experience an immediate mutual attraction. Cooper knows for certain that he’s not prepared to let Jessica slip through his fingers and decides to do everything he can to make her his. Jessica though has a casual relationship back home and despite only using Andrew, another surgeon, purely for sex, they had agreed to be exclusive.
With a close-knit community comes drama though and Jessica realises that there is no such thing as a secret in Hart’s Boardwalk and that’s where we meet the key players in this book. From the quiet and secretive Emery, to Iris and Ira, we experience a real feeling of belonging, that is also felt by Jessica, who soon starts to realise that that she can’t turn her back on this town and especially Cooper.
With uncertainty comes romance as Cooper decides he is done waiting for Jessica to come to him. From the moment they connect, Jessica knows her life will never be the same as her heart starts to flutter to Cooper’s beat but unbeknownst to Cooper, Jessica has a secret and a painful past that she is reluctant to reveal, that is until the unscrupulous Ian Devlin finds out. The Devlin’s are the town’s painful reminder of its vulnerability as the family try to make the Boardwalk theirs, by whatever methods they choose and that includes blackmail. What they don’t foresee is the strength in unity courtesy of the rest of the Boardwalk community.
With the fight against Ian Devlin comes the realisation that for Jessica to stay in Hartwell and with Cooper she must reveal her secret to him and boy is it a big secret.
I really felt for Jessica throughout this book and when her secret was finally revealed I cried for her pain. Fortunately though her HEA is within her reach but only if she can trust Cooper to accept her for who she is.
Throughout this book, the scene for the next instalment is set and I can’t wait to read it. Set to be a romance between bitter hotel rivals: Bailey Hartwell and Vaughn Tremaine. Now that’s going to be one teasingly sexy story to read!
I received this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley
I honestly cannot believe how talented Samantha Young is. Her books have become a favorite of mine. Whenever I recommend a romance, she truly is my go to author. I have loved anything and everything that she has written and this book is no different.
Samantha writes beautiful romances that have a touch of grittiness to them. The characters are so lovable I struggle to leave the world once the book is finished. I absolutely loved the characters in this book, Jessica & Cooper are amazing. Their personalities are relatable and I personally loved that this was not a billionaire romance story.
Honestly, this is one of the few advanced reader copies that I have received that I will have to purchase. This is truly beautiful. I cannot wait to read the rest of the series.
For those of you who wonder if this is as good as the “On Dublin Street” series, it is