Maybe We Will (Silver Harbor)

Maybe We Will
by Melissa Foster
Release Date: May 4, 2021
Publisher: Montlake
Book #1 in the Silver Harbor series
Part of the larger Love in Bloom series
Number of Pages:  384
Kindle Edition
Source:  Pre-ordered through Amazon
Contemporary Romance M/F
Rating:  NC-17
Read 5/12/21 to 5/15/21

When chef Abby de Messiéres returns to Silver Island with her sister to get their late mother’s affairs in order, she expected to inherit her mother’s bistro along with their childhood home, not to discover a half sister they never knew existed, and a handsome vacationer camped out on her mother’s patio.

Workaholic Aiden Aldridge has been sent to Silver Island on a work-free vacation, armed with a “Let Loose List,” and ordered to get a life by the much-younger sister he raised after the death of their parents. After years of focusing on his sister’s well-being, he’s blindsided by his intense attraction to the gorgeous, free-spirited Abby.

Aiden might not know much about chilling out, but he’s excellent at striking deals. He helps Abby with the restaurant in exchange for her help in tackling the items on his list. Sparks fly as Aiden and Abby work, and play, side by side. Intimate conversations lead to steamy kisses and undeniable passion. But there’s more to Aiden then Abby knows, and when the truth comes out, their new romance is put to the test, as the two find out if true love really can conquer all.

Although this isn’t technically part of the Love in Bloom series (different publishers, in a bit of a different spot in the timeline), the characters and setting are familiar to those who read Melissa Foster. As always with her books, this one can be read as a standalone. For her longtime fans, it’s fun to see some favorites and to be back at Silver Island.

When it comes to the romance between Abby and Aiden, I was all in with this story. They are both wonderful people and really trying to help each other out. Even when helping the other will potentially hurt themselves. There are sparks from the start and I adore how they get to know each other the first two days they meet. Very sweet with an air of anticipation.

 Abby was a bit too stubborn when it came to accepting help. Not just from Aiden, but from anyone. It was good to see her learn to let go of her need to control everything. Not that she was a overbearing in her control, but she made things so much harder on herself. Abby is actually quite a fun-loving free spirit type of person where Aiden is the buttoned-up professional to a fault guy. Because of who they both are on the outside in relation to who they are in their soul, their pairing worked well.

There are some missteps in this story, something that is not something I usually have issue with when it comes to this author. There’s a whole joke that has to do with Aiden’s initials that just made me uncomfortable. Because it wasn’t a one and done type of joke, it pulled me out of the story and put a bad taste in my mouth each time it came up. I was not a fan.

When it comes to the timeline and how long it takes to do certain tasks, let’s just say you have to suspend your disbelief a lot. I expect that in any fictional story, but not to this extent. There is one day that Abby, Aiden, and their friends do so much that it must have been a 72 hour day! Either that or they are all super human. It made me tired to think they were still going into the evening with all of their work.

To end on a positive, it was interesting to get to know Abby and her sister and some surprise characters that even they didn’t expect. The interactions with these ladies and the other island residents promise some fun couples in the future, and possibly even some crazy antics when the friends all get together.

3.5 stars