Review: Broken Harbor by Catherine Cowles (Sparrow Falls #3)

Note: An advance reader copy (ARC) was provided by the author.

Catherine Cowles is back with the third novel in her current small-town romantic suspense series, Sparrow Falls, and we've got ourselves a single-parent romance with Sutton Holland and Copeland Colson. Sutton's the twenty-nine-year-old who moved to Sparrow Falls in order to build a better life for herself and her seven-year-old son, Luca, and now owns The Mix Up, a bakery where she creates sweet confections that have her customers singing her praises. With Luca's love of all things hockey, Sutton couldn't say no when he wanted to sign up for hockey camp, no matter her reservations. The knowledge that one of the coaches just happens to be Luca's favorite professional hockey player, The Reaper, doesn't exactly ease her concerns, especially considering her first interaction with thirty-year-old Copeland Colson had her less than impressed. But there's something about the team captain for the Seattle Sparks that has Sutton reconsidering her initial impression of him. Cope is caring, protective, and loyal, and he shows it on the regular with his family, his teammates and friends, and now, Sutton and Luca. But can Cope and Sutton afford to put their hearts on the line when they've got dark secrets that may derail any real hope of a future together?

When I think of Catherine Cowles, I think of romance and suspense in a small town that highlight family, community, and love. Well, we still get all of that in the third Sparrow Falls novel, except this time, there's the added bonus of it having hockey in it! Full disclosure: I've never watched a hockey game, but I've watched the Mighty Ducks movie series more than once over the years AND I have a thing for sports romances, with hockey taking the top spot. I know, I know; it's weird, but it is what it is, so I confess that I may have squeed a wee bit when I saw that there was a hockey player among the cast of characters for the series. Cope Colson did NOT disappoint. From his back story to how he was as part of his family and his team and then to his relationships with both Sutton and Luca, he was dedicated and forthright. Yes, he earned his "Reaper" moniker on the ice, but there was a gentleness to him as well, particularly when it came to the females in his life. Admittedly, he needed Sutton just as much as she needed him, but don't take that to mean she wasn't a strong person because she was a brave woman who didn't merely survive her past but thrived in her present. The romance was swoony, the suspense was *chef's kiss*, and this series is the gift that keeps on giving (and I'll happily keep on receiving). Broken Harbor gets five stars!

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Read my reviews for the Sparrow Falls series:

Fragile Sanctuary (book one) - five-plus stars - My Review

Delicate Escape (book two) - five stars - My Review

Broken Harbor (book three) - five stars - My Review (posted above)

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Release Date: 19 November 2024

Date Read: 16 November 2024

Learn more about Catherine Cowles.

Pre-order Broken Harbor on Amazon.