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Sweet Tomorrows: A Rose Harbor Novel

Review

Sweet Tomorrows: A Rose Harbor Novel

Set in Debbie Macomber’s picturesque Cedar Cove, a harbor town in the Pacific Northwest, SWEET TOMORROWS concludes the five-book series featuring innkeeper Jo Marie Rose. She opened the Rose Harbor Inn while grieving for her late husband, Paul, and found a sense of peace there that helped her heal. During her time as innkeeper, she has witnessed this mysterious healing in her guests as well, and hopes it continues for her newest arrival, Emily Gaffney.

Jo Marie is happy that Emily is spending the summer at the inn, especially since her handyman/love interest disappeared nine months ago. The three-year friendship between Jo Marie and Mark Taylor had just led to a mutual profession of love, when Mark said he needed to make something right. Determined to rescue a family trapped in an Iraq war zone, Mark embarks on his dangerous mission. Jo Marie eventually receives a cryptic postcard from him, then hears nothing for nine months. With her world once again rocked to its core, Jo Marie decides she must accept the fact that he is never coming back.

"Overflowing with the poignancy, sweetness, conflicts and romance for which Debbie Macomber is famous, SWEET TOMORROWS captivates from beginning to end."

While Jo Marie begins to move on with her life, Mark is barely clinging to his. Shot in Iraq, he is trying to make it to the border with the family he sought to rescue. As his infected wound worsens, and with no medical help in sight, he prepares himself for the end. If only he could spend one more moment with his beloved Jo Marie, who didn’t realize her “handyman” was actually a high-ranking military intelligence officer. 

Like Jo Marie, Emily has decided to accept her fate and is ready for a change. Life has brought two heartaches, and her heart can’t take any more. Unable to have children, Emily has faced broken engagements from men who said her infertility didn’t matter, then changed their minds. Through with love, she is moving to a new town, getting a new job, and looking for a house while spending the summer at the inn. Emily and Jo Marie quickly become friends, a relationship that helps ease their love-battered hearts. When Emily discovers the perfect house to buy, she is disappointed to find that the attractive but ill-tempered owner is not interested in selling. Nor does he want her using his orchard as a route on her daily run. His dog, however, feels differently, warmly welcoming Emily’s attention.

Nick Schwartz doesn’t know what to think about the beautiful young woman who’s been running through his property. Something about her warms his battered soul. He’s determined not to let anyone into his life as he suffers through the constant onslaught of guilt that has barraged him since his brother’s death. Remembering that horrific night brings on panic attacks, but thoughts of Emily wash over him like a gentle rain, calming the demons inside. Each time he vows to steer clear of her, something brings them back together.

Overflowing with the poignancy, sweetness, conflicts and romance for which Debbie Macomber is famous, SWEET TOMORROWS captivates from beginning to end. Like her other novels set in Cedar Cove, it transports the reader to a charming harbor town, and a cozy inn, where healing takes place in ways none of the characters ever anticipated. Macomber’s fans won’t be disappointed, and newcomers will likely want more of her enchanting tales.

Reviewed by Susan Miura on August 5, 2016

Sweet Tomorrows: A Rose Harbor Novel
by Debbie Macomber

  • Publication Date: December 27, 2016
  • Genres: Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction
  • Paperback: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Ballantine Books
  • ISBN-10: 0553391860
  • ISBN-13: 9780553391862