Description
Charlotte Madsen’s whole world came crashing down six months ago with the words, “I met someone else.”
Thirty-seven, recently divorced, and childless. That’s Charlotte when she disembarks from the plane in Getaway Bay. She wants to get away, that’s for sure. She thought the best way to do that was to buy a run-down house overlooking the bay, knowing she’ll need all her fixer-upper skills to get it in shape. Which is just fine. She’s hoping as she overhauls the house, she’ll get a life makeover too.
She was not expecting a tall, handsome man to be under the kitchen sink when she arrives at the supposedly abandoned house. She wasn’t expecting to get drenched when the non-plumber twists something the wrong way. And she certainly wasn’t expecting her heart to be well enough to feel anything for anyone.
But former Air Force pilot, Dawson Dane, has a charming devil-may-care personality, and Charlotte could use some carefree laughter in her life. But everything with Dawson isn’t sunshine and unicorns. He’s estranged from his family, though he does speak to one of his brothers. And he’s never committed to anything except his career, even choosing flying over an engagement years ago.
Can Charlotte navigate the healing process as she renovates the island house? Can Dawson finally make a commitment to a woman? Or will he and Charlotte decide a relationship is just too hard?
Angie –
Charlotte moves to Getaway Bay to get away from her old life after the divorce. When Charlotte gets to her new house she has a surprise guest waiting for her. Dawson is squatting in Charlotte’s house not realizing it’s been sold. Charlotte is nice and lets Dawson stay as long as he will help her. Dawson realizes that Charlotte is becoming someone special so he moves out and dates her properly. These two both have past issues to work through. Charlotte pushes Dawson away when she sees her ex and leaves town for a few days. They both realize that they have serious feelings for each other, but are unsure how to show the other. It was a really good book!
Mary Miller –
This was a very good contemporary romance on a Hawaiian island. She moved to a broken down home she had never seen before to start a new life. He had been squating in her home when she arrived. After many trying times they finally got together. Great read!
J G –
This was such a delightful tale. The charming page-turning plot was filled with overcoming heartache and wrongdoing, a bit of hilarity, and finding love. Moreover, Charlotte (a wedding planner) and Dawson (a pilot), the protagonists were made for each other and gushed with chemistry. Furthermore, I loved the vivid details the author provided, especially the figurative language such as, “His nerves rattled away like ice cubes in a glass.” All in all, I enjoyed reading the captivating narrative.
Sharon R. –
I did enjoy this book. It moved slow, but it was a good storyline and I loved the characters. It was a fun read.
Gatorfan –
THE ISLAND HOUSE is a standalone story with a happy ending. There are no sexy scenes or inappropriate language. It is set in Hawaii and you can almost hear the waves hitting the shore or the sounds of helicopter blades. This is a great story of betrayal, disappointment, family, and finding ones self only to discover you have found someone else as well.Charlotte arrived on the island only to discover a man under her sink. This moment will transform her life for the better. She is fleeing South Carolina. Her husband of 11 years tells her he wants a divorce and is then married 11 days after the divorce is final. She is crushed. Charlotte knew her life was not where she wanted to be. She had a very busy glamours life. Her husband was a real estate on Carter’ Cove where they live a very social life. They both worked, he was a very big real estate agent on the cove and she was an event planner. They worked hard and then partied all week-end. She was not real happy but she thought they were ok.So, as soon as she could sell her house, finish up at work, pack and sell everything else, she left for Hawaii not telling anyone where she was going. All their friends sided with her ex and he was seen everywhere with his new wife. So she bought her house unseen and had plans to fix it up if it needed it. Finding a man under her sink just let her know how much she needed to do.Dawson is a retired Air Force pilot living the easy life of the beach. He has always flown solo and likes it that way. Until today. He had been living in the house of his friends and when not working he was trying to fix it up a bit. He never knew it sold. He really had no place else to go so he begged her to let him stay for a couple of weeks until he could find something else. She agreed and he agreed to help her with free labor and muscle when he was not flying tours around the island. He was very attracted to her but he could tell something was off.This is a great story of learning to let go and move on. To love again and forgive. It is just a great story and I really enjoyed it. I definitely recommend it. A great read.I was not paid for this review. I am not a writer nor do I know one. I am not kin to this author. I am a reader and this is my opinion, nothing more, nothing less. 2/22/2021
Kindle Customer –
The tile grabbed my attention. But from the moment I started it was hard to put down. The characters are alive and real. You can feel their emotions come right off the page. And can not wait to see what happens next.
Carol Conrad –
Another wonderful book by Johnson. Charlotte and Dawson become so real that you find yourself routing for them in spite of all of the drama. For some reason this will not allow me to type the authors first name.
Kindle Customer –
When Charlotte’s husband told her he had fallen in love with someone else and wanted a divorce she was shocked. When he married as soon as the divorce was final and all her friends deserted her she sold her house and belongings and moved to Hawaii to start over. I thought she was very brave and resoursefull to take on the renovation of the house on the beach even with her experience. Dawson helped with the heavy lifting and when feelings began they were both having difficulty dealing with their situation.Charlotte and Dawson were both being dragged down by things in the past. I was glad when they finally acknowledged they were in a relationship. This was a short book and very sweet. I loved it!
Free At Last –
This was a cute little romance, with some personal trauma and tension thrown in. There were times, however, when “longing and desire” part was a bit much, stopping just barely short of the line between clean and overly descriptive. I was poised to trash it, but thankfully didn’t have to. A lot of the personal trauma of both Charlotte and Dawson were skimmed over; I wasn’t really feeling that either of them experienced anything all that bad… It was more that we were told, not shown, that it was bad. And the whole thing with Charlotte’s sister? What was THAT all about? Chapters of building up to the Big Confrontation, and NOTHING???Outside of that, though, it was a pretty good story. I liked it better than average.
Amazon Customer –
This was great story that kept me wanting to finish it before I put it down. Thus book had me wanting to not stop reading it to do other things. Can’t wait to read more of her books.
Anonymous (verified owner) –
As usual, Elana’s book presents a nice, clean story that makes me feel as though I am one of the characters in the story, touching emotions that I myself have experienced. I especially appreciate that she writes clean romances without smarmy sexual content.