Love Finds You in Martha's Vineyard, MA

by Melody Carlson

Artist Waverly Brennan wants a fresh start. She gets her chance when her ever-quirky mother calls to say she's purchased a gallery in Martha's Vineyard and would love Waverly's help setting it up. Enticed by visions of running a classy art gallery, Waverly arrives in Vineyard Haven only to discover that her mother's new business venture isn't quite what Waverly had envisioned. Stuck on the island for the summer, Waverly attempts to make the best of it. She puts her creativity to work and soon finds other motivations to stick around such as Blake Erikson and his charming daughter.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Romance, Christian, Fiction, Contemporary, Christian Romance, Chick Lit

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2011

About the author

Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of over two hundred books, several of them Christmas novellas from Revell, including her much-loved and bestselling book, The Christmas Bus.

She also writes many teen books, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series, the TrueColors series, and the Carter House Girls series.

Melody was nominated for a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her books, including the Notes from a Spinning Planet series and Finding Alice, which is in production as a Lifetime Television movie. She and her husband serve on the Young Life adult committee in central Oregon.

Reviews

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 maybe?? Not sure what to think right now. xD

[Joleen Devens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story. I was a little bit frustrated in parts with some of the characters not trusting their feelings and reaching out, or sharing. I thought it was a little bit slow, but the ending really picked up and I couldn't stop reading. I loved the setting. Someday I hope to visit the area.

[Vicki.Kh28 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet light story. A quick read to enjoy on a snowy day.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice, light, easy read about sweet romance in the Vineyard. I have visited Martha's Vineyard & adore the place. References to places I know we're cool. The characters even ate at The Black Dog! A large souvenir black dog hangs off the back of my living room sofa.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted it to be better

I may be extremely picky, but I wanted more from this book. I wanted the characters to be stronger, the setting to be more on display, and the love story to be more involved. That is just where I was as I was reading it.

[Jack Vasen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells a complete story and could stand alone. There don't appear to be any unresolved threads. It appears to be part of the Love-Finds-You-in series where stories don't have any relation to one another other than good clean values, the praise of hometowns, and belief in God.

I found this story to be quite strange for a Romance, and it was definitely that. It seemed like more time was spent with the male protagonist's (Blake) relationship with the female rival, Janice, than with the female protagonist, Waverly, herself. Waverly also spent a lot of time with Blake's daughter, Sicily, and their relationship was clearly close from almost the very beginning.

I was not impressed at all with Blake. He was wimpy and indecisive. Admittedly circumstances made it difficult for him, but he kept putting off facing up to Janice. He was also way too lenient with Sicily. Both Blake and Waverly quickly jumped to false assumptions about the other to the point of being rude.

Janice came about as close as possible to being a villain while never quite being that bad. She was pushy, arrogant, obnoxious and rude to the max.

Waverly was herself a bit indecisive and meek. Except for her relationship with Sicily, where she was marvelously encouraging, in other aspects Waverly seemed to let everything happen around her.

This is nominally a Christian book. There is a nice discussion about heaven between Blake and Sicily, but almost no evangelistic message or explanation besides that. So the discussion about heaven is really the only preaching in the book, which often turns non-Christian readers off.

There are some crazy situations which I think are supposed to add humor, but all but maybe one fell flat for me. In short I wasn't very entertained by this book, nor did I find any compelling message. I think my 3 stars is very generous.

Mature themes: a couple of relatively short kisses is as far as any sex goes. There's evidence of child neglect but really more indifference than neglect. One person abuses alcohol and other characters make it a point to avoid letting drunk people drive.

[Nathalie Fannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok firstly this felt like a big lecture, frustrating so. I am pretty sure that I have met Christians that like to have a drink, it is most definitely not one or the other. The whole Christian aspect felt very inauthentic and disingenuous. It was like the author went back after writing the novel and slipped a little Jesus in.
As for the characters, Janice was a complete b**tch, Blake was an absolute pushover and pretty judgemental, Waverly wasn't exactly the nicest of people and like Blake was super judgemental, Louise well let's just say like daughter like mother in this case, Sicily was a child going through a hard time and thus was protecting herself with a wall built up around her, Vivian was the only truly likable character - even the secondary characters were rude, obnoxious and annoying.
I did read this book quickly and I was enjoying it but the second half became more "judgey" than the first half and I realized that the characters were just going to get worse and not better as I had hoped.

[Krista Norman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romance. Fine writing. Follows romance book formula. The characters pray before some meals and briefly talk of God, but I wouldn't consider this a spiritual book. No church, religious text, denomination, or spiritual history is mentioned.

Waverly goes to Martha's to manage a gallery (for her Mom and Aunt) that turns out to be an arcade. Her mom is dying of cancer. Her wanna-be-politically-elected cousin is dating Blake, although Blake isn't willing. Waverly paints an arcade wall with 9-year-old Sicily, who is written more like an 11- year-old. I kept struggling with Blake's development level in the story.

Characters are well defined, with Blake's and cousin's flaws bordering on cartoonish.

This novel wasn't earth-shattering. It didn't teach me anything about myself. I liked reading about Martha's Vineyard. It did what I needed: gave me a chance to relax and escape the world for a while.

[Ann Boytim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Waverly Brennan needs a fresh start from her dull job and when her mother calls from Martha's Vineyard offering her job to manage a gallery she has purchased Waverly resigns and packs up her worldly goods and makes the move. The conversation was a little vague as her mother;s phone kept cutting out and when Waverly arrives at her destinations she finds out that she is not going to manage an art gallery but a video store! Waverly decides this will be s test and tackles the cleaning up of the store and the apartment above the store. Waverly's mother and Aunt have bought this as as investment so Waverly is determined to make some good changes.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. Sometimes after reading the heavy stuff I like to enjoy something a little lighter and this book was perfect. The characters were so likable (well, most, lol) I could easily see this book being a t.v. series with these characters. The setting was wonderful and I enjoyed Google Earthing Martha's Vineyard and getting a feel for the locale. Would love to see a part 2 to this one.

I did take my time reading this book due to it being summer and spending tons of time with family.

[Megan Fister · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t normally get cringed out by basic and easily predictable plots but this one had me cringing bad. I would’ve maybe given three stars but the last two or three chapters were so rushed which made every interaction so cringe. There were a lot of points where I was just like huh and I don’t feel like I spent enough time with most characters. The 8 year old acted like a 12 year old which was odd but she was cute. Also every time God was mentioned it felt forced and awkward. Very interesting book but it was fun to read for the most part!

[Patricia Tennant · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got this used and it was ok- probably just short of a 3. Thought the main characters very flat. Blake was a wimp. Janice irritating. Waverly was the only fair character and she was not believable. Not my normal choice of reading

[Chelsea Sawyers · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok. I have read several of the "Love finds you" series. The ending of the book really seemed to pick up, but for the most part the characters were flat and frustrating. It was fine for a quick summer read, but not necessarily something I would readily read again.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first 'Love Finds You in' book but I am sure it will not be my last. Tender tale about widow, Waverly and divorcee, Blake. There are smiles, laughs and also a few tears but they come with a sweet ending.

[Kari LaCamera Roads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love that this book was based in Martha's vineyard since I spent so much time there as a child. He's always one person in her stories that I dislike and this was no exception. I enjoyed this book very much

[Debbie Papner · Rating 4 out of 5]

melody carlson writes other love finds you books although I did enjoy this book I'm not sure if I'd like to read another one of love finds you. The characters were like high school romance and not grown up adults.

[Marilyn Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked it so well, I'm going to read another in the series, again written by Melody Carlson.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute story with some frustrating moments sprinkled in.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The setting is the best part of this book - and it's well described with familiar locations. Nine year old Sisily is also delightful, in a nine going on 18 way. It's fun, light beach read.

[Jackie Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Couldn't put it down!
Sweet and lovable characters. Makes me wish I was there.

[ANNETTE · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little cheezy for me .

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Nice entertaining story line with some calm family conflicts. Easy read and enjoyable without a lot of stressful situations.

[Michele Vaughn Dague · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice book that kept me engaged. I agree with other reviews that it was light hearted and was a nice read for a few nights.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Same feeling as the other book from this series I read

[Sheila McCarthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was another romance, but I did enjoy it because of the setting. The characters were good too. There are others in this series Love Find You.

[Bonnie Dieffenbacher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It is a light read and a good story if you like romance and the area around Martha's Vineyard. Not sappy, just a good , sweet story.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read. Nice clean love story.

[Bethany Sheridan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, lighthearted, easy read. Ending felt extremely rushed.

[Heather Wathen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfectly pleasant location romance.

[Paula Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite authors of all time and will be for eternity is Melody Carlson, there is something about her writing that will never bore me as I rapidly turn the pages in the book, reading page by page. A friend of mine had been talking about this series called "Love Finds You" and how wonderful it was , so I decided to purchase a few and this is the first one I have read in the series and it was actually really good and I am looking forward to reading and making my way through the complete list of titles. The other thing which was amazing about the book , was that the cover is really well done - it has a soft look to it , almost like it reminded me of the paintings by Thomas Kinkade.
In Love Finds You in Martha's Vineyard , we travel to first Chicago -the windy city where we meet one of our main characters Waverly named after the biscuit Waverly Wafers as we later discover. She has been a widow for the last four years and has felt that her life is in a rut , when her mum Vivian rings and offers her an escape - to come to Martha's Vineyard and help run the business her mother and Aunt Louise have just purchased - a builiding called "The Gallery". Waverly on impulse , sees this as an opportunity and moves hastily to Martha's Vineyard and believing she will be running an Art Gallery is shocked to discover it is in fact an Arcade Games shop. Has Waverly bitten off more than she can chew ?
New to Martha's Vineyard is Sicily - a nine year old visiting her dad Blake Erickson , she has been living in California and her dad wonders where his little girl has gone and who is this sullen girl in her place ? On a visit to the local Arcade , Sicily meets Waverly and the two hit it off as we read Waverly becoming like a "Big Sister" role model. Waverly soon discovers that this world is too small and that Blake is dating -well sort of Waverly's cousin Janice.
Though as Blake and Waverly get to know each other and Waverly spends more time with Sicily , has Blake chosen the wrong cousin ?
When fireworks erupt between Blake and Janice , will this be his chance to go for Waverly or will the family connection scare her off as well as the fact that her dead husband will always be on her mind ?