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Blueskin Bay #1
Sheltered by Love
Alternative ending version. Read an entire scene cut from the eBook.
The girl next door thought she’d disappeared, and until a grumpy Marine showed up… …she had.
Felicity
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d move to Blueskin Bay, Maine.
But when you need to start over, what better place is there than a small town where nothing ever happens?
Fate led me to a house owned by the Reid brothers, including the rough, grumpy Zane.
But he’s the least of my concerns when I witness something I shouldn’t have.
What was meant to be my safe haven suddenly turns into my worst nightmare, and I find myself under the protection of Zane, my now supposed roommate.
He sets a bunch of whacky rules, all in the name of protecting me.
But one thing about rules—they are meant to be broken.
*
Zane Going back to my hometown wasn’t part of the plan.
But when duty calls in the form of a series of crimes giving the town sleepless nights, I have to do something about it.
The wave of delinquency isn’t the only new thing in Blueskin Bay, though—my new tenant, Felicity, is too.
When she runs to me in the middle of the night, I’m drawn to protect her.
But she’s infuriating, my complete opposite, and surprisingly still alluring.
And when she gets in on the action to help me and my cop brother in our investigations, I see a side of her that might just perfectly complement my rough side.
If I can trust her. * This small-town family romance sits right smack bang on the line between steamy and sweet, features a rugged Marine Vet hero falling for a sunshine heroine , is dipped in intrigue, laced with action , all blended with a large scoop of humor , and a dash of faith. Sheltered by Love contains Pg-13 level language , toe-curling kisses, fade-to-black bedroom scenes, euphemisms, innuendo, and M-rated violence . If you are sensitive to any of these things, this book may not be for you.
The unfiltered version was previously published as "Loose Cannon".
The girl next door thought she’d disappeared, and until a grumpy Marine showed up… …she had.
Felicity
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d move to Blueskin Bay, Maine.
But when you need to start over, what better place is there than a small town where nothing ever happens?
Fate led me to a house owned by the Reid brothers, including the rough, grumpy Zane.
But he’s the least of my concerns when I witness something I shouldn’t have.
What was meant to be my safe haven suddenly turns into my worst nightmare, and I find myself under the protection of Zane, my now supposed roommate.
He sets a bunch of whacky rules, all in the name of protecting me.
But one thing about rules—they are meant to be broken.
*
Zane Going back to my hometown wasn’t part of the plan.
But when duty calls in the form of a series of crimes giving the town sleepless nights, I have to do something about it.
The wave of delinquency isn’t the only new thing in Blueskin Bay, though—my new tenant, Felicity, is too.
When she runs to me in the middle of the night, I’m drawn to protect her.
But she’s infuriating, my complete opposite, and surprisingly still alluring.
And when she gets in on the action to help me and my cop brother in our investigations, I see a side of her that might just perfectly complement my rough side.
If I can trust her. * This small-town family romance sits right smack bang on the line between steamy and sweet, features a rugged Marine Vet hero falling for a sunshine heroine , is dipped in intrigue, laced with action , all blended with a large scoop of humor , and a dash of faith. Sheltered by Love contains Pg-13 level language , toe-curling kisses, fade-to-black bedroom scenes, euphemisms, innuendo, and M-rated violence . If you are sensitive to any of these things, this book may not be for you.
The unfiltered version was previously published as "Loose Cannon".
324 pages, Paperback
Published August 8, 2023
8 people are currently reading
194 people want to read
About the author
Sariah Denzin
10 books8 followersSariah Denzin writes edgy-sweet romantic suspense—rugged heroes, gutsy heroines, slow-burn tension, and just enough danger to make you check the locks.
She lives on New Zealand’s rugged coast, fueled by coffee, sea breezes, and twisty plots that never behave.
No awards. No fluff. Just heart-racing, clean reads with bite.
She lives on New Zealand’s rugged coast, fueled by coffee, sea breezes, and twisty plots that never behave.
No awards. No fluff. Just heart-racing, clean reads with bite.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
September 19, 2023
Very boring and this is a non-romance.
MCs don't even like, trust or even know anything about each other for 99% of the story and suddenly they have one off-page sex scene towards the end and expressing ILY? Where was the deep conversations and getting to know you? Where was the attraction and slow built to romance?
Where was the mystery & suspense and explanation who was behind it all (aka Leader)?
And the thing she was hiding? What a joke! Author couldn't think of any better scenario that would make it more interesting other then the fact she exposed her tits & video went viral? I can think of a good one off the top of my head like maybe have her running from an abusive BF or being attacked, baddies after her for something she was not supposed to see, etc.
Sorry but this author needs to go study how to write because this was truly embarrassing. My 8 year old could write better! Lol.
MCs don't even like, trust or even know anything about each other for 99% of the story and suddenly they have one off-page sex scene towards the end and expressing ILY? Where was the deep conversations and getting to know you? Where was the attraction and slow built to romance?
Where was the mystery & suspense and explanation who was behind it all (aka Leader)?
And the thing she was hiding? What a joke! Author couldn't think of any better scenario that would make it more interesting other then the fact she exposed her tits & video went viral? I can think of a good one off the top of my head like maybe have her running from an abusive BF or being attacked, baddies after her for something she was not supposed to see, etc.
Sorry but this author needs to go study how to write because this was truly embarrassing. My 8 year old could write better! Lol.
April 9, 2024
Okay! Yes! I love the like subplot of a lil mystery! Another slaying random romance from kindle! 🤭🎀
June 24, 2024
I loved this, it was sweet and exactly what I needed.
Felicity was a good woman that didn't back down when faced with Zane, I loved it.
And Zane was so grumpy, I love grumpy MMCs.
I wanted more from their romance, it felt like to little but still loved the book
Felicity was a good woman that didn't back down when faced with Zane, I loved it.
And Zane was so grumpy, I love grumpy MMCs.
I wanted more from their romance, it felt like to little but still loved the book
September 8, 2023
Another word for amazing is stunning and that is what this book is. At the moment I am speechless to describe how I feel after reading about Zane and Felicity.
This has a hint of scandal, intrigue, mystery, investigation with small town village, awesome characters and a bunny.
If this is a series about the Reid brothers and cousin, there should have been more siblings and family.
Sariah Denzin has me gripped by the start of another series.
This has a hint of scandal, intrigue, mystery, investigation with small town village, awesome characters and a bunny.
If this is a series about the Reid brothers and cousin, there should have been more siblings and family.
Sariah Denzin has me gripped by the start of another series.
January 21, 2024
Only giving this a 3.. took me a while to get into this one. The plot was vague in regard to what the heck was going on.. only 1/10 of 🔥. I did finish it..took me a while! This is Def a more of a wholesome book. I did appreciate how the author ended the story..but I felt it was super rushed. Something was just missing for me on this one!
July 27, 2024
I almost didn't finish it three times but just kept plugging along. Very unsatisfying read. Juvenile at best. Character development was very weak and the plot was just lame. First and last book by this author that I'll read.
February 17, 2024
I've been reading light romances as a palate cleanser between books that leave me reeling and devastated, and they feel "safe" for my hurting brain. Sadly, though, I'm not the biggest lover of romances, and it means I end up judging light fiction by comparing them with heavy weights and classics, which may not lead to the fairest reviews, though I try to be reasonable and fair.
Sheltered by Love is one such story that I read coming off the back of something that I thoroughly enjoyed but also left me mentally depleted and devastated. This novel did what I needed it to. It was easy to read, enjoyable, and satisfying in the way a romance should be. For a book in the clean romance genre, I would say the writing was pretty decent. The characters had chemistry. The plot was interesting enough. The setting was used well. The characters didn't spend forever ruminating on their feelings. I was shown that they liked each other, rather than told it. And there was great conflict.
But there were things that happened in the book that dropped this down to a 2 stars for me, things that left me feeling uncomfortable. The problem was the male lead's behaviour, and the fact they got together made me feel like his problematic behaviour was being justified and glorified as "romantic". Felicity, the female main character, moves from Arizona to Maine, fleeing from something that has happened to her, something she wants to keep quiet. Her landlord, Zane, moves in next door and proceeds to completely disregard her boundaries as both a tenant and a human being under the justification of "protecting" her because there have been a series of burglaries in the region and they believe she will be targeted. Without her permission, in fact, going against her wishes, he has security sensors and cameras installed around her house, even looking into her bedroom and bathroom, despite how uncomfortable she is with this. He also knows she is hiding something from him, but rather than respect the fact that she doesn't want to tell him, he continually asks her about it. We need to remember that aside from chemistry, at this point their relationship is still one of tenant and landlord. She pays her rent. She keeps the place clean. The only wrong thing she has done is sneakily keep a pet. But that somehow gives him licence to keep questioning her over her past. That's so unacceptable, given she really isn't obliged to tell him anything.
The icing on the cake for me is his physical behaviour. The first two times they end up kissing involves him basically roughing her up first. The first time she is panicking, on the verge of a full on panic attack, and his solution to that is to forcefully kiss her. Well, I'm not sure what mental first aid course this man has been on, or what they teach marines in the USA, but that seems to be a creative way to stop a panic attack. By creative I mean bad. For anyone who has been in the grips of bad anxiety or is having a panic attack, I'm not sure how they would feel about someone getting super fresh with them. Probably pretty darn freaked out and awful. On the second occasion, mistaking her for an intruder, he pins her against the wall. Roughly. Too roughly, actually, as said by Felicity to the reader. And then they make out. Sorry, what? He was too rough with her, presumably scaring and possibly hurting her, but that's okay because really they're just very much attracted to each other. No, it's not okay! X.x sob.
I also didn't really like the way women are portrayed in the story, aside from the couple of female characters developed enough to get some reader attention. As someone who struggles to like women because of the toxic crap I have swum in my whole life, it now saddens me to see this women-hating-women bullsh*t is still perpetuated in literature. I did not like the fact that women were being presented as sex-starved, annoying, desperate, drunken idiots flocking to a little coastal village (with a large population of single males) with the goal of having one-night stands with the single blokes and spending heaps of money, filling the town's coffers. They were portrayed as a plague on the town that was welcomed because of the money they brought in; the fact they were sexually harassing men who didn't really want it and causing public disturbances, stretching police resources, was tolerated. I honestly know very few actual real women who would do such a thing. If we wrote about men in such a way it would be abhorrent. But it's okay to portray women this way, apparently, especially as we can then show how special the main female lead is because she doesn't act this way. Sorry, but spew. A woman groping a man's bum uninvited is as bad as a man doing it.
Sheltered by Love is one such story that I read coming off the back of something that I thoroughly enjoyed but also left me mentally depleted and devastated. This novel did what I needed it to. It was easy to read, enjoyable, and satisfying in the way a romance should be. For a book in the clean romance genre, I would say the writing was pretty decent. The characters had chemistry. The plot was interesting enough. The setting was used well. The characters didn't spend forever ruminating on their feelings. I was shown that they liked each other, rather than told it. And there was great conflict.
But there were things that happened in the book that dropped this down to a 2 stars for me, things that left me feeling uncomfortable. The problem was the male lead's behaviour, and the fact they got together made me feel like his problematic behaviour was being justified and glorified as "romantic". Felicity, the female main character, moves from Arizona to Maine, fleeing from something that has happened to her, something she wants to keep quiet. Her landlord, Zane, moves in next door and proceeds to completely disregard her boundaries as both a tenant and a human being under the justification of "protecting" her because there have been a series of burglaries in the region and they believe she will be targeted. Without her permission, in fact, going against her wishes, he has security sensors and cameras installed around her house, even looking into her bedroom and bathroom, despite how uncomfortable she is with this. He also knows she is hiding something from him, but rather than respect the fact that she doesn't want to tell him, he continually asks her about it. We need to remember that aside from chemistry, at this point their relationship is still one of tenant and landlord. She pays her rent. She keeps the place clean. The only wrong thing she has done is sneakily keep a pet. But that somehow gives him licence to keep questioning her over her past. That's so unacceptable, given she really isn't obliged to tell him anything.
The icing on the cake for me is his physical behaviour. The first two times they end up kissing involves him basically roughing her up first. The first time she is panicking, on the verge of a full on panic attack, and his solution to that is to forcefully kiss her. Well, I'm not sure what mental first aid course this man has been on, or what they teach marines in the USA, but that seems to be a creative way to stop a panic attack. By creative I mean bad. For anyone who has been in the grips of bad anxiety or is having a panic attack, I'm not sure how they would feel about someone getting super fresh with them. Probably pretty darn freaked out and awful. On the second occasion, mistaking her for an intruder, he pins her against the wall. Roughly. Too roughly, actually, as said by Felicity to the reader. And then they make out. Sorry, what? He was too rough with her, presumably scaring and possibly hurting her, but that's okay because really they're just very much attracted to each other. No, it's not okay! X.x sob.
I also didn't really like the way women are portrayed in the story, aside from the couple of female characters developed enough to get some reader attention. As someone who struggles to like women because of the toxic crap I have swum in my whole life, it now saddens me to see this women-hating-women bullsh*t is still perpetuated in literature. I did not like the fact that women were being presented as sex-starved, annoying, desperate, drunken idiots flocking to a little coastal village (with a large population of single males) with the goal of having one-night stands with the single blokes and spending heaps of money, filling the town's coffers. They were portrayed as a plague on the town that was welcomed because of the money they brought in; the fact they were sexually harassing men who didn't really want it and causing public disturbances, stretching police resources, was tolerated. I honestly know very few actual real women who would do such a thing. If we wrote about men in such a way it would be abhorrent. But it's okay to portray women this way, apparently, especially as we can then show how special the main female lead is because she doesn't act this way. Sorry, but spew. A woman groping a man's bum uninvited is as bad as a man doing it.
March 10, 2024
Finally! A book I was able to read beginning to end without gagging at cheesiness or rolling my eyes at the predictability. I mean, as a romance, I figured it'd end how it did, but the journey to get there was enjoyable. There were parts that felt a little rushed, but it wasn't the head-spinning kind.
Felicity had a secret - and it wasn't what I expected from nearly every other story I've read about a woman escaping to a new place with something to hide. Zane valued honesty. There was NO MISCOMMUNICATION trope. Thank goodness! I despise them.
The plot is event driven, and the character's emotional bond could use work to make it more believable, but they both step out of their comfort zone to be there for each other in unexpected ways. There was a mystery there that wasn't explored as much as I'd like, but there was also humor and a sense of community.
This series begins with a combination of sweet, (closed-door) spice, and a sprinkle of faith. I hope the rest of the series shows more of the same.
Felicity had a secret - and it wasn't what I expected from nearly every other story I've read about a woman escaping to a new place with something to hide. Zane valued honesty. There was NO MISCOMMUNICATION trope. Thank goodness! I despise them.
The plot is event driven, and the character's emotional bond could use work to make it more believable, but they both step out of their comfort zone to be there for each other in unexpected ways. There was a mystery there that wasn't explored as much as I'd like, but there was also humor and a sense of community.
This series begins with a combination of sweet, (closed-door) spice, and a sprinkle of faith. I hope the rest of the series shows more of the same.
November 5, 2023
An easy-to-read story which is a good entertainment for a quiet and relaxing moment. Felicity moves in to a small town in Maine to escape her past and find privacy, but she hits an unexpected wall in achieving her goal - her landlord, a grumpy marine Zane who is dead set to investigate the targeted thefts in the area. Their opposite personalities lead to a lot of conflicts and butting heads, yet where it matters the most they find a way to cooperate and even succumb to their mutual attraction. I enjoyed the story to the most part, but to my liking the romance between the main characters developed unnaturally fast and without enough getting to know (the two of them were basically strangers for vast majority of the book). Nevertheless, I liked the range of the individual personalities in the story and am actually looking forward to the next book in the same world building, following the next Reid brother.
July 27, 2024
Felicity & Zane's story starts out rocky. He's not keen on her being in his family home, wants her to get rid of her rabbit, & generally just doesn't want to deal with her. However, he needs her cooperation to catch some criminals in his town.
Felicity moved to town to escape... something. We don't know what it is. Zane would like to know what it is, but Felicity isn't sharing. She's kind of adrift right now, as her best friend has recently been moved into a nursing home.
I loved both characters & Zane's family, and really loved Roger Rabbit. 😁 He's a unique pet! There were bits of the story that felt a little disjointed, and part of that was because things weren't really explained, even tho Felicity being newer to town would have warranted some explanations.
Still, I enjoyed the story & really love this little town & its residents!
😍😍
Felicity moved to town to escape... something. We don't know what it is. Zane would like to know what it is, but Felicity isn't sharing. She's kind of adrift right now, as her best friend has recently been moved into a nursing home.
I loved both characters & Zane's family, and really loved Roger Rabbit. 😁 He's a unique pet! There were bits of the story that felt a little disjointed, and part of that was because things weren't really explained, even tho Felicity being newer to town would have warranted some explanations.
Still, I enjoyed the story & really love this little town & its residents!
😍😍
February 15, 2024
I'm going to be generous with my stars on this one because overall it was entertaining and I wasn't put off from reading more in the series. There are a lot of things wrong with it though. Or maybe I should say there're a lot of things missing in it. Example-where's the heat, the passion, the spices that separate real romance from young adult. What about the kingpin behind the main reason for the two main characters having to get close? And the reason she was hiding was very weak. I don't want to leave any spoilers or I'd be more specific. But why the rushed ending? The characters were nice, easy to follow, and the editing was good.
October 9, 2023
This is book one in The Blueskin Bay Romance Series and it is Felicity and Zane’s story and what a great start to a new series and author to me. Wow I really loved this and I couldn’t put it down as it was so addictive. Felicity and Zane are the total opposite of each other in every single way and yet they just seemed to work and are so perfect for each other and I love their interactions and you get a bit of humour and fun added in. This is the first book that I have read by this author and I really enjoyed it so much and look forward to reading more books in the future.
September 6, 2024
This book was all over the place. It didn't even seem like the MCs even liked each other, no tension build up, and all the sudden they were together. No real build up or chemistry at all so it didn't even make sense. I also didn't feel like the author properly explained certain things and you had to guess. Maybe the storyline will continue in the next books and some of those things will be explained?
This takes place in Maine, so the author did do a good job of using some Maine slang, but it must not have been edited because there was British/Aussie slang as well.
This takes place in Maine, so the author did do a good job of using some Maine slang, but it must not have been edited because there was British/Aussie slang as well.
October 6, 2023
What a marvelous beautiful book this was. I must admit romance novels are not my first choice but this book has changed my perspective.
It is well written and had me completely engaged in the story. I couldn’t read it quick enough, I wanted to devour every word.
I don’t do spoilers so I will just say that I wholeheartedly recommend this for your reading pleasure and I for one will definitely be reading any others that follow in this series.
I now have a new favourite author.
20 out of 10.
It is well written and had me completely engaged in the story. I couldn’t read it quick enough, I wanted to devour every word.
I don’t do spoilers so I will just say that I wholeheartedly recommend this for your reading pleasure and I for one will definitely be reading any others that follow in this series.
I now have a new favourite author.
20 out of 10.
February 9, 2024
Didn’t care for this book at all. It was super hard and confusing to get into. The characters kept hinting at this big mystery only to have it be something that wasn’t dramatic at all. I also felt like it was kind of annoying that the characters showed zero love interest for about 99% of the book and then towards the last couple chapters became interested in each other. It felt rushed towards the end. Wouldn’t recommend if you’re looking to get into romance books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 1, 2024
Not much to say about this book. I needed a pallet cleanser after reading so many in depth romantasy books lol. It was a good quick and easy read and I did enjoy it. I wouldn’t have given it quite a 4, but was rounding my 3.75 up. This book was a closed door romance book so if you are looking for no smut, this is a good choice for you.
October 9, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters are well written. You stay on the edge of your seat trying to figure out who the bad guys are and why Felicity really moved there. I definitely recommend this book.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
October 23, 2025
Me atrapó la historia, me decepcionó un poco la resolución del misterio/conflicto central, pero suman puntos las series que dan una buena presentación de los personajes secundarios, lo que me deja con ganas de leer el resto
July 25, 2024
Likeable characters and an interesting story.
August 4, 2024
This is a light, easy, safe, and sometimes funny read that provides good escape. Felicity is being targeted by some thieves, and the Reid brothers come to her rescue. I enjoyed the novel.
Read
August 12, 202468% and can’t do anymore. Found it boring. Just don’t care to continue.
August 13, 2024
It was ok, but Felicity was stubborn. She could have lost ger life behind Roger.
August 17, 2024
Was just ok, not a very interesting mystery and no chemistry between the two MC's.
August 19, 2024
It turned out quiet well. I liked how things turned out in the end.
November 11, 2024
Loved this sweet and cute story!
December 12, 2024
It was a sweet book but not what I was expecting out of a romance. I still enjoyed reading it!
January 5, 2025
3.5 ⭐️
July 29, 2025
Not bad, bad… just boring.
August 10, 2025
oh yeah.
May 29, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews