Slow Burn

by Jennifer Bardsley

A single mom devoted to preserving Harper Landing’s shoreline goes toe-to-toe with the fireman determined to protect the town—only to discover that the biggest spark between them isn’t the conflict, but each other.

Dawn Maddox has built a quiet, joyful life around her antique shop, her daughter, and the close-knit rhythms of a coastal small town. But when she learns the council plans to construct an emergency-access bridge across the train tracks and down to the beach, she fears the project will destroy the shoreline her daughter loves. Saving the coast becomes her mission.

Firefighter and single dad Warren Berg has seen what happens when help arrives too late. The bridge isn’t politics to him—it’s survival. His entire career is shaped by the disaster that defined his youth, and he refuses to let another family suffer because emergency vehicles couldn’t reach the waterfront in time.

Their values clash. Their chemistry grows. And as Harper Landing divides over environmental protection versus public safety, Dawn and Warren must confront what they’re willing to fight for—and what they’re willing to let go of.

The bridge might change their town forever. But it might also be the thing that brings two guarded hearts home.

336 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 18, 2025

About the author

Jennifer Bardsley believes in friendship, true love, and the everlasting power of books. A graduate of Stanford University, she lives in Edmonds, Washington with her husband and two children. Jennifer’s “I Brake for Moms” column has appeared in The Everett Herald every week since 2012. She also writes Young Adult Paranormal Romance under the pen name Louise Cypress. When she’s not writing books, or camping with her Girl Scout troop, you can find Jennifer walking from her house to the beach every chance she gets.

Reviews

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-4.0 stars. Book 3 of the Harper Landing series. An easy story that revolved around the main characters Warren and Dawn, both divorced parents with pre-teen daughters of the same age. Warren, a firefighter, is studying for the captains test. Dawn's a local antique shop owner. Both Warren/Dawn end up on opposite sides of a political issue involving an emergency bridge that's proposed smack dab through the local beach. Warren's a little grumpy, Dawn apprehensive. Didn't see how these two would become an item. I liked how the story played out, with no rush to push these two together. Enough going on with kids, likeable side characters, local politics and ex-spouses to keep it interesting enough for me not to get bored. Cute small town romance that kept me entertained while snowed in at home.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dawn & Warren ❤️

🦭While Dawn and her 11 year old daughter Sierra are on the Harpers Landing beach in the Puget Sound doing a photoshoot with her friend Melanie, they see a press announcement that the beach is going to get an emergency bridge built that takes away precious shoreline.

🦭Sierra is appalled and Dawn steps in to protest, starting an online petition and building up the opposing city councillor candidate.

🦭She also gets to the know the handsome single dad that’s the fire chief who is petitioning for the bridge. Warren’s daughter Mikaela is a school mate of Sierra and soon the pair and their daughters are getting to know each other better while fighting the environmental damage that’s imminent.

✏️Author Jennifer Bardsley has brought a third story into the Harpers Landing series, and it’s as much of a warm-hearted, cozy read as the first two. I enjoyed the craziness of trying to juggle single parenthood, trying to make a living in an expensive area and care for the community is played out in this easy read. I liked how both their daughters were really rooting for the relationship as well.

Read on Kindle Unlimited
My rating 4/5 - ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

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[Sue Negrillo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Washington pudget sound
I’ve read the others in this series and loved them, this one not so much. Dawn a single mom fights to save the beach. Warren a single dad is a firefighter who is wanting a bridge for safety reasons. He realizes that the town council is not showing all there cards. They want to make a gated community and the beach would be private then. So they work together to go against the town and the people are with dawn. They come out and protest camped on the beach till the the mayor said they won.

[J.J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s not that this is bad but rather it’s just boring and I don’t love how the adults (via the author) are explaining themselves and their thoughts about their children all the time. Not sure if that makes sense exactly but there’s just a lot of skimming I did just to realize I was not at all invested and gave up at 25%.

[Michelle L. E. Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

sweet, slow burn

Dawn and Warren were fun to spend time with! Sweet, small town romance with quick attraction and (aptly) a slow burn. The author did a great job with the both of the MC’s kids, too. Will definitely read more from this series!

[Belinda LaPierre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

What an incredible story. Jennifer has done it again. I love reading her books especially since I had lived in the Puget Sound region before. I can't wait to read her next book. B🐝