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The Lights By The Sea: A heartwarming Small Town, Grumpy/Sunshine cozy romance
A heartwarming Small Town, Grumpy/Sunshine cozy romance
Fresh starts, old movies, and the magic of finding family.
Autumn Hayes bought a crumbling 1920s cinema on impulse and a bottle of wine. Okay, mistakes were made.
But she's done with Boston, done with burnout, ready for a fresh start in a Maine fishing village where nobody knows her name. She’s got six weeks to restore the Grand Lady before opening night and prove she can build something that lasts.
Except the town's Police Chief won't let her breathe at all.
Ryan Cole shows up with code violations and pointed silences. He speaks in dry harbor humor that lands just wrong enough to make her blood pressure spike. The man still tends his grandfather's lighthouse in his off-hours and watches Autumn with those same steady keeper's eyes, like he's cataloging exactly how she'll disappoint him, because Ryan Cole rations words like they cost money.
The worst part? The insufferable man keeps showing up exactly when she needs him.
With a building that breathes and settles around her work, Gatsby, an aristocratic black cat that supervises from secret wall passages and a reclusive projectionist, Autumn just might be finding home.
For readers who love the magic of old buildings coming back to life, small towns that feel like a warm blanket, and the kind of romance where love is built with quiet devotion, one stubborn renovation at a time.
Fresh starts, old movies, and the magic of finding family.
Autumn Hayes bought a crumbling 1920s cinema on impulse and a bottle of wine. Okay, mistakes were made.
But she's done with Boston, done with burnout, ready for a fresh start in a Maine fishing village where nobody knows her name. She’s got six weeks to restore the Grand Lady before opening night and prove she can build something that lasts.
Except the town's Police Chief won't let her breathe at all.
Ryan Cole shows up with code violations and pointed silences. He speaks in dry harbor humor that lands just wrong enough to make her blood pressure spike. The man still tends his grandfather's lighthouse in his off-hours and watches Autumn with those same steady keeper's eyes, like he's cataloging exactly how she'll disappoint him, because Ryan Cole rations words like they cost money.
The worst part? The insufferable man keeps showing up exactly when she needs him.
With a building that breathes and settles around her work, Gatsby, an aristocratic black cat that supervises from secret wall passages and a reclusive projectionist, Autumn just might be finding home.
For readers who love the magic of old buildings coming back to life, small towns that feel like a warm blanket, and the kind of romance where love is built with quiet devotion, one stubborn renovation at a time.
281 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 24, 2026
34 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 26, 2026
Oh wow!! Wonderful Story!
Story started rather slowly and held the pace. Characterizations are fantastic. I felt as though I was in the heart of the action in the small Maine town. I would love to be a town person who cared enough, was skilled enough to help with the cinema's restoration. The details were spot on and absolutely perfect. Loved the book so much, I would like to give it 10 stars. The book deserves no less.
Story started rather slowly and held the pace. Characterizations are fantastic. I felt as though I was in the heart of the action in the small Maine town. I would love to be a town person who cared enough, was skilled enough to help with the cinema's restoration. The details were spot on and absolutely perfect. Loved the book so much, I would like to give it 10 stars. The book deserves no less.
March 4, 2026
I wasn’t sure with the slow start at first, thinking Leafwood Falls was so much better, but then I turned a page and the magic burst forth. Excellent story and so many great characters. I hope there are many more coming.
February 5, 2026
Absolutely phenominal!
Loved the beginning of the book but as I continued to read, the characters got much more interesting and the book was a must read.
Loved the beginning of the book but as I continued to read, the characters got much more interesting and the book was a must read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews