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Pilgrim Cove #4

The Daughter He Never Knew

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Pilgrim Cove—where love can be as powerful as the ocean next door.

On the surface, Pilgrim Cove seems like any other coastal town. Picturesque and peaceful with long stretches of unspoiled beach, fresh ocean breezes and the sense of time passing slowly.

However….
…only in Pilgrim Cove live a group of friends called the ROMEOs whose sole aim to take care of the town.
…only in Pilgrim Cove stands a unique house right on the beach. Sea View House. A very special place—some say magical—to the people who reside there each season.
…and only in Pilgrim Cove are strangers welcomed, while everyone else takes a front row seat as a love story unfolds.

THE DAUGHTER HE NEVER KNEW is the final book in the four-book Pilgrim Cove series. Check out the Sea View House series for more stories set in this town.

After his twin brother died on the night of their senior prom, Jason Parker disappeared from Pilgrim Cove. Nine years later he returns in order to make peace with his family—with Lila Sullivan, the woman he can’t forget—and with himself. But nothing and no one is the same as he remembers. Certainly not his family. Not Lila, with her fiancé and a child. Not even his old house. Can a wanderer ever find home again? Do second chances really exist?

Lila wants no part of this man who owned her heart years ago but vanished when she needed him most. His music ignites her emotions, but can she trust him not to break her heart again? Worse still, can she trust him not to break their daughter’s heart?






272 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 6, 2016

278 people are currently reading
169 people want to read

About the author

Linda Barrett

56 books142 followers
Linda's emotional stories of contemporary romance have earned many industry awards through Romance Writers of America chapter contests. In 2011, Quarterback Daddy took first place in the Write touch Reader's contest while in 2010, Summer at the Lake did the same. Previously, she's garnered the Holt Medallion and The Award of Excellence among others. With laughter and tears, she touches the hearts of her readers by writing stories they'll remember long after the book is finished.

This year, Linda is publishing her first women's fiction novel. Family Interrupted will be available in the spring of 2013.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
Profile Image for Jonetta.
2,595 reviews1,328 followers
October 22, 2019
Nine years ago, Jason Parker left Pilgrim Cove and never returned after he and his girlfriend, Lila Sullivan, witnessed his impaired twin brother get behind the wheel of a car and lose his life. Broken and guilt laden, Jason felt it best if he essentially run away. Unfortunately, he was unaware at the time that Lila was pregnant with his child and since he cut all ties with everyone, his daughter is one of the many surprises he encounters when he returns home. Lila waited many years for his return but recently decided to finally move on and is now engaged to someone else.

I’ve looked forward to this story from the moment I learned of Jason & Lila’s tragic history in the first book. It lived up to my expectations and, of course, the Sea View beach house again works its magic. Jason left Pilgrim Cove a broken boy and returned a well adjusted man. While many celebrated his reappearance, not everyone was thrilled, including Lila. I really liked how Jason had to work at reestablishing relationships, win back Lila’s trust and experience some cost for his absence as it mirrored reality. What was most precious, though, was his bond with the daughter he never knew he had. Yes, it was predictable but not enough to prevent them from capturing my heart.

I’ve enjoyed this series and this was a lovely way to end it. These books were nestled in between some of my tough stories and provided the respite I needed. The relationships are uneasy but deliver really nice happy endings with complicated journeys to get there. The narrator did a really good job of character distinctions and set a nice tone overall for the series. I’m glad I chose to listen to all of the books.

(Thanks to Tantor Audio for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)
Profile Image for Darcy.
14.4k reviews543 followers
March 19, 2019
For much of this book we have heard about Jason and how he ran away after his twin died, hardly ever contacting those he left behind in Pilgrim Cove. Jason's leaving left a big hole for everyone, but especially for Lila.

I liked that in the present Lila is living her life finally, moving past Jason's leaving. She was in a good place, living a happy life with her daughter, engaged to a good man. Things looked good for her, but then Jason showed back up and you knew it would throw a wrench in things. I really wasn't inclined to like Jason, felt his actions showed how childish he was. I can see leaving, the guilt and how he was treated, but staying gone for 9 years was a bit much. It didn't help that he seemed to sneak back in town, went to what he knew and seemed stunned to find out things had changed.

I was on the fence with Jason knowing about Katie. He was her father, he deserved to know, but I worried that it would mess Katie up. Katie though, man that girl was just excited to have a daddy and took to him like a duck to water. I did love that once Jason realized that Katie was his, he changed everything, he was all in with her and making a new life in Pilgrim Cove. I wasn't really sure about his trying to win Lila over. It bothered me that he made moves knowing she was engaged to the vet.

The ending to this one was full of drama. We had Jason giving his talk at the high school, a very good one, Lila taking advantage of the opportunity and getting some questions answered. Then there was the sister ceremony, which was so very cute! By the end of the book I was good with Lila and Jason being a couple again.
Profile Image for Divya Tinnanuri.
6 reviews
February 3, 2011
Everyday after coming from my workplace I used to get ready to meet Jason,Lila,Katie,Sam,Bart….

Pilgrim cove…I don’t know if this place really exists or not…
But if exists then my sincere prayer for God is-- make entire universe into Pilgrim cove..
It doesn’t assure that problems will not be there..its not a kind of magical island..
But it’s a place which can heal any problem…

This book is not about love between two teenagers…
Its love between a mother and her child…a father and her child…brothers…friends…
It clearly says that love..relations …friends play a key role for our happiness…
Profile Image for Janeiowa.
1,247 reviews
December 27, 2016
This is #4 and the last in one his series, I believe. It centers around Pilgrim Cove, MA, and the Sea View House. The same town, characters, and SeaView House is also found/continued in Barrett's Sea View House series.

The main character here is Jason Parker who's been a mention in the other books. In #4, Jason finally comes back, 9 yrs later, to find out that a lot of important things have changed.
1,116 reviews23 followers
February 7, 2017
Oh, man! These books are so good. The author wrings every bit of emotion out of you and somehow manages to make you feel good in the end. With this one I was crying by Chapter Three! Let me set the story for you.

Jared and Jason were identical twins. Lila was Jason's girlfriend. The night of their senior prom Jared got drunk, got behind the wheel of a car and died in an accident. Jason blamed himself for not doing more to stop his brother. Devastated in more ways than one, he tells Lila he's going away but promises to return. Nine years go by and finally, with urging from her family, Lila's allowing herself to move on. She has her daughter - Jason's daughter - to think of and Katie has accepted the idea of Adam Fielding becoming her new dad. Adam is a veterinarian with a daughter of his own who just happens to be Katie's age.

Jason has been away from Pilgrim Cove all this time in spite of his promise to return. It's taken him that long to find himself and accept that he has to go back and face his past. When his brother died he somehow lost himself. It took awhile and a couple of years of serious drinking, moving around all the time, not wanting his family to find him. He earned money playing piano in various bars and clubs around the country until he was lucky enough to have one of his songs performed by a big named artist. A song about Lila, one that's being played constantly on the radio. One that the people of Pilgrim Cove hear, including Lila.

But she's not ready to face Jason, is she? When Jason arrives in town, everyone else seems ready to welcome him home. Even the daughter he never knew he had. But not Lila. For her, Jason is the last person she wants to see. She's engaged to Adam. He'd been fully prepared to adopt Katie and give her the father she's been missing all these years. How dare Jason show up now and destroy her finely made plans.

This is a second chance at love romance. While I was tempted to strongly dislike Jason for running away, once I heard his full story I bawled my eyes out. What that boy went through. However, he never stopped loving Lila. Now he has to convince her of that fact, earn her trust, and prove he's still the one for her after all this time.

I love the family dynamics but also the dynamics of a small town. Everyone knew Jason had been devastated by his twin's death so when he left they all had a hand in taking care of Lila and raising Katie. And they'd all been waiting for the day Jason returned. They'd supported Jason's dad, Sam, and brother, Matt, through the hard times as well and they reach out to Jason once he does return. The only holdout is Lila's mom, whom you really can't blame when it was her daughter that got hurt. Katie's acceptance of Jason into her life is a joy to behold and it's downright comical at times as Jason figures out how to be a dad.

Even though I cried, this was one of those stories I didn't want to put down. Lila and Jason most assuredly deserved their happy ending. I'm really sorry this is the last book in this particular series. I think I've enjoyed these four books more than I have most of the others I've read of late. In fact, I went from one book to the next with only a brief interlude between books two and three. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author. NOTE: While you don't necessarily have to read them in order, you'll get so much more out of them if you do.
881 reviews5 followers
November 26, 2025
Pilgrim Cove—where love can be as powerful as the ocean next door.

On the surface, Pilgrim Cove seems like any other coastal town. Picturesque and peaceful with long stretches of unspoiled beach, fresh ocean breezes and the sense of time passing slowly.

However….
…only in Pilgrim Cove live a group of friends called the ROMEOs whose sole aim to take care of the town.
…only in Pilgrim Cove stands a unique house right on the beach. Sea View House. A very special place—some say magical—to the people who reside there each season.
…and only in Pilgrim Cove are strangers welcomed, while everyone else takes a front row seat as a love story unfolds.

THE DAUGHTER HE NEVER KNEW is the final book in the four-book Pilgrim Cove series. Check out the Sea View House series for more stories set in this town.

After his twin brother died on the night of their senior prom, Jason Parker disappeared from Pilgrim Cove. Nine years later he returns in order to make peace with his family—with Lila Sullivan, the woman he can’t forget—and with himself. But nothing and no one is the same as he remembers. Certainly not his family. Not Lila, with her fiancé and a child. Not even his old house. Can a wanderer ever find home again? Do second chances really exist?

Lila wants no part of this man who owned her heart years ago but vanished when she needed him most. His music ignites her emotions, but can she trust him not to break her heart again? Worse still, can she trust him not to break their daughter’s heart?

My comments:

This was one of the stories I was really looking forward to after hearing about Lila and Jason's heartbreak in the first book. I love all the characters in seeview house and my favourite characters in the whole series were the romeos. They remind me a bit of Alma and Link in the green mountain series by Marie Force as they are meddling. Lila and Jason's story was a really difficult one for both characters as they had a lot to overcome. I liked Jason as a character and how he came to realise his mistakes and where he'd gone wrong.

My favourite aspect of the book was the relationship between Jason and Katie, the way they bonded so quickly was lovely and he was so sweet with her. I really liked Adam as a character as well, he was a lovely man and the way he challenged Lila in regards to her relationship with Jason was difficult however it shown he wanted what was best for all of them and how much he cared about his daughter.

This was a wonderful series and I am really glad I read it.
Profile Image for Gwen S..
836 reviews15 followers
May 19, 2020
Lila, Jason, and Katie Make Three United! 4.25***** Spoiler Alert!

Jason Parker, surviving musical twin after a fatal prom night drinking and driving debaucle, returned home. It's nine years later, as he breaks out into becoming a singing/writing star, only to learn he has a daughter, Katie. Lila, the teenager love of his life and mother of his daughter, had to grow up to become a single parent overnight. Jason had to overcome broken promises, reclaim Lila's love while forging new bonds with Katie and his family, while maintaining his sobriety. Yes they finally lived 'HEA!', once Lila and Adam, the Vet's engagement was ended amicably, and she learns to forgive and trust him, while opening her heart to love once again.

Great characters and plot, showing how life can change on a dime, altering everyone's life path... Chaos Theory at its best. The targeted high school seniors' Drinking and Driving programs like 'Every 15 Minutes!', and 'MADD' may make some kids think of those burnt out or totalled car chassis images visually implanted into their brains, but if alcohol is in play, they will quickly recede to the back of their underdeveloped teenage brains. As with every last graduating class, we lost one of two promising teenagers, but maybe this Covid-19 Pandemic will save someone's life, this 2020 year, and not ruin so many collateral lives and hopes for others involved. Let's hope!! And as always these novels lack diversity in their portrayed communities. Tsk, tsk!!

05/16/20-05/19/20 COVID-19 Pandemic..CA ShInPlace.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Nikki.
1,419 reviews12 followers
April 13, 2019
The 4th in the series set in Pilgrim Cove about the people who stay in Seaview House. I was sad that this was the last book until I realised that Seaview House will get it's own series, so the magic will continue!

Lila (Bart's Grandaughter and partner in the Realtor business) has a daughter Katie, by Jason Parker; however she has brought her up as a single parent as Jason left town after the fateful prom 9 years previously, not knowing Lila was pregnant. Despite few sightings over the years, Matt and Sam have never given up on finding Jason. Jason returns to Pilgrim Cove after finding some success musically, but is he too late as Lila has just got engaged.

This story is about Jason becoming a Dad and finding his family again, and laying ghosts to rest after such a long time.

Yes, the stories are pretty see through but they are so well written that you have to keep turning the pages to read on to the end, and breaking a great big smile as happiness overcomes all! I can't wait to read the new series about Seaview House.
Profile Image for Marcia  Haskell.
632 reviews11 followers
February 13, 2019
The last of the series and the best

I kept getting the next book in the series as soon as I finished one. They were each easy reading but conveyed a sense of getting through pain to find life and love after retreating from both. The people in this series were real, to me.

This last story was special because I kept wondering about the son who stayed away. He was a vital character in each of the earlier books without ever making an appearance. This, Jason’s story is the most moving of all. I’ve never been a twin, but the description matches what I’ve heard from friends who are. The pain of loss, the feeling of living for two, the sense that a piece of you is missing all ring true. I believe the struggles to continue and questions of how to go on. I felt the joy of succeeding. I loved every minute of reading this book.
40 reviews
February 10, 2019
Kathleen Sullivan - Parker

Single mother Lila Sullivan loves and lives for her young daughter Katie. Lila waited nine years for Jason Parker to return to Pilgrim Cove. He doesn’t even know he has a child. He had left Pilgrim Cove soon after his twin brother Jared was killed in a drinking-related car accident. An accident which Jason had survived. Lila survived, too. Yet they both died a little that night. Read the book to learn more!
75 reviews1 follower
December 8, 2019
I really enjoyed a previous book i had read of Linda's. This did not disappoint.

Dealt with many issues including single mothers, death of teen from drunk driving, years of pain and abandonment, marriage for convenience sake, and finally the value of a close knit family and small-town familiarity. These wrap up into a beautifully written story that leaves one satisfied at the end that good things do happen to good people.
1,377 reviews
May 3, 2018
I purchased the first book in the Pilgrim Cove Series (The House on the Beach), read it, and quickly purchased the remaining 3 books. Wonderful writing. This book might be the best of the 4. Romance, emotional content, family. Thankfully, Linda Barrett is continuing the story with another series (Sea View House).
93 reviews
October 10, 2019
Best of the series

Of the four books in the “Pilgrim Cove” series this was my favorite! Part of it could be the fact I was a high school librarian and related to the problems that teenagers have. I also love books with happy endings. Read the series in order: you won’t regret it.
Posted by Pam H.
Profile Image for Lesley.
2,454 reviews17 followers
January 5, 2023
A story of second chances and a love that never died, despite grief, guilt, abandonment and addiction. Jason and his family’s backstory is so sad and I’m not surprised that he went off the rails but what I didn’t understand was why he went to such lengths to hide himself nor why in nine years he made no contact with Lila. It is for that reason that I couldn’t give this a 5* review.
263 reviews1 follower
December 4, 2017
Great story

Great story and a great series. If you can start with the first book and read them all but all can also be read as a stand alone story. Great characters and a chance to catch up with families from the other books. I really have enjoyed them all.
362 reviews
April 26, 2020
(Pilgrim Cove) 4. The Daughter He Never Knew

I love the scene where Jason figures out the Katie is his child. He just seemed to know. Lila is the one who had to learn about letting go of the past and rejoice in the future.
Profile Image for Marsha.
573 reviews17 followers
August 23, 2020
Pilgrim Cove

Was so excited to finally get this story. Laughter, tears and happy sighs as I turned the pages in The Daughter He Never Knew. A great ending to the Pilgrim Cove series. Looking forward to reading the spinoff as the world can always use more tales about the ROMEOS.
Profile Image for T A FERRIS.
128 reviews
December 12, 2020
What a lovely lady

I think this was a brilliant finish to the series brought a year to my eyes thank you for a wonderful reading of the four book now all I gotta do is get the next.☺😊😀
Profile Image for Adrienne.
450 reviews2 followers
January 13, 2025
Very predictable rom-com but still a fun and light read, especially on a setting on a beach when it’s very very wintry out where I live. I enjoyed it even though it was cute and predictable. It was a fun read!
121 reviews
May 14, 2017
I love this series.

I love their series of books. The characters come alive and I would like to meet all of them. Hope to see more pilgrim cove /sea view house soon.
258 reviews3 followers
May 18, 2017
Another good read.

Great read really enjoyed and so happy that Jase was able to find he's way home to family,love and an daughter.
9 reviews
November 21, 2017
Thoroughly enjoyed the series. Hated to see it end. Recommend the whole series.
2 reviews
May 5, 2018
Linda Barrett does it again!

If you’ve never read any of the Pilgrim Cove series you must! You will become a part of these stories and you won’t want them to end.
211 reviews
March 22, 2019
Tears

Very emotional story that talks about broken hearts, regrets, and reunions. Loved every page. it is a quick read you won't put down.
23 reviews
July 27, 2019
Excellent read.

I was absorbed in this book, as with every other book I have read by this author. I look forward to the next book!
359 reviews
October 14, 2019
Loved it!

I could not put it down, a wonderful book. I am looking forward to more Sea view house stories! Thank you!
1 review
December 26, 2019
Lila and Jason

Having read The House on The Beach, I was interested in Lila 's and Jason's story and I was disappointed. Contained laughter, tears, and of course romance.
Profile Image for Kathy Russell.
18 reviews
April 5, 2021
Easy Interested read

Love the characters
Loved the scenery in this quaint Seaside Town
I could live and thrive in a place like this
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews

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