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Sand Dollar Shoal #3
Deep Blue
Once a cheater, always a cheater?
As co-owner and head chef of Sand Dollar Shoal, Former Navy SEAL Gregor Allen’s life should be coming up roses. Instead, he’s stuck watching his friends fall in love with the men of their dreams while he consoles his lonely heart by spending all of his free time in the hotel’s kitchen, perfecting his recipes.
Julian Parsons’ life is falling apart at the seams. After his wife caught him cheating with another man, she divorced him, got primary custody of their son and outed him as The Shadow, Julian’s anonymous food critic alter-ego. Now jobless and homeless, all Julian has left is a two week vacation at Sand Dollar Shoal with his five-year-old son, Henry.
When Julian and Gregor meet there’s an instant attraction, but Gregor isn’t sure he can get past Julian’s cheating ways. Despite his misgivings, the chef risks his heart, and grows closer to Julian and his son. When an anonymous blogger starts posting negative reviews about Gregor’s food, he can’t help but think his new lover is behind the malicious attacks.
With his professional reputation on the line, will Gregor learn to trust Julian, or will their budding love be lost to the deep blue sea?
As co-owner and head chef of Sand Dollar Shoal, Former Navy SEAL Gregor Allen’s life should be coming up roses. Instead, he’s stuck watching his friends fall in love with the men of their dreams while he consoles his lonely heart by spending all of his free time in the hotel’s kitchen, perfecting his recipes.
Julian Parsons’ life is falling apart at the seams. After his wife caught him cheating with another man, she divorced him, got primary custody of their son and outed him as The Shadow, Julian’s anonymous food critic alter-ego. Now jobless and homeless, all Julian has left is a two week vacation at Sand Dollar Shoal with his five-year-old son, Henry.
When Julian and Gregor meet there’s an instant attraction, but Gregor isn’t sure he can get past Julian’s cheating ways. Despite his misgivings, the chef risks his heart, and grows closer to Julian and his son. When an anonymous blogger starts posting negative reviews about Gregor’s food, he can’t help but think his new lover is behind the malicious attacks.
With his professional reputation on the line, will Gregor learn to trust Julian, or will their budding love be lost to the deep blue sea?
175 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 13, 2017
21 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Pandora Pine
136 books607 followersSick of the slogging rat-race of her 9-5 job, Pandora Pine put pen to paper (literally!) to make her ambition of becoming a romance novelist a reality. She cut her teeth in the dog-eat-dog world of fanfiction, still dreaming of the day when she would be a published author. She lives in Massachusetts with her blabbermouth muse who’ s a fan of middle of the night plot twists.
In her spare time, Pandora fancies herself an amateur nature photographer. She enjoys mucking around in swamps, hiking through the woods and crawling around on her hands and knees in her backyard seeking out the perfect shot. Pandora is a fan of roadside seafood shacks and always thinks Mexican food is a good idea at the time.
Some of Pandora’s favorite things are chocolate, writing longhand with purple pens and handsome men falling in love with each other.
Don't miss Pandora’s seductive new novel coming soon to an e-reader near you.
In her spare time, Pandora fancies herself an amateur nature photographer. She enjoys mucking around in swamps, hiking through the woods and crawling around on her hands and knees in her backyard seeking out the perfect shot. Pandora is a fan of roadside seafood shacks and always thinks Mexican food is a good idea at the time.
Some of Pandora’s favorite things are chocolate, writing longhand with purple pens and handsome men falling in love with each other.
Don't miss Pandora’s seductive new novel coming soon to an e-reader near you.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 16, 2021
Really cute! Henry is the most adorable wingman ever. That adds points in this books favor, while having the main issue be caused by miscommunication blown out of proportion for the second time in a series is a con. I liked it anyway so...
June 17, 2018
Love the characters and story but dear god get a better editor!
So this is the third book in the Sand Dollar Shoal series and the editing gets worse with each book. I’m not sure what’s going on as I’ve read others of this author’s series and have never seen these problems. The continuity editing is horrendous, made even more insulting by the character of Landon explaining in book one what continuity editing is and why it’s important. Just one example from this book, among several, is that Julian’s best friend is called Marty at the start of the book. Later in the book he”s repeatedly referred to as Matt. Then later still we”re back to Marty. There is just no reason for this other than sloppiness or laziness. And there are several other examples...another one that really bugged me is when they say the restaurant in the hotel needs a name and one character suggests calling it Widow Walk. The problem? At the start of book two when Presley is telling Drake what kind of job possibilities there were for him at the hotel he refers to needing servers at the restaurant. He calls it, you guessed it, Widow Walk. This kind of stuff, along with typos and grammar errors is a huge pet peeve of mine as it takes my head out of the story and that’s an unforgivable error for me.
The problem is especially irritating as I really like these characters and this universe. The insta-love in all the cases is a bit fairy tale but feel good stories are enjoyable occasionally. I’ve always liked Gregor. Julian takes a bit to like but I love Henry. All the characters we’ve come to know in the series get good page time here. It’s not too tough to figure out the villain of the piece...I copped to it immediately. More detail on the ending there would have been welcome rather than hearing relayed third hand. Also liked the resolution at the end with Henry and the ex.
Looking forward to book four though really hoping a better editor was on board for that one.
So this is the third book in the Sand Dollar Shoal series and the editing gets worse with each book. I’m not sure what’s going on as I’ve read others of this author’s series and have never seen these problems. The continuity editing is horrendous, made even more insulting by the character of Landon explaining in book one what continuity editing is and why it’s important. Just one example from this book, among several, is that Julian’s best friend is called Marty at the start of the book. Later in the book he”s repeatedly referred to as Matt. Then later still we”re back to Marty. There is just no reason for this other than sloppiness or laziness. And there are several other examples...another one that really bugged me is when they say the restaurant in the hotel needs a name and one character suggests calling it Widow Walk. The problem? At the start of book two when Presley is telling Drake what kind of job possibilities there were for him at the hotel he refers to needing servers at the restaurant. He calls it, you guessed it, Widow Walk. This kind of stuff, along with typos and grammar errors is a huge pet peeve of mine as it takes my head out of the story and that’s an unforgivable error for me.
The problem is especially irritating as I really like these characters and this universe. The insta-love in all the cases is a bit fairy tale but feel good stories are enjoyable occasionally. I’ve always liked Gregor. Julian takes a bit to like but I love Henry. All the characters we’ve come to know in the series get good page time here. It’s not too tough to figure out the villain of the piece...I copped to it immediately. More detail on the ending there would have been welcome rather than hearing relayed third hand. Also liked the resolution at the end with Henry and the ex.
Looking forward to book four though really hoping a better editor was on board for that one.
June 26, 2017
Another great story in this series!
I'm really loving the Sand Dollar Shoals series by Pandora Pine and Deep Blue is no exception.
I was a tad bit uneasy to know that the book featured an MC (main character) who had cheated but you can tell from the story that Julian is really remorseful about what happened in his life and that he's determined to change things. He's also determined to be a better parent to his son (who is one of the most precious kids I've ever read in a book).
We got a glimpse of Gregor in the first two books and I was so happy he finally got his own story and HEA. There's a bit of a mystery in this book and I didn't guess who the bad guy was until it was finally revealed in the story.
Julian and Gregor have some rough patches to go through before they get to their HEA but Pandora Pine has never let me down yet. I'm happy to know that there will be another book in this series for Griff and Leo, coming in October.
I'm really loving the Sand Dollar Shoals series by Pandora Pine and Deep Blue is no exception.
I was a tad bit uneasy to know that the book featured an MC (main character) who had cheated but you can tell from the story that Julian is really remorseful about what happened in his life and that he's determined to change things. He's also determined to be a better parent to his son (who is one of the most precious kids I've ever read in a book).
We got a glimpse of Gregor in the first two books and I was so happy he finally got his own story and HEA. There's a bit of a mystery in this book and I didn't guess who the bad guy was until it was finally revealed in the story.
Julian and Gregor have some rough patches to go through before they get to their HEA but Pandora Pine has never let me down yet. I'm happy to know that there will be another book in this series for Griff and Leo, coming in October.
December 1, 2019
Julian doesn't deserve Gregor
This is a sweet romance for Gregor. I don't think Julian is good enough for him, but maybe Henry makes up for it.
Henry is adorable, but as a mom (I only have girls), I don't find him a completely believable character. 5 year-old that reads at a 4th grade level? Okay. Likes Spiderman? Of course. Willing to learn to cook and help in the kitchen? Sure. Climbs into stranger's laps? No way in hell. Wants to be carried? Not likely --unless it's a piggy back ride.The
It is also unbelievable that there were no other boys in his class who love Spiderman. Nobody loves a super hero more than a 4 year old, and plenty of 5 year olds still do. And no other kids in Kindergarten were reading at the beginning of the year? Really? There were at least a few kids in my daughters' Kindergarten classes reading chapter books. Parents really push their kids to read early these days. Those things niggled at me, but I still enjoyed the story.
This is a sweet romance for Gregor. I don't think Julian is good enough for him, but maybe Henry makes up for it.
Henry is adorable, but as a mom (I only have girls), I don't find him a completely believable character. 5 year-old that reads at a 4th grade level? Okay. Likes Spiderman? Of course. Willing to learn to cook and help in the kitchen? Sure. Climbs into stranger's laps? No way in hell. Wants to be carried? Not likely --unless it's a piggy back ride.The
It is also unbelievable that there were no other boys in his class who love Spiderman. Nobody loves a super hero more than a 4 year old, and plenty of 5 year olds still do. And no other kids in Kindergarten were reading at the beginning of the year? Really? There were at least a few kids in my daughters' Kindergarten classes reading chapter books. Parents really push their kids to read early these days. Those things niggled at me, but I still enjoyed the story.
July 14, 2017
Really?
I've tried to come up with something positive about this book, and it was hard. I think the only way is if you think of it as what not to put in a book
Insta-loves to the power of ridiculousness On the first day of your vacation, you meet the man of your Dreams. Fall madly in love and live happily ever after.... Did I mention this was like 3 seconds after a nasty and vindictive divorce?
Miracle saves (not the medical kinds) Here you have the job-less, homeless and mostly moneyless MC. Spend your last dimes on a vacation and meet the owners of the resort. Befriend them and miracle of all miracles - they just so happen to need someone with your skillset - to start immediately. Higher salary than the previous job and you get a house - rent free!
Nope, not buying it. Never gonna happen.
Non-communicating MC's resulting in unnecessary blowups Does this really need more explanation? I mean this trope has been tried and done a million times before. Please find some other plot device!
Beyond unbelievable kids Henry is about as far from believable for a 5 year old as you can get, and I’ll spare you from that rant..
The suddenly friendly and cooperative ex-wife Suure, with a nasty end to the marriage and an equally nasty divorce, a few weeks later all is well, forgiven and forgotten.
Nope – don’t buy this either!
My recommendation? - look elsewhere for your next read!
I've tried to come up with something positive about this book, and it was hard. I think the only way is if you think of it as what not to put in a book
~~~~Plot spoilers ahead, so read at your own risk~~~~
Insta-loves to the power of ridiculousness On the first day of your vacation, you meet the man of your Dreams. Fall madly in love and live happily ever after.... Did I mention this was like 3 seconds after a nasty and vindictive divorce?
Miracle saves (not the medical kinds) Here you have the job-less, homeless and mostly moneyless MC. Spend your last dimes on a vacation and meet the owners of the resort. Befriend them and miracle of all miracles - they just so happen to need someone with your skillset - to start immediately. Higher salary than the previous job and you get a house - rent free!
Nope, not buying it. Never gonna happen.
Non-communicating MC's resulting in unnecessary blowups Does this really need more explanation? I mean this trope has been tried and done a million times before. Please find some other plot device!
Beyond unbelievable kids Henry is about as far from believable for a 5 year old as you can get, and I’ll spare you from that rant..
The suddenly friendly and cooperative ex-wife Suure, with a nasty end to the marriage and an equally nasty divorce, a few weeks later all is well, forgiven and forgotten.
Nope – don’t buy this either!
My recommendation? - look elsewhere for your next read!
October 1, 2018
OK, definitely read as part of the series, 4.2
I love these MCs, Julian and Gregor, plus Julian's son, and Gregor's way with food and everyone in and out of the kitchen. The two men falling in love worked for me; I laughed and cried (always a good sign!). However, their conflict was too quick with nothing to lead up to it (like a mysterious phone call, or something secretive on his computer, maybe?), Gregor's reaction was too dramatic; he's not the drama queen of the bunch; and the culprit was perfect, just too easy. The little boy and secondary character Leo were totally charming and getting to know Leo a little made the final book even better. Some typos were ignored, and in this case, were minor enough to not impact my rating. Maybe it's because I really did fall for these characters.
I love these MCs, Julian and Gregor, plus Julian's son, and Gregor's way with food and everyone in and out of the kitchen. The two men falling in love worked for me; I laughed and cried (always a good sign!). However, their conflict was too quick with nothing to lead up to it (like a mysterious phone call, or something secretive on his computer, maybe?), Gregor's reaction was too dramatic; he's not the drama queen of the bunch; and the culprit was perfect, just too easy. The little boy and secondary character Leo were totally charming and getting to know Leo a little made the final book even better. Some typos were ignored, and in this case, were minor enough to not impact my rating. Maybe it's because I really did fall for these characters.
July 30, 2018
Really enjoying this series
I’m loving this series as we read about the group of men who open up a hotel together and fall in love along the way. In this book we read about Gregor who is an ex SEAL and cook. He falls for a food critic blogger Julian and his son Henry. I loved how all the men fell in love with Henry and pulled them into they fold. Such great bonds between all of these men. Looking forward to Griff’s book next!
I’m loving this series as we read about the group of men who open up a hotel together and fall in love along the way. In this book we read about Gregor who is an ex SEAL and cook. He falls for a food critic blogger Julian and his son Henry. I loved how all the men fell in love with Henry and pulled them into they fold. Such great bonds between all of these men. Looking forward to Griff’s book next!
July 28, 2018
wow.. captivating story
Henry stole this book and my heart.. everyone in this story is just bit players to a little boy whose confidence grew and blossomed throughout the book... wow.. Julian and Gregor are absolutely amazing characters, but everyone took a back seat to Henry.. loved this book
Henry stole this book and my heart.. everyone in this story is just bit players to a little boy whose confidence grew and blossomed throughout the book... wow.. Julian and Gregor are absolutely amazing characters, but everyone took a back seat to Henry.. loved this book
May 31, 2019
Julian and Gregor
Gregor has a lot of demons he needs to exercise however he has a ton of friends to help him keep his head on straight. Julian, like us all is human and messed up but he, like some of us is working on being a better person. I have to say Henry is my favorite person is this story.
Gregor has a lot of demons he needs to exercise however he has a ton of friends to help him keep his head on straight. Julian, like us all is human and messed up but he, like some of us is working on being a better person. I have to say Henry is my favorite person is this story.
June 22, 2017
Awesome
I just finished reading all 3 books back to back. I loved this series. Hoping there are going to be many more books to come in this series. Unfortunately, I don't do social media, so I won't know when or if another book is released. I only use author web sites.
I just finished reading all 3 books back to back. I loved this series. Hoping there are going to be many more books to come in this series. Unfortunately, I don't do social media, so I won't know when or if another book is released. I only use author web sites.
August 8, 2025
Deep Blue
Top five of my reading great story twist and turns great ending hope you and your family great weekend ahead
Top five of my reading great story twist and turns great ending hope you and your family great weekend ahead
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews