(Previously published as Shadow's Lady and In Deep Water)
Sheltered heiress Lori York runs away to the isolated island lighthouse at Pajaro Bay. But when a mysterious man washes ashore during a winter storm, she has to figure out just what he's hiding before they both end up as shark bait.
Winner of the Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart Award under the title In Deep Water.
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Welcome to Pajaro Bay, the little California beach town where the cottages are cute, the neighbors are nosy, and it's always possible to find your personal Happily Ever After.
1. Honeymoon Cottage 2. Boardwalk Cottage 3. Lighthouse Cottage 4. Little Fox Cottage 5. Rum Cake Cottage 6. Songbird Cottage 7. Sunshine Cottage 8. Riverstone Cottage
This cozy mystery/romance had a little of everything. A lighthouse off the California coast. Sea lions in distress. A girl with a serious medical condition finding a way to deal (I’m sold.) A guy who may be super shady or may not be what he seems on the surface. And of course, an awesome dog. Some interesting surprises along the way and twists and turns had this one not quite turning out the way I expected.
4 stelle scarse. In dei punti la storia mi è piaciuta, in altri mi ha lasciata un po' dubbiosa anche se non saprei esattamente dire cosa non mi convincesse... Mi è piaciuto come è stato trattato il fatto che la protagonista soffra di epilessia.
Despite the possibilities in the set-up of this book, I felt like it missed living up to them. The story played out to be fairly unrealistic as far as the law enforcement aspect - a fact that my personal experiences point of to me, but might not be as obvious to others. Overall, the story was a bit light on plot and a bit lighter on the romance. I felt like I missed a few parts where they must have fallen in love. I liked the idea of the story, and the various characters that were created, though I would have liked to get to know them all better and have a few subplots filled out more fully. Overall, a light read, but one I'd prefer to be filled with a bit more meat to make a fantastic story.
Didn’t finish at 67%. The writing felt a little too disjointed. I wasn’t ever able to feel immersed in the story because I had trouble picturing certain things or picturing where people were at any given time. It just felt a tiny bit choppy somehow. It’s hard to explain.
Mainly though it was just way too unrealistic in a bad way. For instance, at one point Matt asks to speak to Lori’s aunt after he’s been with Lori for a couple of days. So She comes in and starts having a conversation with him. And she just immediately knows he isn’t who he’s pretending to be and she knows he lying. Like…? How would she possibly know that? I get that the author was trying to make the aunt seem like this amazing all knowing wise intelligent woman, but all it does is make me feel like Matt is just horrible at what he does haha. Which sucks. I want him to be awesome and stealthy and ten steps ahead of everyone else. He just comes across as this lame fumbling wanna be spy if an old lady who he’s spoken to for five seconds can figure him out. Also, Lori comes in after that all pissed and yelling at him because he told her to stay away from the island because it’s dangerous. So again, it makes Matt seem like he can just get walked all over and doesn’t get any respect. He most definitely hasn’t ever once come across as a menacing, gang member/drug lord person or whatever. So I just don’t know what the author wants him to be to us. She made him way too vanilla. He can still be the good guy love interest since he’s pretending, but we need to see the pretending part. He doesn’t need to be cruel or nasty, but can he at least come across as a tough, intelligent, stealthy undercover opp? Even when Lori asks for his name the first time he gives it to her. His real name. And then he thinks how dumb it was for him to do so. And yeah, exactly. It was dumb and gives him zero credibility as a spy. But his reasoning for doing it is that they might see Lori’s aunt in town and she knows his name and stuff. But that is also dumb. Like, does he expect to go off gallivanting with Lori around town after this ordeal? Expecting to visit family with her or something? I’m so confused by it. Shouldn’t he just be planning to get the heck out of there asap? And why is he even talking to Lori again after she turns him in? The coastguard should be the ones telling her that they’ve closed the lighthouse due to increased drug activity in the area or a million other excuses they could give. Anyways that’s what I mean when I say it’s unrealistic in a bad way. It would have been so much cooler to have Matt play the part of this bad boy gangster instead of him acting like a love sick puppy immediately.
That was the other thing I didn’t like about this book or any book for that matter. Insta love/lust. It just lessens Matt’s credibility even further. Isn’t he in the middle of a serious and dangerous job? Why is he fawning all over the first woman we see him meet. It makes me think he acts like this with every girl he comes across. And that he’s really unprofessional. Why else would a guy be immediately pining over a girl unless he only wants her for her looks. Which also isn’t great. He shouldn’t be in any condition to be looking at Lori like that at all. They should start falling for eachother after being in each others presence for more than a few minutes. Yeah they’re together a couple days but they’re asleep for a lot of that. And the nail in that coffin was when Lori’s aunt had that conversation with Matt and she ends it with ‘I know you’re in love with her’ or something along those lines. Like, really? Why would she just jump to that conclusion? Does she say that to every guy that Lori meets? What is the point of having something so unnatural and so unrealistic? It lends nothing to the story except lending to the fakeness of it all.
Also the dual pov writing leaves nothing to the imagination so I’m not really pulled to keep reading.
Considering how much I LOVED Bk 1 (the Honeymoon Cottage) this one was just disappointing.
For 1. The romance and character relationship happen at the drop of a hat and therefore felt like the author realised halfway that “oh these two are supposed to be in love”. There was no build up. No foreshadowing. Just nothing. One minute they were strangers, the next they’re kissing and in love. No hint of even a little bit of emotion until over halfway.
2. The main female lead flip-flopped between too stupid to live and bad-ass I could get behind. It was disorientating, inconsistent and gave me character whiplash. And don’t even get me started on the weirdness around the seizures. They just seemed bot quite real. I felt like narcolepsy would have been more appropriate.
3. The only character that really made any sense was Great Aunt Zee and that may just be because she’s a reoccurring character from bk 1.
Overall this book (and it’s timeline) was a mess from start to finish. I could see the story the author was trying to write but what I read fell flat and had so many holes in it Swiss cheese would be envious. I felt there should have been more foreshadowing. The baddies should have had more time to be developed. And more should have happened overall. This was a disappointing entry in a series that otherwise had me interested in buying the other books, but now leaves me wondering if I should even bother.
Lori York has been sheltered and pampered her whole life because she has epilepsy. Her great-aunt, a former movie star, offers her the chance to pursue her dream of taking nature photographs when the local historical society decides it wants pictures of the lighthouse for publicity. She breaks her engagement to the man her parents approve of, moves from Chicago to the West Coast, determined to be independent, which means living in the lighthouse of the coast.
One stormy night shortly after arriving, Lori thinks she hears a dog outside of the lighthouse. When she goes out to investigate, she finds a man washed up on the beach with a gunshot wound in his leg. She half drags, half browbeats him to walk and manages to get him back to the lighthouse and out of the storm.
The man, Matt, is working undercover to catch a drug dealer and is suspicious of everyone, since he doesn't know who shot him. He finds Lori attractive, but refuses to confide in her to protect her from the drug dealer. In fact, he urges her Aunt Zee to order her off the island and move in with her until his mission is over.
Another great book in the Pajaro Bay series. On Amazon, this is listed as Lighthouse Cottage.
This time it's the turn of Zelda's Niece, Lori to be the main character along with Matt.
Lori has been sheltered all her life, her parents choosing to coddle her because of her epilepsy. Zelda champions Lori's cause and gets her a job photographing the lighthouse.
Matt, a local boy seems to have turned the wrong way and has chosen a life of crime, or is that what he wants people to think.
Matt is washed up on the shores of the lighthouse and Lori has to help him, overcome her fear abd deal with her epilepsy.
Along the way there's also Ophelia, the snooty cat of Aunt Zeldas and a huge dog called Shadowfax, oh and some humour too.
A standalone story set in Pajaro Bay, which has a series of stories written about people coming to live there, and how their lives turn out, maybe not as they once thought.
This was such a good story I didn’t want it to end. The main characters were likable and there was a surprise twist at the end. I did feel the story was a little rushed. For instance the main characters had no real Interaction with each other to fall in love. They were suddenly just in love without actually getting to know each other. That being said, it was still a good story and I couldn’t put it down once I started reading. I haven’t been reading this series in order and read more than a few barely average books before returning to this third book in the Pajaro Bay Mystery series. I’m going to read the rest of these stories in order from now on, that way I know I will be reading something worth my time and something I will enjoy.
Because of the health issue, Lori has been sheltered all her life. When her great aunt lets her know that there's an opening for a nature photographer at the local lighthouse, she packs her bags and heads off for the West coast. She's looking for a chance to be in charge of her life, to not be cosseted by her family. She'd never considered that it might be scary living in the lighthouse off the coast, surrounded by water. Lori internally prepared for any of the things the bay might throw at her, but you'll want to keep turning pages as situations change and the suspense builds. I highly recommend this thrilling book!
This begins very well—well-written, original, great character development, some self-deprecating humor from the characters: a hunky guy who has been injured while kayaking swimming toward a lighthouse in a storm, a girl with epilepsy who is trying to become more independent, staying at the light house to take photos. On a stormy night she hears something—a dog barking--and goes down the cliffs where she finds him and with great difficulty gets him back to the lighthouse…all so well done. Then it becomes less original than the early chapters, I thought, but for those that like that kind of plot, the end works too.
Lori York has been sheltered all her life due to her epilepsy. Her Aunt Zee is a former movie star offers to provide Lori her dream of taking nature photographs at the lighthouse on Parjaro Bay. There is a storm at the lighthouse and Lori hears a dog and discovers a wounded man washed up on shore and helps him into the lighthouse. The man’s name is Matt DiPietro and he is working undercover to catch a drug dealer. Matt and her Aunt Zee are protective of Lori and advise her not to return to the lighthouse for her safety. Matt is attracted to Lori but fears if he gets too involved with her he would jeopardize her safety. I really enjoyed this romantic comedy novel.
I really enjoyed reading Lighthouse Cottage. I was thinking the story was somewhat strange or really not my thing, but the further I got into it, I really liked it. The best part for me, was seeing Lori cope with her condition and coming to see what it is like for someone to have her condition (and not revealing her condition here - you will have to read the story yourself). She doesn't let others prevent her from being who she wants to be, she is strong, and the story builds on that. The main storyline really focuses on her and how she deals with a situation she is faced with. Great story, and I highly recommend it.
Panadol Bay is little beach town in California. After reading all of Barbara's books about this town I want to go visit it! Lori just wants to get away and show her family she can take care of herself. She as a medical problem and the only one in her family that makes it happen which is Aunt Zee. She lives in the lighthouse and a mystery man washed up from the sea. What she doesn't know is he working as a undercover agent. Then the story gets very interesting. Must read!!!! Recommend to my family and friends.
This is the 3rd in the series. The main character is Lori. Lori has epilepsy and has been sheltered and protected all her life and she is sick of it. With the help f her aunt she runs away to a cottage on lighthouse island. She has proven she can take care of herself but a terrible storm hits the island. A man washes up on the shore and she helps drag him into the cottage to save him. The man is the Shadow , they say a killer. Now she has to figure out how to live long enough to get away. Things have a way of turning around and now she is not sure what to believe.
In this book, Lori who is Zelda Potter's niece comes to Pajaro Bay to take pictures for a brochure for the historical society. While she is at the Lighthouse by herself during a storm a man washes up on the beach, Matt DiPetro, who is called the Shadow and is rumored to be a murderer. How Lori discovers she can take care of herself even though she has epilepsy and helps Matt makes for a wonderful story. I've gotten three of these books for free and now will be getting more in the series. Great writing, good characters and great storylines. Lovely.
This is a wonderful story about Lori and her battle with Epilepsy which causes her parents to attempt to control her every move. That is until ahe puts her foot down and let’s her aunt Zee to help find a place to escape and there to find independence as well S her very own pirate. Love is sure to follow. It doesn’t mean there’s no danger in the search. Beautiful read.
Lori is a young woman with epilepsy who broke up with her fiance because he insisted she needed special protection. She wants to learn to live on her own, which her parents are afraid of. So, she goes to visit her great aunt, and live in a lighthouse. There's a terrible storm and she finds Matteo on the beach with a wound in his leg. She thinks he is a gangster. Book is hard to put down.
This is an interesting story about a young woman with a medical condition who is hoping to break away from her parents' close supervision to discover what she is really capable of. In the process, she meets a man that she believes is a criminal, and suddenly, her life is in danger. Can she trust her instincts, or will they fail her when she needs them the most?
This is a delightful read with mystery, romance and plenty of surprises. Lori has defied her parents and has come to live in a lonely lighthouse. She would have never guessed the adventure that awaited her. A man who is half dead washes up on the beach. She struggles to rescue him not knowing he is a deadly killer. And the adventure begins!!!!
This is a great beginning to a series. Loved the characters from the start. Could not tell the good from the bad so it keeps you thinking all the way through. I many times have the plot figures out half way through but this book was a game changer for me. Enjoy!
It was okay. It kept my interest but you really have to let go of the ending making any sense at all. I don’t think an ex secret agent would just come out as such, have an article written about it, marry a girl, and stay in the town where it all went down without everyone mentioned in the book being killed at the wedding…. But it’s a story book so I’ll go with it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
A bit surprised that this was an interesting mystery, when her previous books are more romance. This book had a nice mix of mystery, excitement, and romance. Very likeable characters and then throw a dog in the mix...a very enjoyable read.
Unexpectedly wonderful story. Expecting a formula romance, but received a terrific plot, amazing setting, well developed characters and then found out there are more in the series!
An intriguing mystery/romance that features a young woman who is fiercely independent yet suffers from epilepsy and is determined to love on her own. Hence as a photographer she is living alone in a lighthouse to develop a promotional Brochure for the local historical Society. During a vicious storm she discovers a body washed up to shore. Alive? Yes and so the plot begins.