Return to Cheshire Bay

Cheshire Bay #2

by H.M. Shander

It’s hard to start over, and find love, when no one forgets your past.

Pregnant and suddenly jobless, Lily is desperate to figure out what she wants from life before the baby comes. Leaving her busy, high-rise life on hiatus, she sets out to the small-town on the Pacific coast determined to fix up the family’s summer home and sell it for some much needed cash flow.

As she begins the renovations, she becomes reacquainted with her sexy neighbour, a charter pilot, who now lives on the strip all year long. Despite his charm and laid-back attitude, Eric’s a distraction she doesn’t need right now. Besides, there’s no way he could possibly be attracted to the single mom-to-be, right?

Despite her repeated attempts to show she’s changed, Cheshire Bay refuses to welcome her home. Will she cave to the mounting pressure to return to the high-rise lifestyle, or will she put the rumours to rest and make Cheshire Bay – and Eric – her new home?

Fans of Rachel Gibson and Jill Shavis will love this sweet and charming story of a straightened out bad girl coming home to her small town on Vancouver Island.

BRONZE MEDAL winner in the 2021 READERS CHOICE AWARDS (romance) as put together by Connections e-Magazine.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Novella, Ebooks, Small Town Romance, Friends To Lovers, Contemporary Romance

171 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 19, 2021

About the author

H.M. Shander is an award winning and USA TODAY bestselling author who is a hopeless romantic and lover of chocolate, coconut and a damn good cup of coffee.

She's the author of several reader's choice books (Bronze medal for Return to Cheshire Bay and the Gold Medal for Living La Vida Mocha). An upcoming release was also a Kobo Writing Life finalist - so watch for that to release soon.
She writes swoon-worthy, gentle beta heroes, in sweet or steamy storylines that all end with a happily ever after.

When not writing, she is a part-time librarian and Educational Assistant to a group of kindergartens, a devoted mother to her two kids, and believes she's married the sweetest man and the greatest inspiration for her heroes.

Sign up for the newsletters: https://h-m-shander.eo.page/z5tgg

Reviews

[Julie Booklover · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick afternoon read a small town romance. Lily has returned to her childhood summer home to figure what to do next. She has a history here; people have long memories, and she is still judged for her youth. People grow up and change, Lily is a perfect example, and this is her journey. Eric is Lily’s neighbor and only friend on the island. Will the town see she has changed? Will they admit their attraction? Can Lily stop running long enough to forgive herself? A great start to a new series.

Thank you to Booksprout and the Author for the advanced copy; this is my voluntary review.

[Haley Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firstly, a big thank you to the Author for sending me a copy of her book!

Return to Cheshire Bay was a quick, easy and heartwarming read. I absolutely loved the story of Eric and Lily and can’t wait to continue with the series.

If you like friends to lovers, a cinnamon roll MMC, former Bad girl x Good guy, Single parent (FMC is pregnant) and seeing characters overcome their pasts, I think you will really enjoy this fast paced sweet romance.

I only wish it was longer because I wasn’t ready for their story to end. Overall, Return to Cheshire Bay was such a sweet and heartfelt story.

[Debbie Eyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great read that totally hooked me from the very start and I just could not put it down. I loved Lily and really felt for her and her situation both past and present. A small town has a loooooonnnnngg memory and can sometimes be quite hurtful in their comments and attitudes. Eric on the other hand was super nice and super sexy from the start and went out of his way to help Lily and their chemistry was off the charts. There’s some drama, there’s backstory which is always great and there’s friendship and love and all in all I loved it and I cannot wait to read the other stories.

[Brenda Moser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well written short story with strong characters in Lily and Eric. Single, pregnant and out of a job Lily decides to renovate the family's summer beach house to sell. Along the way she's reacquainted with Eric. It's a slow burn romance with a few twists. The secondary characters help to bring the story around and it moves quickly and smoothly with perfectly painted scenes. I loved reading their story!

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own and freely given.

[Philippa Lythall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story of love, friendship and letting go of the past.

Lily arrives back in Cheshire bay, she is single and pregnant. She wants a fresh start after being made redundant therefore decides to update the beach house so she can sell it. Eric is her next door neighbour, she knows him from her childhood but didn’t expect to see him again or feelings to develop. Can he convince her to remain with him in Cheshire bay?

I enjoyed reading this small town romance, it was very fast paced and well written. Even though it is part of a series, I don’t think I missed out by not reading the first book. This is the first book that I have read from the author and definitely not the last.

[Jeannine Wickliffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lily is returning to Cheshire Bay to get a new perspective on her life. She finds herself without a job, no boyfriend, and pregnant. Her intentions are to spruce up the house, finger out her future, and have her baby. Then she meets Eric, the guy next door, who she knew when she was a teenager. They become friends, but Lily still faces the a future in Cheshire Bay where they blame her for the death of another teenager. As Lily comes to terms with her pregnancy, growing feelings for Eric and new friends, she realizes she loves Cheshire Bay. The her best friend shows up and then her ex shows up. The outcome is more drama and a new respect for the life she can have in Cheshire bAY.

[Mia Epsilon · Rating 1 out of 5]

One POV

Not sure what to say…one POV- hers and it’s entirely telling without any showing. Some many inconsistencies and impossible things (she’s 6 months pregnant and jumped 6 feet off a deck???). She is not a likable person at all and we get so little of him it’s hard to know what or who he is. There’s no substance to this book at all, and how the heck we are expected to believe this couple is in love is ridiculous. One star because the author actually completed a book, although I’m beginning to think this is some gag book and not meant to be taken seriously.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book one in the Cheshire Bay series a well written story of finding yourself. Lily Baker and Eric Morris' story as they meet again when she come back to the Bay. There is a best friend, an ex, and a man who will be there for her. I enjoyed reading this story and want to read the next one. I received a copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Dave and Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

My tears, my tears

The story builds and builds. Your heart is tugged in every direction. Their are good twist and hard realities.
Going back to Cheshire Bay is full of history, and none good. A wild child goes home and grows up.
Tears flow in the book and will also with you
A GREAT READ.

It

[B. Fergen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but sweet

This book was kind of short, but it was an interesting read. It could use a little more character development. I was left wanting to know more about these individuals.

[Dawn Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A location to restart a life style and to find the person you know.

Mistakes and bad decisions made at younger stage of life need to be changed so you can move forward. Courage and strength may be needed but this shows how determination and attitude can be do the job.

[M K Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and endearing.

[LINDA M. BERG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy fun read

I read this in 1/2 a day. The story line was excellent and she didnt drag the story line. Each new thing was addressed quickly. Enjoyed it!

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute summer beach read ! & It's short 😊

[Sherrie Gallegos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute story with a very happy ending.

[Zee · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

This wasn’t much but it was still cute.

[Ana]

DNF @ 29%

Not for me. The writing was good, but I wasn’t connecting with Lily.

[Aaliyah92 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was okay, cringe in parts and very insta love. Hard to flesh out when it's a novella sometimes

[Lynnette Loud · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read. Made me so sad in spots but good ending.

[Vicki or Dennis Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read and reviewed this book on April 11,2021

Review is listed: VICKI JOHNSON {VICKI FROM WYOMING}

[TLynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Return to Cheshire Bay is a novella to start off the Cheshire Bay series. It was fast-paced and easily read in one sitting. The characters were developed and were interesting. Cheshire Bay is a small community with a long memory. Lily spent her childhood summers in Cheshire Bay. As a troubled teen, she spent her time getting in trouble and acquiring a bad reputation around town. Now as an adult she has inherited the family’s cottage and decides to return and fix it up for possibly selling. Her ex-boyfriend has left her, she has lost her job, and she is pregnant with no idea of what she wants for her future. She knew Eric, her next-door neighbor, from when they spent their summers there. He now lives in Cheshire Bay permanently and pilots-chartered flights to the bay. Eric knew of her reputation but does not judge her. He tries to help her and introduces her to some of his friends. The chemistry between the two can be felt right away but both are hesitant to become more than friends. Lily does not plan on staying after the summer and Eric is fighting his own past demons.
I enjoyed reading this book and I loved meeting the other characters that will be coming in the following books. Eric was such a great guy and so sweet. The ending really shows Lily’s character in a different light. At the beginning of the book, she seems sweet but by the end, her true character is revealed. I did not care for her as much then because she comes off as self-centered and cold. Throughout the book, Lily is planning on selling the cottage because she needs the money. We never did discover what she does for a living or how she plans on supporting herself. I kept thinking it would be revealed but it was not. The novella seemed realistic enough until we got to the end. The author seems to rush the ending and the delivery of the baby was not very realistic. Women do not have babies and then get up and walk right away (at least I do not know of anyone that has.) Overall, it was an enjoyable story but could have provided some of those details.
I received an ARC and am willingly leaving a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Shannon Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just Intrigued Enough to Look Forward to Book 2
Not really a second chance or even a friends-to-lovers romance…more a “we used to sorta know each other as kids” kind of thing. Lily Baker and Eric Morris find themselves next door to one another at their respective family beach homes in “Return to Cheshire Bay” by H.M. Shander. Pregnant, alone, and trying to hit the reset button on her chaotic life in the city, Lily settles into her childhood summer home to renovate and try to show the townsfolk that she is nothing like the wild child she once was. Enter Eric, the kid she vaguely remembers from long-ago beach seasons, now a sweet, attentive, gorgeous private pilot, who has chosen to live at Cheshire Bay year-round to get away from the rat race in Vancouver. This was a sweet story. There wasn’t a lot of heat per se, but there was definitely a tangible chemistry between the characters that tugged at the heart. Most of the side characters – with the exception of Lily’s snooty friend Beth – were great as well. They were well-developed, relatable, and likeable. What I found confusing and a little off-putting were some of the interactions between them. Without giving anything away, an argument would take an unnecessary hurtful turn, or information that any sane person would automatically give to other people involved was omitted. I would imagine that the author was going for a bit of a plot twist with one of these instances in particular; however, it just didn’t ring true for me. Still, with that said, I’m looking forward to the second book in the series.

[Bea J. Syer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lily Baker comes back to Cheshire Bay, the town she summered in as a child, to try and get her life back on track. Single, unemployed, and with a baby on the way, things are a bit of a mess, to say the least. She has every intention of fixing up the old summer house to rent out or sell by the end of the summer, and getting back to her life.

Only then she meets Eric, her next-door neighbour from when she was a kid—and oh boy, he is all grown up.

I immediately connected to Lily as a character; she's so easy to relate to and empathise with. And I couldn't blame her for being so thoroughly charmed by Eric, even though she very clearly wasn't looking for a relationship—the man is so sweet and patient, who wouldn't be? He welcomed her into the fold so easily, as did his friends, which I appreciated. Lily clearly needed to have people in her corner, and it was nice to see Eric's friendship group welcome her with open arms.

The only issue I have with this is that I wanted more! It might have been nice to see some of Eric's perspective as it was a little hard to get a read on what he was thinking and feeling sometimes. I also would have liked to see Lily work through her guilt and regrets a little more, but I appreciate that this was a fairly short read and there wasn't really page space for it.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jayne Wheatley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Return to Cheshire Bay is a novella to start off the Cheshire Bay series was fairly fast-paced and easily read..
The characters were d easy to get to now and kept it interesting.
Cheshire Bay is a small community with a long memory where Lily spent her childhood summertimes..
she was a troubled teen with a reputation around town, however now she’s all grown up she has inherited her family’s cottage so decides it’s time to return and fix it up fro sell.
With no job, no boyfriend and being pregnant she had no idea what her future held.
She moves in and realises she knows her neighbor Eric from childhood
He now pilots chartered flights to the bay. I’m not sure what Lilly did for work, a few more details would have been nice.
Eric knew of her reputation in younger years but he does not judge her, he befriends her and tries to help her, he introduces her to some of his friends to make her feel more at home.
The instant chemistry between the two is clear, however both are hesitant to become more than friends especially as Lily does not plan on staying after the summer and Eric has his own demons to deal with.
Eric was such a great guy and so sweet. . At the beginning of the book, she seems sweet but by the end, her true character is revealed.
To me the ending seemed a bit rushed and by the end of the book for me Eric came across a lot warmer than Lilly did, I wanted to like her more than I did.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a small town friends to lover's romance and it is Lily and Eric's story. Lily had returned to Cheshire Bay after her boyfriend walked away from her when she told him that she was pregnant and now she needed to decide what to do next with her life and she had another surprise and that was to see Eric from her youth living next door. Eric is a pilot and he did chartered flights on the island and he was shocked when he got home to find Lily living next door to him. Lily worked hard on the beach house and also enjoyed spending time with Eric as she wasn't staying in Cheshire Bay past the summer so nothing could happen between them even though there connection and chemistry was so strong. Lily had bad memories of what happened in Cheshire Bay when she was a teenager but even now years later the resident wouldn't let her forget that time in her life and what had happened and they still treated her so bad and that is why she couldn't stay even though she was starting to have feelings for Eric. When things come to a head which way will Lily decide to go. H.M. Shander is an amazing author and writer and I really enjoyed reading this book and others by her and I look forward to reading more books in the From as they are definitely worth reading.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kia B · Rating 4 out of 5]

First my usual points:
- I do not do spoilers unless warned.
- Read the summary above; it will tell you what the book is about. I will not reiterate.
- This is a standalone but the first of a series (from what I can tell)
- No errors that I caught as far as editing.
- The author was new to me

Star Ratings - 1 (poor) - 5(READ THIS BOOK)
Writing Quality: 4 stars
Pace/Ease of Reading: 5 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Enjoyability: 5 stars
Uniqueness Factor: 4 stars
Steam Level: 3.5 stars
Recommended: Highly

This was a small town romance but a bit more. It wasn't a second chance story in the way of romance but a second chance at living. Our heroine was a bit of a lost soul and found herself in the one place that she seemed to enjoy most as a child. And then finds who she really wants to be when meeting people that knew her as a child/teen. Our Hero play a part in her journey but we never really get his point of view as the story is told from the heroine point of view only.

Overall I enjoyed the story but there were a few questions as to the heroine's background that really were never addressed and maybe that will occur in future books. However, I would have liked both points of view and feel it might have made the story more rounded and even. I would definitely read more from this author.

[Oriana Becerril-Vazquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Past and present collide in this short, but intense love story!

H.M. Shander has a way of capturing heart felt stories, with beautiful painted words and images. Return to Cheshire Bay is no different. Lily finds herself returning to her Summer home in order to take stock of her life, the decisions she made that brought her to this point, and how to move forward. Eric is living his dream, enjoying calling what used to be his family's Summer home, his every day reality. Two people different in so many ways, but who have in common the memories of spending their teenage years in the beautiful island. What happens when they meet again as adults, with the baggage of the past between them, but both wanting to carve out a happy future for themselves?

Eric and Lily's story is a slow burn...nothing like that palpable desire underneath the surface, that keeps growing as time goes by. Lily is full of secrets and a past that keeps coming back with a vengeance, preventing her in so many ways to see a happy future for herself. Eric is laid back, with a story of his own, trying to see if Lily will make room for him in her future. Together they are desire and love! Get to know them...you will not be disappointed.

4 ☆☆☆☆

[Blessings Bookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a delightful light read. It is a small town romance set on beautiful island away from the hustle and bustle of the city. I loved its simple plot and relatively clean romance, which was a nice change of pace for me. I loved the relationship between Eric and Lily, the conversations between them were vital to building their relationship.

I liked Eric he was so sweet, supportive and sensitive, he doesn’t judge Lily for all the things going on in her life. He is so cute!!! Lily is an independent woman who decides to get pregnant on her own by going to a fertility clinic. Even pregnant she still redecorates her summer home which i found amazing. She is very self-aware of her faults and weaknesses as well as her strengths which I found refreshing. However I found Lily emotionally distant at the beginning, trying to protect herself.

The things I found annoying are the ex-boyfriend who was basically a 9 year old in a 20-something year old body.

I loved the ending, it was so sweet and I loved the fact the epilogue didn’t jump too far into the future.

ARC copy for an honest review

[Karen J. Mossman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book of a series that doesn’t need to be read in order.

It’s the story of Lily and Eric who live in the area of Cheshire Bay where all the stories are set. They both have a beach side house within distance of each other.

I enjoyed this story because it’s sun, sea, and romance. A main character with a troubled background meets a hot guy. After an initial misunderstanding their love blooms.

Overall, I enjoyed it. It’s a formula that holds a lot of entertainment value when you just want an enjoyable story with beautiful people in a great location. H. M. Shander does it extremely well. Along with an attractive cover to draw you in, these are smashing little books.

[Vicki Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very riveting story that grabs you quickly and holds on through the final pages. The characters were quite well portrayed and just kept adding dimensions as the story progressed. Lily, who at 30 is still single, has gone to her family's home in Cheshire Bay to contemplate her future as a single mother. She is also doing updates to the house and deciding whether she wants to put it up for sale. She is pleasantly surprised to find her next door neighbor is Eric, one of the two brothers that lived next to her family growing up. However, Eric has changed into quite the eyefull since she has last seen him. As the story unfolds the reader learns that Lily left with a sordid past when she was in her teens and the local people have not forgotten. Eric becomes a very big support and caring friend. This is a very good storyline and flows quite well from chapter to chapter. I prefer relatively clean reading and this didn't cross those lines.

I received an ARC copy of this book, but this is my voluntary, honest and completely personal review.
VICKI FROM WYOMING