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Calico Cove #1
Happily Ever... Maybe?
He’s the billionaire Beast of Calico Cove and I’m his sacrificial lamb… I mean, his new employee.
Malcolm Bettencourt is a recluse with a nasty scar across his face and a bad attitude. He has a bone to pick with my family over a loan my dad can't pay back, so in order to save our lobster business, I agreed to live in his house as his housekeeper and cook.
We have nothing in common and there’s no reason to think he would want anything to do with someone like me. Except I can’t stop thinking about him and he can’t stop looking at me.
Author's Note: This beauty and the beast retelling includes a grumpy hero, a sassy heroine looking to lose her v-card and a Pretty Woman moment with a black Am-Ex. Oh and an age gap romance with someone who may or may not be her lobster.
Malcolm Bettencourt is a recluse with a nasty scar across his face and a bad attitude. He has a bone to pick with my family over a loan my dad can't pay back, so in order to save our lobster business, I agreed to live in his house as his housekeeper and cook.
We have nothing in common and there’s no reason to think he would want anything to do with someone like me. Except I can’t stop thinking about him and he can’t stop looking at me.
Author's Note: This beauty and the beast retelling includes a grumpy hero, a sassy heroine looking to lose her v-card and a Pretty Woman moment with a black Am-Ex. Oh and an age gap romance with someone who may or may not be her lobster.
338 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 22, 2022
1766 people are currently reading
2806 people want to read
About the author
Hailey Shore
16 books198 followersI love cold wine, hot coffee and writing swoony rom coms.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 317 reviews
March 3, 2023
*4.5* A modern take on Beauty and the Beast.
“Wow, sex is so much fun. Why doesn’t anyone talk about how freaking fun it is?”
This story was such a joy to read. It was a little saccharine at the start, but omg once things get going I was seriously impressed with the level of heat in this little Disney-like story.
I don’t know the last time I enjoyed a fmc snark and wit as much as I did here. Jolie was hilarious and a take-no-shit character.
And Beast, I mean, Mal was just as perfect.
She was utterly captivating to me. The confidence with which she moved through her life seemed to stop at her appearance, and no one understood that better than me.
Highly recommended for a lighter read filled with wonderful characters, deliciously detailed sex scenes, character growth, and excellent banter.
Thank you Isabella for encouraging me to read this one with you 💜
“Wow, sex is so much fun. Why doesn’t anyone talk about how freaking fun it is?”
This story was such a joy to read. It was a little saccharine at the start, but omg once things get going I was seriously impressed with the level of heat in this little Disney-like story.
I don’t know the last time I enjoyed a fmc snark and wit as much as I did here. Jolie was hilarious and a take-no-shit character.
And Beast, I mean, Mal was just as perfect.
She was utterly captivating to me. The confidence with which she moved through her life seemed to stop at her appearance, and no one understood that better than me.
Highly recommended for a lighter read filled with wonderful characters, deliciously detailed sex scenes, character growth, and excellent banter.
Thank you Isabella for encouraging me to read this one with you 💜
October 27, 2022
Debut novel for this author, though the second one in the series has already been released. This was a cute, modern Beauty and the Beast retelling. Not a very complex plot, with a pretty straight forward grumpy/sunshine trope but it was a quick read and I mostly enjoyed it. This was pretty light fare and fairly predictable with obvious breadcrumbs left for upcoming spin offs, but I liked both characters and the small town setting.
Jolie (Beauty) was a sweet and very young feeling, 22 yr old lobster fisherperson/ wannabe chef. She had mad family obligations getting in the way of her dreams of culinary school.
Mal (Beast) is a scarred, rich, video game designer with a tortured past. He is older, by ten years, and suffers from agoraphobia and ptsd due to a helicopter accident.
The premise is that Jolie’s dad gets a loan from Mal to help his two daughters achieve their dreams. It’s a fairly weak premise and has holes you could drive a truck through. It’s not explained well to me why this stranger would give a 60k loan to her dad and even why her dad (who seems to have a lot of pride) would even ask for a loan from this man he does not know. This needed to be better fleshed out because I cannot stand when my intelligence is insulted by an illogical premise. I held out hope that it would be better explained within the story, but it never really was.
The couple started out in forced proximity with Jolie having to pay off her dad’s loan (because Mal got mad and called it in, for some reason) and she had to become his housekeeper. From there their attraction grew and it was pretty cute. There were times when I felt that Jolie was way too young for him, and she came off pretty naive. She was a virgin at 22 *eye roll* and wore her heart on her sleeve. At times this was downright cringey because Mal kept pulling away and hurting her, over and over.
This plot would have benefitted from more side story, as the push and pull of the couple got a little stale in the telling, as it tends to do in a full length book without more depth of plot.
Also this edition had several edits and cross outs that were left in the eBook. This gave me second hand embarrassment for the writer. There is no excuse for leaving these things in when publishing, even for a new author.
So this was decent and cute, but don’t go in if you can’t take large plot holes and shaky premises.
Jolie (Beauty) was a sweet and very young feeling, 22 yr old lobster fisherperson/ wannabe chef. She had mad family obligations getting in the way of her dreams of culinary school.
Mal (Beast) is a scarred, rich, video game designer with a tortured past. He is older, by ten years, and suffers from agoraphobia and ptsd due to a helicopter accident.
The premise is that Jolie’s dad gets a loan from Mal to help his two daughters achieve their dreams. It’s a fairly weak premise and has holes you could drive a truck through. It’s not explained well to me why this stranger would give a 60k loan to her dad and even why her dad (who seems to have a lot of pride) would even ask for a loan from this man he does not know. This needed to be better fleshed out because I cannot stand when my intelligence is insulted by an illogical premise. I held out hope that it would be better explained within the story, but it never really was.
The couple started out in forced proximity with Jolie having to pay off her dad’s loan (because Mal got mad and called it in, for some reason) and she had to become his housekeeper. From there their attraction grew and it was pretty cute. There were times when I felt that Jolie was way too young for him, and she came off pretty naive. She was a virgin at 22 *eye roll* and wore her heart on her sleeve. At times this was downright cringey because Mal kept pulling away and hurting her, over and over.
This plot would have benefitted from more side story, as the push and pull of the couple got a little stale in the telling, as it tends to do in a full length book without more depth of plot.
Also this edition had several edits and cross outs that were left in the eBook. This gave me second hand embarrassment for the writer. There is no excuse for leaving these things in when publishing, even for a new author.
So this was decent and cute, but don’t go in if you can’t take large plot holes and shaky premises.
March 7, 2023
This book was a wonderful surprise. A beauty and the beast retelling with age gap to boot. I had such a good time reading this story. Jolie and Malcom had amazing chemistry. Her the sunshine to his grumpiness.
The slow burn worked because of them and their hilarious banter and chemistry. The push and pull game was top notch. Jolie was a fabulous heroine. She takes care of everyone and put herself last. Malcom the grump and broken man couldn’t resist the fiercely loyal and dependable Jolie.
Their friendship was so special and when it finally got sexual it was so good and steamy. Just the right amount.
I got an introduction to the other characters from Calico Cove and will definitely continue reading this series.
The slow burn worked because of them and their hilarious banter and chemistry. The push and pull game was top notch. Jolie was a fabulous heroine. She takes care of everyone and put herself last. Malcom the grump and broken man couldn’t resist the fiercely loyal and dependable Jolie.
Their friendship was so special and when it finally got sexual it was so good and steamy. Just the right amount.
I got an introduction to the other characters from Calico Cove and will definitely continue reading this series.
May 25, 2024
3.5⭐️ A very sweet, humorous, and faithful rendition of Beauty and the Beast. The first 60% was everything I could have wished for.
This is an age gap romance, which was within my tolerance range, although I could have done without the old man jokes. I mean, Jolie is 22 and Malcolm is an ancient… 32? Unfortunately, I’ve aged out and moved on from high school and college romances. While Jolie could have been older and wiser for her age, she is not. If anything she’s emotionally younger. At times I found it hard to relate to her behavior. Same with the spice. JoColm couldn’t be happier, bless ‘em, but the numerous scenes were blunter and less sensuous than I prefer.
This is an age gap romance, which was within my tolerance range, although I could have done without the old man jokes. I mean, Jolie is 22 and Malcolm is an ancient… 32? Unfortunately, I’ve aged out and moved on from high school and college romances. While Jolie could have been older and wiser for her age, she is not. If anything she’s emotionally younger. At times I found it hard to relate to her behavior. Same with the spice. JoColm couldn’t be happier, bless ‘em, but the numerous scenes were blunter and less sensuous than I prefer.
May 25, 2024
A modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast. A first time for me reading a book by this author, and I loved it!
The hero was characterized well, stayed consistent with his grumpiness and stubbornness for a good amount of time until he slowly heals from his traumatic event that happened years earlier. And he then realizes how much he misses and needs the heroine in his life, and grovels. And grovels 😍.
The heroine was an inspiring chef, saw the good in things and remained positive… not as sweet as our Disney Belle though. This heroine had spunk and sassed back to the hero. Which thoroughly intrigued him. Many times there was witty banner that had me laughing.
I would not say this had insta-lust or anything, but I would say the hero was insta-intrigued. Which is a wonderful thing, sets up for a good slow burn. 😍
I’m trying to understand why I’m not putting this on my Keeper Shelf… the only thing that stands out to me that I did NOT like about our characters and story was the heroines tendency to mimic the hero’s words as a form of teasing. I’ve had co-workers pull that crap on me, and I hated it, it’s humiliating as if they are making fun of me. Like, I would say, “Hi Robert, how are you?” and he would reply with a mimicking “Hi Robert, how are you?” 😐 So I don’t appreciate that form of humor, and when I read it several times in this story, I grimaced and thought “how immature!”. But not a huge deal at all.
So good slow burn, plenty of spicy steamy scenes, good banter, loved the new (new to me) setting of Maine in the crab/fishing environment. I can’t wait to read Antony Rennard’s story and the grumpy fisherman single dad looking for a wife story next!
The hero was characterized well, stayed consistent with his grumpiness and stubbornness for a good amount of time until he slowly heals from his traumatic event that happened years earlier. And he then realizes how much he misses and needs the heroine in his life, and grovels. And grovels 😍.
The heroine was an inspiring chef, saw the good in things and remained positive… not as sweet as our Disney Belle though. This heroine had spunk and sassed back to the hero. Which thoroughly intrigued him. Many times there was witty banner that had me laughing.
I would not say this had insta-lust or anything, but I would say the hero was insta-intrigued. Which is a wonderful thing, sets up for a good slow burn. 😍
I’m trying to understand why I’m not putting this on my Keeper Shelf… the only thing that stands out to me that I did NOT like about our characters and story was the heroines tendency to mimic the hero’s words as a form of teasing. I’ve had co-workers pull that crap on me, and I hated it, it’s humiliating as if they are making fun of me. Like, I would say, “Hi Robert, how are you?” and he would reply with a mimicking “Hi Robert, how are you?” 😐 So I don’t appreciate that form of humor, and when I read it several times in this story, I grimaced and thought “how immature!”. But not a huge deal at all.
So good slow burn, plenty of spicy steamy scenes, good banter, loved the new (new to me) setting of Maine in the crab/fishing environment. I can’t wait to read Antony Rennard’s story and the grumpy fisherman single dad looking for a wife story next!
July 18, 2023
The title and cover are not representative of this book AT ALL. If every there were a book that just had the essence of a cartoon cover, it’s this one.
MAIN CHARACTER NAMES AND AGES
Jolie Petit (22) | Malcolm “Mal” Bettencourt (32)
FEATURES
∘ romcom
∘ beauty and the beast retelling
∘ grumpy / sunshine
∘ boss / employee [housekeeper]
∘ sort of forced proximity (she’s forced to work for him to pay off father’s debt)
∘ an “I’m not good enough for her” attitude 😒
REVIEW
Happily Ever… Maybe has all the makings of a contemporary romcom—silly shenanigans, characters in stasis, and a fun grumpyxsunshine dynamic. Seriously, I am mad I waited to pick this up!
I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved Mal and Jolie’s arguments (even if her pranks were a bit childish), Mal’s denial of his budding feelings, and Jolie’s seduction attempts. It was lighthearted while also reflective.
At times, the book felt drawn out. By the time we had 100 pages left, we hit all the story beats we needed to. I was like, “We hit the third act conflict, let’s wrap this baby up.” But alas, there was still more turmoil to come. AND THEN we had less than twenty pages to conclude it. Pain.
Anyway, this was a (mostly) fun read. I haven’t really read a book like this in a while, so it found me at the perfect time. Sometimes I forget to give this subgenre its flowers, but seriously—I love her.
OW/OM DRAMA
very brief, barely exists OM — Jolie flirts with a guy at her sister’s wedding before her and Mal really know each other |
fake OM — Jolie tries to make Mal jealous when he’s being an idiot (OM doesn’t make an appearance, if he even exists) |
past OW — Mal was engaged, Jolie gets jealous of their relationship, but he makes it clear he’s never felt about anyone the way he feels about her
CHEATING none
THIRD ACT BREAKUP yes, twice — first time: ~two and a half weeks with minimal groveling |
second time: months, almost a year (there was no one else during this time), reconciliation via distance, texting, miserableness, and self-improvement
ENDING HEA — several months later epilogue
POV dual / first person
SPICE LEVEL 3.5 / 5
RATING 3.5 / 5
MAIN CHARACTER NAMES AND AGES
Jolie Petit (22) | Malcolm “Mal” Bettencourt (32)
FEATURES
∘ romcom
∘ beauty and the beast retelling
∘ grumpy / sunshine
∘ boss / employee [housekeeper]
∘ sort of forced proximity (she’s forced to work for him to pay off father’s debt)
∘ an “I’m not good enough for her” attitude 😒
REVIEW
Happily Ever… Maybe has all the makings of a contemporary romcom—silly shenanigans, characters in stasis, and a fun grumpyxsunshine dynamic. Seriously, I am mad I waited to pick this up!
I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved Mal and Jolie’s arguments (even if her pranks were a bit childish), Mal’s denial of his budding feelings, and Jolie’s seduction attempts. It was lighthearted while also reflective.
At times, the book felt drawn out. By the time we had 100 pages left, we hit all the story beats we needed to. I was like, “We hit the third act conflict, let’s wrap this baby up.” But alas, there was still more turmoil to come. AND THEN we had less than twenty pages to conclude it. Pain.
Anyway, this was a (mostly) fun read. I haven’t really read a book like this in a while, so it found me at the perfect time. Sometimes I forget to give this subgenre its flowers, but seriously—I love her.
OW/OM DRAMA
very brief, barely exists OM — Jolie flirts with a guy at her sister’s wedding before her and Mal really know each other |
fake OM — Jolie tries to make Mal jealous when he’s being an idiot (OM doesn’t make an appearance, if he even exists) |
past OW — Mal was engaged, Jolie gets jealous of their relationship, but he makes it clear he’s never felt about anyone the way he feels about her
CHEATING none
THIRD ACT BREAKUP yes, twice — first time: ~two and a half weeks with minimal groveling |
second time: months, almost a year (there was no one else during this time), reconciliation via distance, texting, miserableness, and self-improvement
ENDING HEA — several months later epilogue
POV dual / first person
SPICE LEVEL 3.5 / 5
RATING 3.5 / 5
March 21, 2023
Calico Cove series
>>Happily Ever…Maybe? — 3.75 stars
Not My Prince Charming — tbr
The Grump, the Bride & the Baby — tbr
✔️ Grumpy/Sunshine
✔️ Forced Proximity
✔️ Age Gap
✔️ Smutty Fairytale Retelling/Inspired
✔️ Small Town
First things first — thanks so much Isabella for bringing this Hailey Shore series to my attention 😊. I hadn’t heard a peep about it anywhere else before.
I can’t say I’ve sought out many mature fairytale retellings themed romances before(if at all - at least nothing is coming to mind atm) & age gap tends to be a take-it or leave-it trope for me (although honestly, most of the time Mal didn’t feel 10 years Jolie’s senior imo). However, between Isabella’s rec & other trope favorites included (grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, small town), I went with it. You know what? I had a lot of fun reading this spin on a present day Beauty & the Beast for the most part. Lots of amusing banter & shenanigans along the way as the tension builds between Mal & Jolie.
It’s not all fun & games as the attraction grows into more. When things got real, it was no surprise Mal’s reclusive nature (since his accident) wasn’t as easy to brush off. Initially, it’s a big part of what brought them into each other’s orbit in the first place. Jolie falls in love with him & doesn’t see his disfigurement anymore. Mal can’t not see his scars. So he can’t let that go so easily, but he doesn’t want her to be held back by it like he is. Besides that in the spoiler, as I said, I still had more fun than not reading Happily Ever…Maybe? . I enjoyed the characters, M&J’s romance & getting a lay of the land around this quirky lobster/fisherman’s small town of Calico Cove. I definitely will be returning to CC in the future to see what happens next.
>>Happily Ever…Maybe? — 3.75 stars
Not My Prince Charming — tbr
The Grump, the Bride & the Baby — tbr
✔️ Grumpy/Sunshine
✔️ Forced Proximity
✔️ Age Gap
✔️ Smutty Fairytale Retelling/Inspired
✔️ Small Town
First things first — thanks so much Isabella for bringing this Hailey Shore series to my attention 😊. I hadn’t heard a peep about it anywhere else before.
I can’t say I’ve sought out many mature fairytale retellings themed romances before(if at all - at least nothing is coming to mind atm) & age gap tends to be a take-it or leave-it trope for me (although honestly, most of the time Mal didn’t feel 10 years Jolie’s senior imo). However, between Isabella’s rec & other trope favorites included (grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, small town), I went with it. You know what? I had a lot of fun reading this spin on a present day Beauty & the Beast for the most part. Lots of amusing banter & shenanigans along the way as the tension builds between Mal & Jolie.
It’s not all fun & games as the attraction grows into more. When things got real, it was no surprise Mal’s reclusive nature (since his accident) wasn’t as easy to brush off. Initially, it’s a big part of what brought them into each other’s orbit in the first place. Jolie falls in love with him & doesn’t see his disfigurement anymore. Mal can’t not see his scars. So he can’t let that go so easily, but he doesn’t want her to be held back by it like he is. Besides that in the spoiler, as I said, I still had more fun than not reading Happily Ever…Maybe? . I enjoyed the characters, M&J’s romance & getting a lay of the land around this quirky lobster/fisherman’s small town of Calico Cove. I definitely will be returning to CC in the future to see what happens next.
May 2, 2023
Jolie deserves the world okay. The patience she had for this man..ugh.
September 22, 2022
One of my favorite authors posted about this book in her Facebook group, which is how it ended up on my radar, and I should have known this was going to be fun personified based solely on who was recommending! I mean, sure, the title screams comedy at some level, but what we get with this story is more like comedic relief rather than straight up comedy. The characters are lively and Jolie, with her sunshine and brightness, was the perfect match for Mal, with his grumpy personality along with his loner and reclusive ways! Jolie was the sugar to his salt!
I loved these two separately and together! Their story was so much fun that I found myself reading it in just a few hours! Everything from the town and its people to Jolie and her family to Mal & Jolie as a couple was just heart-warming and it put a huge smile on my face. It wasn’t all fun and games and both Mal and Jolie grow throughout the story as individuals and as a couple in a very organic way which made their story believable!
This is Hailey Shore’s debut novel but something tells me this is not her first time writing! Do with that information what you will :)
I loved these two separately and together! Their story was so much fun that I found myself reading it in just a few hours! Everything from the town and its people to Jolie and her family to Mal & Jolie as a couple was just heart-warming and it put a huge smile on my face. It wasn’t all fun and games and both Mal and Jolie grow throughout the story as individuals and as a couple in a very organic way which made their story believable!
This is Hailey Shore’s debut novel but something tells me this is not her first time writing! Do with that information what you will :)
March 6, 2023
Such a cute Beauty and the Beast retelling; full of tropes including grumpy/sunshine, billionaire, and small town.
March 15, 2023
Beauty and the Beast retelling.
I keep trying Beauty and the Beast retellings and I'm not that impressed by them. I think I'm the problem and must not like Beauty and the Beast that much. I thought this concept of the story was cute. But I wasn't a big fan of Jolie. The town seemed cute but Jolie annoyed me a different points.
I keep trying Beauty and the Beast retellings and I'm not that impressed by them. I think I'm the problem and must not like Beauty and the Beast that much. I thought this concept of the story was cute. But I wasn't a big fan of Jolie. The town seemed cute but Jolie annoyed me a different points.
October 16, 2022
This was a Beauty and the Beast retelling. She kept throwing herself at the hero and he kept rejecting her. I got bored and stopped reading.
January 31, 2023
Lobster love
This was a very cute book about a lobster fisher-woman and a reclusive scarred millionaire. There interactions are snarky and funny and I really liked the heroine. The hero was a jerk for a lot of the story but he had his reasons. He hurt her a couple of times and it almost made me cry. But then he'd make up for it in the next one. The speech towards the end was almost "you had me at hello" worthy and I was so pleased I forgot what a sick he was. Very good reading. Will have to look for more of this authors.
This was a very cute book about a lobster fisher-woman and a reclusive scarred millionaire. There interactions are snarky and funny and I really liked the heroine. The hero was a jerk for a lot of the story but he had his reasons. He hurt her a couple of times and it almost made me cry. But then he'd make up for it in the next one. The speech towards the end was almost "you had me at hello" worthy and I was so pleased I forgot what a sick he was. Very good reading. Will have to look for more of this authors.
March 4, 2023
DNF.
The start was good. The way they meet is unique and interesting. The banter, push pull was fun in the beginning until it got repeating and just annoying.
The h kept up with too much of the H's meanness for my liking. The guy literally rejected her kiss twice and then he stopped midway an intimate scene and then still h gets back with him just with a 'sorry'.
The story had so much potential if the h had shown some backbone and the H grovelled a little more.
The start was good. The way they meet is unique and interesting. The banter, push pull was fun in the beginning until it got repeating and just annoying.
The h kept up with too much of the H's meanness for my liking. The guy literally rejected her kiss twice and then he stopped midway an intimate scene and then still h gets back with him just with a 'sorry'.
The story had so much potential if the h had shown some backbone and the H grovelled a little more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 9, 2023
Cute grumpy sunshine 💕
October 21, 2022
This was a beauty and the beast retelling. Took me so long to get through this. Definitely not the greatest.
December 7, 2022
It’s a good book but it almost felt like I was reading a Wattpad story made by a 14 year old girl. It was corny in my opinion
April 29, 2025
This was cute. A modern Beauty and the Beast retelling. There was a little angst, but it was glossed over a lot by the h’s bulldozer actions.
September 25, 2024
Still 5 star book !
¥*¥*¥*¥*¥*¥*¥*¥
I kind of noticed this book and perked up a bit and it was on my radar. Then I read a review by Goodreads friend and knew I had to read it. It’s a Beauty and the Beast retelling and that’s one of my favourite tropes that I can’t turn down.
This book has it all. It’s cute, it’s quirky, it’s emotional, it’s sad and it’s funny and it’s everything that makes me dedicated romance reader.
Although the youngest, Jolie is the caretaker of the family. She helps her father, a lobsterman in the small town of Calico Cove Maine. She very willingly gives up her dreams of culinary school to plan a special wedding for her older sister.
Malcolm or Mal is a recluse. He’s fairly new to Calico Cove and he isolates himself in the renovated lighthouse. He has terrible scarring all over with the most noticeable one on his face and is known around town as The Beast of Calico Cove. Through a series of events, Jolie’s father finds himself indebted to Mal and Mal insists Jolie work off the debt as his housekeeper. He already knows her as she delivers lobsters to him weekly and she has become a beacon in his dark world. Her odd, rather acerbic sense of humour amuses him and he needs more of her. And of course, this being a beauty and the beast tale, they develop feelings for each other though Mal fights his tooth and nail.
These are both rich and perfect characters. Jolie is a bit resentful of having to work for him and being an amazing cook, works out some wickedly funny ways to get back at him. For the most part Mal finds these highly amusing when he figures out what she is doing. She’s just such a delight.
And I need to swoon over Mal. He’s so damaged both inside and outside from the accident that changed hi life that we truly hurt for him. And the things he does for Jolie, oh be still my heart. They are so endearing. Jolie knows how isolated Mal is isolated and works to get him out and more involved in the town she dearly loves but he has real issues.
I love that there are no villains in this story. I was prepared to dislike Verity, her sister, but she’s very sweet. And I wasn’t sure about her father but everything he does is out of a deep love for hid daughters. All the secondary characters are fully developed and add a richness to this wonderful tale.
I STRONGLY urge everyone who loves a beauty and the beast tale, and who doesn’t really, to read this book. I’ll be shocked if they don’t fall in love with it too. I read it in one day and when I finally read the last page at 3::00 am, I ordered the next book in the series. They are on KU but I think I’ll purchase them, being the rereader I am.
¥*¥*¥*¥*¥*¥*¥*¥
I kind of noticed this book and perked up a bit and it was on my radar. Then I read a review by Goodreads friend and knew I had to read it. It’s a Beauty and the Beast retelling and that’s one of my favourite tropes that I can’t turn down.
This book has it all. It’s cute, it’s quirky, it’s emotional, it’s sad and it’s funny and it’s everything that makes me dedicated romance reader.
Although the youngest, Jolie is the caretaker of the family. She helps her father, a lobsterman in the small town of Calico Cove Maine. She very willingly gives up her dreams of culinary school to plan a special wedding for her older sister.
Malcolm or Mal is a recluse. He’s fairly new to Calico Cove and he isolates himself in the renovated lighthouse. He has terrible scarring all over with the most noticeable one on his face and is known around town as The Beast of Calico Cove. Through a series of events, Jolie’s father finds himself indebted to Mal and Mal insists Jolie work off the debt as his housekeeper. He already knows her as she delivers lobsters to him weekly and she has become a beacon in his dark world. Her odd, rather acerbic sense of humour amuses him and he needs more of her. And of course, this being a beauty and the beast tale, they develop feelings for each other though Mal fights his tooth and nail.
These are both rich and perfect characters. Jolie is a bit resentful of having to work for him and being an amazing cook, works out some wickedly funny ways to get back at him. For the most part Mal finds these highly amusing when he figures out what she is doing. She’s just such a delight.
And I need to swoon over Mal. He’s so damaged both inside and outside from the accident that changed hi life that we truly hurt for him. And the things he does for Jolie, oh be still my heart. They are so endearing. Jolie knows how isolated Mal is isolated and works to get him out and more involved in the town she dearly loves but he has real issues.
I love that there are no villains in this story. I was prepared to dislike Verity, her sister, but she’s very sweet. And I wasn’t sure about her father but everything he does is out of a deep love for hid daughters. All the secondary characters are fully developed and add a richness to this wonderful tale.
I STRONGLY urge everyone who loves a beauty and the beast tale, and who doesn’t really, to read this book. I’ll be shocked if they don’t fall in love with it too. I read it in one day and when I finally read the last page at 3::00 am, I ordered the next book in the series. They are on KU but I think I’ll purchase them, being the rereader I am.
March 15, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️.75, 🌶️🌶️🌶️ Age gap (10 years). MMC (Mal) is a recluse. He suffers from PTSD from a major accident and has visible scars on his face and body that he’s very self conscious of. FMC (Jolie) gets to know Mal by delivering lobsters to his home once a week. I enjoyed this story and liked the ending. It’s not quite 4 stars to me but close enough. Looking forward to reading the other books in the Calico Cove series.
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June 13, 2024
This was a super funny and cute retelling of beauty and the beast! Someone mentioned it in a Facebook group and this time a rec didn't fail me 😂😂 There were a couple of things that just didn't make sense and/or made me cringe so 4 instead of 5 stars.
The dad ends up on the Hs property and lighthouse that H bought to get away from people and live in agrophobic isolation a la the woman at the window or whatever that book was 😂🤦 H gets super !ad that the dad was.....going to commit suicide ish on his property so he offers him an arbitrary amount of $60k yo get off his lawn and take care of his family.
Dad takes the money and gives one of his daughters like....$30k to pay for a dream wedding and a down payment for her new place. He gives Jolie, the h, nothing because who t f knows 😂😂😂🤔🤔🤔 she wants to go to culinary school but he doesn't give a fuck about her??! 🤔🤔🤔🤔 I'm still wondering about this.......😳🤔 anyhoo. The H comes to the wedding and sees how jolie with a guy and loses his shiy. Not majorly 🤷 but then tells her that he wants the money back unless ahe comes to his house to be his cook and maid for a year. 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤷🤷 I dunno. I didn't write this 😂
Bruuuuuuh, she toasts his bread to a charred crisp to fuck with him and brings in feral smelly cats into his house. She makes sure she leaves his sheets damp when he tells her to wash and iron them every day. Iron?! Who irons sheets?! And washes them everyday?!?!.I would habe told him to suck off his own nuts, no one irons this day and age. You put that shit in a dryer and call it a day! Okur?!!!! Good day sir!
So.....annoyance number 1. The age gap thing. We are told REPEATEDLY that she's 22 and he's 32 and he's so old for her youngness. 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 remember when Jessica from love is blind kept talking to that guy that when she's 40, he'll be 30? And when she's 50, hell be 40? And you wanted to smack her and tell her to shut t f up? That's what the age thing in this book reminded me of. 😂😂😂🤦 like.....WE GET IT. Fucking ass crackers. we get it!!
And then the angst when he took her from behind for her first time, plowed into her and she got literally two pumps become fore he stopped all action. Then he tells her to get the fuck out and.....she leaves 😂😂😂😂😳😬😬😬😂😂😂😂😂👀💩 I was like......bro.......why you do dat? 💩💩💩💩
He makes it up to her later on but... 😬😬😬
Her dad becomes sick but not to the point of dying. Just needed some meds and a hospital.
And that bullshit third act breakup? He's so rich that he needs to let her go to culinary school for 9 months and can't follow her there because he needs to stay hidden away from people from his deformed face? 🤦🤦🙄 give me a break. You can live anywhere and have anything delivered if you're as rich as were told he is 🙄🙄🙄🙄 but he breaks her heart and breaks up with her to make her leave and follow her dream of a 9 month culinary stint 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎
Yo.
Ridiculous.
He ends up on her campus and they get back together and hea.
I'm being snarky about some of these parts but I still loved it 😂😂 funny and cute and nothing crazy with ow aka other woman drama or cheating or whatever. He was engaged but his business partner and she were fucking behind his back. He was flying their helicopter to a work thing and survived with scars while they died.
As the kids say, womp womp
The dad ends up on the Hs property and lighthouse that H bought to get away from people and live in agrophobic isolation a la the woman at the window or whatever that book was 😂🤦 H gets super !ad that the dad was.....going to commit suicide ish on his property so he offers him an arbitrary amount of $60k yo get off his lawn and take care of his family.
Dad takes the money and gives one of his daughters like....$30k to pay for a dream wedding and a down payment for her new place. He gives Jolie, the h, nothing because who t f knows 😂😂😂🤔🤔🤔 she wants to go to culinary school but he doesn't give a fuck about her??! 🤔🤔🤔🤔 I'm still wondering about this.......😳🤔 anyhoo. The H comes to the wedding and sees how jolie with a guy and loses his shiy. Not majorly 🤷 but then tells her that he wants the money back unless ahe comes to his house to be his cook and maid for a year. 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤷🤷 I dunno. I didn't write this 😂
Bruuuuuuh, she toasts his bread to a charred crisp to fuck with him and brings in feral smelly cats into his house. She makes sure she leaves his sheets damp when he tells her to wash and iron them every day. Iron?! Who irons sheets?! And washes them everyday?!?!.I would habe told him to suck off his own nuts, no one irons this day and age. You put that shit in a dryer and call it a day! Okur?!!!! Good day sir!
So.....annoyance number 1. The age gap thing. We are told REPEATEDLY that she's 22 and he's 32 and he's so old for her youngness. 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 remember when Jessica from love is blind kept talking to that guy that when she's 40, he'll be 30? And when she's 50, hell be 40? And you wanted to smack her and tell her to shut t f up? That's what the age thing in this book reminded me of. 😂😂😂🤦 like.....WE GET IT. Fucking ass crackers. we get it!!
And then the angst when he took her from behind for her first time, plowed into her and she got literally two pumps become fore he stopped all action. Then he tells her to get the fuck out and.....she leaves 😂😂😂😂😳😬😬😬😂😂😂😂😂👀💩 I was like......bro.......why you do dat? 💩💩💩💩
He makes it up to her later on but... 😬😬😬
Her dad becomes sick but not to the point of dying. Just needed some meds and a hospital.
And that bullshit third act breakup? He's so rich that he needs to let her go to culinary school for 9 months and can't follow her there because he needs to stay hidden away from people from his deformed face? 🤦🤦🙄 give me a break. You can live anywhere and have anything delivered if you're as rich as were told he is 🙄🙄🙄🙄 but he breaks her heart and breaks up with her to make her leave and follow her dream of a 9 month culinary stint 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎
Yo.
Ridiculous.
He ends up on her campus and they get back together and hea.
I'm being snarky about some of these parts but I still loved it 😂😂 funny and cute and nothing crazy with ow aka other woman drama or cheating or whatever. He was engaged but his business partner and she were fucking behind his back. He was flying their helicopter to a work thing and survived with scars while they died.
As the kids say, womp womp
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 23, 2022
I love fairytale retellings. I love to see how different authors put their own spin to these loved stories. Mal, a recluse, bitter, guy who lives in the towns lighthouse. He’s moved there from the city to be away from everyone. An accident has made him so self conscious and his battle within himself so tiring. Until Jolie has come into his life by accident. In my opinion, this book was so clever. I love how the author truly made it her own, even though ut was a retelling. You could feel the frustration and the emotions that Mal was battling. Their spats and sarcasm gave me the giggles and just an all around fun story and the “win her back moment” 😍😍😍😍😍, sighhhh. I am so looking forward to the next book!
May 8, 2023
5 Plus Stars!!
This was, hands down, one is the best books I've read this year! The chemistry between Jolie and Mal was hot, sweet, and smexy, all at the same.
I'm not usually a fan of too much internal dialog as it can get too long and drawn out, but being in Jolie's head had me laughing out loud and Mal's total inability to keep up with her controlled chaos had me eagerly turning pages to see what was going to happen next.
This book was not without the angst. I totally got where Mal was coming from and why he pushed her away. But that didn't lesson how bad he hurt her. Nor the tear or two I shed.
I really like both characters from the get-go. I loved the author's ability to drag me in, make me laugh, make me cry, and make me not want to skip ahead so I wouldn't miss a single word!!
You'll love this book!
This was, hands down, one is the best books I've read this year! The chemistry between Jolie and Mal was hot, sweet, and smexy, all at the same.
I'm not usually a fan of too much internal dialog as it can get too long and drawn out, but being in Jolie's head had me laughing out loud and Mal's total inability to keep up with her controlled chaos had me eagerly turning pages to see what was going to happen next.
This book was not without the angst. I totally got where Mal was coming from and why he pushed her away. But that didn't lesson how bad he hurt her. Nor the tear or two I shed.
I really like both characters from the get-go. I loved the author's ability to drag me in, make me laugh, make me cry, and make me not want to skip ahead so I wouldn't miss a single word!!
You'll love this book!
April 23, 2024
3.5 Stars
Entertaining but the ending felt rushed. The H breaks up with the h so she can “spread her wings”, go to school, etc. she’s obviously heartbroken and the H did not do enough groveling. Sorry ya’ll but what he put her through was enough to warrant more effort from his end.
So they get back together and the end was a dinner for the town. Ehhh, I wish there was an actual Epilogue.
Entertaining but the ending felt rushed. The H breaks up with the h so she can “spread her wings”, go to school, etc. she’s obviously heartbroken and the H did not do enough groveling. Sorry ya’ll but what he put her through was enough to warrant more effort from his end.
So they get back together and the end was a dinner for the town. Ehhh, I wish there was an actual Epilogue.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 15, 2023
3.5* This was fun. The resolution came really quickly, with the MMC seemingly overcoming his PTSD without any explanation. I would have liked to have spent some time exploring that, rather than: I’m fixed in the space of one chapter.
April 5, 2023
loved this
I have to say, the love the way this author writes. Each story that I have read of her’s, I get get sucked in immediately and I finish her books in one day. (And that’s saying a lot because I have been in an awful book rut lately).
I loved the characters in this—especially Jolie. I loved the witty things she would say. Her and Mal had excellent banter. Mal was really hard to like but Jolie handled him well. I did think she was a little too forgiving at times. This book was funny, but it was also emotional. I cried at the end. I cannot wait to read the next one.
I have to say, the love the way this author writes. Each story that I have read of her’s, I get get sucked in immediately and I finish her books in one day. (And that’s saying a lot because I have been in an awful book rut lately).
I loved the characters in this—especially Jolie. I loved the witty things she would say. Her and Mal had excellent banter. Mal was really hard to like but Jolie handled him well. I did think she was a little too forgiving at times. This book was funny, but it was also emotional. I cried at the end. I cannot wait to read the next one.
May 29, 2023
I loved reading this Beauty and the Beast retelling.
Jolie is a snarky fisherwoman, keeping her dreams on hold while taking care of everything and everyone around her and Malcolm (Mal) is a scarred recluse hiding from his past and traumas.
I loved how their relationship kept building through months and they go from strangers to boss and employee, to sort-of-friends and eventually to what each other needs.
Also, Mal being a cat dad was great plus!
First time reading this author and i enjoyed it so much (and also read it so fast) that I just need to read the other books in the series.
P.S.: I kind of hated her dad. What an spineless coward.
Jolie is a snarky fisherwoman, keeping her dreams on hold while taking care of everything and everyone around her and Malcolm (Mal) is a scarred recluse hiding from his past and traumas.
I loved how their relationship kept building through months and they go from strangers to boss and employee, to sort-of-friends and eventually to what each other needs.
Also, Mal being a cat dad was great plus!
First time reading this author and i enjoyed it so much (and also read it so fast) that I just need to read the other books in the series.
P.S.: I kind of hated her dad. What an spineless coward.
October 3, 2022
This was okay for me, and I rate it more 3.5 than 3. The writing flowed well, I didn't have a problem with following the story. I liked Jolie for the most part, but I did roll my eyes a little bit when things went sideways and she was actually surprised by it. Mal told her from the start what was what, and even though he was initially a jerk about it, he was honest up front. Mal was okay, but I thought he was a jerk for no good reason when Jolie hadn't been anything but nice to him. I thought they made a good couple when Mal let himself be happy. It was nice to see him work on himself before he made a decision regarding Jolie. It sucked for her, but it was better in the end. They do get a HFN ending, but I would have liked a longer look into their future. This was a first for me from this author, but I would read her again.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.
September 25, 2022
Happily Ever Maybe? by Hailey Shore is the story of Malcolm and Jolie. Jolie is the worker bee of the family where her sister she feel is the beauty. Jolie does whatever she can do to help her family. So when Malcolm calls in on the money taken by her father she is the one that steps up to fulfill the agreement. Malcolm is a scared man inside and out so this has made him a recluse but he has been watching Jolie. So he gets her to come to his house to work off a debt. Enjoyed their story.
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