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Blessed Inlet #3
Birthday Song: Blessed Inlet : Book Three
He's the first man to kiss her properly. And the last man to kiss her senseless.
When Leah Kaplan met Callum Sinclair, she was a shy teenager, escaping the confines of her conservative home for a night of fun in the city. He asked for her number and a kiss. She gave him both but never heard from him again.
Nearly ten years and a painful divorce later, Leah comes to the small town of Blessed Inlet, seeking refuge. The last person she expects to see is Callum, now a famous rock star.
He might not remember her, but Leah feels branded by the heat in his eyes. Overwhelmed by his desire for her, she feels more pleasure at Callum’s touch than she ever could have imagined.
But, as her feelings for Callum grow, Leah doubts that someone like him could ever fall for someone like her. Leah is shattered when a misunderstanding seems to confirm her fears.
Can Leah overcome her painful past and trust that Callum's love is real?
When Leah Kaplan met Callum Sinclair, she was a shy teenager, escaping the confines of her conservative home for a night of fun in the city. He asked for her number and a kiss. She gave him both but never heard from him again.
Nearly ten years and a painful divorce later, Leah comes to the small town of Blessed Inlet, seeking refuge. The last person she expects to see is Callum, now a famous rock star.
He might not remember her, but Leah feels branded by the heat in his eyes. Overwhelmed by his desire for her, she feels more pleasure at Callum’s touch than she ever could have imagined.
But, as her feelings for Callum grow, Leah doubts that someone like him could ever fall for someone like her. Leah is shattered when a misunderstanding seems to confirm her fears.
Can Leah overcome her painful past and trust that Callum's love is real?
294 pages, Paperback
Published January 28, 2022
145 people are currently reading
820 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 8, 2022
HEYO! Rae and Veronica are teaming up for a rare dual-written review for Birthday Song by Mary Waterford, a sister writing duo. So we felt it only appropriate to team up as “sisters from different misters” … which is a phrase literally used in the book. It was an opportunity too perfect to pass up.
We were able to get an ARC of Birthday Song through BookSirens in exchange for an honest review, and let’s be real: you won't get anything other than brutal honesty from us.
Birthday Song is the third in the Blessed Inlet Series, and while Rae will acquiesce to reading series out of order, Veronica is usually very steadfast in doing it in order. This time, there wasn’t enough time to do so, so they both jumped in headfirst.
Truly, it’s not necessary to read Books 1 and 2 before this one, but there is undoubtedly some background that might have provided context. Regardless, you get a HEA with no cheating and no cliffhangers.
So let’s get into it.
The Plot
We begin Birthday Song 10 years in the past, the night of Leah’s 19th birthday.
Growing up in a cloistered conservative household in Melbourne, Australia, she lacked the social experiences of most young girls at the time. Unbeknownst to her deeply religious parents, Leah celebrates this night with her first alcoholic drink (Moscato!) and taking in a small time band performing at a local club.
Enter: Callum Sinclair and bam! Electric connection for both parties. Eye sex galore. Leah’s friend Georgie calls him sex on legs.
Callum gives her dual presents this night: a birthday song (which is caught on video) and her first proper snog. He promises to call, but Leah never hears from him.
We believe the kids today call it “ghosting.”
We then flash forward 10 years to find Leah divorced from her abusive, philandering fuckhead husband and attempting to make a new life in Blessed Inlet.
Because this is a romance novel, Blessed Inlet just happens to be Callum’s hometown. And miraculously, Leah has managed to befriend his sister without realizing who she is.
Meanwhile, Callum has spent the last 10 years livin’ the high life as a huge recording star before returning home in an attempt to make sense of himself. The two share an immediate chemistry, but Callum doesn’t remember Leah from their last encounter.
(Veronica, sidenote: Currently wondering if Callum’s band is essentially supposed to be 5 Seconds of Summer. And because I just Googled them, I found out one of their names is Calum. So this is my new working theory.)
Will their relationship survive the ups and downs that go with stardom and Leah’s all-encompassing insecurity when it comes to trust and love?
Top Buns
Rae:
I must admit something, I struggled a bit with this book. There, I said it… we’re better friends for it. This book just wasn’t for me, and that’s fine.
To name one thing, however, I enjoyed Callum's respect for Leah and her boundaries. Now, a bit of a spoiler here: something happens in the later part of the book in which Callum acts like a right knob, but through the beginnings of their relationship and the first acts of intimacy, Callum allows Leah to be the pursuer.
Callum understands that she’s not psychologically ready to engage in healthy sex after years of dutiful unpleasant couplings with her ex-husband (Fuckhead) Scott. For example, on their first date, Leah is primed and ready to party and Callum convinces her as to why they shouldn’t rush into intimacy:
Again, even though he pulls a giant dick move towards the end of the book, I wholeheartedly approve of Callum’s approach of allowing Leah to lead through her own self-analysis and growing autonomy. Also, I’m completely fine with any man who says, “when I’m done with you, you won’t have the strength to sigh my name, let alone scream it”. Game on, Callum.
Veronica:
First of all, please let me say that – if it were me – I would have jumped Callum the moment that consent discussion happened. To every single person who says that expressed, enthusiastic consent isn’t sexy: you’re literally wrong. Completely wrong. It’s sexy AF and I will die on that hill.
I also had my moments with this book. I’m saving my favorite bun for the bottom, but I will say that I rather enjoyed the social acceptance of having babies out of wedlock. More than one character in this series has a baby (or at least gets pregnant) before getting married and it’s just not a big deal.
Now, we’re Americans… a country founded by literal Puritans, so perhaps that’s a cultural difference and I’m here for it. I love seeing people just being cool about it and happy that babies are entering the world.
The Meats
The meat of our sandwich is that there’s a major pause in the action. About 25% of the middle is a lot of detail without furthering the plot—
R: I gotta stop you. It’s more like 50%.
V: Really? You think so?
R: Yes.
V: I didn’t really feel like that.
R: Tell me what happened between the tree falling and Melbourne.
V: They… made empanadas.
R: 👀
V: …
R: That’s what I thought.
— About 50% of the middle is a lot of detail without furthering the plot. Don’t get us wrong, stopping on the road for car sex sounds hot, albeit uncomfortable. But we would have preferred to skip through the details of the dress shopping and whatnot so we could get to the stuff that actually matters – Fuckhead Scott’s visit.
Her marriage to (and subsequent divorce from) Fuckhead Scott was a pivotal point in her development and I think we deserved to see that fully through. You get the confrontation in Melbourne, but then there’s no resolution to the lawsuit between him and Georgie.
It would have been nice to see how all of that played out and earlier involvement from Georgie. That middle part where not a lot happens just seems like a missed opportunity.
Rae: But not for empanada dough making, I guess.
V: That part just made me want to eat empanadas and I was irritated I couldn’t have some.
Bottom Buns
Rae:
I think another positive for me with this book is the landscapes. The action takes place against the Tasman seaside in Australia, where the temperature is warm and the boys are even hotter. Blessed Inlet, with its beautiful seaside cottages, fishing village, and white sand…oh fuck it, it’s the smut. I’m in it for the naughty scenes.
This book is hot y’all. When these two get to doing the log jam, this book jacks up the Scoville scale. (See what I did there?) Like a fireman’s chili cook-off, four alarm fire.
Exhibit A: Callum has an absolutely dirty mouth:
“Mm, so wet,” he almost growled, his eyes on hers as he moved his finger against her. “Have you been imagining me doing this to you?”
No, Callum, but NOW I am. Thank you very much.
Exhibit B:
“More.” She felt him wrap his hand around her leg and pull it higher on his hip, changing the angle so when he pushed into her again, he filled her completely.”
Damn son, you got some serious moves. I could fist pump (wait…is that the word I’m…yep, I’m going with it) into the air with joy that Leah moved on from Fuckhead to amazing sex on two legs. I felt like Blanche Devereaux spritzing myself to cool off from time to time reading this. As Leah says, “here lies Leah Kaplan, Orgasmed to death.” #same.
Veronica:
LEAH.
It’s LEAH.
If you listen to the podcast, you know I love a good character arc. My absolute favorite thing about any novel is when the main character(s) go through some sort of developmental change. And Leah? Girl, she’s a different person at the end than she was at the beginning.
She starts off painfully shy and barely able to hold a conversation with Callum. She’s traumatized by her sheltered upbringing, as well as the marriage she was groomed to accept.
Of course, her fuckhead ex-husband took advantage of her lack of life experience and managed to further traumatize her in the process. He’s a dick.
Honestly, I hope his new wife leaves him. But I don’t want her to be happy either because she’s fucking terrible for sleeping with a man she knew full-well was married.
Ugh, also fuck Scott. I just wanted to add that in one more time.
Overall, Birthday Song has good bones but lulls a bit in the middle. If you’re looking for some smutty times, it won’t disappoint.
We were able to get an ARC of Birthday Song through BookSirens in exchange for an honest review, and let’s be real: you won't get anything other than brutal honesty from us.
Birthday Song is the third in the Blessed Inlet Series, and while Rae will acquiesce to reading series out of order, Veronica is usually very steadfast in doing it in order. This time, there wasn’t enough time to do so, so they both jumped in headfirst.
Truly, it’s not necessary to read Books 1 and 2 before this one, but there is undoubtedly some background that might have provided context. Regardless, you get a HEA with no cheating and no cliffhangers.
So let’s get into it.
The Plot
We begin Birthday Song 10 years in the past, the night of Leah’s 19th birthday.
Growing up in a cloistered conservative household in Melbourne, Australia, she lacked the social experiences of most young girls at the time. Unbeknownst to her deeply religious parents, Leah celebrates this night with her first alcoholic drink (Moscato!) and taking in a small time band performing at a local club.
Enter: Callum Sinclair and bam! Electric connection for both parties. Eye sex galore. Leah’s friend Georgie calls him sex on legs.
Callum gives her dual presents this night: a birthday song (which is caught on video) and her first proper snog. He promises to call, but Leah never hears from him.
We believe the kids today call it “ghosting.”
We then flash forward 10 years to find Leah divorced from her abusive, philandering fuckhead husband and attempting to make a new life in Blessed Inlet.
Because this is a romance novel, Blessed Inlet just happens to be Callum’s hometown. And miraculously, Leah has managed to befriend his sister without realizing who she is.
Meanwhile, Callum has spent the last 10 years livin’ the high life as a huge recording star before returning home in an attempt to make sense of himself. The two share an immediate chemistry, but Callum doesn’t remember Leah from their last encounter.
(Veronica, sidenote: Currently wondering if Callum’s band is essentially supposed to be 5 Seconds of Summer. And because I just Googled them, I found out one of their names is Calum. So this is my new working theory.)
Will their relationship survive the ups and downs that go with stardom and Leah’s all-encompassing insecurity when it comes to trust and love?
Top Buns
Rae:
I must admit something, I struggled a bit with this book. There, I said it… we’re better friends for it. This book just wasn’t for me, and that’s fine.
To name one thing, however, I enjoyed Callum's respect for Leah and her boundaries. Now, a bit of a spoiler here: something happens in the later part of the book in which Callum acts like a right knob, but through the beginnings of their relationship and the first acts of intimacy, Callum allows Leah to be the pursuer.
Callum understands that she’s not psychologically ready to engage in healthy sex after years of dutiful unpleasant couplings with her ex-husband (Fuckhead) Scott. For example, on their first date, Leah is primed and ready to party and Callum convinces her as to why they shouldn’t rush into intimacy:
“I thought we were going to have sex”.
“Not tonight.”
“Why not?”
“You weren’t into it, in the end.”
“Oh, well, that doesn’t really matter.”
He was quiet for so long that she flicked a glance at him, then away. There was heat in his gaze, but it wasn’t the warming sort. It was angry.
“It matters to me.…Let’s get one thing straight here. It’s no fun for me, if it’s no fun for you. Okay?...It breaks my heart that this is so confusing for you. When it comes to taking you to bed – I want to, whenever you want to. But never, if you don’t want to. Got it?”
Again, even though he pulls a giant dick move towards the end of the book, I wholeheartedly approve of Callum’s approach of allowing Leah to lead through her own self-analysis and growing autonomy. Also, I’m completely fine with any man who says, “when I’m done with you, you won’t have the strength to sigh my name, let alone scream it”. Game on, Callum.
Veronica:
First of all, please let me say that – if it were me – I would have jumped Callum the moment that consent discussion happened. To every single person who says that expressed, enthusiastic consent isn’t sexy: you’re literally wrong. Completely wrong. It’s sexy AF and I will die on that hill.
I also had my moments with this book. I’m saving my favorite bun for the bottom, but I will say that I rather enjoyed the social acceptance of having babies out of wedlock. More than one character in this series has a baby (or at least gets pregnant) before getting married and it’s just not a big deal.
Now, we’re Americans… a country founded by literal Puritans, so perhaps that’s a cultural difference and I’m here for it. I love seeing people just being cool about it and happy that babies are entering the world.
The Meats
The meat of our sandwich is that there’s a major pause in the action. About 25% of the middle is a lot of detail without furthering the plot—
R: I gotta stop you. It’s more like 50%.
V: Really? You think so?
R: Yes.
V: I didn’t really feel like that.
R: Tell me what happened between the tree falling and Melbourne.
V: They… made empanadas.
R: 👀
V: …
R: That’s what I thought.
— About 50% of the middle is a lot of detail without furthering the plot. Don’t get us wrong, stopping on the road for car sex sounds hot, albeit uncomfortable. But we would have preferred to skip through the details of the dress shopping and whatnot so we could get to the stuff that actually matters – Fuckhead Scott’s visit.
Her marriage to (and subsequent divorce from) Fuckhead Scott was a pivotal point in her development and I think we deserved to see that fully through. You get the confrontation in Melbourne, but then there’s no resolution to the lawsuit between him and Georgie.
It would have been nice to see how all of that played out and earlier involvement from Georgie. That middle part where not a lot happens just seems like a missed opportunity.
Rae: But not for empanada dough making, I guess.
V: That part just made me want to eat empanadas and I was irritated I couldn’t have some.
Bottom Buns
Rae:
I think another positive for me with this book is the landscapes. The action takes place against the Tasman seaside in Australia, where the temperature is warm and the boys are even hotter. Blessed Inlet, with its beautiful seaside cottages, fishing village, and white sand…oh fuck it, it’s the smut. I’m in it for the naughty scenes.
This book is hot y’all. When these two get to doing the log jam, this book jacks up the Scoville scale. (See what I did there?) Like a fireman’s chili cook-off, four alarm fire.
Exhibit A: Callum has an absolutely dirty mouth:
“Mm, so wet,” he almost growled, his eyes on hers as he moved his finger against her. “Have you been imagining me doing this to you?”
No, Callum, but NOW I am. Thank you very much.
Exhibit B:
“More.” She felt him wrap his hand around her leg and pull it higher on his hip, changing the angle so when he pushed into her again, he filled her completely.”
Damn son, you got some serious moves. I could fist pump (wait…is that the word I’m…yep, I’m going with it) into the air with joy that Leah moved on from Fuckhead to amazing sex on two legs. I felt like Blanche Devereaux spritzing myself to cool off from time to time reading this. As Leah says, “here lies Leah Kaplan, Orgasmed to death.” #same.
Veronica:
LEAH.
It’s LEAH.
If you listen to the podcast, you know I love a good character arc. My absolute favorite thing about any novel is when the main character(s) go through some sort of developmental change. And Leah? Girl, she’s a different person at the end than she was at the beginning.
She starts off painfully shy and barely able to hold a conversation with Callum. She’s traumatized by her sheltered upbringing, as well as the marriage she was groomed to accept.
Of course, her fuckhead ex-husband took advantage of her lack of life experience and managed to further traumatize her in the process. He’s a dick.
Honestly, I hope his new wife leaves him. But I don’t want her to be happy either because she’s fucking terrible for sleeping with a man she knew full-well was married.
Ugh, also fuck Scott. I just wanted to add that in one more time.
Overall, Birthday Song has good bones but lulls a bit in the middle. If you’re looking for some smutty times, it won’t disappoint.
March 19, 2022
What a great relationship; ten years in the making!
Leah met Callum just before he hit it big with his band and told him her name was Annie. And after her divorce, she settled in Inlet Bay where she, unbeknownst to her, befriends his sister. And when he comes home, she’s the shy, awkward girl she once was.
But as their friendship evolves, so does a relationship between them that neither put a label on. But when the paparazzi find him and snap a picture of them together, Callum freaks out. And then video proof of them knowing one another from before surfaces and things are said in the heat of the moment.
Callum and Leah get their happy ending in this stand-alone book in a series.
I loved how much Leah grew over the course of this book. From shy and timid to a strong, confident woman was amazing. And then to use that strength with everyone in her life to start enjoying life was fun to watch. And OMG! Callum was so supportive of whatever dreams Leah had and wanted things at her pace and not what was expected of her. And his love for his family was so fun to see, especially with his sister and father.
I received an advanced review copy for free from Book Sirens and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Leah met Callum just before he hit it big with his band and told him her name was Annie. And after her divorce, she settled in Inlet Bay where she, unbeknownst to her, befriends his sister. And when he comes home, she’s the shy, awkward girl she once was.
But as their friendship evolves, so does a relationship between them that neither put a label on. But when the paparazzi find him and snap a picture of them together, Callum freaks out. And then video proof of them knowing one another from before surfaces and things are said in the heat of the moment.
Callum and Leah get their happy ending in this stand-alone book in a series.
I loved how much Leah grew over the course of this book. From shy and timid to a strong, confident woman was amazing. And then to use that strength with everyone in her life to start enjoying life was fun to watch. And OMG! Callum was so supportive of whatever dreams Leah had and wanted things at her pace and not what was expected of her. And his love for his family was so fun to see, especially with his sister and father.
I received an advanced review copy for free from Book Sirens and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
March 27, 2022
Because I wrote it, so of course I think it's good. Lol
February 17, 2022
Leah is a very sheltered girl just turning 19 when her friend takes her out to a club for her birthday. While there, she meets Callum, the lead singer for an up and coming band. She catches his eye right away and he asks for her number, but never calls her. Fast forward several years, and Leah has moved to Blessed Inlet to live a quiet life with some close friends after going through a nasty divorce. One of her new friends happens to be Callum's sister. Callum comes back home for an extended break from his now very popular band and meets Leah. They become friends, although Callum cannot place where or when he may have met Leah previously. From there the story continues. This is my first book by this author and I was not disappointed. It was very well written with a good storyline and well developed characters. I could not put it down and read it in one sitting. I will definitely be checking out the other titles in this series. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
October 9, 2022
Really sweet!
*spoilers*
Would have loved for the pregnancy plotline to have been more prominent, instead of the whole not telling him they'd actually met 10 years earlier bit. That was kinda lame, unnecessary miscomunication. And if the pregnancy was only gonna be a thing in the epiloge then they should have at least mentioned contraception once, even if she decided she was too (suposedly) infertile for it to matter.
Really liked her reconnecting with her mom tho, that was good.
*spoilers*
Would have loved for the pregnancy plotline to have been more prominent, instead of the whole not telling him they'd actually met 10 years earlier bit. That was kinda lame, unnecessary miscomunication. And if the pregnancy was only gonna be a thing in the epiloge then they should have at least mentioned contraception once, even if she decided she was too (suposedly) infertile for it to matter.
Really liked her reconnecting with her mom tho, that was good.
October 31, 2022
The best Blessed Inlet book yet!
Callum and Leah have such a lovely, tentative relationship that they build to in such a beautiful way. The friendship that Leah shares with Juniper and Mikayla is also so gorgeous. I love healthy female friendships represented in books! The world is so wonderfully built and you can really see the growth, writing-wise, this far in the series.
Callum and Leah have such a lovely, tentative relationship that they build to in such a beautiful way. The friendship that Leah shares with Juniper and Mikayla is also so gorgeous. I love healthy female friendships represented in books! The world is so wonderfully built and you can really see the growth, writing-wise, this far in the series.
March 24, 2024
Cute premise of a story.
H and h were so awkward together. Like so awkward. Does he just give up his music career? I dont know. They will probably get divorced in 5 years, maybe less.
The weird kid psychic thing was just off to me. If a baby starting spewing that to me I’d scream witch and run away. Far away.
H and h were so awkward together. Like so awkward. Does he just give up his music career? I dont know. They will probably get divorced in 5 years, maybe less.
The weird kid psychic thing was just off to me. If a baby starting spewing that to me I’d scream witch and run away. Far away.
January 11, 2026
Leah and Callum sheared a wonderful love story in this book from the beginning you know it was love rekindled they go on this fantastic journey, but they were a lot of external influences that kept caming up in their lives I loved watching Leah break from her past trauma and gently reach back to bring others with her. I'm looking forward to reading more of this authors work. Happy Reading.
July 29, 2022
Holy smokes, Callum is so hot. Leah is sweet and shy and thinks she's not sexy, becaues her ex husband was awful to her. Callum soon shows her otherwise though. This book is a perfect example of how enthusiastic consent can be sexy AF and I really loved it for that reason. Definitely a 5 star read.
August 23, 2022
O.M.G. Loved this one so much. A hot rock star and a shy girl who can barely talk to him? What's not to love. When these two get it on, it's amazing. Leah deserved so much happiness and I love how she got it in the end.
Read
July 31, 2024DNF after a few chapters. Nothing wrong with the story but I just can’t get my head around books written in third person. It confuses my brain. I was looking forward to this one too, it sounded really good. If you’re happy with the format it had great potential
October 8, 2024
Good Read
First time reading this author and overall it was a good story. The blurb got me hooked, that being said I think it lacked a little but it a nice story and it ends with an HEA
First time reading this author and overall it was a good story. The blurb got me hooked, that being said I think it lacked a little but it a nice story and it ends with an HEA
February 9, 2022
A fantastic third instalment. Such a beautiful story and Leah & Callum are a gorgeous couple. Loved the rewards in the story following on from the previous two books . A great read
July 10, 2022
Each book in this series just gets better and better. I love how Callum, a brooding, hot rockstar, brought Leah out of her shell. Her growth as a character was beautiful.
January 20, 2024
1/5⭐️
DNF at 65% It was boring as all hell.
DNF at 65% It was boring as all hell.
October 29, 2024
felt very childish- let down by the tiktok ads
May 12, 2025
DNF at 40%
I just felt the story wasn’t going anywhere and there wasn’t enough suspension for me to
I just felt the story wasn’t going anywhere and there wasn’t enough suspension for me to
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews