SWEET TOMORROWS – Debbie Macomber
Rose Harbor Inn Series , Book 5
Ballantine
ISBN-13: 978-0-553-39183-1
August 2016
Women's Fiction

Cedar Cove, Washington and Iraq – Present Day

The story so far:  Jo Marie Rose left her lucrative banking job in Seattle following the death of her husband, Paul, in Afghanistan two years ago.  Now, she owns The Rose Harbor Inn in Cedar Cove, where she welcomes guests who are visiting the area.  Jo Marie had a dream visit from Paul, and he told her that Cedar Cove and The Rose Harbor Inn would provide a place of refuge and healing for everyone who stays, something she totally believes.

As Jo Marie prepares for new guests at The Rose Harbor Inn, she is, for the first time ever, also taking in a regular boarder.  Emily Gaffney is renting a room from Jo Marie from month to month.  Emily is thinking she will only need one month to find herself the perfect house.  The prospect of a single life in the future has Emily wanting to settle into her own home that she can fill with adopted children, following three failed engagements that have led her to believe she will never marry.

Meanwhile, Jo Marie continues to worry about her friend, Mark Taylor.  Mark recently confessed to Jo Marie that he loved her, and she told him that she loved him too, but then Mark up and sold his house and left Cedar Cove, bound for Iraq to right an old wrong between friends.  Spurned, Jo Marie has now decided to get on with her life without Mark.  He moved away, moved on, and so will she.  She refuses to wait for him.  She lost one man to the war over there, she won't shred her heart by losing another.

Emily walks the neighborhood and finds the perfect house; now all she has to do is persuade the owner to sell.  The home is in need of extensive renovations, but Emily is beside herself with hopes for a new future, until she meets the grumpy homeowner, Nick Schwartz.  Nick has no intention of selling his home, all he wants is to see the last of Emily.  But his German shepherd guard dog, Elvis, has other ideas.

The fifth and final novel in The Rose Harbor Inn Series , SWEET TOMORROWS is a story of new beginnings, new love, and forgiveness.  The novel is told in alternating chapters that focus on Jo Marie, Mark, Emily, and Nick.  Dynamic characterization and a beautifully told story wrap up the series as all the threads are tied and we have new beginnings filled with love and magic.

SWEET TOMORROWS stands alone, but The Rose Harbor Inn Series is a wonderful collection of novels for your keeper shelf, books that you will read again and again.  Jo Marie and Mark finally untangle the twists and turns of their romance as Jo Marie is determined to move on while Mark, who, unknown to her, is fighting for his life across the seas.  Emily grapples with the failures of her own relationships and struggles to find a new future for herself, while Nick is battling the grief brought on by his brother's death.  Meanwhile, Jo Marie is considering a new man and a new romance, but what of Mark?

SWEET TOMORROWS is a fitting novel of closure to a wonderful series!

Diana Risso