The Choices I've Made (By the Bay, #1)

by J L Berg

[Cocktails and Books]

This review was originally posted on Cocktails and Books

If you've read this author's books before, you know she can bring the angst-filled storylines and emotional characters.  And if you're a lover of second-chance romances, this is one to consider.

Jake Jameson finds himself heading back to the small North Carolina island he grew up on.  It means dealing with the family ghosts he ran away from and the love he left behind.  But what Jake discovers once he's back on the island is that despite being the one that left, he's not the only one running.

I liked Jake and Molly's story.  I liked how despite what happened to them when they were teenagers, they were somehow able to work around those feelings in the face of an accident that rocked their little island.  

Molly was an interesting character.  She held onto so much anger at Jake that she never looked at herself to see if she was going to hold Jake back from being who he was supposed to be.  It was a little frustrating that it took her so long to figure out that she had to work on herself and realize they was more to life than the little island she surrounded herself with.  To me, Jake was a saint.  I don't think I would have had enough faith that they would get their HEA.

My only problem with the book was with Jake's best friend and Molly's fiance, Dean.  I couldn't understand how the relationship with Molly ended abruptly and then the two of them are chatting about the nurse he has a crush on.  If that was how their relationship was, a true friendship, I can't believe it moved to anything more.  And the fact that Dean ended things moments after Jake came back into town made it more unbelievable.  It probably would have been better to leave them as friends and Molly single when Jake came into town rather than forcing this other relationship.  

Not my favorite JL Berg book, but still a solid way to spend a Sunday afternoon.