"A Seaside Wonder" by Melissa Tagg - Muir Harbor, book 2

In one evening, Indi's world falls apart. Enter the shy professor her family mistakes for her fiancé...make that ex-fiancé. Professor Philip West never wanted to return to Maine . . . or his grandfather’s miserable old house. But after his mother’s death, he’s now the guardian of a resentful teenage half sister he barely knows. More than a decade has passed since Indi Muir made the heartbreaking decision she’s never recovered from. If she can just stay busy, she’ll keep her hurt and regret at bay. But when her ex-fiancé returns to Muir Harbor, he brings news that shatters her carefully built walls. The one bright spot amid Indi’s turmoil is the shy stranger who wandered into her shop months ago and his moody but lovable sister. As she confronts her past, she’s intent on helping Philip win over his sister. He just might win over Indi, too, if they can overcome old secrets and wounds, outrun rising peril . . . and take a chance on love.

Melissa Tagg is an expert at the meet-cute. They are always the perfect combination of funny (though perhaps mildly embarrassing for the characters) and memorable. I reread over half of Tagg's backlist in anticipation of this book. The Wardrobe-Break-up Incident fits right in.

Indie is so busy trying to make up for the messes she's made of her life that she is frequently inadvertently making new ones--and now she doesn't trust herself not to keep on rushing headlong into messes of her own making. Nonetheless, she is fun and delightful. But Philip is the best. He's so genuine; his life isn't and never has been what he would have chosen, yet he still chooses joy and faith. He just might be my favorite.

I have enjoyed all of Melissa Tagg's books, but the Muir Harbor books are the best yet (granted, I previously said that about the Maple Valley Romances. But it's a rare author who can continually not only meet my already high expectations, but surpass them). They are funny, the romances are swoony and heart-warming, the mystery thread is fantastic, but most of all, there are really hard things the characters are dealing with, and these books offer hope in a meaningful way. They may have humor, but there is nothing trite about these stories.

I greatly look forward to Lilian and Wilder's story! (Because it absolutely must be Wilder. It MUST.)

Muir Harbor
1. Autumn by the Sea
2. A Seaside Wonder
3. Wedding at Sea