REVIEW: Carolina Blues by Virginia Kantra

In Carolina Blues (Dare Island #4) by Virginia Kantra, Jack is the Police Chief on Dare Island. He’s small town now, having left the big city and an ex-wife behind.

Lauren, a grad student with a psychology major, was an unintentional heroine in a bank robbery. She suffers PTSD as a result, and is having a lot of difficulty returning to some semblance of a normal life. She’s written a book about her experience, and in writing a sequel is experiencing severe writer’s block. Lauren is on Dare Island to escape the city, to find her muse, and to try to find herself again.

Neither Jack nor Lauren expect the instant attraction between them when they meet. Lauren is not staying on Dare Island forever, and Jack wants to settle down and have kids one day. Given the way they feel and react to one another, and knowing that a future between them is impossible, they decide that they might just be what each other needs…even temporarily…to heal and move on.

Jack and Lauren have combustible chemistry together. What starts out as temporary feels like it could be so much more, as they both find the strength to work through their issues. But is there any chance for a future though when Jack is staying on Dare Island and Lauren is determined Dare Island is only a temporary home?

Carolina Blues is a well paced romance that kept me interested with a unique story line and strong characters. Jack is strong, confident and knows what he wants (and doesn’t want!). Once it is out in the open who Lauren is, she is open with Jack about relationships and her plans. Lauren is stronger than she believes herself to be, and I really like how Virginia portrays her, how we see Lauren’s growth as she slowly comes out from the walls she’s erected around herself. I really like the maturity that both main characters show through out Carolina Blues, and I like the way they work through things. While some of their situations are more relatable than others, there are definitely a lot of real life situations in Carolina Blues, and I liked how the characters dealt with them. They are believable people with believable feelings, which kept me involved in the plot.

There are a lot of secondary characters in Carolina Blues, some stronger than others, but each adding their own uniqueness. I liked the secondary plot that Virginia weaves into Jack and Lauren’s story. While Carolina Blues is part of a series, it can easily be read as a stand alone book.

I love the small town feel Virginia give in all of her Dare Island books, and Carolina Blues was no different. I’d recommend Carolina Blues to any contemporary romance reader, especially if you like small town romance!

Book Info:

Published October 7th 2014 by Berkley |  (Dare Island #4)

Jack Rossi is Dare Island’s new police chief. The laid-back North Carolina community is just what he needs to recover from a rocky marriage and a big-city police department. He’s learned his lesson: no more high-profile women or high-pressure jobs. The last thing he wants is an unconventional alt girl rocking his world.

Grad student Lauren Patterson made headlines when she kept a bank robbery from going bad. She’s fled to Dare Island to clear her head and focus on writing her story. However, sexy Jack Rossi is a distraction that’s too hot to ignore, and it’s igniting an affair too combustible to resist—or quit.

But when their pasts come looking for them, Jack and Lauren find themselves fighting for the future they deserve, whatever the price.