Rose Harbor in Bloom

Jo Marie Rose runs the Rose Harbor Inn in Cedar Cove, the town where she has settled and made friends among her neighbors. This spring she wants the newest addition to the inn finished, along with a rose garden she has designed in memory of her late husband, Paul.

Handyman Mark Taylor is helping her build it. The two argue often, yet Jo Marie takes comfort in having him around.

Two guests arrive with troubles of their own. Annie Newton comes home for her grandparents' fiftieth anniversary, carrying the weight of a broken engagement. She also runs into Oliver Sutton, a childhood friend, which she did not expect. Mary Smith, a successful businesswoman with a serious illness, returns to town to make amends with the man she walked away from nearly twenty years ago.

The book is contemporary women's fiction with a small coastal town setting. It weaves the innkeeper's story together with the stories of her guests, so several threads of romance and reconciliation run side by side. Expect a gentle, warm-toned read about grief, second chances and old relationships, set over one spring.