Workaholic Lillian Mahoney has given everything to her job. The hugely popular lifestyle show she helped create monopolizes her time, energy, creativity, and anything remotely resembling a life. But all it takes is the show’s womanizing, egomaniac star throwing a massive hissy on live TV to utterly implode Lillian’s career in a New York minute.

Now Lillian’s hiding out in the gorgeous and completely unknown seaside village of Blink, Maine. Out of gas. A stolen wallet. A broken heel. And worse, she’s somehow managed to completely piss off the town’s resident hunk, Caleb Wright. She’ll show that hot, grumpy single father exactly what she’s made of.

But Blink isn’t quite what Lillian expects—and neither is Caleb…or his feisty teen daughter she can’t help but love. And while her entire life and career are in shreds, Lillian might just discover what happens when she gives her bad first impression a second chance…

Titles in the Hideaway Harbor series include — Accidentally Perfect –

 

Title:  Accidentally Perfect
Series:  Hideaway Harbor #1
Author:  Marissa Clarke
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Published:  March 1, 2021
Publisher:  Entangled Publishing
My Rating:  4 stars

Sometimes I fall in love with a location before I fall for the couple – and that is especially true of Blink, Maine, a teeny, tiny town that really isn’t even a “blink” on the map but holds some amazing residents in this town that is slowly fading away into the history books.  Accidentally Perfect, the beginning of the Hideaway Harbor series, drew me in quite easily and delivered a delightful romance that touched my emotions and gave me a few laughs as well.

Lillian is on the run.  As a lifestyle guru, using her organization skills, driven personality, and little to no personal life, Lillian’s world imploded when the show star acted like a spoiled child and ruined just about everything.  Now she’s hiding out, trying to figure out how to save anything at all when she finds herself stranded in Blink, Maine.  Out of gas, no money, and definitely not fitting in with the locals by a long shot.  It doesn’t help that she almost immediately makes the bad decision of making the town resident good guy pretty angry… no, a lot angry.  It’s time to suck it up buttercup and do some regrouping, a bit of rethinking because this town isn’t as backward or as bad as her first impression.

Caleb has his reasons for reacting to the high-maintenance woman who breezed into Blink as if the world owed her something.  That might have been his first impression of Lillian, but as time passes and he begins to see a different side to her his opinions begin to change.  He’s never going to leave this small town he calls home, and he’s convinced that no matter how she’s acting right now that in time, Lillian will head back to the big city – because everyone leaves, eventually.

Accidentally Perfect is a lovely slow-burn romance, a bit of a rom-com, and certainly a story that drew me in and kept me entertained throughout.  I loved this small town, the residents who are trying to keep Blink from fading away, and the ways that Lillian surprised so many with her efforts on the town’s behalf.  We often don’t know what we are capable of until circumstances force us to take a good look and make some changes.  I believe that holds true for both Caleb and Lillian.  They were a believable couple slowly discovering the other’s “true” self, and falling in love is never, ever totally easy without some bumps along the way.  I enjoyed myself in this world, and will definitely be watching for the next story in the series.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

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