Sea Glass Winter by JoAnn Ross

 

He was used to getting what he wanted. And what he wanted was her.

From the cover: As an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Specialist, Dillon Slater had one of the most dangerous jobs in the military. Now, he’s enjoying the pace of life in Shelter Bay, where he teaches high school physics. He still gets to blow things up, but as the school basketball coach he also gets to impart leadership skills. His latest minefield: fifteen-year-old Matt Templeton—and Matt’s irresistible mother…

Claire Templeton moved herself and her troubled teenage son to the small town of Shelter Bay. Oregon, to escape the bad influences at his school in L.A. But when his attitude earns her a visit from the handsome basketball coach, she wonders if this role model might be too much of a temptation—for her. Because though she isn’t looking for a relationship, she can’t seem to resist Dillon’s playful charm. But what she doesn’t realize is that Dillon isn’t playing games—he’s playing for keeps…  

*****

Sea Glass Winter is the fifth book in JoAnn Ross’s Shelter Bay series. It’s a sweet, sexy, heartwarming story, one I truly enjoyed!

I’ve read several of Ms. Ross’s earlier books but hadn’t yet ventured into this series. Reading this book without having first read the others wasn’t much of a problem… although, we do revisit the characters from the first four books and there’s a lot going on with them, so given the choice, I’d read these in order.

This story is similar in ways to other contemporary romances I’ve read in that the characters are often, for one reason or another, single parents. In this case, the child is fifteen year old Matt, nicknamed “the phenom” for his crazy basketball skills. At the rate he’s going, he’s guaranteed to be picked up by a major college or university – if not straight into the NBA. We spend a lot of time with he and his teammates, and much of that time is watching him grow from the spoiled “star” he was at Beverly Hills High, to a young man who understands that, as clichéd as it sounds, “there really is no “I” in team.”

I enjoyed Claire and Dillon… especially Dillon. As far as I was concerned, Claire was taking way too long to get with the program and just give in to her lust for him. There were a couple times when I imagined him just throwing in the towel, walking away and saving himself the frustration, but in the end, when it all worked out, it was great!

As I said, we see a lot of the earlier characters, and knowing where their stories have taken them (now) makes me want to go back and read their books, too. That said, flipping back and forth between so many side-stories... well, I'd have preferred to spend more time getting to know Claire and Dillon... but maybe that's because I didn't have the investment in the earlier couples that I would have, had I read the books in order.

The bottom line: I really enjoyed this story. The relationship between Claire and Dillon wasn’t all angsty or dramatic. It was peaceful, it flowed… it felt real. The storyline itself was also nice. No one getting blown up, no terrorists threatening to take over the world… just a pleasant, feel good, small-town-life story, and sometimes that’s exactly what I'm looking for.

This book was reviewed for Affaire de Coeur Magazine