Two
lovers seek shelter in a storm of jealousy and passion.
Matt arrives in the seaside town of Nyemouth for a much-needed vacation. As a
successful lawyer, Matt has a hectic career, and with an ex-husband still
pestering him for money, he is long overdue a break. A holiday home perched
above the town and its breath-taking harbour seems like the perfect place to
unwind. Matt can’t wait to explore the beautiful, jagged shorelines and lose
himself for a couple of weeks.
Jake has made a home in Nyemouth. After growing up in the city, living on the
coast is everything to him. Running a business with his sister and volunteering
on the crew of the local lifeboat, he is exactly where he wants to be. But
Jake’s life is far from peaceful. Though he left his domineering husband Vince
a year ago, Vince refuses to consent to a divorce or loosen his controlling
hold on Jake.
On Matt’s first night in town, he encounters the couple having a blazing row.
When Vince turns violent, Matt intervenes and takes Jake inside to escape his
angry ex. Despite what happened, Matt feels a powerful attraction to the
younger man. Jake is bright, endearing and unbelievably attractive, but the
young man’s life is complicated. Matt already has enough problems of his own.
He came away looking for an escape, not a starry-eyed distraction. As Matt and
Jake get to know each other better, the gamble on a holiday romance becomes
hard for either of them to resist. They have both been unlucky in love before.
Maybe this time will be different.
Vince will not be shaken off so easily. He has no intention of letting Jake go…
ever. As Matt’s and Jake’s emotions deepen, they do not understand how far
Vince will take things to keep his husband. As far as Vince is concerned, they
made a vow to each other… “till death do us part.”
Reader advisory: This story contains stalking and assault, physical and
emotional spousal abuse, attempted murder with a firearm and references to
abusive parenting and substance addictions.
Don’t miss our reviews of the rest of the Jagged Shores series!
For book one, North Point, click HERE.
Book
2
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Publishing
Matt opened the gate and approached Jake, who stood watching as Vince walked away.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
Jake’s skin was rosy, and his chest rose and fell dramatically. His hands trembled. Shock, Matt surmised. Jake turned to look at him. His eyes were wide, the pupils huge. “Yes,” he said, out of breath, “I’m… I’m fine.”
“You’re bleeding.”
“What?”
Matt pointed at his cheek. “Where he clocked you.”
“Oh.” He put his fingers to his face and looked at the blood on the tips.
“Why don’t you come inside for a few minutes? I’ll get you an Elastoplast for that.”
“No, I couldn’t. Sorry… We’ve caused you enough trouble already.”
“Hey,” he said softly, “don’t apologise. I couldn’t ignore what was happening. Come on in. You’re shaking, too. Take a seat until you get your breath back. Give your buddy time to get away. I wouldn’t want you bumping into him at the bottom of the road.”
Jake exhaled, and the tension left his neck and shoulders. “If it’s no trouble, I could come in for a few minutes—just until things calm down.”
“Are you hurting anywhere else?” he asked, leading Jake to the front door and inside. “From when you fell.”
“Only my pride,” he said. “If that counts.”
Matt smiled. “Nothing wrong with your sense of humour.” He led Jake to the kitchen at the rear of the ground floor and sat him at the table. Matt folded a piece of kitchen roll into a small square and gave it to Jake. “Press this tight against the cut. There’s a first-aid kit in my suitcase. I won’t be a minute.”
“No need,” Jake said, pressing the paper towel against his cheek. “This should be enough to stop the bleeding. It’s just a scratch. You’ve done more than enough already. Thanks a lot.”
Being so close to him, Matt realised what a great-looking guy Jake was, with those beautiful eyes and unblemished skin. His T-shirt was well-fitted, showing the fine shape of his chest and shoulders beneath. His bare arms were muscular, gently suntanned and covered in light-brown hair. Despite his serious expression, there were very few lines on his face. Matt guessed his age to be around twenty-five.
“Do you want me to call the police?” he asked. “I got most of what happened on camera—certainly, the assault part. With me as a witness and the video evidence, they’ll have enough to charge him. It’ll get him out of your hair for the weekend, at least.”
Jake shook his head. “I don’t want to involve the police. It will only make things worse.”
“That guy assaulted you.”
“I’ll live. It’s just a scratch. If we phone the police, it will only make Vince worse.”
Matt didn’t push it. He’d seen this so many times before when victims of violence didn’t want to pursue a case for fear of inflaming the situation. “So, who is that guy? Your boyfriend?”
Jake exhaled dramatically. “If only. That would make things so much easier. No, Vince is my husband—soon-to-be ex-husband. At least I hope so. That’s what tonight was all about. My solicitor wrote to him about the divorce and he got the letter this morning.”
Veronica
– ☆☆☆☆
Matt takes a two-week holiday to Nyemouth and meets local man, Matt, who is
being hassled by his soon to be ex-husband out the front of Matt’s holiday
rental. The men are attracted to each other immediately, but both are trying to
get away from bad relationships and aren’t looking for love. I have to say I
enjoyed spending time with Matt and Jake. They are both good, hard working,
down to earth guys and their romance was lovely, and a little sweet at times.
Safe Harbour is a good story, but it is slow going in the beginning. In
the first third or so, I thought there was too much tell and not enough show
for my liking. Once you get past the halfway point the story picks up. Then the
last third of the story was well paced and had a good dose of anxiety producing
danger to go with the romance. I certainly turned the pages pretty quickly
towards the end, eager to see how our two lovebirds would get through
challenges thrown in front of them.
It was lovely to be back in Nyemouth again. I found following Matt on his
holiday to Nyemouth relaxing at times and it made me want to go on holiday. One
of my favourite things about this story was the town itself. I loved the
seaside location and the great local community. It seems like somewhere I’d
want to go. I really enjoyed Safe Harbour. It gets 3.5 stars from me.
Sarah
– ☆☆☆
Thom Collins’ Nyemouth is a quintessential British seaside village populated by
an admirably improbable number of handsome and available men. In this book we’re
introduced to divorce lawyer Matt and local restaurant owner Jake.
I liked the idea of this story more than the execution. The language is clunky
at times, and I came to hate the cartoonish villainy of Jake’s ex-husband,
Vince. He was way too much and the silly caricature that he becomes doesn’t do justice
to the emotional trauma he inflicts on Jake. There were moments where Matt and
Jake felt real and loveable but too often scenes are overwritten. I wanted to
love Jake and Matt more than I felt able to. I love Jake as an LRI volunteer,
and I really liked his relationship with his sister.
I really wanted to love this book and I kinda hate that the writing didn’t work
for me.
THOM
COLLINS is the author of Closer by Morning, North Point, and the
Anthem Trilogy. His love of page turning thrillers began at an early age when
his mother caught him reading the latest Jackie Collins book and confiscated
it, sparking a life-long love of raunchy novels.
He is currently working on a new series.
Thom has lived in the North East of England his whole life. He grew up in
Northumberland and now lives in County Durham with his husband and two cats. He
loves all kinds of genre fiction, especially bonk-busters, thrillers, romance
and horror. He is also a cookery book addict with far too many titles
cluttering his shelves. When not writing he can be found in the kitchen trying
out new recipes. He’s a keen traveler but with a fear of flying that gets worse
with age, but in 2013 he realized cruising is the best way to see the world.
Check out his website for news updates and a free ebook, The Night.
Connect with Thom
Twitter ~ Instagram ~ Website ~ Goodreads
Hosted by
Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided
a free copy of Safe Harbour (Jagged Shores #2) by Thom Collins to read and
review for this tour.
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