Barbara Longley

"Cursed with immortality, Dermot MacKay craves death. To lift the faerie curse placed upon him and his men over 1,600 years ago, he must return the soul of his reincarnated wife to the exact place and time of her murder. But her soul is currently residing in the very modern Sidney St. George—and first he has to convince her to accompany him to Scotland."

Oh my heavens! I desperately need a Dermot MacKay in my life! Unfortunately, when Dermot finally finds Sidney (she's been hidden from his show more view thanks to the same faerie who cursed him in the first place), she's not exactly receptive to his entreaties to help him, and his men, end the curse. And when she starts to have feelings for him, they just can't seem to get on the same page thanks to many misunderstandings, but if the course of true love ran smooth, we wouldn't have amazing books like this one to read!

I love Barbara Longley and think she can't go wrong when it comes to her writing, and this book is no exception. The characters are fleshed out nicely and the pace of her books moves along smoothly.

In summary, I loved this book and definitely recommend it.

5/5 stars.

I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion. show less

I am trying to clean out my personal library and my e-reader. I am not sure how long I've had this book. Something about it appealed to me way back when I purchased it or agreed to read it for the author. I don't read a lot of romance. I don't like, nor have I ever like mushy, gushy romance. However, give me a book where both parties fall in love while overcoming major obstacles and I am there.

The two characters are both suffering from a type of PTSD. Wes is a former marine. He watched one show more of his men die and blames himself because he was thinking about how his wife had dumped him while he was away from home. Carlie is a single mom of a young boy. Her ex-husband is in prison. They moved changed their names and did everything right to protect themselves from the man who almost killed her.
Wes eats breakfast every day at the diner where she works. It is obvious to everyone around them that Wes has feelings for her.

One day we goes for his breakfast and doesn't see Carlie. The owners who have taken her under their wing tell him about her past. He sets off to make sure she is okay. He sees her and her son being held by her ex. He manages to rescue them, but her ex gets away. His mission from this point forward was not to fall in love, even though you know that is what is going to happen, but to protect her and her son. Like I said, this is not a mushy-gushy romance. The twists and turns are what will keep you moving through this book. The sad thing to learn after reading this is that there were other books before this one in the series. Definitely going to read them. show less

"Who knew salt came in smoked applewood or Hawaiian pink flavors"?

Once Upon a Night at Sea by Barbara Longley

Sigh. This s book......

This book is like walking into sunlight. Seriously. It is one of the most tranquil, peaceful reads I have read in awhile.

I devoured this charming and whimsical little novella. It is one that would fall into the romance genre. That is not a genre I read as much as others like Mysteries, Historical Fiction, politics etc. I used to but not so much anymore.

However, show more this landed on my TBR list because of the charming storyline, the title and the high reviews. I adored it.

Marin is single. She is also busy with her work and hasn't met "the one". She wins a trip on a luxury cruise that her best friend enters her in.

Jason i s the CFO of a company. He is handsome, charming and successful. He first meets Marin when she accidentally spills coffee on him. He is attracted but after she ALSO accidentally breaks his nose he becomes convinced she maybe a menace to society and makes a mental note to keep away from her.

However, he has won a ticket on the same cruise. Imagine their surprise when they come face to face at sea.

This little book is like seafoam..warm, misty and with a touch of the wonderment that we all feel when we're children. After reading so much dark stuff, this little jewel was a pleasure to read.

And while I am not one for cruises, I do love the sea. This book does the cruise industry proud because the writing is such you feel you are right there swirling about an ocean liner on a lush and tropical vacation. Princess cruises should send this book randomly to people in the mail. I bet their reservations would double.

It is also educational as I learned about cashew wine, cashew trees, howler monkeys and much more. The y are exploring islands so you get lots of fun information and trivia about the islands.

Anyway..if you do not read romance EVER then you probably will not be tempted top read this. But if you just want a sweet and fun romance about two lovable people who do not have secrets, lies or murder in their pasts, like many of the people in the domestic thrillers I read, you will want to add this one. Now I want hot weather and some cashew wine please! show less

I should probably start by saying that I always picture myself as the character of a book when we share the same name, so my image of Carlie is 100% different than everyone else. It did not take away from the book at all though, because I loved this book.

Many thanks to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wesley has closed himself off from getting attached again, he's got PTSD and a real hard time trusting people. He's got his fellow friends and veterans he works show more with, his dog Rex, and a schedule he follows meticulously. Part of that schedule involves visiting Carlie at the diner for breakfast after his night shift, but when she's not there one day and her ex-husband is to blame, Wesley is willing to do whatever it takes. After vowing to protect Carlie and her son while her ex is wreaking havoc, Wes starts letting Carlie in little by little. Carlie thinks it's time to run again, ready to start over in a new life for the second time, but that plan didn't involve Wes and he's made her rethink the running. Carlie has to put aside her fears, Wes his trust issues, and together they must face the danger of Carlie's ex.

I love a good military man, I'm dating one for goodness sake, but Wesley has definitely taken the spot for my favorite book military man. Sure, he's been closed off for so long from letting any girl in, but he deals with some pretty heavy thoughts, going so far as to working nights so he can try to sleep during the day when he is apt to have less nightmares. He also is incredibly kind, awesome with Carlie's son Tyler, and seemed to come out of his shell over time. I love that he didn't want to recognize how much he cared for Carlie, even when he was willing to do anything for her. He was a very realistic character for me and I appreciated the level of detail Barbara Longley gave when it came to Wesley's thoughts. As for the object of his affections, Carlie, I really liked her as well. She had a ton of strength and out of every abuse novel I've ever read, she's been the character who handled it best. Her reactions and desire to hide were believable, and justified, and I appreciated that the timeline of her recovery to really date again was realistic. There are also some amazing minor characters in this book, both Carlie and Wesley's friends brought a lot of background to the story and provided some interesting dialogue. The romance and suspense is done very well; I didn't feel like either story line was overwhelming the other. I enjoyed how the threat of Carlie's ex pushed Wes and Carlie together. The PTSD and survivor's guilt was handled beautifully by Longley and I was impressed with its accuracy.

I have not read anything else by Barbara Longley, but you can bet I'll be picking up some of her others. This can be read as a standalone and I highly recommend it.

You can find more of my reviews at Carlene Inspired. show less