The One Real Thing

Samantha Young

Sept 2016 · Hart's Boardwalk Book 1 · Sold by Penguin

About this eBook

The New York Times bestselling author of On Dublin Street is back with the first in a sexy new romance series set in a small town on the Delaware coastline.
 
Welcome to Hartwell, a quiet seaside escape where uncovering old secrets could lead one woman to discover the meaning of a love that lasts…
 
While Doctor Jessica Huntington engages with the inmates at the women’s correctional facility where she works, she’s always careful to avoid emotional attachments in her personal life.  Loss and betrayal taught her that lesson long ago. But when she comes across a set of old love letters in the prison’s library and visits the picturesque town of Hartwell to deliver them to their intended recipient, she finds herself unable to resist the town’s charm—and her attraction to the sexy owner of a local bar proves equally hard to deny.
 
Since his divorce from his unfaithful ex-wife, Cooper Lawson has focused on what really matters: his family and the boardwalk pub they’ve owned for generations.  But the first time Jessica steps into his bar, Cooper is beyond tempted to risk his heart on her.
 
Yet as their attraction grows hotter and Jessica remains stubbornly closed off, he begins to realize it will take more than just passion to convince her there’s only one real thing in life worth fighting for….

Ratings and reviews

I love Samantha Young' stories. This is a great book you will not be disappointed. She makes you feel like you are right there, the main character in the story. I can not wait until the next book comes out in March.

This review was written by Marie for a guest review post on Ever After Book Reviews blog: 5 Stars Samantha Young is a tremendous writer. Everything she writes is beautiful, real and emotionally charged. Every one of her books has drawn me in and hooked me. So when I found out she had a new series, I jumped on the opportunity…quickly. In The One Real Thing, Jessica, a quiet, introverted doctor, is working in a women’s correctional facility, where she finds a collection of unsent letters written by a previous inmate 40 years ago. Moved, Jessica seeks to find the rightful recipient of the letters and travels to a quaint little town of Hartwell. Here, she feels a sense of comfort and very quickly finds herself falling in love with the small community. She also finds a man that catches her attention – Cooper. From here, the book really picks up. Cooper and Jessica have tremendous chemistry and their friendship develops beautifully. Over a few back and forths, their relationship blossoms and it’s wonderful. They have a very tender and sweet relationship that very quickly becomes quite steamy! This is a very emotionally charged book that tests the strength of love and proves that laying it all out on the table is always very much worth the effort. ***I read and reviewed a paperback copy of the book gifted to the blog, from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review. All conclusions reached are my own***

The One Real Thing by Samantha Young is the first book in her brand new Hart's Boardwalk series. Told in dual POV with a happy ending, it is a beautiful story of love overcoming a dark past and troubling insecurities and a town coming together to best the bad guys. This story focuses on Cooper, the local bar owner, and a visitor in town, Jessica, who is looking to reconnect some old letters to their intended recipient. What Jessica finds is a small town that feels like home and friends she never knew she needed and learns she can't live without. Cooper has been burned before but he is pretty down to earth and doesn't let one persons mistakes taint his view (too much) of other people in his life. Jessica has been through hell and it doesn't show. She has had so many years to bury her past that it's only on the anniversary of her sister's passing that she can't keep it all blocked away. Unfortunately that coincides with her time at Hart's Boardwalk and Coopers arms and she starts to shut down again. This was such an engaging and beautiful story. A great introduction to Hartwell and all of it's inhabitants and I'm so excited to see that Bailey and Vaughn's story is next in the series.

About the author

Samantha Young is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the On Dublin Street series, including Moonlight on Nightingale Way, Echoes of Scotland Street, and Fall from India Place, as well as the standalone novel Hero. She resides in Scotland.