Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Nov 24, 2007

Michelle rated it:

I love a romance with deep emotion, a bit of angst, and plenty of romantic tension. Well this story packs a powerful punch in all three areas. It's an allegory and one of the coolest examples I've ever read. There are many, many women in this world who are just like Samantha, and there are many people in this world who are running from Christ as well. If He only knew what my heart was really like, they think, then there is no way He could love me. Wrong. And this story so beautifully illustrates More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 13, 2010

Zette rated it:

Let me start by saying that I enjoyed this story of love and forgiveness very much and I'm going to start #2 in the series today. I was a little concerned though because this is in the Christian Romance category but there is absolutely no mention of God. I kept expecting to find a conversion moment in the book and was surprised when I got to the end without finding one. About 3/4 of the way through, I did begin to connect that the author was trying to help us visualize how God's love is for us. More...

0 comments like

Oct 14, 2009

Laura rated it:

This past weekend, we were in my husband's hometown, and my mother in law was telling me how she liked Denise Hunter's books. She offered to loan me a couple, and I accepted, knowing it would be good to have something to read on the way home. When I saw the title of this one, I laughed to myself at how cheesy it sounded. I know she really enjoys her Christian romance stories, but this seemed way too sappy for me.

And okay, a lot of it is hokey, but it wasn't as nearly as bad as I tho More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 13, 2011

Holly (2 Kids and Tired) rated it:

At the end of A Cowboy's Touch, there was an excerpt from Surrender Bay and it sounded good, so I checked my library and found it. I liked it, but I don't think it quite lived up to the compelling first chapter I read.

Sam left Nantucket under difficult circumstances and finds that returning to her hometown isn't easy after 11 years away. Her childhood best friend and first, unrequited love, still lives in Nantucket and he still loves Sam. She's a woman of secrets that we know will More...

0 comments like

Jun 25, 2011

Natalie rated it:

Great read! I read all 23 chapters in one night. Sam, the main character is a very sad, empty, angery woman. Through a series of terrible events she has become a damaged person who has strayed away from her once strong faith. Her father died and her mother abandoned her. When Sam graduated highschool her dreams came to a crippling halt when she unexpectantly become pregnant. Her abusive stepfather kicked her out. She ran away from Nantucket to Boston. An call from her island home telling her of More...

0 comments like

Feb 28, 2009

Laura rated it:

I started reading this book late in the evening and stayed up until after midnight to finish reading it. Somehow it just pulled me in and kept me reading all the way to the end.

Samantha, Sam, is a tortured soul. She thinks that anyone she loves is going to leave her. Mostly because they all have. She has done some things in her life that she feels keep her from deserving love.

Landon has always loved Sam. They were best friends most all of their lives. He finally adm More...

0 comments like

Jan 06, 2012

Linnette rated it:

Amazing! I didn't want to put this book down. Denise did an incredible job keeping things real in this story.

Fear is one of our greatest enemies. It imprisons us in bars that only God can sever. Even for those who belong to God, we know we shouldn't allow our fears to reign and yet we struggle to fight against them. The God we trust, the God we should trust, the God we want to trust, we are afraid to trust in many circumstances. Even knowing this is a tool of the devil, we are so afra More...

0 comments like

Feb 10, 2012

Connie rated it:

It seems to me that the female characters in this book and Denise's book "Seaside Letters" thought it was okay when you were down and feeling really bad to get drunk and sleep with guys. Whoa! So the main character guys were upstanding great guys with good morals, but their female counterparts weren't? Hummm. I absolutely loved the first two books I read of Denise's, "A Cowboys Touch" and "The Convenient Groom". It seemed like I was reading a totally different More...

0 comments like

Nov 01, 2010

Redfox5 rated it:

This book was okay but I found Samantha really really annoying. I know she had a bad childhood but after listening to her fight with herself in her head over and over again, I just wanted to tell her to man up and go out with Landon. He should have given up on her long ago. Way to much baggage there, plus you can't date someone who's been with a member of your family. ew. At the end in the reading group questions it mentions God alot, apprently the story is actually about your relationship with More...

0 comments like

Feb 03, 2010

Betty rated it:

When I first bought this book, I was afraid of being disappointed in my expectations of it. I had read Seaside Letters first and loved it, so I figured this one probably wasn't going to be as good as I was hoping. I was so wrong. I really enjoyed this book. I was drawn in by the characters and plot, just as with the last book by Denise Hunter. I think she does a great job of portraying the male lead character. Another thing I love about these books is that it keeps you feeling so many different More...

0 comments like

Apr 04, 2011

Deborah rated it:

I thought this story was a little bit too much of a downer for my taste. I started to get really frusted with Sam. I mean how cruel could she get and why oh why did Landon keep sticking around?? I felt like he was a sad puppy that she just kept beating and he just kept coming back for more. Also, the "horrible" thing that Sam did...I do not understand how on earth Landon could forgive that so fast. It also ended way to fast. Over-all I think the author had an interesting idea but More...

0 comments like

Jul 18, 2011

Dawn rated it:

Denise Hunter's books are blowing me away one book at a time. First I read A Convenient Groom years ago. I loved it, but I have always been more into historical fiction, so regrettably, I did not look the rest of her books up.

Regrettably, being the key word.

Surrender Bay took me a while to finish... which was the first clue that I loved it. I had to put it down just to dwell on what the characters were going through. Such turmoil! Such conflictions! Such love! And such an end More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

May 06, 2011

Lori rated it:

This is the first book I have read of Denise Hunter and enjoyed it. The way to describe her writing is that she's a combination of Nicholas Sparks & Christian author Karen Kingsbury. The book is based in Nantucket and loved how it described some of the scenery. This is the first book that is based in Nantucket. I believe there is three more of them that are on different characters, unlike most series. I look forward to finding more of her books to read. If you have a hard time finding this book, More...

0 comments like

Jul 25, 2010

Debi rated it:

Another fantastic read by Denise Hunter! A while ago I read her book The Convenient Groom and totally loved it! Really pulled me into the story. This one took me a little while to get into, but once I did I had a hard time putting it down. I found myself wanting to shake Sam, the main character, for her constant rejection of Landon. Though I have suffered loss in my life multiple times, I have not endured the type of loss that Sam went through and had to bear the dark secrets that she carried. S More...

0 comments like

Dec 08, 2010

Tiffany rated it:

I found this book sad, moving, compelling, romantic, depressing and hopeful all rolled into one.

Sam was happy as a child living in Nantucket with her mom and dad. Then her dad died. When her mom remarries Emmett who is abusive things get worse for Sam. Then when she was 13 her mom just leaves and leaves Sam behind with Emmett. Things continued to get worse. When Emmett gives Sam advice to never love anyone because they will leave she engraves it upon her heart believing it is tr More...

0 comments like

Dec 14, 2009

Brenda rated it:

This was such a sad story. It made me feel so sorry for everyone in it, it was hard to find anything to be happy about. Sam was starving for forgiveness and for love, and she wasn't even aware of it. Landon was patient, kind and forgiving above and beyond. Although it is required for all of us to forgive, forgetting, going on and getting over something of this magnitude is still a little much to swallow. It was very well written, but a little too much of a downer for me.

0 comments like

Dec 20, 2009

Staci rated it:

I hesitate to pigeon-hole this book as Christian fiction even though that is how it is categorized. Unlike some books in this genre, not once does the author ever bring God or faith into the story. Her plot line was feasible and how each person dealt with their issues was well-written. My only problem with this book is that now I look at my husband and wish he could be romantic like Landon Reed!!! At the back of the book Denise explains how her story is an allegory of a certain story or scriptur More...

0 comments like

Aug 19, 2009

Kristina rated it:

This is the first of a four-book Christian fiction series that I thought I'd try out. I really enjoyed getting into the characters in the story, but was disappointed to find out that the other three books in the series are set in the same location (Nantuckett Bay), but involve different characters -what a bummer because I was really looking forward to seeing how the story continued... As a stand-alone title though this was a great easy novel and worth a read.

0 comments like

Apr 02, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

I loved this book. When I got to the end, I was a little disturbed that there was no real evidence of Christianity on the part of the characters in the book. Her explanation at the end gave me a little understanding, and I think she achieved her goal. However, I think she still could have made at least one of her characters a Christian. Otherwise, however, it is a good, clean novel and very well-written.

0 comments like

Jul 14, 2010

Annalisa rated it:

This book is about Samantha (Sam) who left Nantucket under bad conditions leaving Landon who loved her wondering why and where she went. After 11 years the death of her stepfather brings her back to Nantucket hoping to fix up the house and sell it she is confronted with Landon still living 2 doors down and memories from her past haunting her. Though I like the author's writing style this book was too depressing for me.

0 comments like

Sep 04, 2010

Leah rated it:

This was a great book! I didn't realize until near the end of the book, what the author was trying to get across. iShe had said a little in the beginning about why she wrote the book, and what message she was trying to tell her readers. It really hit when i was almost done that the way Landon was with Sam is how God is toward us. When it hit me i almost cried. Anyway.... I LOVED this book and i stayed up until 2 am reading!

0 comments like

Nov 26, 2010

Abbie rated it:

I had high hopes for this book. It was an okay read. I felt it got slow at times and I considered putting it aside and not finishing it but I was interested enough in the outcome I pushed through. I felt the main character was kind of blah. She had all kind of pain yet I just did not get into her. I actually liked her love interest more. I also bought the 2nd book in this series and I hope its a better read then this one.

0 comments like

Jun 20, 2010

Elaine rated it:

Starts off slowly but gets better.

After moving off the Island several years ago, Samantha returns to Nantucket with her young daughter Caden to prepare the cottage she grew up in, to put on the market. Memories come flooding back. Memories of she and her best friend Landon who still lives on the Island. Memories of her hateful and hated stepfather. Memories of her mother who had abandoned her.

And Landon still loves her. Inside she's running from him. Still. He wa More...

0 comments like

Dec 11, 2009

Laura rated it:

I started with the third book in the series and fell in love with it so I had to start from the beginning and finish reading the series. I just finished Surrender Bay and I loved it. I loved how the story gives us a picture of unconditional love. It's what we all need and we think that we can't have or atleast don't believe that it's out there. This book just gives you hope for you to wait for that right person for you. :)

0 comments like

Jan 28, 2010

Sheila rated it:

I READ THIS IN ONE AND A HALF DAYS...I HAVEN'T CRIED THIS MUCH OR THIS HARD OVER A BOOK IN I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG...GAVE IT TO AMANDA TO READ...IT IS BEYOND WORDS. HAPPY/SAD/SPIRITUAL/MAKES YOU LOOK AT YOUR OWN LIFE AND RELATIONSHIPS. A "WOMEN OF FAITH" BOOK...TOUCHES YOU...

0 comments like

Mar 25, 2010

Margaret rated it:

This one of the most powerful and touching romances I have ever read. It shows how much you can accomplish without being preachy. The story itself warms your heart - but when you think about how it mirrors God's love for us ... It's impossible not to be moved.

0 comments like

Nov 16, 2011

Diane rated it:

I really enjoyed this book much more than what I thought I would. Being a writer I've been told to read outside the Genre I usually read or write. This is one of those such books--Christian romance. It was great! Lead me along the way and there was always part of me that thought I would be able to foreshadow what was going to happen but be jerked back by the main character. It is hard for me to find a bad book if it is I won't continue reading but this was a good one!!

0 comments like

Jun 22, 2010

Breanna rated it:

This book was o.k. There were a few things I did not like about it. The main character annoyed me a bit. It seemed like she was making the same mistakes over and over.
Overall, it was an o.k. book. It was not my favorite.

0 comments like

Jan 14, 2012

Anna rated it:

This is a book I could hardly put down once I began reading it. For this to be a fictional story, I found it to be quite substantive. I am really looking forward to reading more of the Nantucket Love Stories.

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 30, 2011

Kristyn rated it:

Written by a Christian author who left out all of the Christian parts of her book. Has an underlying message of forgiveness and a pretty good story, even though it's quite frustrating to read.

0 comments like

reviews