Blog Tour, Contemporary Romance

Blog Tour: More Than Neighbors by Shannon Stacey

Jonetta | Blue Mood Café

More Than Neighbors

Cam Maguire has a high-powered job in New York City, working for his father. He’s the only son in a long line of Maguires and is spending the summer in Blackberry Bay, New Hampshire, settling the estate of his recently deceased grandmother (there’s much more to that story). Meredith Price is the widowed mother of 6-year old Sophie who’s returning from San Diego to the hometown she left after high school. Her husband died two years ago and she’s decided to move closer to her parents and create a new life for herself. She buys the house next door to Cam’s grandmother’s whimsical cottage and his hammock becomes the link to the neighbors. What begins as a few casual encounters leads to something more.

Sometimes you just want a story that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside and I was hoping this would be it. Fortunately, my instincts were dead on because aside from Cam and Meredith, there’s a fur ball dog named Oscar, a cranky cat called Elinor and the precocious but adorable Sophie. There aren’t any big dramatic moments, just lots of heartwarming ones as two really nice people come together naturally through odd circumstances. Cam is grappling with family issues and Meredith is recreating herself after having lived one designed around her late husband.

It also doesn’t hurt that Cam has a wicked sense of humor, which works well with Sophie and the pets. I was left with all those good feelings I was searching for as Meredith not only slowly opens her bruised heart but reacquaints herself with old friends from high school. I enjoyed this story and am looking forward to returning to Blackberry Bay.

Book Info

  • Release Date: July 1, 2020
  • Series: Blackberry Bay #1
  • Page Numbers: 288
  • Publisher: Harlequin Special Edition

 

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Excerpt

Cam Maguire wasn’t sure what to make of finding a beautiful woman, a little girl and a tiny bit of fluff that he was pretty sure was a dog in the yard when he went outside to look for his grandmother’s cat.
He’d heard all the jokes about cats being real jerks and secretly plotting the demise of the humans who cared for them. He used to laugh at those jokes.
He didn’t laugh anymore.
“I don’t understand,” the woman—Meredith, she’d said her name was—said and he realized she was still confused about why he was living next door to her.
“The woman who lived here, Carolina Archambault, was my grandmother and she passed away recently. I guess it must have been after you talked to your real estate agent about the neighbors.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you,” he said, because it was the right thing to say. And he did feel a sense of loss.
It was his loss that he’d never met the woman who was his biological paternal grandmother and who had lived in this eccentric and colorful cottage by the lake.
“There you are,” he said to the extremely large and very long-haired black cat who sauntered into the yard as if she hadn’t disappeared for four hours to who knew where. And she had burrs in her tail again. Getting those things out of her fur made him wish he’d been a hockey goalie in college so he’d have the proper safety equipment for the job. “I’ve been looking for you.”
Elinor—which was a ridiculous name for a cat, if you asked him—ignored him as expected and walked onto the neighbor’s grass as if she owned it.
The little girl had left the dock and was exploring the yard with her dog, its leash clutched in her little hand. The dog watched the cat warily, but appeared to be smart enough not to mess with her. And Sophie was a cute kid, with long brownish-blond hair like her mother’s. They looked a lot alike, actually, right down to their serious expressions.
“I’d offer to give you tips on living in Blackberry Bay,” he said, “but I haven’t been here very long.”
“I’m from here, actually. I’ve been in California for years, so it might have changed a little, but I’m guessing not very much.”
“What brings you back?” He instantly regretted asking the question when sadness flitted across her pretty face and settled in the tautness of her mouth.
“My husband passed away a couple of years ago and I decided Sophie and I would be happier here, near my parents. And I have some pretty fond memories of the town, too.”
As her words sank in, he looked back to the little girl, trying to imagine how devastating it must have been for her to lose her daddy at such a young age. And how much harder the grieving process must have been for Meredith because she had to get Sophie through it. He’d never suffered that kind of loss, but imagining their sorrow hit him in the gut.
“I’m sorry about your husband,” he said sincerely as he looked back to Meredith.
“Thank you.” She gave him a tight smile. “So you’re staying for the summer, you said? Where do you usually live?”

 

 


About the Author

Shannon Stacey
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Shannon Stacey lives with her husband and two sons in New England, where her two favorite activities are writing stories of happily ever after and off-roading with her friends and family.

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Q & A

What was the romance novel that got you hooked on the genre (or: What was the romance novel that inspired you to become a romance author?)

I don’t really remember a time I didn’t love romance novels, but Plain-Jane Princess by Karen Templeton (a Silhouette Intimate Moments from 2001) is the romance novel that renewed my determination to become a published romance author. Not only does it remain one of my all-time favorite reads, but getting to know the author online taught me that it was possible to juggle kids and a home and writing and inspired me to keep trying.

 

Please share in your own words what it means to experience “That Harlequin Feeling”

No matter what I’m in the mood for—from a small town single mom to a billionaire business mogul—I know I can reach for a Harlequin romance and read an emotional, positive story that will give me the happily ever after ending I love so much.

 

What was the name of your first published novel, and tell us a bit about that experience?

There was a lot of variety in my publishing journey before I settled on contemporary romance, but selling Exclusively Yours to Carina Press and seeing the Harlequin name across the top of my contract was a dream come true. More Than Neighbors is my 29th title under the Harlequin umbrella and ten years later, it’s no less of a thrill. And being published by Harlequin Special Edition was another longtime dream come true, so I took myself out to lunch to celebrate (I had the most amazing grilled cheese and bacon sandwich I’ve ever had).

 

 

Thanks to Harlequin and NetGalley for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

Published by Jonetta | Blue Mood Café

12 thoughts on “Blog Tour: More Than Neighbors by Shannon Stacey”

  4. I love that it had humor and pets, Jonetta! It sounds like a warmhearted romance. Fab review! Do you have Head Over Heels on your TBR? It’s kind of different from other contemporaries because of the gymnastics, but I really, really loved it!

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