The Secrets in Sandcastles by Rachael Bloome Review

 Happy Saturday Friends :)

I pray that you've all had a great week, and that you're all looking forward to the weekend.

I'm still dealing with some of the issues I talked about in Thursday's Scripture of the Week post, but am trying my best to remain positive and wait patiently on Jesus to help me through it all.

Since I've been dealing with a lot, I haven't been able to keep to my regular posting schedule the last few days, but I'm really excited about the book I want to talk about with you all today, and I decided to go ahead and post it on Saturday as I just didn't want to wait.

The Secrets in Sandcastles by Rachael Bloome:

Source: Complimentary Copy Provided by the Author as Part of Her Street Team

Publication Date: August 31st, 2020

Genre: Sweet Romance

Series: Poppy Creek

Synopsis:

Penny Heart likes to play it safe.

Which means, compiling a list of Poppy Creek's Top 5 Spine-Tingling Adventures ranks high on her list of worst nightmares.

To top off her bad luck, the obnoxiously-handsome and charming, Colt Davis, volunteers to help.

Can Penny keep from breaking her neck? Or worse... breaking her heart.

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

The Secrets in Sandcastles is the third book in the Poppy Creek series, and in my opinion, is further proof that I don't think Rachael Bloome could write a bad book if she tried. She's officially become one of those authors that I'd literally read their grocery list if she chose to publish it, and I think readers everywhere are going to fall head over heels for Penny and Colt's endearing and beautiful romance that gets off to a bit of a rocky start.

I loved getting another visit to Poppy Creek, and it's heartwarming community of characters. Rachael always brings this beautiful town to life on the pages, and I'd honestly love to live there. In this particular visit, we're introduced in more depth to Penny; who owns the local antique shop and has a fear of honestly just about everything; and Colt, Luke's younger brother who's a bit of a thrill seeker and has a hard time staying in one place for too long. When tragedy strikes in the form of Frank having a heart attack, Cassie and Luke know that he's going to need help at his place and shouldn't be left alone. Colt gets volunteered for the job, and in between dealing with Frank's gruffness and being forced to work with Penny on an article about thrilling adventures in Poppy Creek, Colt's feeling like he may have bitten off more than he can chew. Penny's unsure about having to work with Colt on anything since they've been frenemies for as long as she can remember, however he's different than what she was expecting, and she soon finds herself wanting more.

While at it's forefront, The Secrets in Sandcastles is a heartwarming romance, there's also so much more to the story. Themes are employed of forgiveness, trusting your heart, learning to overcome your fears, and realizing that loving others means letting them in even when it may be scary to do so. The reader is also treated to lots of appearances from other beloved Poppy Creek residents like Luke and Cassie, Grant, Eliza and Ben, Jack, Reed, Frank, Beverly and many many more. With all the upheaval in our world right now, this sweet romance was exactly the story I needed, and I couldn't have enjoyed it more.

It's another fantastic edition to the Poppy Creek series, and it gets the highest recommendation from me.

Definitely go ahead and pick this one up if you're a fan of sweet and clean romance. I can guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Final Rating: 5/5.

Thanks so much to Rachael Bloome for allowing me to advance read this!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance reader copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.