Dawn in Eclipse Bay

Eclipse Bay #2

by Jayne Ann Krentz

From New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz—the second novel in a dramatic trilogy set in breathtaking Eclipse Bay, a town filled with rivalries as fierce and compelling as the rugged Oregon coast….Nothing was ever simple between a Madison and a Harte. The feud that had divided their families still simmered. Now, only months after their siblings’ wedding, Lilian Harte and Gabe Madison are at each other’s throats.

Successful CEO Gabe had insisted on becoming a client of Lilian’s matchmaking service. And after five disastrous dates, Lilian is at her wit’s end. If she hadn’t already decided to close her business and move home to Eclipse Bay, Gabe would have been the final straw. But when she finds Gabe at her door demanding she fulfill their business contract, the sparks between them suddenly turn personal. Once again, Eclipse Bay will witness a showdown—between a relentless Madison and an irresistible Harte…

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Mystery, Romantic Suspense, Fiction, Suspense

348 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 2001

About the author

The author of over 50 consecutive New York Times bestsellers, JAYNE ANN KRENTZ writes romantic-suspense in three different worlds: Contemporary (as Jayne Ann Krentz), historical (as Amanda Quick) and futuristic (as Jayne Castle). There are over 30 million copies of her books in print.

She earned a B.A. in History from the University of California at Santa Cruz and went on to obtain a Masters degree in Library Science from San Jose State University in California. Before she began writing full time she worked as a librarian in both academic and corporate libraries.

Reviews

[Carrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5*

If I read one more line such as, "I'm a Harte, afterall." or "It's because you're a Madison!" I will scream! The whole "Harte-Madison" feud is not only ridiculous, the way the people talk about it is like something out of junior high. While the reader hears ad nauseum about what a typical Harte or Madison is like, it should be noted that the members of the family rarely act the way they are suppose to according to the "script."

I liked Gabe somewhat, but Lillian was a weak character. The plot was pointless and what little suspense was there was an afterthought. I tried this book because i was hoping that since a Harte and a Madison married at the end of the first book, the feud wouldn't be a topic of conversation in this book. Was I ever wrong! There was a set-up for the third book at the end of this one, but I'll pass. I was born a Walters after all, and we don't feel any compunction to finish what we start if it's a waste of time. ;-)

[Farah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one a lot mainly because Gabe and Lilian were both very interesting together and Gabe's character was just hilarious he was so stiff and sure of himself .. it was fun seeing him come out of his comfort zone and fall for Lilian. The mystery part was alright but the strongest thing in this book was the romance. One thing though hearing " We Madison this and you Harte that " all over again is driving me crazy and this is coming from someone who plays Flappy Bird everyday and still has her phone in one piece .. for now .. bottom line I enjoyed this book while screaming at it.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an easy enough beach read that I finished in a few hours but it’s definitely not one of JAK’s better books.



We begin en medias res with the hero and heroine in the midst of an argument. As the dust jacket says, Lillian runs a high-end matchmaking agency and Gabe is her last remaining client before she closes her doors for good in order to pursue a career as a full-time painter. Gabe comes across as a complete douchebag in this scene as he harshly says over and over that the reason the 5 dates Lillian’s service had fixed him up on had been failures was because Lillian sucks at her job. Seriously, he says this like 8 times in just a few pages. It was pretty annoying. And he also comes across as a completely oblivious jerkwad when he can’t even conceive of the idea that his all-businesslike demeanor, constant checking of his watch, huge preoccupation with assuming every woman was just after his money, and insistence on informing them over appetizers that they’d most definitely have to sign a prenup could possibly have anything to do with it.

Lillian is trying to fire Gabe as a client even though he technically paid for six dates and only received five. Lillian tries to just refund his money but no, he wants the date. We’re in Lillian’s perspective for this whole beginning part where Gabe is acting like a douchebag so it really starts things off on the wrong foot. Much, MUCH later we get a little taste of Gabe’s POV and find out that he’s actually attracted to Lillian and that’s really why he’s insisting on getting the 6th date, rather than taking his money and leaving. Arguing for the date gives him an excuse to keep seeing Lillian. Except he’s being such an @ss at this meeting that I don’t see how he thought things were going to progress. If what he wanted was for Lillian to be his 6th date, why didn’t he try actually being nice to her? It would have made for a much sexier interaction if he’d put some sensual moves on her and gently charmed her into agreeing to go to dinner with him. The way he did it was pretty lame, really.

Anyway, Lillian finally gives up trying to convince him that their contract is null and void and then allows Gabe to follow her downstairs to the office of a sex therapist. I found it really odd that Lillian actually told Gabe what kind of therapy this doctor was doing and it was very unbelievable that the doc left his office doors unlocked while he was – ahem – conduction sessions, so anyone could just walk in and see. But that’s the plot we’re given, Lillian and Gabe walk in on the doc doing hanky panky and then just back out the door without being seen.

Lillian explains that the reason she was going to see the doctor is because he’d asked her to partner with him on a book he was writing. He wanted to use the computer software program she’d had designed for her matchmaking agency and combine it with his knowledge of relationship psychology. However, in her inner monologue to the readers, Lillian explains that she’d recently become inexplicably paranoid about her program for reasons that didn’t really make sense to me. It felt like JAK was trying to slip a little paranormal stuff into this otherwise totally vanilla story but it never really gets explored. She tells us that Lillian’s software program was only part of what she used to select matches for people. And in actuality, Lillian was relying on her own intuition more than the program to find people mates. So far she’d been extremely successful and every one of her clients was happy, but for some reason she’s suddenly petrified that it’s all going to come crashing down. What if she ends up matching someone with a closet abuser? What happens if some of her success stories end up divorcing in a few years? So she’s decided to get out of the game in a hurry. And, following that, she’s also decided not to give this Sex Doctor her program info.

Getting back to the action, Gabe continues to follow Lillian around and convinces her to go get a drink with him for “medicinal purposes” since she was shaken and embarrassed by seeing the Sex Doc in flagrante delicto. They have a nice enough meal but at the end Gabe makes sure to insist that this does not count as his sixth date and that Lillian still owes him another match. She tells him it’s never going to happen because the business is closed. There’s also a ton of repetitive talking in this scene and all throughout the book where Lillian insists over and over that Gabe lied on his questionnaire and that’s why none of the matches met his satisfaction. And that the only thing that she thought was true was his insistence on not being matched with any “artsy types.”

They also make it a point to bring up their family names, Harte and Madison, about a billion times in every scene throughout the book. Practically everything they do is justified with “well I’m a Harte/Madison, remember?” It got SO annoying. The back story is that two families have apparently been feuding for 3 generations after Lillian and Gabe’s grandfathers went into business together and then both fell for the same red-headed woman who subsequently embezzled all their company’s wealth and forced the two men into bankruptcy. The Harte grandfather picked himself up and built a successful business empire that he then passed on to Lillian’s father, but the Madison grandfather remained a bitter failure for the rest of his life. He raised one son, Gabe’s father, who became a sculptor and had a long-standing and tumultuous relationship with his beautiful model and muse, Gabe’s mother. The pair then died in a motorcycle accident when Gabe and his brother, Rafe, were very young. There’s always been bad blood between the two families because of their history and the town has always viewed the Madisons as ne’er-do-wells because of it. This is what has driven Gabe to make a success of himself from the time he was a kid and is also why he thinks himself to be against artsy people because of his unstable upbringing with his parents.

All that background makes Gabe a pretty nuanced and well developed character. You can see his motivations and the emotional scars his childhood has left him with. He’s also got a rocky relationship with his grandfather, Mitchell, because he’s always wished for the man’s approval and yet every time they’re together, the cantankerous old man makes Gabe feel like none of his accomplishments are ever enough.

It also leaves Lillian to look like a totally boring cardboard cutout of a character when she stands next to the more well-rounded Gabe. She was rich her whole life and though she bounced from one career to the next, she’s always had a miraculous Midas touch, making virtually every endeavor a financial success. Her biggest problem is that she’s dreading telling her family of her decision to try to be a fulltime artist because they’ll see it as another sign of her lack of direction. But no matter what she does, she’ll always be set for life because she owns a 1/3 share of her father’s hugely successful company. Yeah, my heart is really breaking for you, Lillian. Poor, poor you.

Once Lillian and Gabe part ways on that first night, Lillian starts making arrangements to move back to Eclipse Bay. She has an unsettling run-in with the disgruntled Ex of one of her clients who blames Lillian for his lack of relationship because he’s sure that the girl would have eventually taken him back if Lillian hadn’t set her up with another man.

Back in EB, Lillian goes to see her sister, who is married to Gabe’s brother, Rafe, and Gabe shows up. He proclaims that he’s decided to take a sort of vacation from his business and hang out in EB for 1 month, which by shocking coincidence just so happens to be the length of time Lillian was planning to stay. Lillian and her sister, who are both JAK heroines and that, by definition, means they’re total idiots when it comes to reading the signs of attraction in a man, immediately jump to the conclusion that Gabe must be suffering from burnout because he’s never taken a vacation from work before so clearly he must be on the ragged edge of collapse, even though he’s showing no signs whatsoever of being under undue strain.

This misconception leads Lillian to feel sorry for Gabe, so later that day when he gives her a ride back to her rented house she invites herself over for dinner so poor Gabe won’t be alone. Just before she arrives, Gabe’s long ago Ex, Meredith, shows up. She’s an ambitious woman from a rich family and always intended to marry well. So she’d dumped Gabe in favor of a rich guy. She then supported her husband in his political career, becoming the epitome of a driven politician’s wife…and then her husband was caught on film dressing up in high heels and pink lingerie so he was forced to drop out of the race. Meredith is in the process of divorcing him but has now changed her plans to include running for public office herself. So she’s on the prowl for both money and a new husband who will back her candidacy. Hence, the now rich Gabe is suddenly looking very appealing to her.

She puts the moves on Gabe but he brushes her off pretty pointedly and tries to hustle her out the door before Lillian shows up and gets the wrong impression. Of course Meredith won’t be rushed and she’s still there when Lillian arrives but Lillian doesn’t seem to care at all, which was a little disappointing for this reader. I’m not a fan of heroes who try to use OWs to make the heroine jealous, but Gabe wasn’t doing that in this scene, and the fact that Lillian acted like she couldn’t care less what he did just made it feel like there were no sparks between our couple.

But they make dinner and have a nice time, then play gin rummy of all things for the remainder of the night. Then as Gabe is helping Lillian with her raincoat he just suddenly goes for it and kisses her. This leads then straight to the bedroom and they end up having sex all night. It seemed a little unfounded since their interactions had been so tame and boring up to this point but it was refreshing to see that JAK skipped one of the steps in her usual paint-by-numbers approach to romance, which is for the couple to get to second base, then stop for some manufactured reason. One weird thing though was that JAK kept going on about Lillian seeing a kaleidoscope of color during the sex, which again made it seem like one of her paranormal romances but nothing ever comes of this.

The next morning, Gabe’s grandfather shows up unannounced to demand to know what Gabe’s doing “shacking up” with a Harte. Gabe tries to keep Mitchell occupied in the hopes that Lillian will just slip out the back door and avoid all the gossip, but she doesn’t do that. Hearing the pain in Gabe’s voice when Mitchell once again makes a remark that sounds dismissive of Gabe’s professional accomplishments makes Lillian want to be there to support him. The meeting is pretty damn awkward and eventually Lillian leaves.

Back home she finds a bunch of messages from her family demanding to know what she’s doing with her life and she eventually speaks to her mother. In the ensuing conversation, Lillian learns, apparently for the first time, that her father has been running interference for Lillian and her siblings all their lives. That the Harte grandfather essentially forced her father to take over the company and fully expected one of his grandchildren to run it too but her father adamantly refused to put pressure on them to do so. He’d felt strongly that they should be allowed to make their own choice of profession. So after all Lillian’s negative thoughts about her family thinking she was a flake, it kind of sounds like she was just being a self-involved jerk about the whole thing. I mean, how could she have failed to notice that she was never pressured to take on the family legacy and had been given the freedom to do whatever she wanted all her life? One thing her mother, and virtually everyone else in town says though, is that it’s entirely possible that Gabe is only dating Lillian because he wants to take over the family company. Lillian comes with a 1/3 share to start with and Lillian’s father wants to retire in the next two years, which means the company will be looking for a new helmsman. So everyone suspects Gabe thinks he’ll be able to just take over the company if he’s part of the family. Lillian actually starts to have second thoughts about her relationship with Gabe.

For the next few chapters there’s a lot of boring filler. Lots of people repetitively telling both Gabe and Lillian that the other one is only in the relationship for some monetary gain. There are some very long and pointless sections with Arizona Snow, the local crackpot, going on and on about how the nearby “institute” that’s being built is really a front for a secret government shadow corporation that is conducting experiments on aliens. Lillian and Gabe go back to the city for a night to attend some awards ceremony for Gabe’s mentor and it’s during this event that Lillian realizes Gabe is NOT suffering from burnout. She also suspects that someone was in her apartment while she was gone but brushes it off as the cleaning people.

Back in EB, Lillian bumps into an old friend who has just become Meredith’s campaign manager. Then they’re out to dinner one night and they witness a nasty scene between the friend and Meredith where they deduce that the friend has been fired. Then the Sex Doc shows up to again try to convince Lillian to give him her software but he takes one look at Meredith and practically falls at her feet to worship her as a Goddess. The next morning, Meredith shows up at Lillian’s house claiming to need to talk to someone. She explains that Lillian’s old friend had an affair with Meredith’s soon-to-be ex-husband and that’s why she fired her. She also pompously says that Lillian can rest easy because she’s “not even going to try” to steal Gabe away from her.

Then someone breaks into Lillian’s house but nothing seems to have been taken. This makes her question the incident with her apartment and she tells Gabe about it. He’s inclined to believe the local sheriff’s theory that the EB break in is the result of a transient and the apartment thing really was the cleaners until Lillian mentions the threats her client’s ex-boyfriend issued. Then he vows to investigate. In the meantime, Gabe gets some workers out to repair Lillian’s door from the break-in and the workmen snigger about how it’s all over town that the old friend was slutting it up with Meredith’s kinky husband. They have no problem believing this because apparently way back in high school she was known to be sleeping with some guy while he was allegedly dating someone else. Gabe heads back to the city to try to find out more info on the ex-boyfriend guy.

The old friend comes over to Lillian’s to commiserate about her loss of job and claims that of course she wasn’t sleeping with the husband. Meredith is just crazy. While she’s there, Gabe calls and reports that the ex-boyfriend has mysteriously left town and he wants to send his grandfather’s bodyguard over to babysit her until Gabe can get back. Lillian refuses and says she’s going to be gone for the next few hours anyway running errands.

When she gets back, she finds that her house had again been broken into and her studio wrecked. Meanwhile, someone has also attacked Arizona Snow and stolen her camera so she asks Lillian and Gabe to investigate the institute and try to get pictures of the alien bodies, which they agree to do, for some bizarre reason. As they’re walking around in the still-under-construction wing and taking pictures of empty rooms, then stumble upon Meredith and Sex Doc getting it on and inadvertently take a picture of it. Meredith demands the camera and they hand it over and leave.

Ex-boyfriend guy is soon eliminated from the suspect pool when it’s discovered that he’s just on vacation with a buddy and had actually reflected on what Lillian had said during their encounter and realized she was right that he and the girlfriend weren’t a good fit for each other, so he’s totally moved on now. This leads Lillian and Gabe to suspect the Sex Doc since he seems to be the only other one with a motive. They go and see him and he accuses them of still having copies of the photos of him and Meredith and planning to use them for blackmail. He sounds pretty unhinged, all told, but when he turns violent, Lillian is completely shocked because she’s known him for a couple of months and never would have expected him to be violent. In the end, they get him to admit that he hadn’t been interested in Lillian’s software, it was her files on the high-end clients she’d kept that he wanted. It represents valuable data that a politician could use to schmooze the right people. He admits to searching her apartment back in the city but denies any involvement with the EB incidents. They believe him.

On the romance front, Lillian walks in on her grandfather talking to Gabe with a bunch of business papers strewn across the table and she immediately jumps to the conclusion that he’s trying to bribe Gabe to go away. She’s outraged and declares that Gabe would never take such an offer because he doesn’t care about the money or the Harte company. Grandfather explains that, no, he was explaining all the great financial benefits Gabe would get if he DID consent to marry Lillian. He claims that he wants Lillian to be happy and since she apparently wanted Gabe, he was trying to make that happen. Gabe just calmly says that he’s turned the offer down because he knows that if he took it, Lillian would never believe that he wanted to marry her for herself, not the company. And that is actually his way of proposing because that’s all we get. She kind of fumbles through agreeing and they issue some lukewarm ILYs.

Then, pretty much out of nowhere, Lillian decides to go see her old friend, who is packing to move to a new town. She stumbles across a shirt with paint on it and accuses the old friend of being the one who broke into her house. Friend eventually admits it and says it was for the same reason Sex Doc gave, she wanted to data files to use as a bargaining chip for her bid for her next campaign-manager job. She asks how Lillian suspected her and she says it’s because of the guy the friend shacked up with back in high school. Apparently what the snickering workmen didn’t realize was that Lillian was the guy’s girlfriend and he was cheating on her while she was off at college. And the friend had been there when Gabe called that time and thus knew that Lillian was going to be out of the house for a few hours, exactly when the studio-trashing break-in had happened. The friend admits that she’d broken in the first time to search, but Arizona Snow had seen her and taken a picture, so she’d panicked and attacked the old woman to get the camera. Then when she’d overheard the phone call and realized that Lillian had a stalker, she executed the second break-in to support the story of an angry, obsessed maniac. Then she says Lillian can’t prove anything and Lillian agrees that’s true and just leaves.

Gabe is angry that Lillian took such a risk as to confront this woman alone and she shrugs unconcernedly because she “knows” that the woman isn’t violent…even though just a day earlier she’d been shocked to discover that Sex Doc was violent so clearly she doesn’t know jack when it comes to judging people’s characters. Nothing official happens to the friend, although we’re told she had a nasty, but not fatal, car accident on her way out of town so that’s her karmic comeuppance I guess.



And that’s the end of the book. Everything was extremely tame.

[Giovanni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little bit repetitive in a way. I seemed not able to pass one chapter without getting reminded about Harte-Madison thing. Fortunately it kinda still makes sense so I can let that slide.

It doesn't deny the fact that this book certainly has its own charm. It's probably me because it's been a while since I read a (not so) vintage romance novel from this author, but it still reminds me why I fell in love with romance novels.

I got some sweet moments and laughs I rarely get from modern Harlequins and others nowadays. I particularly love the hero! He is laid back but knows what he wants, he's certainly not boring. He's not rude nor mean (unlike modern heroes these days), but still come out as an amazing alpha hero with charm as his ultimate weapon. My, he has my heart. Add an arty heroine who is strong, independent and smart without being bitchy. With that kind of heroine who doesn't get weak because of some men, I have enough to love this already. So this explains my 5 stars as I get two exciting characters here.

[Susan (the other Susan) · Rating 2 out of 5]

A snoozer.

[Kate McMurry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining, lightly dramatic, romantic-suspense novel originally published in 2001

Dawn in Eclipse Bay is Book 2 in a trilogy of three, contemporary, romantic-suspense novels. The first book is Eclipse Bay. The third book is Summer in Eclipse Bay. Since this is a trilogy, this book is not nearly as enjoyable without reading the first book. It allows the reader to understand the backstory of the feud between the Hartes and the Madisons (which I described in my review of Book 1).

The events in this book take place several months after Lillian Harte's sister Hannah has married Gabe Madison's brother Rafe. Thirty-year-old Lillian is on the verge of shutting down her successful computer-program-based matchmaking business when 35-year-old Gabe insists on hiring her services. Reluctantly she takes him on as her final client. Unfortunately, he is the client from hell. He has been promised six dates, and his first five are, in his opinion, a disaster, even though Lillian has given him exactly what he has asked for. Lillian informs him that his list of requirements in a wife sound like he wants to marry a robot, and furthermore she is convinced he has lied in answer to every aspect of her questionnaire other than when he states he does not want an "artsy" wife.

Before all this happened, Lilian was attracted to Gabe at her sister's wedding, but after having Gabe as a client, she decides there is no chance of anything romantic ever happening between them because she is a dedicated artist who is leaving her business to move to Eclipse Bay and paint full time. When workaholic Gabe unexpectedly takes his first vacation in years and shows up in Eclipse Bay, she is taken completely by surprise. She has no idea why he has chosen to rent a cabin within walking distance of hers for an entire month. To make matters worse, her mother, grandfather, Gabe's grandfather, and Gabe's ex-girlfriend, who is a highly ambitious politician, are all sticking their oars into the turbulent waters of her connection with Gabe, and the whole, gossipy town is avidly looking on to witness the outcome of yet another pairing of a Madison and a Harte.

My favorite JAK books are the ones with lots of witty repartee between the hero and heroine, and this book definitely has some of that, though not as much as Eclipse Bay. It's still a quite enjoyable book, even though the FMC and MMC are not quite as entertaining as Hannah and Rafe from Book 1. The town of Eclipse Bay and its quirky inhabitants continue to be a joy to read about, and JAK provides her signature style of romance, a battle of wills between two equals, paired with a subplot of a mystery that they team up to solve together.

For those who like thrillers or suspense that are gripping and scary, this is not that kind of book and not that kind of trilogy. The main event is definitely the romance, but if you like lighthearted romance, you will really enjoy this book.

I have not included information about the audiobook version of this book that I listened to, because that information is included in my review of Book 1. The same voice talent, Joyce Bean, narrates all three books.

[Readitnweep · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lillian Harte closes her match making business to be a full time artist, but her last client, Gabe Madison isn't satisfied - yet.

I have some mixed feelings about how to rate this story and would have liked to rate it a 2-1/2 stars if GoodReads would allow that, but I erred on the side of generosity due to bonus points.

I found the characters engaging enough right off. I liked that Lillian had tried different things and was now going to do what she wanted even if it didn't make her family happy. I would have liked her more, however, if a bit of the flakiness everyone had seen in her had been real. She was a bit too confident right off, a bit too sure of what she wanted to do. I would have found her more likeable as a character if she hadn't been quite as sure. Also, it bothered me she had the money to live as an artist. I admit I prefer realism in fiction, and it was just too easy for Lillian to give up her business and be an artist full time when she really didn't have to worry over finances in order to do it. Again, I would have liked her better had it been more of a struggle for her. I could have related to her more.

Also, I liked Gabe well enough, but, like with Lillian, there was something missing. I did like that he had struggled to get where he was, though he came off as a very typical have-all-I-want-but-the-woman romance character. Maybe more business problems would have helped? Something to bring a bit more depth. They were both good characters, but not great ones that I won't forget by this afternoon.

The characters were better than the plot. I did like very much that Gabe was really falling for Lillian when everyone around him thought he was too hardened to do so, however, this was mentioned too many times. The author was heavy handed with this and a couple other things, such as the way too oft-mentioned rivalry between their families and the fact that he was a Madison and she was a Harte. This was also way too forced. Everyone in town tells Lillian Gabe is after her for her business, which she doesn't really believe. Enter bonus points. Good job on having Lillian understand that he wouldn't do that. So many romance authors would have used that as a conflict device, and it really helped the story that Krentz did not. More bonus points for Gabe's emotions being real from the start, instead of using the hackneyed device of Gabe starting to go after Lillian for the business she will inherit only to fall for her later.

There's a bit of a mystery, which was woven in quite well from early on with subtle clues that could go either way. I did see the end coming but it wasn't overly obvious and did add depth to the story.

So, I thought the author did a lot of good things, but the characters could have been better rounded and the writing could have been done with a little lighter hand. I will look for more books from this author.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Eclipse Bay series. The first book concerned Hannah & Rafe, who fell in love (and bed) even though their families had been feuding for 3 generations. Dawn concerns Hannah's sister [Lillian] & Rafe's brother [Gabe]. Both of whom do not fall in the family stereotypes: Hartes are supposed to be practical people with well founded financial sense, and Lillian gave up her successful match-making business to become an artist. Madisons are reputed to be impulsive and unable to deal with the financial rigors of corporate life, but Gabe has poured his life & dedication into making a successful company. The two met at the wedding of Hannah & Rafe. Gabe got it into his head to try out Lillian's matchmaking service to find the perfect wife to help him with his business. Lillian tried and failed 5 times and tries to close the business while Gabe still has one date outstanding. As such, the two have an easy early conflict with an easy to see resolution.

While I enjoyed this book, I enjoyed the first in the series better. Eclipse Bay had more character, interesting plot twists and overall better writing. Dawn in Eclipse Bay retread a lot of the same ground, so characters who were interesting and fresh in the first book became stale & cardboard characters in the second (Arizona Snow, frex). Furthermore, the mystery that threatens Lillian's life was less interesting, to me, and also more see-through. Also: Little to no Winston. I know I'm comparing the two books here, but given a high standard I expect a high standard for following books. I'm probably spoiled from fantasy books where the plot continues rather than being retold with new characters in following books. If judged on its own merits, I think this book is better than some. However, when held up against the first in the series, this book pales in comparison. 2.5 artist brushes out of 5.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dawn in Eclipse Bay
Book #2 in Eclipse Bay
3 Stars

Synopsis
Gabe Madison is "in want of a wife" and signs up to Lillian Harte's matchmaking service. Unfortunately, all his dates are a bust and Lillian has given up on him but he insists on getting his money's worth and follows her to Eclipse Bay. Once there, Lillian and Gabe realize that everything they want and need has been right in front of them the entire time.

Review
A disappointing follow up to the first book.

Gabe and Lillian are an engaging couple and their banter is entertaining right off the bat. However, there is no real development in their relationship and it remains unclear as to why and how they even fall in love.

Once again, the Harte/Madison feud fails to resonate and even comes across as ridiculous and futile (on the other hand, aren't most family feuds like this). There are also too many Harte/Madison generalizations, i.e., "nothing comes between a Madison and his passion" is completely overdone - we got it the first time.

The suspense story is mediocre and lacks the build up and intrigue of the one in Eclipse Bay. The identity of the culprit is glaringly obvious and the motive outlandish.

While this book was only so-so, I will finish the trilogy as Nick and Octavia are an interesting couple and I want to find out about Octavia's agenda in Eclipse Bay.

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked that the both of them had been thinking of the other since their sibling’s wedding to each other. Her sister married his brother. It set up a nice foundation of tension. He had gone to her matchmaking business and was set up on 5 dates that he didn’t like. He didn’t get the sixth date that was in his contract, and she wasn’t going to give it to him because she was closing her business down. I didn’t like that he was willing to date other people and wanted a wife but hadn’t considered her in that role, and I really didn’t like that he didn’t like the arty type specifically, because Lillian is an artist. And he had been having an affair some months ago with a woman, and cut it off so he could seriously look for a wife. To me it was kind of hollow. He said he wanted a wife but didn’t have any reasoning for wanting one. I kept waiting for a comment like he wanted someone to support him or love him, but there was not one thought to back it up. On the outside the author had them have their desires and careers but on the inside there was nothing.


I didn’t like that Gabe had dated Marilyn in the past. And they kept bringing it up throughout. Lillian would brightly say something like Gabe knows her better than anyone, and I’m like why would you say that brightly? Why would you want to talk about him being with another woman? Then after finding Marilyn and Anderson Flint together with her wearing a leather bustier she asks Gabe if she wore leather when they were together. Who would ask the man they’re with if another woman wore leather for him? Was that supposed to be funny?

All of the promise of them falling for each other despite their different personalities was gone. There was no tension, no real lust on their part. Gabe seemed more captivated by her rainbow, incandescent rain slicker than he did her. What was up with that rain coat anyway? Who cares what it looks like? She thinks he’s down and out so she proposes she have dinner at his house. He doesn’t want her to feel sorry for him, he wanted her to be there for a different reason. There was a little bit of tension, then they’re just sleeping together, except the author skipped over all detail in that area, barely any info at all, a major pet peeve of mine. They kept meeting up daily, for supper, in the morning, going to his banquet and her apartment in Portland or wherever; I just wanted them to take a break from each other and do something alone, to define themselves and their interests because I got sick of them together and needed some alone time. But they were always meeting up and eating supper, then sleeping together, with the author cutting it off right after the notion of sleeping together came up, like it was dirty to give any details. No romance in here whatsoever, that’s for sure.

She wants him to show her how he was going to use the peanut butter after they had sex the first time. It's cut off before and I'm like why can't we readers get to read that? I hate when authors tease with ideas and then leave us to our own imaginations. When reading I don't want to have to use my imagination. I would like to read what the author intended and not have thoughts and ideas cut off. Then they have sex again in her studio after the banquet and in typical behavior we don't get to read the sex, only for them to wake up after the bout. Gabe smiles as he remembers how his tie got around her neck, but doesn't share how it got there or what they did. Talk about disappointed reader here. If your romance scenes consist of cutting it off after the first thought of sex appears and then picking it up with rumpled clothing and waking up then you shouldn't be a romance author. If a romance book doesn't have the romance it's not really a romance novel.

I quickly became sick of all the philosophizing that Lillian was doing. She just had opinions on everything and was always launching into conversations that lasted up to almost 8 pages. I kept wanting the author to fast-forward in time and skip over things, but conversations and things just went on and on and on. Lillian didn’t have any traits that I found particularly appealing or interesting. If anyone was a robot it was her. The only warm moment she had was after they’d walked in on J. Anderson Flint and Marilyn at the banquet where they were spying for A.Z. to see if there were aliens in the new wing. She watched him bent over laughing after they ran away, and she was watching him and said she’d give anything for a picture of him. And when the twin brothers were repairing her door after it was broken into, they were talking about a woman sleeping with someone, and she had birth control and condoms at her house, and Gabe said that’s enough gossip about Claire. Lillian said that kind of old-fashioned chivalry was an endearing quality in a man. Those were the only really nice thoughts she had about him, otherwise there no feelings about him on her part, or his for her. Everyone else was commenting on their love life but them. They seemed completely impartial, uninterested in their relationship. He thought she was going to break his heart, she said everyone thought he wanted her family’s business, said marriage hadn’t come up between them. Both grandfather’s end up at his house discussing their marriage, her gpa offers Harte Investment to sweeten the deal, and then all of a sudden they’re engaged but there no was proposal. He didn’t ask her, just made a comment like if you marry me..blah blah blah. The single most un-romantic engagement I’ve ever had the misfortune to read.

The only insight into Gabe's character we got was that he was different than the Madisons, but not that different. He worked hard with single-minded focus to make his business, and the banquet where he thanked his teacher and his students said what an impact he had on them was nice. But that was all I got from him, he wore a gray suit that was more stylish and high-class than what everyone else wore, and he drove a Jaguar I think. Other than that I didn't get anything else from him. It was sweet though when his grandpa Mitchell said he had to talk to Lillian and told her that Gabe left his company to follow her to Eclipse Bay. A nice sentiment but it was never voiced and never really apparent to me. Also, I could not picture anyone fully. They were hardly ever described so I wouldn't put eye color, a hair color, height, build or anything else to them to picture what I was reading. That's bad writing when you don't remind readers what the characters look like.


This book was a fail on every count. Romance, plot, suspense, humor, you name it, this book did not deliver. It was such a waste of time. It went nowhere. This is the second bad book I’ve read by her. The others have been okay, all 2 stars, but I enjoyed parts of them and the author’s sense of humor was always appreciated. This, however, had no redeeming qualities. I hadn’t even realized that I read the last book in the series before, I had no recollection whatsoever of the story or the characters, Nick and Octavia, so that pretty much says it all that this series didn’t impress me. I found the feud to be not much of a feud at all. Lillian had known of Gabe her whole life and seemed to be interested in him, not fighting and forbidden to speak to him like a feud implies. Their grandpa’s both got swindled by a red-haired lady they thought they loved…and that’s it. And both grandpa’s are over-protective and nosy. And throughout the entire book it was “it wasn’t the Madison way,” “Madison’s didn’t…,” “nothing comes in the way of a Madison and their passion,” “Hartes did this. Hartes didn’t do that.” You could barely go a page without their characteristics coming up on how they react to things or act. We get it, he’s a Madison and she’s a Harte. How about just acting like they are instead of being predisposed to doing certain things. Repetition kills a book. If they said it once they said it a hundred times. Everyone thinks he just wants her for a piece of Harte Investments. I got so sick of reading that, over and over.


I found Arizona and the whole bunch at the bakery and the alien nonsense to be random and just weird. It didn’t add anything to the story except to sidetrack Lillian from working and be a diversion for Gabe. A few lines about aliens were humorous but it got old and this book needed a plot rather than a paranoid theory that served no purpose by a side character and Photon the member of the cult-like group. They all thought the institute was bringing in frozen aliens from area 51 in Mexico or something. I was waiting for the real reason, something that would account for the happenings, but no, this group was determined to believe in it and the suspense that popped up and dominated the rest of the book had nothing to do with the new construction of the institute. J. Anderson Flint, the sex therapist that claimed to want her matchmaking, did get into her apartment in the city, but he was looking for her client list because knowing what those powerful people want would be power in his hands to be Marilyn’s campaign manager. Lillian’s friend from college, Claire, had broken into Lillian’s beach cottage looking for that same list, and ended up knocking A.Z. out because she thought the old woman had caught her doing it on her camera. So that’s the break-ins, that’s who the culprit was, and Lillian just goes to her house looking for evidence, helping the woman pack her things. And Lillian, who I’m convinced is a total idiot, lets her go because she can’t prove anything and karma will get her. What a goody two shoes. Who lets someone go that knocked an old woman out and gave her a concussion, broke into your apartment and scared you and was trying to steal from you, go free? An idiot. That was such a dumb decision. Karma did get her because she got in an accident going too fast around a curve. Not good enough for me, but I was just glad this book was over. The ending was just a setup for the next book, Nick was possessively standing with Octavia at the art gallery, his grandpa wants to protect her from Nick like her own personal champion. It didn’t even end off with Lillian and Gabe, a really bad idea. I won’t be reading this book again and hate I wasted $1 on this.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 3.5 Stars

[Dede · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Noaptea trecută, acasă la Rafe și Hannah, el aflase adevărul cel groaznic. Ea nu era doar o fire artistică, ci o artistă adevărată.
Urmări mișcările abile, chibzuite, ale mâinii ei în timp ce lucra la desen. Se observa o grație suplă, controlată, în felul în care mânuia creionul, care îl fascina. O vrăjitoare care lucra la descântecele sale."

Cu ajutorul unui program pe calculator, Lillian, sora mai mare a Hannei (protagonista primului volum), caută potriviri în relațiile oamenilor. Astfel că multe persoane cu influență, care nu au timp sau pur și simplu nu au noroc în propriile căutări, apelează la serviciile ei în scopul de a-i ajuta să-și găsească perechea. Printre clienți, se află și Gabriel "Gabe" Madison, fratele mai mare al lui Rafe, care îi va crea cele mai multe probleme și-i va pune bețe în roate, neîncrezător în șansa de reușită a programului minune.

Reprezentând ultimul ei client, Lillian se retrage din afacere, acasă în Eclipse Bay, pentru a se ocupa de pictură, dar nu se aștepta vreodată ca Gabe să revină și el, hotărât să nu cedeze până ce ea nu-i va găsi perechea. Odată intrați în mijlocul pericolului ce a încolțit în orașul natal, petrec din ce în ce mai mult timp împreună, nu doar pentru a descoperi ce se întâmplă, dar și pentru a vedea dacă ei doi ar putea face acea pereche pe care o caută amândoi.

Am adorat cuplul Lillian & Gabe ce stătea să se formeze! Ea iubește mult pictura și tot ceea ce ține de artă, așa că se hotărăște că e timpul să facă ceea ce o pasionează și nu ceea ce se așteaptă de la ea, iar el a muncit din greu pentru a arăta lumii că și un Madison poate avea capul pe umeri și poate reuși în viață, chiar și atunci când dragostea îi taie calea.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second in the trilogy, and as with most sequels I did not enjoy it as much. The author was really enjoying the celebrity status she had given the two families involved. I got tired of this and would have much prefered just enjoying the characters for who they were and not for the reputation of their families.

I also did not buy the fact that a CEO of a major corporation who worked 16 hours a day, could suddenly pick up, pack up and run his company a few hours a day from a cottage a couple of hours away. Even with the marvels of modern technology (the book was written before blackberries with instant emails), I do not beleive 1. he would be content with this arrangement and 2. that it is possible.

However, it did make for a cute story.

This is the second time that I had read this book.

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read #3 and now #2 but I think I am going to skip #1. Although I liked the characters in this book, the story line was very linear and somewhat cold. Maybe I wasnt in the mood for this type of book today, as with #3 there were very overused phrases that annoyed me.
"Shoot and damn" which was cute the first few times.
"Like a Hart" & "Like a Madison" generalizations although used more in the first of the book,really annoyed me when continued to be used though out.

[Kiki · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the first book, I didn't care for this one at all. I didn't like either main character, couldn't get into the plot and the repetitive phrases "it's because I'm a Madison" "it's because you're a Harte" "shoot and damn" " you know Madison's and their passions" that were present in the first book were present here and really grated on me. A

[Enid · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really badly written compared to the first one in the series (and in general). The only good thing I can say is that Gabe was an interesting character.

[Rose Kerr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good story, not as much with the paranormal as I expected.
A good read and entertaining.
Ms. Krentz does capture what living in a small town is all about.

[Shirlene]

Gabe Madison met Lillian Harte at the wedding of his brother, Rafe, to Lillian's sister, Hannah. He was immediately attracted to her and Lillian was disappointed when he came to her for help in finding a wife. She owned Private Arrangements, a computer dating service. She had arranged 5 dates for Gabe which didn't work out. He wanted the sixth date that he had paid for and refused to accept the fact that she had closed her business. He wanted a date with her without coming right out and saying it.
He stopped by on her last day of work to argue about getting what he paid for and walked her out. She said that the sex therapist a few floors down wanted to interview her for a book he was writing. Gabe followed her and she went into the office to find the receptionist gone. She went into his office and found him dressed in a red bikini playing out some kind of kinky fantasy. They both left and Gabe took her out to dinner and she explained to him that she was no longer in the dating business. She felt like she was lucky enough to get out before something went wrong. She got out before she had any real problems, other than Gabe, everyone seemed satisfied with the matchmaking that she had done.
The next morning, she was confronted by the ex-boyfriend, Campbell Whitley, of one of her clients, Heather Summers. He was upset about her setting Heather up with someone else. She tried to explain that their relationship had ended before Heather came to see her and then she went into a store to get away from him. She exited through a different door and went to her office to pack. Anderson was waiting to see her and asked if he could purchase her computer dating program. Lillian wouldn't sell and told him that she wouldn't be working with him on his book project either. He left and she called Nella Townsend of Townsend Investigations and asked her to check out Campbell's background for her. She went to Nella's place later for dinner and told Nella and her husband, Charles (a lawyer) that she had closed her dating business to try her hand at her passion, painting. Charles told her that her dating business was a law suit waiting to happen and that it was a good thing that she was closing Private Arrangements.
She went back home to Eclipse Bay and Gabe decided to take some time off and go back there too. Rafe and Hannah invited both of them to dinner that first evening. Lillian gave Gabe a ride home and decided that she didn't like the mood he was in. She told him that she was going shopping the next day and she would bring some things by and they could fix dinner together the next night. Gabe told her that would be fine.
The news around town was that Marilyn Thornley was divorcing her husband and Rafe had warned Gabe that she would be after him. Marilyn had decided to run for the senate office that her soon to be ex-husband had decided not to run for. Her parents had given a lot of money to his campaign and weren't too eager to give more money to the campaign even though it was their daughter now running.
Marilyn dropped by the next evening. She made a pass at Gabe which he quickly dodged. They had gone on a few dates before Pamela married but she had dropped Gabe for her current husband. Gabe wasn't willing to give her another go at a relationship. Marilyn was still at Gabe's when Lillian walked over but she quickly left. Lillian fixed dinner and ended up staying the night. Gabe's grandfather came by the next morning. Gabe tried to make sure that Mitchell didn't have anything laying around that was Lillian's but Lillian came out when she heard Mitchell giving Gabe a hard time about his business. He told Gabe that he should be married and have kids by now rather than spending all of his time running a business. Gabe ran the business and made a success of it for his grandfather. Now he felt like his grandfather didn't appreciate all he had done and it hurt.
Gabe told Lillian that he didn't think that Mitchell had figured out that she spent the night but she thought that he had. Mitchell got in his car to leave and called Sullivan to tell him that his granddaughter was sleeping with his grandson. Mitchell told Sullivan that it was his turn to get involved and hung up.
Gabe and Lillian drove back into Portland, he for an award ceremony for one of his previous professors and her to pack up some more things at her office. Her place felt like someone had gone through her things. She found smudges on her closet mirror.
They went back home and her parents had called and Mitchell wanted to see her. Her parents warned her off Gabe stating that he wanted her so he could take over Harte Investments. Mitchell told Lillian that Gabe was serious about her and that she needed to be careful in her relationship with him because it was leading to marriage.
They were eating out that night and Claire Jensen came in upset. Seems that Marilyn had fired her from being her campaign manager. Claire was a friend of Lillian's and seemed to really like her job. Lillian wondered what that was all about, then she spotted Anderson. Gabe suggested that he must have followed her because he wanted to purchase her dating software program. He stopped by their table and was introduced to Marilyn. Anderson went to see Marilyn at her office the next day.
Marilyn went to see Lillian and told her that she needed to confide in someone and that she had found out that her soon to be ex-husband was having an affair with Claire. Claire came by some time later and told Lillian that she needed someone to talk to and Lillian asked her if she was having an affair with Thornley. Claire told her that she would never have an affair with a client and Lillian believed her.
Lillian went shopping and came back to find a message from Arizona Snow, A.Z., the local bakery owner. She said that she needed to Lillian and Gabe to come to her place. Someone was following her. Lillian called Gabe and they went to her place to find that she had been hit on the head. She wasn't dead so they took her to the hospital. She asked about her new camera. They went back to her place and couldn't find it. They went to Lillian's to find out that her place had been broken into. They went back to the hospital the next day and AZ told them that the needed to find her camera because it had pictures on it that they needed to see. She didn't know what it was but something had to have been in the pictures. Gabe and Mitchell went to Portland to find Whitley and didn't. The arrived back in Eclipse Bay to find out that Lillian's house to find that it had been broken into again. This time her studio had been ransacked. It appeared that someone was looking for something. They soon found out that Whitley had been in the Caribbean doing some diving.
AZ gave Gabe an older camera and they went to the institute for a party. They went into the new wing and began taking pictures. They came to one room and found Marilyn and Anderson making out. Anderson was once again in his red bikini briefs. Marilyn demanded the camera and they gave it to her. They went to see AZ and told her what happened and they went to see Anderson at the hotel. Anderson told them that he was willing to pay for the other set of pictures. He didn't believe that they didn't have some. He then told them that he had broke into her apt. in Portland because he wanted her client list. He wanted to use that information and sell it. He wasn't a legitimate Dr. he had gotten his license off the internet. Prior to his doctoring stint, he had sold internet investments and had kept most of the money. He was now employed as Marilyn's campaign manager. Gabe and Lillian wondered why he didn't admit breaking into the cottage where she was staying and going through her studio.
Sullivan came to town to talk to Gabe about taking over Harte Investments. Lillian went to Gabe's and found them together and accused her grandfather of selling her to Gabe, after first accusing him of paying Gabe to leave her alone. Mitchell then showed up. Gabe refused all the offers and told them that if he wanted Harte Investments, all he had to do was to wait a couple of years for Lillian's father to retire and then buy the company outright. They all agreed that might happen and they left. Mitchell let Sullivan stay overnight at his place and they contemplated the gossip that would arise when that got out around town.
Lillian went to see Claire the next morning. Claire was packing up to leave town. Lillian found evidence that proved that Claire was the person who broke into the cottage. She had overheard the conversation between Anderson and Marilyn where he told her that he would acquire Lillian's client list for her. He did that in exchange for Claire's job as campaign manager. Claire broke in to get to Lillian's computer to get the list first. Lillian told Claire that she had taken the hard drive out of the computer and thrown it into the Bay. She didn't have it to steal. Claire told her that it figured since nothing she ever did worked out. Lillian told her that she wasn't going to turn her in and she left and went to town. She arrived at the Snow Bakery to find out that Claire had been speeding as she left town and ran off a cliff. She was in the hospital.
Lillian's gallery showing did well in Portland and Octavia Brightwell had arranged another showing in Eclipse Bay for the locals. It seemed like everyone showed up to see the Harte's and Madison's all together in one place now that Gabe and Lillian were engaged. Sullivan and Mitchell noticed Sullivan's grandson, Nick, talking to Octavia. They also noticed her red hair and her resemblance to Claudia Banner, the woman who had caused the feud between the two families. The grandfathers knew that they needed to do some checking into her background.
Gabe arrived home one night sometime later. He told Lillian that he had been approached by the grandfathers and they had proposed a merger of the companies, Harte Investments and Madison Commercial. They wanted to name the new company Harte-Madison like it had been before the feud. Gabe proposed a new name, Madison-Harte.

[Isabel Luna · Rating 2 out of 5]

En la misma línea q el libro anterior, tampoco hay grandes sorpresas aquí. La hermana de Hanna, Lillian y el hermano de Rafe, Gabe se sienten atraídos pero no saben muy bien q hacer con esa atracción, hasta q el matrimonio de sus respectivos hermanos les hace reflexionar, y aunq no necesariamente en forma consiente, se dan permiso para explorar las posibilidades de una relación q no se imaginaban q podría darse, por la rivalidad de ambas familias q ya habíamos conocido en el libro anterior.
De forma bastante camuflayada, Gabe conecta con Lillian usando de pretexto la agencia matrimonial q ella maneja, pero obviamente con resultados nefastos; lo q plantea un problema xq Gabe resulta ser el último cliente de Lillian, quien está decidida a cambiar de profesión y arriesgarse como pintora. Ahora bien, sacando de lado la cuestión de la riña familiar, Gabe&Lillian se pasan la mayor parte de la historia preocupados x las diferencias de personalidad q tienen: ella es una Harte con talento de artista, él es un Madison q hace dinero y lo hace bien; ninguno pensó q el otro estaría interesado y resultó ser todo lo contrario.
La trama va básicamente de eso, pero sin gran barullo. Gabe&Lillian son una pareja q se encuentra, se gusta, se ponen a explorar la atracción y paf, resulta q se enamoran. En el proceso, hay algunas cuestiones q parecen indicar q algo puede salir mal, y entran y salen personajes secundarios para sazonar la historia y ponerle algo de suspense. Pero he de decir, q a pesar del esfuerzo, la trama termina siendo bastante sosa.
No esta mal, se lee con comodidad pero no hay grandes sorpresas y los eventuales antagonistas no resultan tales; y eso es lo q más resiento, xq al menos podríamos haber tenido algún drama celoso o maniaco q le ponga a la cosa un poco de picante.
Aun así no es una perdida total xq la historia se disfruta, aunq ni siquiera el romance puede decirse q enciende demasiado.

[Sheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much for this one. At first I thought it was just that this was the third Krentz I'd read in about a week - I usually limit myself to three or four Krentz books in any six month period, since her authorial quirks annoy me after a bit - but I quite enjoyed the third book in the series that I read after this one, so, nope, it's the book.

Krentz's heroines are generally romantically reckless, but usually that's much more annoying in her historicals (where the consequences of casual sex are much higher) than in her contemporaries. Plus Krentz's heroes are usually trustworthy enough it doesn't bother me much - you know he's not going to use the heroine and leave her to hang. But for some reason this heroine struck me as kinda pea brained in that department.

Krent’z heroines also tend to be managing females who do not hesitate to tell the hero when he's being an idiot or why he's doing whatever. Which doesn't usually bother me, since I pull that routine on my hubby all the time. But this heroine's observations were less accurate than usual, so her psychoanalyzing felt more arrogant, plus she was constantly telling the guy "you're a Madison, and all Madisons whatever," which is an underlying theme of the entire series (Hartes are this, Madisons are that). But with her it came across as a lecture, perhaps because the hero made it his life's goal to be an exception to the rule when it came to Madisons, so she wasn't speaking the truth to him but using his family traditions to bash at him.

No cute critters, either. And the solution to the mystery partly depended on information the reader didn't have. Usually Krentz has enough going on that if I'm not much for one aspect, something else redeems the book. Not this time around. Not a terrible book, but not a particularly good one, either.

[Book Monitor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second in the series and I hoped it would be better than the first. It is but only very marginally. The so-called family feud is still mentioned way too much (I thought that after the first book this had been dealt with). The so-called expected family characteristics are also maddeningly repeated despite being completely and obviously no such thing.
Gabe and Lillian are the latest Madison/Harte combo to overcome the odds and get together. They are likeable enough, with a little more depth than the protagonists in the first book (but only a little). However I do get a very clearly drawn picture of place, and some of the quiet one-on-one moments are written well enough to keep me turning the page.
I do like Arizona but was disappointed with her part in the story. It seemed to border on making fun of her, and the leading characters humoured her in a patronising and demeaning, almost teenage eye-rolling way.
There are too many unconvincing attempts to bring in outsiders as suspects or at least as people to be suspicious of, none of which really worked as there was no real attempt to involve them in the story. For example the introduction of the "cult" has little relevance to the story other than to provide a new bakery for coffee. The mystery in this story is minimal and there is no real suspense to it.

[Jelay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A LOT OF SPOILERS AHEAD. PLEASE BE CAUTIOUS.

I thought the first of the trilogy was amazing, when I finished reading this, I instantly knew that this was way more amazing. I love Gabe so much! Between Gabe and Rafe, I say Gabe’s life is more organized than Rafe, lol. I like that in a man hahaha

Dawn in eclipse bay was something else. With Eclipse Bay, there were not much going on except about the inheritance problem and the little problem between Rafe’s ex’ death. I love A.Z, and I condemn what Claire did.

OMG and also!! I love the many plot twists in this one, I’m crying 😭😭

One minute, I already have a hunch of who did this and who did that, and what a surprise! He did it and she did it... I almost fell from my seat after reading the revelations. I thought it was over in the end and the person who crashed over Lillian’s studio will never be revealed, and guess what! The plot twist... 😭

I will start reading the last of the trilogy tomorrow. I have high expectations with that story, I already read the description, and Octavia has a lot of scenes in the first two books, I can say that she’s a good character. Hoping that Nick’s exceed my expectation, because for now, I love Gabe of all.

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lillian Harte and Gabe Madison are members of two very different families. Supposedly the families have been at war for a couple of generations. It came as quite a shock when her sister and his brother fell in love and married. The wedding was the first time Gabe had actually ever looked at Lillian.

It would not be the last.

This is a romance with a bit of mystery and danger thrown into the mix.

There is humor and lust. And the dialoge is entertaining too.

Although Lillian believes they are two very different people, Gabe recognizes that they are a good fit for one another. He just has to convince Lillian of that.

The story is about the trip to happiness for the two of them.

In the small town of Eclipse Bay their romance is a headline event. And the people in that small town are a quirky and unusual bunch. In fact the secondary characters add a lot of depth to this story. Unfortunately, the bodies of the space aliens are never actually found. ( Read the story and you will understand that.)

If you are looking for a quick read that gives you a fun time in the mist and fog of Oregon, this is the book for you.

[Tim Covell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this second in the series as a standalone, and from other comments I'm not sure if that was better or not. The family rivalry as an obstacle did not work for me, and the characters actually met in the previous story. On the other hand, apparently readers found this a disappointing follow-up to the first story, and I was not comparing to that.

The family and generational dynamics are interesting, although they make the match seem more like a business arrangement than a romance. It doesn't help that there's a strong instalove element here, the existing business operations for the heroine and hero require huge suspension of disbelief, and the characters are all upper class. An odd subplot about local conspiracy theorists and a more conventional subplot of local political shenanigans further dilutes the romance. There's an annoying hint of kink-shaming, and a prescient plot point concerning user data.

Overall, the story is well written, but there was too much going on for me to enjoy the romance.

[Nicoleta Deca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pierdut putin din farmecul primei parti dar ramane constanta in dialoguri amuzante si situatii comice.
Nunta lui Hannah Harte cu Rafe Madison a imbunatatit situatia, relatiile si comunicarea dintre familiile Harte si Madison dar inca mai exista mici animozitati intre veteranii familiei. La doar cateva luni dupa fericitul eveniment, sora Hannahei, Lilian, si fratele lui Rafe, Gabe,incep o relatie deloc comoda pentru multi din orasul lor. Directorul executiv Gabe Madison a insistat sa devina clientul agentiei matrimoniale a lui Lillian Harte, pentru a-si gasi sufletul-pereche. Dar Lilian constata dupa ce cinci intalniri pe care i le aranjeaza lui Gabe, ca el nu isi doreste o sotie ci doar o papuse casnica si pentru evenimente. Fiindca Gabe platise sase sedinte , si din cuza ca Lillian Harte isi inchide agentia pentru a se dedica unei pasiuni, ultima sedinta va fi satisfacuta cu greu dar cu o finalitate mai mult decat multumitoare, pentru cel care se presupunea, ca unica femeie care il putea satisface era jobul lui numit Madison Enterprise.

[Spinneretta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

The second book in the Eclipse Bay trilogy, tells the story behind the romance of Lilian Harte and Gabe Madison.
Lilian isn’t like the other members of the Harte family, although she is a successful businesswoman, she is ready to try to claim her dream of being a professional artist- if only she could get rid of the last client left from her matchmaking business.
Gabe Madison isn’t like the other Madisons- he thinks logically and his passion is his business. That being said, Lilian Harte still owes him a date.
When the Hartes and Madisons get together, fireworks always ensue, and this time is no different…

There is plenty of action and a little suspense, woven into this romance set in stormy eclipse bay, Oregon.
A hint of mystery, and of course a few appearances by everyone’s favourite conspiracy theorist, Arizona Snow, round out the story to make for an entertaining and enjoyable read.

Recommended for Krentz fans, and lovers of Romance and romantic suspense.

[Kathy Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Eclipse Bay series.

Lillian is in the process of shutting down her matchmaking business. The only problem is she has one client left - and he's a big problem. Gabe Madison won't take no for an answer when she tells him there's no one else left to give him a final date, as her business is now closed and she's going to Eclipse Bay to work on her passion - painting.

Gabe decides now is a good time to go to Eclipse Bay as well. He's not going to let Lillian out of his sight until he gets his last date. They keep the townsfolk's tongues waggling from one moment to the next. It doesn't help that his Grandfather tries to insert himself into Gabe's private life.

Another enjoyable book from Ms. Krentz. Though I am getting tired of the "You're/I'm a Harte/Madison" speel. It gets old very fast. Plus, the way Gabe's grandfather tries to stick his nose into things didn't set well with me. Probably cause I'd tell him to mind his own!

[Emilye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are You Really Sure You Want To Do This?

EclipseBay2

Lillian Harte runs a matchmaker service. A modern, logic based matchmaking service. It utilizes a computer program and questionnaire and everything. But she can’t match Gabriel Madison. And he doesn’t want a refund.

Given that Lillian has closed Perfect Arrangements, Gabe’s insistence on a sixth and final date, is hampered by her intuition that he lied on his questionnaire. Even when he talks her into several outings, which he insists don’t count as his final date, she wants an admission that he misrepresented himself.

Only when she tells him that the program never paired them, does he acknowledge that there may have been some less than clear responses. But his campaign to win fair maiden continues unabated. And it’s hilarious!

Don’t miss this trilogy!

[Betty Lambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really did enjoy this book. This is Lillian Harte and Gabe Madison's story. Gabe is very interested in Lillian but doesn't really know how to pursue her so comes up with the idea of signing up for Lillian's dating service . None of the matches she sets him up with go right and Lillian has decided to shut down her business, as she has decided to go with her passion, which is painting. Gabe is mad and demands his 6th date, even though she informs him that she has shut down the business. This is , in part, serious and also very funny . They have to deal with another person who has conspiracy theories all about Roswell, so quite funny in spots. They do like each other and seeing them come together is just so good. Highly recommend.

[Barbara Heintz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dawn in Eclipse Bay

Unfortunately, I didn’t read the first in the series before I picked this one up. Other than missing some family dynamics, it reads as a stand-alone.

Lilian Harte closes her lucrative dating service to be a full-time painter. Her family is appalled. They want her to step in to run the family business. Gabe Madison is a self-made workaholic who created an empire. He patterned his entire life after the Harte family and their massive holding. He’s ready to settle down and wants Lilian. But can she believe he wants her and not her company?

I listened to this on audio and enjoyed it. Easy to follow along.