Audiobook Review - The Inn at Rose Harbor: A Novel by Debbie Macomber

Nothing helps the housework loathing part of myself get things done like listening to a good audiobook...in my hunt for a book to take me away, I found "The Inn at Rose Harbor" by Debbie Macomber.  I downloaded this from my public library via the Overdrive App on my Kindle.

The Inn at Rose Harbor - A Novel
Author:  Debbie Macomber
Reader:  Lorelei King
Random House Audio

About the book (from Goodreads): 
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber comes a heartwarming new series based in the Pacific Northwest town of Cedar Cove, where a charming cast of characters finds love, forgiveness, and renewal behind the doors of the cozy Rose Harbor Inn.

Jo Marie Rose first arrives in Cedar Cove seeking a sense of peace and a fresh start. Coping with the death of her husband, she purchases a local bed-and-breakfast—the newly christened Rose Harbor Inn—ready to begin her life anew. Yet the inn holds more surprises than Jo Marie can imagine.

Her first guest is Joshua Weaver, who has come home to care for his ailing stepfather. The two have never seen eye to eye, and Joshua has little hope that they can reconcile their differences. But a long-lost acquaintance from Joshua’s high school days proves to him that forgiveness is never out of reach and love can bloom even where it’s least expected.  

The other guest is Abby Kincaid, who has returned to Cedar Cove to attend her brother’s wedding. Back for the first time in twenty years, she almost wishes she hadn’t come, the picturesque town harboring painful memories from her past. And while Abby reconnects with family and old friends, she realizes she can only move on if she truly allows herself to let go.

A touching novel of life’s grand possibilities and the heart’s ability to heal, The Inn at Rose Harbor is a welcome introduction to an unforgettable set of friends.


From the Hardcover edition.

My Review:  Can a story truly inspire a feeling of coziness and warmth?  Yes.  Within moments of beginning "The Inn at Rose Harbor," I felt as if I was walking into my very own dream.  I don't know if it is true for many, but I have often fantasized about living and running a small B&B in a coastal town.  "The Inn at  Rose Harbor" vividly opened that dream back up in its pages, and I delighted in the escape from my own reality into a place where I lived that dream along with the character Jo Marie Rose. 

Jo Marie Rose is a new widow who is finding healing in embarking on her own dream and also being a part, a gentle part, of healing for her two guests at Rose Harbor Inn, and perhaps some of the town's people as well.  There is a gentleness and sincerity captured in her that is so completely real, I had no trouble picturing Jo Marie and believing everything that she feels and does.  This is something I like about all the characters.  They are flawed indeed, but there is hope there, and not one change happens that does not make sense to the character or the story. 

I look forward to seeing how lives and hearts will be changed with the other visitors to Rose Harbor Inn.  I also am excited to see Jo Marie's plans for this Inn come to fruition, and also seeing how this place will continue to provide strength and healing to Jo Marie as well.  This is a series that I look forward to returning to again and again.  It is nice walking away from a story simply feeling refreshed and hopeful.


I do want to share that  I have not read any of the Cedar Cove books, so this was my first experience walking through the town, enjoying the sites and the smells of the streets, the eateries, and the characters that populate this town that has a magical quality.  I am delighted that this is my first foray into Cedar Cove, because that means there are lots of treasures to find in novels also based in this town.

Production Review:  As I listened to the audiobook, I would also like to comment on production.  It was very well done.  A good reader is so important to an audiobook.  Vital really.  I have stopped listening to more than one audiobook (from favorite authors) because the reader was distracting or simply had a grating voice) Lorelei King perfectly voiced Jo Marie and captured the emotion of the story.  She is a skillful reader, and I hope that I will find her involved with other books that I listen to.


I received this audiobook on loan through the Overdrive app and my public library.