Review: Island Haven By Amy Knupp

Mercedes Stone helps run the women's shelter named after her grandmother, she takes care of her sick grandmother, and basically is too busy to have much of a social life. When she takes on helping Gemma, a pregnant 17 year old who was kicked out by her mom, she never thinks it would lead her to Scott. Scott is Gemma’s half brother who isn’t happy to even see Gemma at his door, let alone some woman who has made it her mission to get Scott to allow Gemma to stay with him. 

Scott is a paramedic, but is leaving in less than a month and has no plans whatsoever on ever looking back. He is also rude and pretty much an asshole, especially after a night of drinking, which he does more and more these days. Mercedes doesn’t let anyone besides her grandmother get close to her, but for some reason she is attracted to Scott even when she doesn’t want to be.

I liked this book because instead of the book focusing mainly on Mercedes, the focus is on Scott as well, showing what he is going through and the emotional scars he has. Scott is not portrayed as Mr. Perfect, but more as Mr. I Am A Pain in the Ass But Worth It Once You Know The Real Me. I liked knowing Scott’s story more that Mercedes to be honest. Watching him slowly accept Gemma and start a very rocky relationship with her and helping her in my opinion is why I liked this book so much. He had to accept the past and learn how to let go of grudges and anger. I think the relationship he formed with his sister, Gemma, is the reason why he was able to. Scott also needed to work through the emotions that are a result of his job as a paramedic, especially when he lost a patient and took that loss especially hard.

Mercedes had her own issues to resolve, but in my opinion, she was selfish in a way. She resented her older sister and didn’t want her help in taking care of their grandmother. It was her way or no way at all. I kind of thought she needed to be knocked down a little from her pedestal and see the reality. It took her a while but she finally allowed Scott in and truly wanted to try with him. I was proud of how she worked things out with her sister as well, she finally opened up and let her in. In a way Mercedes and Scott helped not only themselves but each other at the same time.

While this book is part of a series, each book is a stand alone and can be read without needing to read the rest to understand what is going on. I look forward to reading more books in this series.