Book Reviews | The Inn at Eagle Point, by Sherryl Woods

Are You Ready For Your New Favourite Book Series?

A picturesque small town, an endearing family, and 14 books: I’m ready for Chesapeake Shores to be my new favourite romance book series

If you're into cosy, heart-warming, light and delightful romances, you just found your next read: The Inn at Eagle Point.

This book has all the essential ingredients of a good romance: an adorable couple, realistic and imperfect characters, a lovely town, and, of course, a bunch of challenges to overcome.

The Story

Abby is the eldest of five siblings. She grew up on Chesapeake Shores, the community her father, Mick O'Brien, built himself.

The place didn't have the same allure, though, after her mother left the family and the town when Abby was only 17. Sure, she wasn't a child anymore, but it hurt all the same. And it was worse for her little sister, Jess, who was only seven.

Abby moved to New York right after graduating college to pursue her dream of making a name for herself in the financial world. Not even the romance with Trace stopped her from leaving everything behind.

Now, ten years later, Abby returns to Chesapeake Shores to help her sister Jess, who is in financial trouble with her new inn.

“Trace was feeling very pleased with himself over his strategy to keep Abby around where he could get to know her again.” — The Inn at Eagle Point, by Sherryl Woods

Abby didn't expect to see Trace working at the bank, directly involved with the inn's problems, and scheming to have her stay in town for longer than she planned. What she expected even less were those feelings that started stirring inside her.

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Like a Warm Hug

The Inn at Eagle Point feels like a warm hug. It's one of those stories that are delicious to read and give you all the good vibes.

I knew what to expect when I started reading this book. That's because I binge-watched the Hallmark series on Netflix a few years ago. Meghan Ory is Abby, Diane Ladd plays the family grandmother, and Treat Williams plays Mick O'Brien.

I fell in love with the O'Brien family and with Chesapeake Shores! The TV show is a lighthearted, make-you-feel-good kind of story. If you haven't watched it, I highly recommend it too.

Of course, that's what I expected from The Inn at Eagle Point. And it didn't disappoint at all.

The book is the first in the 14 book series. I'm not sure if all the stories will follow a member of the O'Brien family, or if other people from town will figure in future instalments.

Either way, I look forward to reading more adventures in Chesapeake Shores. I love Sherryl Woords writing, and even more importantly, I love her plot-building and character-construction.

The Inn At Eagle Point follows the life of Abby O'Brien. It also introduces us to Chesapeake Shores, the town, and some of the other family members, including Mick, the father; Meghan, the mother; and Jess, the troublesome young sister.

I love how the characters in the book aren't perfect. Abby and Trace have their shortcomings… and not even Abby's twin girls, who are only five, get through the book without making their own mistakes.

Fallible characters are a must for a book to take place in my heart. They don't need to be a whole bag of problems — I've never been attracted to a bad boy in my entire life. But I love characters that could be real. I find it easier to love them, hate them, and relate to them and their stories.

Abby and Trace's love story isn't the perfect love at first sight, we're made for each other kind of fairy tale. But it's still a beautiful story of mistakes, misunderstandings and re-connecting after long years.

Although this book doesn't go into too much detail about the other characters' lives, we do get a lovely secondary story with Jess and her parents. A hint about the parents rekindling their love in a future novel, and a first encounter with Brie, the protagonist in the next book.

It's Not All Flowers

A few passages bothered me in this book.

“You were following a dream, though why you thought working yourself to death was more important than a man like Trace is beyond me.” — The Inn at Eagle Point, by Sherryl Woods

When Jess said that to Abby, it broke my heart. Because your dreams should always come before a man (or woman!). No relationship is perfect, and no relationship is more important than the one you have with yourself.

It doesn't mean Abby handled the situation the best way it could've been done. But I find the implication that her relationship with this guy should take priority over what she wanted for her own life quite sad.

The second passage that had my blood boiling was this one:

“’Just a small house salad,’ she said with a sigh. ‘Come on now,’ he coaxed. ‘When was the last time you had a big, juicy burger? With the twins starting to feel better, you’ll work it off in no time,’ he said, then quickly amended, ‘Not that you have anything to worry about in the first place. You look as good as you did ten years ago. Better, in fact. Though you were beautiful then.’” — The Inn at Eagle Point, by Sherryl Wood

Perhaps you won't even see any trouble with this… after all, it's a lighthearted comment, with some funny attempts to conceal his blunder.

But it really annoys me. Abby can have (or should have) a burger, but only because she looks good. This idea that a woman must look good, but also be a good sport and eat whatever irks me. So if you don't have a good body, it's your own fault for eating that burger. But if you decide to go for a salad, how boring are you?

I've struggled with body image and eating habits my whole life. So whenever it's part of a story, it can trigger me. Luckily, this isn't a big part of this story, it was just this altercation that was even dressed with some humour. But I couldn't let it go without a comment…

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised at how sensitive this book is. I find that romances are generally quite sexist and can be even a little demeaning towards women. But The Inn at Eagle Point didn't follow the beaten path.

Meghan, the O'Brien family's mother, left her five kids in Chesapeake Shores to live in New York. And although the book doesn't excuse her for her mistakes, it also doesn't blame her for everything. In fact, the story brings up a lot of nuance in what happened when she made the hard decision to uplift her life and leave her husband and kids.

And although I wasn't impressed by the two passages I shared earlier, I'm happy enough with the prevailing tone of the book.

I Want More!

I'm in love with this series. Because of the tv show, I have some expectations for the following stories. The first book has already warned me that there will be differences, but I'm still looking forward to meeting all the characters yet to appear.

The Inn at Eagle Point is a lighthearted romance that will introduce you to the Chesapeake Shores series and make you eager to read about the O'Briens and their lives. I can't wait to read the next one.

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