Burned by the fraudulent behavior of a once-trusted business partner, Margot Pine has learned to guard her independence. She’s rebuilt her event management firm again from the ashes and protects her reputation with her life. So when priceless exhibition pieces are stolen from the function she’s running in Harbor’s Hope, and Margot becomes the chief suspect, she refuses to accept her fate this time. Teaming up with a handsome but reclusive widower, Evan, Margot sets out to solve the mystery of the missing art. She never expected to find love along the way—or even healing—but somehow the investigation brings clarity and peace. Christmas in July at Harbor’s Hope by Angie Tompkins is a beautiful and uplifting second-chance romance.

The strong mystery element in Christmas in July at Harbor’s Hope gives this romance a definite edge. I loved how fast-paced the plot is and Angie Tompkins’s exquisite attention to detail. The flawless character building made me ache for Margot's and Evan’s traumas, and I became very invested in their fates. The clever syntax is intentionally precise, packing a punch with two short clauses followed by a longer third. It creates a natural pitch and roll, like the movement of the harbor waves where the novel is set. The central theme is wholeness—of others and of self—and I enjoyed watching how the author teased this to fulfillment in all the characters, from Margot and Evan to Elaine. This was a thoroughly great read, and I loved it.

Christmas in July at Harbor’s Hope is the first book in the Coastal Fresh Start Romance series by Angie Tompkins. The story is set in a small North Carolina beach community. Margot Pine has been hired by the Evergreen Tide Resort to pull off a full-scale Christmas-in-July expo. She arrives with a clipboard, a healthy distrust of charm, and a checklist for everything. What her checklist did not have on it was Evan Cole, the quiet marina maintenance man who notices everything and says very little, or the one hundred and seventy thousand dollars’ worth of blown-glass ornaments that disappear from a locked display case during the expo. Margot and Evan find themselves chasing evidence down service corridors, through a detective's office, and along a sun-bleached boardwalk that neither of them expected to share. Will the trust they have built in the dark be strong enough to hold them together in the light?

Christmas in July at Harbor’s Hope by Angie Tompkins is a romance built on small details accumulating slowly and deliberately. Both Margot and Evan are burdened by their own emotional baggage of betrayal. The romance between Margot and Evan is built on one shared cup of dock-shed coffee at a time. When they finally hold on to each other, I could feel every inch of the distance they crossed to get there. The mystery subplot was satisfying, winding through vendor disputes and keycard logs, closing in on an antagonist whose desperation could be felt throughout the storyline. The parallel between Margot's David and Elaine's Caleb, two women undone by men who took what they needed and left the wreckage, gives the story a quiet emotional intelligence that lingered long after I turned the last page. The small-town community is vivid and came across as people I’d love to know more about. My favorite among the supporting characters would be Jolene, the housekeeper who kept the resort honest on caffeine and blunt truth, and Lou, the baker who handed out cinnamon stars the way other people offer prayers. This is a romance that feels earned, with a mystery that holds together, and a small town that gets under your skin.