Hauntfest at Harbor’s Hope by Angie Tompkins showcases a delightful small-town vibe. Cass has returned home to her late grandmother’s house, and Jeff is a detective with the local sheriff’s office. Both struggle with isolation, trying to find a foothold in their community, but their shared passion for detail has already turned them into unintentional adversaries. So when Cass is given the honor of organizing Hauntfest, she’s dismayed to discover that Jeff has been assigned to handle festival security. Their inevitable clash is only stalled by the strangeness surrounding Cass’s designated lantern walk route. An eerie light appears in the upstairs window of a boathouse with a sad and contentious history. Markers move, and vandalism nearly injures Cass at the worst possible moment. Calamity throws Cass and Jeff together as they race to solve the mystery before Hauntfest is destroyed—and in the process, they discover an attraction with more power than even the town’s checkered past.

Hauntfest at Harbor’s Hope is a lovely read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Angie Tompkins crafts driven characters with great depth and sensitivity. Cass is someone I recognized as wounded and buttoned up, afraid to share her hopes and dreams with anyone. Jeff is a slow-burning flame with a tendency to spark at the wrong moments. Cass trusted him once, and he let her down, and I loved how that fact permeated their growing attraction as a constant, seemingly insurmountable wall. The novel’s dominant theme is trust, presented not only in Cass and Jeff’s relationship but also in the damage experienced by Theo and his family during the tour he witnessed as a boy. The fallout from broken trust has created friction between Cass and Jeff and also fueled Theo’s obsession with the truth. I loved the description of Harbor’s Hope and the introduction to its colorful inhabitants.

A decades-old secret comes to light during preparations for a community event in the sweet romance novel, Hauntfest at Harbor’s Hope: A Coastal Fresh Start Romance by Angie Tompkins. While rehearsing for a walking tour for Hauntfest, Cass and her colleagues are stunned when a light shines from a window in the old boathouse. The mysterious circumstances are a cause for concern for the event coordinators. To maintain a safe environment for the tour’s guests, Cass and Jeff, the local law enforcement, must team up to uncover the culprits behind the strange happenings. Despite their rocky history, Cass and Jeff set aside their differences to investigate the mystery behind the odd occurrences and inadvertently discover a shocking secret. Will this new development change the course of the event?
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Written in the style of a cozy novel with a hint of mystery, Hauntfest at Harbor’s Hope by Angie Tompkins is a delightful sweet romance. From the first page, the plot is very detailed as the story unfolds around the preparations for a community event. The underlying mystery subplot is quietly woven into the storyline, allowing the relationship between the two main characters, Cass and Jeff, to evolve naturally. The remaining characters are so fully woven into the storyline’s central theme that they are a substantial part of the setting and background story. This easy-to-read, quaint story, with its idyllic harbor backdrop and interesting residents, has the perfect atmosphere that promises to charm those who love light romance reads.