Book Review: Return to Qualicum Bay Cove Prequel Qualicum Bay Cove Sisterhood

Title: Return to Qualicum Bay Cove Prequel Qualicum Bay Cove Sisterhood

Author: Victoria Michaels

Date: 2022

Quote: "This inspirational romance series which explores divorce, discovery and renewing relationships shows the power of family and the bonds between sisters."

But this "prequel," Volume 0 in the series, doesn't show those things very much. It's about how the youngest sister, Morgan, made a mistake and kissed a snake. It all started when she acted on passion and flopped into bed before marriage. She and Drew fell in lust and married each other. Then he wanted her to drop out of school and work two jobs during the slow start of his business. Then her parents refused to give him her inheritance before they died. Then he was always out, working overtime and sleeping around.  Behind Morgan's back, he kept asking her parents to let him spend her inheritance until, out of concern for Morgan's future, they cut her out of the will. Morgan has no material inheritance, only a few souvenirs. Drew wants a divorce. And full custody of the children. To whom he says he's sending child support, but somehow he finds a way to recover the money from her account while her utilities are disconnected and the bank threatens to repossess her house.

But there's hope. Morgan finds a job in the town where her sisters inherited the beach resort, moves into a flat where her son and daughter get to share a room for the first time, and promptly meets a single man who's delighted to hear that she's going through the divorce process. 

Actually, because the first few chapters of this short novel have been so explicit about exactly what Drew and Morgan used to do while blissfully moaning the F-word (no, not F******k), there is some room for suspense about what's about to happen in Volume 1. Will the author try to convince us that Morgan can attract a decent man by flopping into bed with him too, or that Morgan has reformed, or at least smartened up, and will save the big flop until after the ceremony? This is not a sweet romance; it's the "adult contemporary" kind. F-bombs will probably pepper the rest of the series too.

If you enjoy reading, on multiple pages, about how babies are made, you'll enjoy this book. If you find yourself thinking irritably that all babies are made the same way, you may still be dealing with the shock of realizing that a geezer like Tim Walz was born after your cut-off date, which I imagine would make almost anyone temporarily asexual...oh, don't mind me. I'm just in a hurry to delete this book off my computer before all the references to body parts start attracting really disgusting ads. If you buy these books, you may want to hold out for printed copies.

Did I mention that the story is set on the west coast of Canada? It is. So that the east coast doesn't feel left out or anything, the nice guy Morgan meets is from Newfoundland.