Reviews – for The Harbor Pointe Series – Books 1 and 2

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I’m delighted to share my latest reviews, for the first two books in the Harbor Pointe Series: The Price of Atonement by Mae Clair and The Gift by Gwen M. Plano. There are eight books in this series of novellas, all by different authors and set in mysterious and remote Harbor Pointe in northern California.

I thoroughly enjoyed both these stories, and I’m looking forward to reading the entire series.

Book 1: The Price of Atonement – by Mae Clair

What Amazon Says

The Harbor Pointe Inn has loomed on California’s cliffs for generations of Hawthornes. For some, it’s been a blessing. For others, a curse. Travel through two centuries of stories to discover the old inn’s secrets.

Leviticus Sinclair has been a broken man since the murders of his wife and brother. Burdened by personal failures the night they were killed, he occupies himself by crossing the country, searching out departed spirits unwilling to move from this world to the next. His dead brother’s Bible and a pocket watch—forever frozen at the precise moment of his wife’s death—serve as grim reminders of a past he cannot exorcise.

Accompanied by Wyatt Resnick, a paid employee who fills the role of researcher and hired muscle, Leviticus arrives at the Harbor Pointe Inn amid rumors of a vengeful ghost. A phantom who may be the single spirit he has long sought, one capable of freeing him from his torment.

Set in the remote Pacific Northwest of 1887, The Price of Atonement is a story of jealousy, guilt, and one man’s relentless quest for absolution.

My Review

5 Stars – A dramatic ghost story

This is the first book in the Harbor Pointe Series, and a superb way to start. It’s an engrossing ghost story that kept me turning the pages right to the end. Leviticus and his assistant, mysterious ghost hunters, arrive at Harbor Pointe Inn in 1887 to investigate rumours of a very agitated and vengeful phantom. Leviticus’s own tragic story is slowly revealed as the frightening and dramatic tale unfolds.

The author has skilfully woven a story with perfect pacing, so it’s easy to become engrossed in the ghost’s tragic tale. I felt great sympathy for every character, even though some of them had done terrible things. I do think this is one of the best ghost stories I’ve ever read, and the ending is both surprising and deeply satisfying. I’ve deliberately avoided revealing too much, so as not to spoil it.

I give this story a resounding 5 stars.

About the Author

A member of the International Thriller Writers, Mae Clair is also a founding member and contributor to the award-winning writing blog, Story Empire. She has achieved bestseller status on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble, with several of her novels chosen as book club selections.

Mae writes primarily in the mystery/suspense genre, flavoring her plots with elements of urban legend and folklore. Married to her high school sweetheart, she lives in Pennsylvania and is passionate about cryptozoology, old photographs, a good Maine lobster tail, and cats.

Discover more about Mae on her website and blog at MaeClair.com

See all her books HERE

Book 2: The Gift by Gwen M. Plano

What Amazon Says

The Harbor Pointe Inn has loomed on California’s cliffs for generations of Hawthornes. For some, it’s been a blessing. For others, a curse. Travel through two centuries of stories to discover the old inn’s secrets.

In an innocent 1958 American suburb, Shelly doesn’t know the power of a kiss. Or how it will change her entire life.

At sixteen years old, she falls in love with a young man. One night—just one night—they go too far. Months later, pregnant and shamed, Shelly’s parents banish her.

Alone and heavily pregnant, circumstances force Shelly to cross the country in an old pickup.

A mistaken turn leaves her lost in a forest amidst a severe snow storm and in labor.
In the dark of night. Shelly must get help for her new-born baby before they both perish. A light in the distance gives her the slimmest glimmer of hope.

After Shelly wraps the infant in her father’s old jacket, she trudges through the snow to a lighthouse keeper’s cottage. Snow half buries the squat stone building.

Will Shelly find shelter, or is it the beginning of the end?

My Review

5 Stars – A heartwarming story

This is a fascinating series, eight standalone books by different authors set in the Harbor Pointe Inn and Lighthouse. The Gift is a very enjoyable addition to the series, a heart-warming story about love.

In the late 1950’s, sixteen-year-old Shelley, who is heavily pregnant, is forced to leave home and drive across the country to stay with an aunt in northern California. But a snowstorm sets in, and she runs out of gas in her father’s old truck – just near Harbor Pointe Lighthouse.

Rescued by Jesse and Mary, the lighthouse keepers, she gives birth and her life takes a new turn. There is a frightening and sombre mood at first, but this slowly changes. Mary shares her own tragedy from the past, and this is interwoven into the story. Surprises keep coming, which kept me turning the pages.

This is a wonderful feel-good story about how love and kindness can transform lives, and there is a very satisfying ending. My smile lasted long after I finished reading.

About the Author

Gwen M. Plano, aka Gwendolyn M. Plano, grew up in Southern California and spent most of her professional life in higher education. She taught and served as an administrator in colleges in Japan, New York, Connecticut, and California. Gwen’s academic background is in theology and counseling. Recently retired, she now lives in the high desert of Arizona, where she writes, gardens, and travels with her husband.

Gwen’s first book is an acclaimed memoir, Letting Go into Perfect Love. Her second book, The Contract between heaven and earth, is a thriller fiction novel, co-authored by John W. Howell. It has received multiple awards and is an Amazon Best Seller. The Choice, the unexpected heroes is the sequel to The Contract. It is also a thriller, involving the attempt of an unfriendly nation to take over the world. The third book in the series, The Culmination, a new beginning is an action-packed military thriller that spans the globe and involves multiple Heads of State and the threat of World War III. Only love can change the fate of humanity.

When Gwen is not writing, she’s often in the beautiful Red Rocks of Sedona, where she finds inspiration.

See all her books HERE

Thank you for stopping by. My name is Toni Pike, a multi-genre author who loves writing thrillers for adults, non-fiction, and hilarious books for children.

I’m the author of LINDA’S MIDLIFE CRISIS, DESOLATION BLUFF, DEAD DRY HEART and The Jotham Fletcher Mystery Thriller Series: THE MAGUS COVENANT, THE ROCK OF MAGUS, THE MAGUS EPIPHANY and HOLY SPEAR OF MAGUS.

The Brody Cody Series is for children aged 6-9: BRODY CODY AND THE STEPMOTHER FROM OUTER SPACE and BRODY CODY AND THE HAUNTED VACATION HOUSE.

I’m also the author of two non-fiction books. THE ONE WAY DIET is a no-nonsense guide to losing weight and HAPPY TRAVELS 101 is a short book of travel tips.

All my books can be found HERE.

You can find me online here:

Website: tonipike.com

Amazon author page: Toni Pike

Instagram: @authorlovestravel  – Sharing my travel photos from around the world

Facebook: Toni Pike – Author

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Twitter:  @piketoni1

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Email: authortoni.pike@gmail.com

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44 thoughts on “Reviews – for The Harbor Pointe Series – Books 1 and 2”

  1. petespringerauthor

    I got rolling on this series after reading the first two and have now read all eight. It’s fun to look back and compare others thoughts with my own. I thought it was an excellent idea to tie all of the novellas around the same setting. Though Harbor Pointe is a fictional place, we live in this exact environment.

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