Stranded in Starlight Cove (Starlight Cove #0.5) by Brighton Walsh

 

Quick Word: I am so sorry for my readers that I haven't posted anything lately. I decided it would be fun to fall in a small hole at a wedding. A wedding where I was a guest and not only that everyone saw me fall. Let's top that and also say that my dress went flying up (thank god I wore biker shorts) and I also broke my ankle this fall. 

I've been avoiding my best friend's little sister for three long years because I shouldn't be attracted to a woman a decade my junior. But when she calls and begs me to bail her out of another one of her disasters, I drop everything to rescue her. I spend way too much on a last minute plane ticket to Starlight Cove, Maine, with nothing on my mind but getting her butt safely back to Havenbrook as soon as possible. At least until I arrive and realize I'm trapped right along with her. And now I have to figure out how to avoid the one woman I'm not supposed to want while we're stuck in a tiny cottage that has only one bed. Stranded in Starlight by Brighton Walsh was published on January 1st, 2023. This is a novella that is right at the beginning of the Starlight Cove series. 

I was so lucky to see that Brighton Walsh made this book free to some on her newsletter awhile back. I didn't realize that I missed a book from the Starlight Cove series. So let's talk about this book, this book made me giggle so much. I loved how the characters from the other books make their appearance. Of course it's before the characters meet their someone special. So they are their cranky selves in this book. Though, I miss some other side characters but it was easy to overlook. I absolutely loved the two characters in this book. Brighton Walsh knows how to create characters that feel so rounded that I feel like they could be in the same room as me. They both have faults but they also both show their growth in this book. Also even though the book is short I didn't feel like the relationship between the FMC and the MMC was rushed as you read the backstory of them through the book. I really wish that Brighton, would have had this book be a full size book instead of a Novella. I really want to see what happens when they get back to Havenbrook. But alas she only shows us what happens when they are in Starlight Cove. I highly recommend checking out this amazing book. 

Starlight Cove Series 

0.5: Stranded in Starlight Cove 

1: Defiant Heart 

2: Protective Heart 

3: Fearless Heart 

4: Reckless Heart 

5: Possessive Heart 

6: Rebel Heart 

Tropes 

Age-Gap

Small Town 

Brothers Best Friend 

Friends to Lovers 

Forced Proximity 

The Mr & Mrs Mistake (Steel Brothers of Starlight Cove #3) by Brighton Walsh

 

My best friend's little sister has been getting under my skin for decades. She's my lifelong nemesis and now - apparently - my wife. When Willa Jameson stumbled into my bar drunk, heartbroken, and desperate to save her family farm, I offered to marry her. For "Convenience." Which is hilarious, because nothing about my attraction to this hurricane with hips has been convenient. Now we're sharing a roof, a bed, a potential felony thanks to our fake marriage. It's supposed to be a favor between not-quite-but-not-quite-enemies. Then our late-night arguments turn into practice make out sessions. But according to her, that changes absolutely nothing between us. No matter how many lines we draw, we keep crossing them - in the kitchen, on the porch, in the tiny bed that's become both heaven and hell. And the woman who swears she hates me starts looking at me like I might be exactly what she needs. She calls me her temporary husband. I call her my daily torture, because every day we play house, it feels less like pretending and more like home. When this ends, I don't know how i'm going to forget what it felt like to call her mine. So either I walk away with her, or I don't walk away at all. The Mr & Mrs Mistake by Brighton Walsh will be published on January 1st, 2026. This is the third book in the Steel Brothers of Starlight Cove Series. 

I was so excited to receive this advance copy for my honest review from Brighton Walsh and The Smuthood. That being said, I read this book within a day as I could not put it down. That is saying something when I received it right after Christmas. I absolutely loved the first two books of this series and I absolutely loved the other books that are based in Starlight Cove. I mean can we all have a small town that must have something in their water to have all these alpha males that live there. I have to say that I loved this book so much. I could not stop sharing quotes that I read through this book. Let me talk to you about Willa. Willa acts strong and that she doesn't need help from those around her. When in reality she suffers daily pain from her body betraying her. I felt for her right off the bat as I myself suffer from daily pain. I was born with arthritis so my life is full of pain. I could feel her independence in this book and most likely thinking that no one wants to be with her because of her pain. So she has to take care of herself. Let me tell you Brighton wrote Willa perfectly and I cried at the way Lincoln took care of her. It reminded me of my husband forcing me to take a step back at times when I am in a ton of pain. It really shows how much he cares for her throughout the book. I loved the characters in this book and I love how the drama in the book was not really over the top. This book had me laughing, crying, and giggling. The plot in this story never felt like a bore as it went up and down perfect flow. I highly recommend this book because I absolutely loved it from the first page to the last page. I cannot wait for Declan to get his own book. 

Quotes that I Loved 

"I mean, getting married isn't the only way to make you a family. I could also do what your latest book boyfriend excelled at and breed you..." 

"If I stay here another second, I'll stab you with that fork."
"Ohhh...fork play. I didn't read about that in Bred by the Moonlight, but I'm up for trying anything with you." 

"You're anything but weak, hellcat. You deal with unimaginable pain every day and just go about your life as usual. What you are, though, is so goddamn stubborn that you'd rather crawl across broken glass than admit you need help." 

"You taste like my wife." 

Steel Brothers of Starlight Cove Series 

1. The Grump Next Door

2. The Live-In Temptation

3. The Mr & Mrs Mistake

4. The Roommate Rules

5. The One-Night Secret

Tropes

Marriage of Convenience

Enemies to Lovers

Forced Proximity

Small Town

Brothers Best Friend

He Falls First 

Grumpy/Sunshine