Earlier this month, Angie Tompkins introduced us to Christmas in July at Harbor’s Hope, her clean coastal romance about Margot, Evan, and a summer festival in trouble. Today, she is taking us back to the celebration that came first.
Before the Ornaments, There Were Wishes
One of my favorite things about writing a series is discovering what happened just before the first book began.
In A Summer Wish at Harbor’s Hope, Lacey Morgan has recently returned home and is trying to prove herself at Evergreen Tide Resort. Ben Carter is restoring the wooden Wish Boat his late father built years earlier. Their shared history is complicated, but neither of them has time to avoid the other when 114 handwritten wishes disappear hours before the resort’s first Wish Upon the Harbor ceremony.
Here is where their story begins:
The wishes were gone.
Lacey Morgan stood beside the empty cedar box in the Evergreen Tide Resort lobby and tried to think of one explanation that did not end with her being fired before lunch.
There should have been one hundred and fourteen cards inside. One hundred and fourteen hopes written by guests, staff and half the town of Harbor’s Hope in silver ink on blue paper stars. At sunset, those stars would be clipped inside the clear sails of the Wish Boat, the wooden display boat sitting at the end of the pier for the resort’s first Wish Upon the Harbor weekend.
Instead, the lid stood open.
A single piece of blue twine hung over the edge.
“Please tell me you took them for the ceremony.”
Jolene Watts came out of the service hall carrying fresh guest towels against one hip. She looked at the box. Then at Lacey.
“I take linens,” Jolene told her. “Not wishes.”
“Someone did.”
Lacey looked down. The small brass lock hung closed through the latch, neat as could be.
The latch itself had been unscrewed from the wood.
The missing cards force Lacey and Ben to work together as a storm moves toward the harbor. Along the way, they must decide whether some hopes deserve a second chance, even after ten years.
A Summer Wish at Harbor’s Hope is a complete prequel romance and a free introduction to the Harbor’s Hope series. Its final scene leads directly into Margot and Evan’s story in Christmas in July at Harbor’s Hope.
Get the free prequel and visit Harbor’s Hope
About Angie Tompkins: Angie writes clean contemporary romance about faith, friendship, family, and second chances. Her Harbor’s Hope stories offer sea air, seasonal celebrations, and a warm place to land.