Hope Harbor is a peaceful, enjoyable setting to be thrust into. The small town is friendly and calm, with residents who can be slightly quirky at times. Maybe because this is one of the last books in the series, though, I wished the author could have let me experience more of this charming place. Kat is somewhat of a recluse and Zach doesn't have all that many friends, so their POVs tended to be just them a lot of the time at home, or of them together. I wanted to see the more of the townspeople, but again, perhaps I was disappointed because this is book 7 and the town's personality has already been established in previous books. 

I was interested to see how everything would work out between Zach and Kat. What do you do if your dreams are pulling you in opposite directions? However, there's hesitancy in much of the story, at least in the first half- Zach wants to get to know Kat, Kat tries to avoid him. I got a bit bored, to be honest. The last half of the book did pick up a bit, but still, it took me much longer than normal to finish this novel. 

If I sound uncertain in this review, that's because I am. While I didn't exactly love the story, there were some good parts- like Charlie. I liked him, and was slightly confused by him at the same time. The pastor and priest were pretty cool characters, too. I just didn't connect with the rest of the story- but perhaps readers who have enjoyed this series for years (or who don't mind a slow pacing) would disagree with me. Reading the previous books might also knock down some of the reservations I had about this book.

One positive thing I do have to say- I am a pastry and baking student and absolutely DESPISE tempering chocolate, so much respect for Kat's chocolatiering skills!