Saying I Do (Stewart Island #8)

Four years ago, MacKenna Jones interfered with Dr. Joe Whelan’s life. It broke Joe’s heart and earned MacKenna his disgust. Fast forward, four years later: MacKenna is making her cousin’s wedding dress. Her cousin is marrying Joe’s good friend so obviously they will bump into each other one way or another. But when a busybody makes it her mission to bring them together, the ‘animosity’ between MacKenna and Joe transforms into the attraction that has always simmered underneath. Both give in to the attraction and fall for each other. But just when Joe decides to ask the question, MacKenna leaves.

There’s something about Ms. Alvarez’ writing that makes one fall in love all over again! One is transported into the places described in the story – Stewart Island, Oban, Invercargill all the way to Las Vegas. The dialogue is as endearing as it is funny. Furthermore, this is a far cry from the billionaire-alpha-boyfriend romances that has dominated and flooded the market. The author makes Joe Whelan vulnerable. She makes him bleed. She makes him human enough that he transcends fiction. MacKenna is real too, with real fears and anxieties about committing to a relationship when most of the time, it is the male protagonist who is given this characteristic.

Anyone reading this novel will be enticed to read the rest of Ms. Alvarez’s novels, if only to become a part of the life and loves on Stewart Island.

M.P. Ceja