As a stand-alone book, it was lacking, but it was good because it finished unresolved issues from the first two books.THE SERIES:The Chesapeake Bay series includes four books which tell a continuing story about a family. Ray and Stella Quinn adopt three troubled boys who came from abusive homes. In the first three books the boys are about 30 years old. They left home, have good jobs and are single. Stella died several years earlier. In the beginning of the first book Ray took in another boy, 10-year-old Seth, who was abused by his mother Gloria. Gloria offered to give legal guardianship to Ray in return for a large sum of money. Before anything was official, Ray died in a car accident. Shortly before he died, he asked his three sons to move back home to take care of Seth. All three men promised they would. They decide to start a boat building business. In the first three books each of the three men meets and falls in love with a woman. The fourth book tells the story of Seth, who is grown, returns home and falls in love. The best parts of the first three books are watching the developing relationships among Seth and the three men and seeing Seth blossom. Each book has a minor amount of fantasy due to some conversations with a ghost. The four books, main characters, and my ratings are:Sea Swept (Cameron and Anna) 4 starsRising Tides (Ethan and Grace) 3 starsInner Harbor (Phillip and Sybill) 3 starsChesapeake Blue (Seth and Dru) 2.5 starsSTORY BRIEF (Inner Harbor, Book 3):Phillip’s mother was a stripper and prostitute. Phillip survived by stealing, using drugs and sometimes selling himself. At age 13, he was shot in gang crossfire and nearly died. Ray and Stella discovered him in the hospital and took him home. Due to their love and environment, he changed and thrived. He is now a successful advertising executive in Baltimore. He dresses well, drinks fine wines and eats healthy. During his three-day weekends, he handles administrative details, legal issues and paperwork for the brothers’ boat building business, as well as some of the sweaty carpentry work.Dr. Sybill Griffin has made a career out of the study of urban life and has published two books. She has degrees in anthropology, sociology and psychology. She comes to Chesapeake Bay to observe and study small town life for her next book. However, the reader soon learns that she chose Chesapeake Bay because of Seth. She purposely meets the brothers and finds that Phillip is attracted to her. She begins a relationship with him in order to be closer to and learn about Seth. Gloria (Seth’s mother) returns to the area. Gloria has a bigger role in this book than in the previous two books.REVIEWER’S OPINION:This was ok, but I couldn’t get into the characters. They were good as supporting characters in the Seth story and for the series, but the story about their relationship wasn’t as good as I’d hoped. They each were wounded in the past in different ways. Now they are smooth and polished. I didn’t see how they grew to love each other. They were sort of thrown together, and then they have sex because they are physically attracted to each other. The value of this book is learning about Gloria and seeing some of her actions. It finishes some of the unresolved issues from the first two books. So it’s worthwhile in that way.DATA:Story length: 238 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: 3. Total number of sex scene pages: 7. Setting: current day Chesapeake Bay area and Baltimore, Maryland. Copyright: 1999. Genre: contemporary romance with fantasy.OTHER BOOKS:For a list of my reviews of other Nora Roberts and J.D. Robb books, see my 4.5 star review of "Angels Fall" posted on 6-30-08.
Of the 4 Chesapeake Bay / Quinn books, this one is my least favorite. Not because it's a bad book. It's really not. But just because of a matter of personal tastes.Inner Harbor features Phillip Quinn, the 3rd troubled boy taken in by Stella and Ray Quinn when he was a teenager. Before they'd rescued him in, he'd been a street thug who ended up with bullets in his chest in a drive-by shooting. But Ray and Stella changed his life, gave him a future. When Ray died and Seth became partially his responsibility, Phillip's world was turned completely upside down. Part of him resented Seth for causing so many changes, but his duty to his family, and his love for them, keeps him doing what he knows he should do. And when Sybill arrives on the scene, things get even more confusing.Of the three original Quinn brothers, Phillip is my least favorite. This is where the thing about personal tastes comes in. Phillip just wasn't my type of hero. Despite how he spent his early years and that he's still got a rough edge, Phillip is now the type who wears fancy clothes and shoes, has a wine collection, and has an elegant apartment. I just don't care for the spit & polish, suit-wearing CEO types. So I had a hard time engaging with Phillip throughout the story. Plus, he kind of annoyed me at times because even though he loved his family and would do anything for them, he was always grumbling about helping with the boat building business or doing errands and chores. He was the only one of the three who never really seemed to settle into the changes that Seth brought about. Which made him seem a little bit less than they were.I also found Sybill irritating at times. She analyzed EVERYTHING and I wanted to tell her to shut up more than once. Essentially, I liked her, but I can't say she is a favorite character of mine. If it hadn't been for the continuing story of Seth and the overall tale of the Quinn brothers, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed this book nearly as much. But I did really love Seth's progressing story. This book brings in a number of new developments that really enhance the story. And it's just really touching to see Seth become so comfortable in his surroundings, to grow to trust his new family. He's a character that just really sticks with you.Overall, reading about the Quinn family is such a treat. Nora Roberts takes 2 do-gooders and a bunch of misfits and turns them into the poster-children for great families. It's a wonderful dynamic to read about how 3 lost boys lives were changed and improved by the luck of fate. How they developed a bond that surpasses familial-blood and lasts through their entire lives. And then to read about them finding their soulmates...it's sigh-worthy. They're a very memorable group of characters.For those of you who love reading about classic romance, and about families, then you should read this set of books.
What do You think about Inner Harbor (1999)?
The series as a whole wasn't too bad. Typical Nora Roberts. Phillip was by far my favorite brother and I could relate to Sybil's desire to please her family but I just didn't feel the romance between them; not, at least, the way I did with Cameron and Anna. Phillip and Sybil just seemed forced. Sure, he thought she was different because she didn't fall at his feet. I could even buy that he may have also felt protective. But love? I don't know. By his own admission, he said he hadn't been with a woman since Seth came and even slightly resented Cam and Ethan having "sex on the regular". To me, it was too convenient. If it were one of my friends, I'd say it was all lust and wouldn't last the long haul. For Phillip, as intelligent and sly as he is, I expected more of a dance.
—Chateaux B's
I loved every moment of it. The characters are real. They are not stupid. They have problems. They deal with them.This book was very emotional especially that Gloria is active here more than ever.My favorite moment was at Seth's Birthday, when he finally remembered his aunt. I've been waiting for this moment since I knew he spent some time with her at the age of four. I honestly wept. My tears dropped when he started talking about the picture of the vase and they stopped when Syb was driven to her hotel.My second favorite was when Syb hit Gloria which lead to Seth hugging her.This story went the way it should.Even though I love Cam and Ethan, I have to say, Phil is the one I prefer even if he needed a good punch for his unjustified anger toward Syb the next day of Seth's birthday. It is a good thing Cam knows how to point out his wrongs.A beautiful book. A lovely read. A romance and a story line that are quite attractive. Enjoy it!
—Rita Kayla
I was really into the romance at the beginning. Phillip and Sybill just worked for me; their dynamic and the way their jobs and lives kind of seemed to fit together and complemented each other. But then it all kind of fell apart right around the time Sybill's true identity came out. I wish that had been handled differently. A lot differently.If these books had just been about the three brothers and how the Quinns took them in at an early age and now they're all grown up, etc. etc., I would've loved them a lot more. It's not that I disliked Seth, but I didn't care for the entire storyline surrounding him all that much. The question of his parentage and the threatening biological mother was not something I was particularly into. I would've been maybe, if it had just been one book that dealt with it, instead of that storyline being spread out over all three books.However, I did like that aspect of the books a lot more here than in the previous two. Maybe because that part finally came to a conclusion.
—Cathy
