Today for Fiction Friday I’m sharing my book recommendation for Harbor Pointe by Irene Hannon, the latest contemporary romance novel in her Hope Harbor series that’s releasing April 7, 2026.
Here’s the Book Description:
When life throws you off pointe, love helps you find your balance.
As a principal dancer with a prestigious New York ballet company, Devyn Lee is far from her hometown of Hope Harbor on the Oregon coast. But when a family emergency compels her to return, her visit turns into an extended stay after complications arise.
Widowed mill worker Aaron Steele pays no attention to the buzz in Hope Harbor about the famous dancer in town. Until his grieving nine-year-old daughter takes a fancy to Devyn after she agrees to help with a fundraising show for a local charity in which the young girl is performing. As the show–and Devyn–begin to lift his daughter’s spirits, his own life is brightened by the beautiful ballerina as she slowly but surely captures his heart.
But what are the odds that such an accomplished, polished woman from the city could ever fall for a small-town lumberman with two left feet?
Come home to Hope Harbor–where hearts heal . . . and love blooms.
Narelle’s Thoughts:
I enjoyed reading Harbor Pointe, book 12 in Irene Hannon’s Hope Harbor contemporary romance series set on the Oregon Coast. Devyn left Hope Harbor with her mother when she was twelve to pursue a professional ballet career. She’s a principal dancer based in NYC and hasn’t seen her sister since their father’s funeral more than a decade earlier.
Devyn is surprised when she’s contacted by the hospital in Hope Harbor because she’s her sister’s next of kin. She returns to her hometown to assist her sister who’s in a coma.
Aaron is a single dad with a nine-year-old daughter who works as a mill supervisor. His marriage was strained before his wife unexpectedly passed away almost a year ago.
Aaron and Devyn are strangers who notice each other from afar before they officially meet at the Oklahoma musical theatre fundraiser production that’s being held in a church hall. Their delightful romance is low key in the early part of the story.
The ensemble cast of quirky characters adds small town charm. I loved the subplot that explores a marriage in trouble and has women’s fiction story themes including the healing of broken relationships.
The characters have emotional baggage to unpack and resolve during the story. The story includes redemption and forgiveness themes and there are characters who are dealing with grief and loss.
I recommend Harbor Pointe to contemporary romance readers who like small town single dad romances with characters from different worlds that include insta-love, family drama, sibling rivalry, a marriage in trouble subplot, and relevant faith elements in the story.
Many thanks to Revell and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.