Hatchet Harbor

When was the last time you read a good relationship book? This one is unique. All the descriptions of nature made me want to go there, and provided wonderful visual pictures for the story to unfold. I've never been to Maine and this book gave me a hunger for lobsters and the blueberries of summer. The storyline covers all aspects of relationships extramarital affairs, to gay men being in the closet, to finding and sustaining true love. I didn't want to stop once I started reading.

If you've never been to Maine, you can go this summer via the pages of "Hatchet Harbor" by Jane E. Hartman. It's an old fashioned love story and it includes vivid descriptions of nature, wild life and the ecology -- with a plea for saving the environment. As you read about each character's history and involvement, you'll begin to understand the mistrust that is brewing in this tiny fishing village. Here's where love of nature collides with human greed and the locals and *summer people* take sides in a brewing environmental conflict. The author captures the true essence of the craggy Maine coastline as well as its sometimes, just as craggy, Maine characters. Even if you read this book in your backyard in Kansas -- you'll be able to smell the salt air.