As a Last Resort

This solid debut from Wollett follows resort developer Samatha “Sam” Leigh, who left coastal Florida for New York City after high school and never looked back, escaping her alcoholic mother and painful memories of her late father. Seven years later, a business trip back home to quaint Rock Island may help her win a coveted promotion. The stakes of this return quickly dissipate, as Sam is almost immediately forgiven by her former best friend, Lexi, whom she ghosted, and easily warms to her surroundings. Easing her way is Lexi’s dreamy older brother, ferry boat captain Austin Marcs, who repeatedly comes to Sam’s rescue for little things like plumbing emergencies as well as bigger things, like helping her avoid the inappropriate advances of a coworker and wrangle her mother, who’s fallen off the wagon. Wollett builds believable chemistry between Austin and Sam, but it’s the side characters who steal the show, particularly Lexi’s assistant Ivy, whose intervention in a third-act conflict at Sam’s workplace ties the plot in a neat bow. The result will appeal to Hallmark movie fans who root for city girls to return to their small towns. (Sept.)