Jennifer Fulton’s third offering in the Moon Island series is packed with romance, adventure, women’s spirituality, and a few steamy scenes to keep our hearts palpitating.  When Merris Randall meets Olivia Pearce, she abandons her resolve never to love again and finds herself drawn to this new interest over and over again.  The two end up on Moon Island, where they are joined by the reticent Dr. Glenn Howick and her young assistant who pines after the anthropologist.  Dr. Howick’s only reasons for coming to the island are to find the sacred cave of Hine te Ana and to witness the rituals that take place on the Sacred Shore.  She has her reasons for not engaging in romantic pursuits.

In addition to these four people, a fifth person, named Chris, who has recently lost her partner, has come to Moon Island in an effort to deal with her grief and stumbles on a very strange site in one of the other caves on the island.  These women are joined by Annabel’s cousin, Melanie, who shows up with a young baby and an illness that threatens to disrupt the lives of Cody and Annabel.  To top it all off, Annabel finds that her own biological clock has become deafening din, but her suggestion that she and Cody think about having a baby of their own does not go over well.

True to Fulton’s usual mode of operation, this installment is full of interwoven, heart-pounding sub-plots that leave us wondering if each woman will work through her difficulties and find the healing that she needs to make her whole, allowing her to move into the next phase of her life.  This story gives us an in-depth look into the emotional lives of the group during this portion of their journey.

The Moon Island series is a stroke of genius that gives us the anchoring characters of Annabel Worth and Cody Stanton, while always introducing fresh characters and plots drawing us back to a familiar place to meet new adventures.  Some people come back to the island more than once, and we meet them as if they were old friends, as do Cody and Annabel.  SacredShore is a finalist for a Crown Literary Society “Goldie” award in the Romance category attesting to the quality of the work.  Don’t miss this installment of the Moon Island series.  If you’ve read the others, once again, you will not be disappointed.