It's always nice to find a book written by an Australian or New Zealand author, and even more so when the story is actually set here. Cheryl Phipps' Prosser's Bay series is set in a small seaside New Zealand town where everyone knows everybody else's business.
Prosser's Bay is a nightmare for someone like Emily, a very private person who doesn't interact with or like other people very much. I have to admit I struggled to empathize with Emily and I didn't quite 'buy into' the romance between her and Mason... I didn't really see what drew Mason to her apart from her looks, and yet he doesn't come across as a shallow character at all.
This is a short book at 106 pages, and the romance in it felt a little rushed. We jumped very quickly from Mason and Emily agreeing that they were hooking up no strings attached, to a declaration of love. I feel like the story needed 'fleshing out' in the middle to fill in the missing parts of their romance.
Despite that quibble, I really rather enjoyed the book. Prosser's Bay felt very 'real' to me, the scene beautifully described by the author's descriptive command of language. I'll give it four stars, but I do wish it had been longer.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book for review through The Romance Reviews.