Jules Whittier is starting to regret the promise she made to her grandmother on her deathbed. The motel is even more dilapidated than it looked like in the pictures and it turns out that renovating it includes working with her estranged cousins Maddie and Gina—the same cousins who caused her to fail at running the last motel. But there’s no getting around the stipulations in Gram’s will, and Jules needs to make a success of the Beachcomber, not only because of the promise she made but also to prove to herself that she’s not a failure. Nick Barlow doesn’t understand why anyone would want to renovate a dusty old hotel in a town that has no tourists, but when Jules comes in asking for the loan, he’s smitten and can’t get the application off the printer fast enough. Things are dull around Shell Cove and he’s looking forward to doing business with his new client... until his grandfather, the bank president, gives him a dire warning about Jules and her family and then refuses to approve the loan. Maddie Montgomery has made a promise to her grandmother, too. She needs to help Jules and Gina reconcile. But, as she soon finds out, that might not be the only reason Gram sent her to Shell Cove. The town needs her special brand of optimism and organization to keep it from dying out completely. Gina Gallagher’s life has hit rock bottom. Her real estate tycoon husband has disappeared after cleaning out both their business and personal bank accounts. When her grandmother makes her promise to learn to find joy in the little things and help out at the Beachcomber, she has no energy to refuse. Right now she has nowhere else to stay, but she doesn’t plan to keep her promise for long... until her stay at the Beachcomber yields some unexpected surprises. None of them really wanted to come to the Beachcomber, but could the old motel be the exact thing each of them needs?

Maddie Montgomery has finally found her slice of heaven - a charming cottage on the sugar-sand beach of Shell Cove, Maine. There’s only one problem, the flow of tourists to Shell Cove dried up years ago and now it’s up to her to bring them back. When a stash of bootlegged whiskey from the 1940s is found in the walls of Maddie’s cottage, the discovery sparks an idea for an event that could bring the town back to life. Too bad, the town grump, Constance Harbinger, doesn’t like Maddie’s plan. Constance is in charge of seeing that events adhere to the town bylaws, and she’s found a way to throw up obstacles at every turn. Constance isn’t the only problem. In order to set up the event, Madde has to work with the annoying Dex Wheeler. Luckily, they both want the town to succeed so they’ll have to figure out a way to work together. Too bad, Dex’s girlfriend, Lorelie, isn’t so keen on Dex working with Maddie. Dex, on the other hand, is happy to be doing something to save the town. He’s spent his whole life in Shell Cove and never wants to leave. Not that he can admit that to Lorelei, she is under the impression that he’s moving to Portland with her. And he was considering it until he started working with Maddie. Now that he’s getting feelings for her, he’s starting to wonder if moving in with Lorelei is such a great idea. The entire town is depending on Maddie, their livelihoods and way of life are at stake. From Deena and Chuck who run Saltwater Sweets and have just discovered they can love again after leaving their spouses, to Maddie’s cousin Jules and her new budding romance with Nick, to Gina who has her own hopes and dreams tied up in the town. Even the three quirky senior citizen “Welcome Wagon” ladies who Maddie has come to think of as honorary grandmothers have future dreams for Shell Cove. But none of those dreams will matter, if Maddie can’t bring the tourists back to Shell Cove.

Motel owner Gina Gallagher can't believe that her future happiness hinges solely on tracking down her cheating embezzling louse of a husband. He ran off with all their money and now Gina wants her share back. She needs it to start her dream business. But when the P. I. she hired tells her that a mysterious person is looking for her, things get complicated. Her ex stole money from a client. Hopefully that person isn’t trying to get his revenge through Gina. Samantha Walters has only one week to convince her mother, Deena, that her new boyfriend is a scammer intent on stealing the family chocolate business. Flirting with the guy in the motel room next door is just a way to distract herself from this unpleasant task... Until she finds out the guy in the room next door is the son of the man trying to take advantage of her mother! Cole Sullivan needs to convince his father that Deena is really a gold-digger after his money. So what if Deena acts sweetly and motherly? Cole knows all too well how good people can be at hiding their true intentions. And is it any coincidence that her daughter conveniently makes a visit Shell Cove at the same time as him? He’s convinced that mother and daughter are up to something, even if Sam does have an attractive smile and a nice laugh. Deena and Chuck think it was a small miracle they found each other. They’ve both known years of loneliness after losing their spouses. Neither of them thought they would fall in love again, especially not at the age of sixty! Too bad convincing their kids that they are perfect for each other is going to take some work. That’s okay, though, because Deena and Chuck have a plan. Plans go awry and events turn twisty and nothing turns out the way any of them thought it would, which ends up being exactly what each of them need. Saltwater Sweets - book 3 in the Shell Cove series - is a standalone book that can be read without the previous books. Fans of the series will get to check in with Maddie and Jules and the welcome wagon ladies as well as other characters of the series to see what they are up to!