Audiobook Review: Eclipse Bay by Jayne Ann Krentz

Eclipse Bay
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
Narrator: Gail Shalan
Series: Eclipse Bay (Book 1)
Publication: Tantor Media (June 13, 2023)
Length: 8 hours and 47 minutes

Description: FIRST IN THE STUNNING TRILOGY

Eclipse Bay has grown and flourished amongst the sharp cliffs and hidden coves of the rugged Oregon coast. But this small town is also filled with secrets as treacherous as the landscape and rivalries as fierce as an ocean storm.

Their grandfathers hated each other. Their fathers hated each other. But they don't hate each other. Not at all . . .

Hannah Harte remembers the long-ago night on the beach that revealed Rafe as more than just "that disreputable Madison boy." And Rafe remembers the heroic gesture that proved Hannah's fierce spirit was stronger than any feud—and saved him from near-certain imprisonment.

Now—reunited by a surprising inheritance after years of living their separate lives—Rafe and Hannah return to Eclipse Bay, and the hostilities that still divide, and bind, their families. And they are discovering something that is at once delightful and deeply disturbing . . .

My Thoughts: ECLIPSE BAY begins a romance trilogy set in coastal Oregon. The Harte and Madison families are bitter rivals. A business deal gone wrong in their grandfathers' time has built quite a feud by the time Hannah Harte meets Rafe Madison on the beach.  Both had been abandoned by their dates to long walks home. The two spend most of the night talking and getting to know one another. The next day, when Rafe's date is found dead, Hannah is the one who provides his alibi for the murder wrecking er own reputation along the way. 

The two go their separate ways after that. Hannah becomes a successful wedding planner and Rafe, whose past is more mysterious, becomes a chef. Their paths collide again when Hannah's great aunt leaves her mansion to both of them. 

Reunited in Eclipse Bay, both learn that the feelings they had for each other years earlier have not gone away. That doesn't mean that they don't have arguments about the fate of their inheritance. Both want to open an inn, and Rafe wants to add on a restaurant, but they don't want to work with each other.  And that long ago death is still haunting them especially since the victim's brother is sure that Rafe caused his sister's death. 

They decide to look into her death together to see if they can learn what really happened eight years earlier and begin to uncover a number of secrets that someone wants to remain buried. 

This was an engaging romance with a bit of suspense. I liked the way each of the main characters was developed. The banter between them was also entertaining. 

I bought this one December 3, 2025. You can buy your copy here.