Cecil Hargrave lives in a tiny New York City apartment, works at a job that she has no passion for, and has no close friends. Her parents died in a car wreck when she was in college, and she is now quite alone, yearning for “something more” but unable to put her finger on what it is that she wants in life. So far, she has eschewed relationships with men and friends; she is scared of getting hurt or depending on someone only to lose them.

Cecil’s life takes a dramatic turn when she inherits from a distant relative a beachfront house in Seal Island, Maine, a picturesque small town. She also inherits a a retail shop that sells items mainly to visiting tourists. Cecil travels to Seal Island with the intention of selling the beach house and the business, returning to New York City after the summer is over.

However, fate intervenes, leading to a much longer stay in Seal Island than Cecil originally intended. Delighted with the beachfront home, she quickly settles into small-town life in Seal Island. She begins making real friends and begins to feel like she belongs in Seal Island - much preferable to the anonymity of her existence in New York City. Cecil even develops an unusual bond with a seal who lives on the beach outside her home; she feeds the seal fish, and the two seem to become friends.

The story would not be complete without a man in Cecil’s life, and the author does not disappoint. In fact, there are three men in Cecil’s life: Richard, the local editor of the newspaper, who is very gentlemanly and proper; Tom, a sexy, mysterious lobsterman with whom Cecil feels a special chemistry; and Ronan, her unusual neighbor. Ronan comes to visit Cecil in the evenings, and she is drawn to Ronan as if she is under some type of spell.

Seal Island is an engrossing novel about fate and Cecil’s new life on Seal Island. Paranormal and romance elements come forth as the novel proceeds, helping to develop the plot. My favorite part of the novel was Cecil’s life on Seal Island - how she developed new relationships and escaped her sterile existence in New York City. My one is that the book contains numerous grammatical errors and typos – the editing is a disappointment. Otherwise, I recommend Seal Island to fans of paranormal romance.