Lose your heart to Summer Island, where summers are easy, winters are cozy and friends welcome you with open arms
Summer Island has always been home to Meg Sloan. She runs the Summerbrook Inn, like her grandmother did, and she loves the laid-back pace of life and the close-knit community the island offers. Meg also loves Zack Sheppard, but what she doesn’t love is Zack’s refusal to commit to an exclusive relationship.
Seth Darden arrives on Summer Island in search of summer work, but also in search of something else—his past. There are secrets buried at the Summerbrook Inn, secrets that forged the path of Seth’s life. But he wasn’t counting on falling for the lovely innkeeper, Meg.
When Meg meets Seth, she can’t ignore the sparks that fly between them, even though she feels like her heart has been torn in half. But if Zack won’t commit, should she take the leap with Seth? And can she even have a future with him if he can’t reckon with his past?
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Release Date: Jul 30, 2019
Series: Summer Island
Book: 1
Heat Level: Sensual
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: HQN
Price: $5.99
Meg gradually tries to cope with Zack’s lack of commitment. Some of the towns folks really pushed for him which struck me as odd since they were together for five years and he couldn’t commit. She then meets Seth who is a “drifter”. He is in town looking for work. She needs someone to help around the inn and pretty soon a friendship develops.
I love romance stories by Toni Blake. She knows how to deliver a cozy small town romance. So I became so excited to read this story once I discovered a brand new series by her. The problem that I have with this one is that the story has a women’s fiction vibe to it. The romance is very light.
The reader is inside Meg’s head throughout her whole journey of self-discovery. In fact, the reader is inside everyone’s head. There is so much inner dialogue and musings that very little is said. It is hard to stay in the story. I would have rather the story be told in first person.
I really like Seth. He makes his intentions towards Meg known upfront. He is genuinely a nice guy who hasn’t really found a place or reason to settle down. I kind of wanted more excitement for him to be honest.
As Meg is working on her romantic prospects, she is reading her grandmother’s diary. While the story, or should I say the romance, moved a bit too slow for my own romantic preference, I really enjoyed the parallel between Meg’s life and her grandmother’s. It sort of helped Meg figure things out for herself.
I would recommend this as a good beach read.
~ Samantha
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