Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Genre: Romance
Source: St. Martin’s Griffin ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: A debut romance about a supermodel and a photographer with a past marriage pact who meet again ten years later on a photoshoot in Cinque Terre, Italy.

From the moment Emerson and Theo met as teenagers, they were inseparable. But just when they finally expressed their feelings to one another, they were torn apart.

Now, supermodel Emerson is nearing her twenty-eighth birthday, and she’s tired of looking for love in all the wrong places. When the calendar reminder for the marriage pact she and Theo made as teens goes off on her phone, she realizes this is it―her chance to rekindle the only romance that ever really made sense. Emerson convinces her grumpy agent to book her as the face of the fashion campaign that Theo, now a fashion photographer, is shooting. The good the campaign is being shot in ridiculously romantic Cinque Terre, Italy. The bad news? Theo might not be as happy to see her as she’d hoped.

The two embark on a four-day campaign that tests not only their feelings, but their ability to keep their hands off one another. But as roadblock after roadblock keeps them apart, Emerson starts to will this photoshoot be the key to getting one last shot at love, or will it be a final goodbye?

Ope’s Opinion: This was a really good read. The characters were well developed. I was rooting for Theo and Emerson from the first page to the last one. The story made my heart ache for anyone in their positions.

Emerson’s reaction to her situation felt real and hard to me. I also liked how the author handled Theo’s reaction to Emerson. There was some miscommunication toward the end that felt a little unnecessary, but it was resolved quickly. I did like that they still struggled some and it wasn’t a perfect turn around in their relationship.

I can not wait to read this!
I have heard amazing things about this book.
Thank you for sending this to me.

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Genre: Romance
Source: G.P. Putnam’s Sons ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: The ultimate summer nostalgia read, about an engaged woman who comes face to face with her first love who she hasn’t seen in fourteen years, but who she spent every summer with from age five to seventeen when he broke her heart, calling into question everything she thought she knew about their love story, and herself.

Beach Rules:
Do take long walks on the sand.
Do put an umbrella in every cocktail.
Do NOT run into your first love.

Sam’s life is on track. She has the perfect doctor fiancé, Jack (his strict routines are a good thing, really), a great job in Manhattan (unless they fire her), and is about to tour a wedding venue near her family’s Long Island beach house. Everything should go to plan, yet the minute she arrives, Sam senses something is off. Wyatt is here. Her Wyatt. But there’s no reason for a thirty-year-old engaged woman to feel panicked around the guy who broke her heart when she was seventeen. Right?

Yet being back at this beach, hearing notes from Wyatt’s guitar float across the night air from next door as if no time has passed—Sam’s memories come flooding back: the feel of Wyatt’s skin on hers, their nights in the treehouse, and the truth behind their split. Sam remembers who she used to be, and as Wyatt reenters her life their connection is as undeniable as it always was. She will have to make a choice.

Ope’s Opinion: This is such a good story, very predictable, but the journey was very enjoyable. From the beginning the two main characters are so likable, you root for them. You could feel Sam and Wyatt’s attraction to each other. The setting is amazing ( the beach ) and written in such a way that I could see it.

I liked that the underlying theme of this story was you need to be yourself. People will love you as you are.

This is a perfect book to pick up for a summer read. Easy, enjoyable and ends the way you want it to.

Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Genre: Romance
Source: Macmillan Audio ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: She’s rewriting his love story. But can she rewrite her own?

Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies—good ones! That win contests! But she’s also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad, who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates—The Charlie Yates! Her personal writing god!—it’s a break too big to pass up.

Emma’s younger sister steps in for caretaking duties, and Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks for the writing gig of a lifetime. But what is it they say? Don’t meet your heroes? Charlie Yates doesn’t want to write with anyone—much less “a failed, nobody screenwriter.” Worse, the romantic comedy he’s written is so terrible it might actually bring on the apocalypse. Plus! He doesn’t even care about the script—it’s just a means to get a different one green-lit. Oh, and he thinks love is an emotional Ponzi scheme.

But Emma’s not going down without a fight. She will stand up for herself, and for rom-coms, and for love itself. She will convince him that love stories matter—even if she has to kiss him senseless to do it. But . . . what if that kiss is accidentally amazing? What if real life turns out to be so much . . . more real than fiction? What if the love story they’re writing breaks all Emma’s rules—and comes true?

Ope’s Opinion: I have been a fan of Katherine Center since I read her first book, so I was shocked when I could not get into this one. I felt like I was being told a story, not involved in it. The characters felt stiff , not really relatable.

I thought I was in a workshop on how to write a rom-com, instead of actually being in a
rom-com and falling in love.

I hope to love the next Katherine Center book because she has been one of my go-to authors for a great get away.

Publisher: MIRA
Genre: Romance
Source: MIRA ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: When fate brings three strangers to a charming space for lease on the California coast, the Boardwalk Bookshop is born. Part bookstore, part gift shop, part bakery, it’s a dream come true for Bree, Mikki and Ashley. But while their business is thriving, their personal lives are…not.

Bree, wounded by brilliant but cold parents and her late husband’s ultimate betrayal, has sworn to protect her heart at all costs. Even from Ashley’s brother, a writer and adventurer who has inspired millions. He’s the first man to see past Bree’s barricades to her true self, which terrifies her. Mikki has this divorce thing all figured out—somehow, she’s stayed friends with her ex and her in-laws…until a new man changes how everyone looks at her, and how she sees herself. Meanwhile, Ashley discovers that the love of her life never intends to marry. Can she live without being a wife if it means she can have everything else she’s ever wanted?

At sunset every Friday on the beach in front of the Boardwalk Bookshop, the three friends share a champagne toast. As their bond grows closer, they challenge one another to become the best versions of themselves in this heartachingly beautiful story of friendship, sisterhood and the transformative power of love.

Ope’s Opinion: I enjoyed the friendship of the three woman. It was nice to see a friendship grow between them as they worked together and supported each other. I liked that they were honest with each other even when it was hard to share the truth the other one might not want to hear.

There was a lot of romance in this book. Each character had their own love interest happening. Most of them were tangled and messy. There were too many detailed steamy scenes for me.

This story was Susan Mallery’s typical book, except I felt like there was more time spent on the details of each the friends sex lives then she usually does.

Goodreads:  Dark romance, high stakes, and plot twists abound in this paperback original YA thriller that’s perfect for fans of Colleen Hoover.

It’s been months since accident that killed Ella’s best friend Hayley, and Ella can’t stop blaming herself. Now Ella is starting back at school and everywhere she looks is a reminder of her best friend, including Sawyer, Hayley’s boyfriend. When Sawyer offers an olive branch, Ella is shocked, but knows she doesn’t deserve his kindness.

Then the school psychologist requires that Hayley’s closest friends join him for a grief counseling group, and Ella and Sawyer are forced together. After a few sessions, they start to grow closer, until Ella realizes something horrifying…

She’s in love with her dead best friend’s boyfriend.

As Ella discovers that nothing Hayley told her about Sawyer was true, she also sees something in him she finds irresistible. Perhaps it’s his grief. Or maybe his desires, cut short by tragedy. Or could it be something dark and twisted Ella can’t turn away from?

This dark, romantic thriller is perfect for fans of Colleen Hoover and Laura Nowlin.

Goodreads: A woman inherits a beach house, along with a series of weekend guests, while butting heads with the irritable (and irritatingly handsome) man next door, in this sparkling new escape from Jane L. Rosen.
 
When a Zoom disaster upends Addison Irwin’s decade-long career at a posh Manhattan advertising agency, things look bleak for the thirty-something mid-western transplant. But an unexpected inheritance from an aunt she barely remembers—a property on Fire Island, complete with guest house and artist’s studio—changes everything.
 
While debating whether to stay or sell, Addison learns that she’s also inherited her aunt’s list of eclectic guests, tying her to the island for seven summer weekends. Eager to convince Addison to keep the house rather than let a new buyer build a monstrosity in its place, the neighbors welcome her to their laid-back community. Well, all except the moody guy next door, who seems intent on glowering his way through life.
 
Steadfast in her path since college, Addison is determined not to let this detour on Fire Island throw her off track. But soon, between the revolving door of weekend visitors and the up-and-down relationship with her neighbor (and his adorable dog), she finds herself in unfamiliar territory. Should she try to pick up where she left off—or embrace entirely new possibilities?

Two good books out in the same day! 
Which to read first?

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Genre: Romance
Source: G.P. Putnam’s Sons ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: In the spirit of Colleen Hoover and Jojo Moyes’s Me Before You, an unforgettable and heartbreaking love story with an earth-shattering secret at its core that asks the question: is love worth risking everything for?

An earth-shattering secret. A life-changing love story.

When Wren realizes her fiancé is in love with someone else, she thinks her heart will never recover.

On the other side of the world, Anders lost his wife four years ago and is still struggling to move on.

Wren hopes that spending the summer with her dad and step-family on their farm in Indiana will help her to heal. There, amid the cornfields and fireflies, she and Anders cross paths and their worlds are turned upside-down again.

But Wren doesn’t know that Anders is harboring a secret, and if he acts on any feelings he has for Wren it will have serious fall-out for everyone. Walking away would hurt Wren more than she can imagine. But, knowing the truth, how can she possibly stay?

Ope’s Opinion: This is really a 3.5 chairs. The story is really good, but it just moved very, very slow. I do like to know the characters before they fall in love, but this took most of the book to get to know everyone before anything happened. I almost gave up on it – I am very glad I didn’t. There was a twist, I did not see coming.

Only hearing from Anders ( One chapter ) at the end of the book seemed out of place when the rest of the book was from Wren’s point of view. The ending had me on the fence. Part of me liked it, but a part of me felt it came out of nowhere. Can’t say too much more without giving things away.

Goodreads:  From the author of Pack Up the Moon comes a funny, romantic, and deeply moving novel about the unexpected rewards that come from life’s detours.

Lark Smith has always had a plan for her life: find a fantastic guy, create a marriage as blissful as her parents’, pop out a couple of kids and build a rewarding career as an oncologist.

Things aren’t going so well.

For one, the guy didn’t work out. Theoretically, she’d love to find someone else, but it hasn’t happened. Two, she’s just been transferred out of oncology for being too emotional. (Is it her fault she’s a weeper?) Three, her parents just split up.

Deviating from the plan was…well, not in the plan. A potential solution comes from the foul-tempered and renowned surgeon Lorenzo Santini (aka Dr. Satan). He needs a date this summer for his sister’s wedding. His ancient Noni wants to see him settled. In exchange, he could make a few introductions and maybe get Lark back into the field of her choice.

As a sucker for old people and fake relationships, Lark agrees. Teeny problem—she instantly falls for his big, warm family. Especially his estranged brother.

Meanwhile, Lark’s mom has moved in with Lark’s flamboyant landlady, Joy, and an unlikely friendship blossoms. The three women have a long summer and a big beautiful house on the ocean to figure out what’s next…and quite possibly learn that the best things in life aren’t planned at all.

This looks like a good read.

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Romance
Source: St. Martin’s Press ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: Welcome to the St. Cecelia, a landmark hotel on the coast of Georgia, where traditions run deep and scandals run even deeper. . . .

Everyone refers to the St. Cecelia as “the Saint.” If you grew up coming here, you were “a Saint.” If you came from the wrong side of the river, you were “an Ain’t.” Traci Eddings was one of those outsiders whose family wasn’t rich enough or connected enough to vacation here. But she could work here. One fateful summer she did, and married the boss’s son. Now, she’s the widowed owner of the hotel, determined to see it return to its glory days, even as staff shortages and financial troubles threaten to ruin it. Plus, her greedy and unscrupulous brother-in-law wants to make sure she fails. Enlisting a motley crew of recently hired summer help—including the daughter of her estranged best friend—Traci has one summer season to turn it around. But new information about a long-ago drowning at the hotel threatens to come to light, and the tragic death of one of their own brings Traci to the brink of despair.

Traci Eddings has her back against the pink-painted wall of this beloved institution. And it will take all the wits and guts she has to see wrongs put to right, to see guilty parties put in their place, and maybe even to find a new romance along the way. Told with Mary Kay Andrew’s warmth, humor, knack for twists, and eye for delicious detail about human nature, Summers at the Saint is a beach read with depth and heart.

Ope’s Opinion: This story has two mysteries and a little romance. The mysteries are the center of the story and they eventually make a connection. The twists and turns made it a fun read. The foul language was strong and constant. The language took away from the enjoyment for me. This is not Andrews normal beach, so know that before you pick it up.

There was a large cast of characters to keep up. It was also a little repetitive which made it move on the slow side. There was some amateur sleuthing, which always annoys me. Overall, not your typical MKA book.

Publisher: Audible Audio
Genre: Nonfiction
Source: Library

Goodreads: Jinger Vuolo, the sixth child in the famous Duggar family of TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On, recounts how she began to question the unhealthy ideology of her youth and learned to embrace true freedom in Christ.

When Jinger Duggar Vuolo was growing up, she was convinced that obeying the rules was the key to success and God’s favor. She zealously promoted the Basic Life Principles of Bill Gothard,

fastidiously obeying the modesty guidelines (no shorts or jeans, only dresses),
eagerly submitting to the umbrella of authority (any disobedience of parents would place her outside God’s protection),
 promoting the relationship standard of courtship, and
avoiding any music with a worldly beat, among others.

Jinger, along with three of her sisters, wrote a New York Times bestseller about their religious convictions. She believed this level of commitment would guarantee God’s blessing, even though in private she felt constant fear that she wasn’t measuring up to the high standards demanded of her.

In Becoming Free Indeed, Jinger shares how in her early twenties, a new family member—a brother-in-law who didn’t grow up in the same tight-knit conservative circle as Jinger—caused her to examine her beliefs. He was committed to the Bible, but he didn’t believe many of the things Jinger had always assumed were true. His influence, along with the help of a pastor named Jeremy Vuolo, caused Jinger to see that her life was built on rules, not God’s Word.

Jinger committed to studying the Bible—truly understanding it—for the first time. What resulted was an earth-shaking realization: much of what she’d always believed about God, obedience to His Word, and personal holiness wasn’t in-line with what the Bible teaches.

Now with a renewed faith of personal conviction, Becoming Free Indeed shares what it was like living under the tenants of Bill Gothard, the Biblical truth that changed her perspective, and how she disentangled her faith with her belief in Jesus intact.

Ope’s Opinion: I had watch some of the Duggar shows and was always interested in where they all are now. This was not a tell all book – she even says that upfront. It is about her and religious journey.

I listened to this book from my library. Jinger’s voice is very smooth and easy to listen to. She is well spoken. I enjoyed hearing her perspective of her childhood religious upbringing and her current beliefs. As all of us change and grow, our relationship to God changes and grows. Jinger has shared her growth.