Summer at the Shore by V.K. Sykes Series: Seashell Bay #2
Published by Forever
Publication Date: June 30th, 2015
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 384
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC
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Disclaimer: I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely mine.
JUST A SUMMER FLING?
Morgan Merrifield sacrificed her teaching career to try to save her family’s bed-and-breakfast and care for her younger sister. She can’t let herself get distracted by Ryan Butler. After all, the rugged ex-Special Forces soldier is only in Seashell Bay for the summer. But her longtime crush soon flares into real desire-and with one irresistible kiss, she’s swept away.
Ryan values his freedom. As much as he wants Morgan, he’s not ready to settle down with anyone, much less in sleepy Seashell Bay. But his code of honor doesn’t allow him to leave a woman in distress-and she’s in desperate need of help to fix the inn. It only takes one day working under the same roof and Ryan is already hoping for a lifetime of hot summer nights . . .
Summer. The time for fun in the sun, beaches, festivals, carnivals, barbecues and of course, love. And Seashell Bay is just the place for that.
Ryan Butler and Morgan Merrifield have been attracted to each other for a while but never acted on it. Now Ryan is back in Seashell Bay for the summer and Morgan makes him a proposition: his handyman skills for a room in her B&B. Ryan knows that agreeing to her proposition isn’t the best idea, but he is in need of a place to stay and he also can’t resist his attraction to Morgan.
Ryan has always been an enigma to the people of Seashell Bay, even is friends and he likes it that way especially as he has no plans to settle there permanently. However, he’s willing to pitch in and help Morgan fix the inn. As Morgan and Ryan spend time together, Ryan finds himself having second thoughts about his future and Seashell Bay begins to look like a good place to plant roots.
I really enjoyed SUMMER AT THE SHORE for several reasons, the first of which is the location. The serene community, the beaches, the laid-back lifestyle, the people who would pitch in to help a neighbor in need all make me want to pack up and head to Maine for the summer. Kudos to the author for creating such a wonderful place!
The characters. I enjoyed Morgan because she was strong, independent and selfless, but also because she was careful and cautious in her decision-making. She gave up her job temporarily to come back and make the B&B a success for her sister’s sake and even when she wanted to give up, she held on. I also liked that she was honest and upfront about her feelings for Ryan and confident enough to tell him how she felt.
Ryan really was an enigma at the beginning of the book, but as the story unfolded, you see that he’s just an everyday guy whose experiences have made him super-cautious about commitments. In spite of all that, he was so sweet for giving up his summer to play handyman for Morgan and go above and beyond to make her happy. Watching them figure out their feelings for each other and the future was fun.
The story. SUMMER AT THE SHORE is very well-written, realistic, with characters who deal with everyday issues and had many moments that made me smile. This is the perfect read for the summer.
About V.K. Sykes
V.K. Sykes is really two people – Vanessa Kelly and Randy Sykes, a husband and wife team who write USA Today Bestselling contemporary romance and also romantic suspense. Randy excels at plot and characterization, but tends to fall down on the job when it comes to that pesky old thing called emotion. That’s where Vanessa steps in. She usually writes the sex scenes too, since Randy is a bit uncomfortable when it comes to that sort of stuff. Vanessa also writes award-winning Regency-set historical romance for Kensington Zebra under her own name.
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