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?
Good book, though it read more like women's fiction than
the romance I thought it was. It was enjoyable, but I frequently found my
attention wandering to scrolling through facebook rather than reading the book.
The only thing that kept me on task was that I was reading on a transatlantic
flight, so distractions were limited.
Meg is an innkeeper on Summer Island, running the inn
that she inherited from her grandmother. She retreated to the inn several years
earlier, recovering from both a serious illness and the desertion of her fiancé
when he found out about that illness. She likes the quieter lifestyle and the closeness
of the resident community but also enjoys the bustle of the summer tourist
season. For the past five years, she has been in a relationship of sorts with
Zack, but she finds herself wanting more than he is willing to give.
Zack is a fisherman who spends long periods on his boat.
He is content to leave his relationship with Meg as it is. He likes that she is
there for him when he returns to port on Summer Island and doesn't complain when
he leaves again.
Seth came to the island in search of work but also
looking for something from his past. He visited once as a child, along with his
grandparents, and a memory from that time has brought him back. Seth's past
haunts him, and he is looking to make some significant changes.
The book opens as Zack leaves Meg once again. It is their
fifth anniversary and Meg had made plans, but Zack behaves as if it is just
another day. Meg finally faces the fact that Zack is unlikely ever to give her
the commitment that she needs. With the idea that Zack may no longer be in her
life, Meg contemplates the idea of selling the inn and moving away, starting a
new life somewhere that she can find what she needs. Fate intervenes with the
arrival of Seth, a handsome, younger man who is looking for work as a handyman.
He is light-hearted and charming, and Meg hires him to do some needed repairs
on the inn. She doesn't expect the attraction that flares between them.
I had fun watching the friendship that developed between
Seth and Meg. He is an outrageous flirt and makes no secret of his attraction
to Meg, but leaves it up to her whether to pursue it. In the meantime, they
work together on projects around the inn, and Seth's attention to Meg gives her
a taste of what could be. I loved all the little things that he did to show her
how special she is. Meg is torn between her loyalty to Zack and the feelings she
develops for Seth. Things become more complicated when Seth's presence makes
Zack realize that he could lose the woman who is such a big part of his life. Can
he let go of his past enough to give Meg what she needs? At the same time, Seth
gets closer to solving the issue that brought him to Summer Island. His
feelings for Meg grow deeper, but so do his fears of her reaction if he should
confess his reasons for coming to the island. An unexpected part of Seth's past
arrives on the island, forcing him to face those fears, and providing some much-needed
healing. But will it be enough for him to believe that he deserves a chance at
happiness?
As Meg and Seth work on the inn's renovations, they
discover an old diary of her grandmother's, hidden long before. As Meg reads
the diary, she finds some unexpected parallels with her own life. I loved Meg's
surprise at the things she learned and how she used them to deal with her own
problems. There was a surprising twist at the end of the diary that I didn't
see coming and made me smile when all was revealed. I liked how it helped Meg
face her fears and insecurities and embrace life on her own terms. The ending
was terrific.
I liked the secondary characters, such as Meg's friend
Suzanne and the other residents of the island. Suzanne was a good friend to
Meg. I enjoyed how she was both a sounding board for Meg when she needed to
talk, and also a kick-in-the-pants when Meg needed a little extra push to step
outside her comfort zone. I liked how the residents looked out for each other,
even though there was sometimes a little too much attention for Meg's comfort.
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