Summer on Blackberry Beach by Belle Calhoune: Book Review

Introduction:

Summer on Blackberry Beach celebrates the romance of a elementary school teacher on her summer vacation and the ex-Navy SEAL whose returned home after an career-ending injury. This book is the second in the author’s Mistletoe, Maine series but can certainly be read as a standalone.

From The Publisher:

A faux summer fling seemed like the perfect solution . . . until they start falling in love for real. 
 
Teacher Stella Marshall’s summer break has just began, but the gossip is already sizzling: Luke Keegan’s back in town! Stella’s high school crush is all grown up and smolderingly sexy. She might even consider a fling with the former Navy SEAL, if she hadn’t already sworn off all romantic entanglements. But there isn’t a single thing she can do to stop the rumor mill whispering about her and Luke being together—unless . . .

A showmance! Luke never thought he’d propose a fake relationship, but it’s the only way to stop the runaway speculation about their love lives. Pretending to date a woman as stunning as Stella is easy. Not actually falling for her is the hard part. Luke isn’t sure he deserves a hometown happy ending, when members of his SEAL team never made it back at all. But there’s real attraction buzzing between him and Stella . . . and he knows she feels it too. Could their faux summer romance lead to true love?

My Thoughts:

Summer on Blackberry Beach is a sweet romance novel set in a charming small town and all the usual gossip that comes with living there. While the first book in the series No Ordinary Christmas focuses on Lucy and Dante’s story, Lucy’s sister Stella is the protagonist of this book.

There were many good things about this novel. I enjoyed the dual narrative of Stella and Luke and the pair’s backstories. The respect that the author writes about the trauma Luke has experienced while in Afghanistan is admired. But there were a few things that prevented me from liking this book as much as the first book in the series.

The relationship between Stella and Luke initially is being sold as fake dating. Although this went on for quite some time in the book, I never felt that this was anything but a genuine romantic relationship. The sparks between the two were there from the moment the two were first reunited.

The other confusing moment for me was when Luke drives 3.5 hours in each direction to meet with a family of a SEAL killed in action without calling ahead. Without giving too much away, I felt that this was selfish on Luke’s part. Having said that, it did allow the author to convey that everyone experiences and processes grief on their own schedule.

Summer on Blackberry Beach is a light read and romance readers will enjoy it. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

What I Liked:

• The sweet romance between Stella and Luke
• The respectful manner in which the author writes about Luke’s experience in Afghanistan
• The summery, beach setting to the book

Acknowledgments:

Thank you to Forever Publishing for the finished copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Similar Books I’ve Reviewed:

No Ordinary Christmas by Belle Calhoune

The True Love Bookshop by Annie Rains

To All The Dogs I’ve Loved Before by Lizzie Shane