Spotlight: Summer Flame

A young summertime romance that ended too soon. An unexpected reunion years later where it all began.

Maya’s Vacation To Do List:
-De-stress!!!
-Decide what’s next for my company
-Find my inner fire (wherever the hell it went)

Stressed out, overworked, and dealing with some...slightly embarrassing gastrointestinal issues, I reluctantly agree to take the vacation my family and friends insist I need. I’ll relax, recharge, and make plans for the future of my company.

When the boy who charmed me at seventeen ends up at the same lakeside campground, grown-up Luka is just as charming now as he was then. Not that I have time for his swoon-worthy grins or that edible six-pack he keeps flashing when his shirt’s off. And his shirt is off—a lot.

At ten, he was my first kiss. Years later, he was my first something else. Now? My old flame may be exactly what I need to kindle my inner spark again. One thing’s for sure - he can light my campfire anytime.

Book one in the Season’s Detour series. Purchase Summer Flame here.

Hayleigh Sol’s first and most enduring love is reading. As an only child, books were her favorite form of entertainment and her earliest memories include laughing and crying over Charlotte’s Web.

Originally from Southern California, Hayleigh now lives in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon. She is currently a working physician who writes whenever opportunity and inspiration strike. When not treating patients or writing, Hayleigh can be found reading (of course) or running/biking/swimming/strength training with her husband in a friendly rivalry they’ve enjoyed since their second date hike.

She loves strong female protagonists, animals and vanilla chai tea.

Visit Hayleigh online:

Website * Facebook * Instagram

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Book Review: Elizabeth of East Hampton

By Melissa Smoot

It’s a truth universally acknowledged—well, by Elizabeth Bennet anyway—that there’s nothing worse than summer in the Hamptons. She should know: she’s lived out there her whole life. Every June, her hometown on the edge of Long Island is inundated with rich Manhattanites who party until dawn and then disappear by September. And after twenty-five years, Lizzy wants to leave, too.

But after putting her own dreams on hold to help save her family’s failing bakery, she’s still surfing the same beach every morning and waiting for something, anything, to change. She’s not holding her breath though, not even when her sister starts flirting with the hot new bachelor in town, Charlie Pierce, and he introduces Lizzy to his even hotter friend.

Will Darcy is everything Lizzy Bennet is not. Aloof, arrogant…and rich. Of course, he’s never cared about money. In fact, it’s number one on his long list of things that irk him. Number two? His friend Charlie’s insistence on setting him up with his new girlfriend’s sharp-tongued sister. Lizzy Bennet is all wrong for him, from her money-hungry family to her uncanny ability to speak to him as bluntly as he does everyone else. But then maybe that’s why he can’t stop thinking about her.

Lizzy is sure Will hates everybody. He thinks she willfully misunderstands them. Yet, just as they strike an uneasy truce, mistakes threaten Charlie and Jane’s romance, with Will and Lizzy caught in the undertow. Between a hurricane and a hypocritical aunt, a drunken voicemail and a deceptive party promoter, the two must sift through the gossip and lies to protect the happiness of everyone they love—even if it means sacrificing their own. But when the truth also forces them to see each other in an entirely new light, they must swallow their pride to learn that love is a lot like surfing: sometimes the only way to survive is to let yourself fall. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

I really liked how in depth this book went. I never felt like things we left open ended, and I always appreciate when authors are so thorough. The storyline was so creative in modeling after a Jane Austen story but making it modern and relatable. What a fun read this was!

I stayed up far too late to find out how this book would end, and I am not mad about it. I was so engrossed in the relationship between Lizzy and Will Darcy, that I completely lost track of time. The entire Bennet family was hilarious: from the very different personalities of the 5 sisters to the overly dramatic mother, to the quiet and steady demeanor of Mr. Bennet. 

I loved the East Hampton location, as I have spent time there, and could visually picture every detail the authors described throughout the book. The secondary characters, many of whom were locals, also added extra fun and spice to the story. Overall, this was a great book and I would definitely recommend giving it a read!

Thanks to Gallery for the book in exchange for an honest review. Purchase Elizabeth of East Hampton here.

Also by Audrey and Emily: Emma of 83rd Street

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What's in the (e)mail

Melissa:
The Life Makeover Club by/from Juliet Madison (ebook)
What Does It Feel Like by Sophie Kinsella from Random House (NetGalley)
Wished by Sarah Ready from Swift & Lewis (NetGalley)
Accidentally Amy by Lynn Painter from Berkley (NetGalley)
The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff from Simon & Schuster (NetGalley)

Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder by Bellamy Rose from Atria (NetGalley)

Early Thirties by Josh Duboff from Gallery (NetGalley)
The Summer Reunion by/from Leah Mercer (NetGalley)

Let's Call a Truce by Amy Buchanan from St. Martin's Press (NetGalley)

Once More from the Top by Emily Layden from MB Communications (print)

A Map to Paradise by Susan Meissner from Berkley (NetGalley)

Sara:
A Mother's Betrayal by Louise Guy from Rachel's Random Resources (NetGalley)
Whatever It Takes by Joy Wood from Rachel's Random Resources (NetGalley)
This Is Not a Holiday Romance by Camilla Isley from Rachel's Random Resources (NetGalley)
Not Yours to Keep by Zelly Ruskin from BookSparks (NetGalley)

The Time Keepers by Alyson Richman from Get Red PR (NetGalley)

The Cottage by the Sea by Keri Beevis from Rachel's Random Resources (NetGalley)

What Was Lost by Melissa Connelly from Books Forward (ebook)

Jami:
The Perfect Home by Daniel Kenitz from Scribner (NetGalley)

Melissa S:
The Drowning Game by Barbara Nickless from Kaye Publicity (print)
She Doesn't Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke from St. Martin's Press (print)

The Close-Up by Pip Drysdale from MB Communications (print)

Allyson:
In Every Life by Rea Frey from Wunderkind PR (print)
P.S. I Hate You by Lauren Connolly from Berkley (NetGalley)

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Book Review: Dear Hanna

By Jami Denison

Evil kids have been a staple of horror, whether they’re possessed, sired by the devil, or just a plain bad seed. More recently, as parenthood becomes more and more impossible, these books and movies seem to be making a statement about how draining it is to be a mother. Movies like The Babadook and books like The Push by Ashley Audrain, Cutting Teeth by Chandler Baker, and Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage feature scary kids and confused, flawed mothers who wonder if the problem is them. Both The Push and Baby Teeth have fathers besotted by their young daughters and refusing to believe anything is wrong with them, blaming the mother for any issues. 

Baby Teeth stands out by featuring the point-of-view of Hanna as well as her mother, making it clear that Suzette is right to be afraid. (Note: This review will contain some spoilers for Baby Teeth.) Now Stage has released a sequel to Baby Teeth, Dear Hanna, that picks up when Hanna is an adult. The underlying question: Can sociopathy be cured? Or do sociopaths just become more clever about hiding their disorder?

When we last saw Hanna, she was a seven-year-old being placed in a facility for severely disturbed children after trying to burn her mother to death. (The adult Hanna ruminates that she should have stabbed her mother in the eye with the burning ember, not the cheek.) While Baby Teeth was told from both Hanna and Suzette’s points of view, Dear Hanna is Hanna’s story alone. Hanna rarely thinks about her parents, and they only make one brief appearance in this sequel. 

We meet Hanna again at 20 years old. She lives with her parents and works as a phlebotomist. When middle-aged Jacob brings in his 12-year-old daughter Jo to get her blood drawn, Hanna is immediately drawn to him. The two marry quickly, and Hanna settles in nicely to the roles of wife to a real estate agent and mother to a budding dancer. Her closest relationship, however, seems to be with her 15-year-old brother Goose. He’s away at boarding school, and he and Hanna exchange long, personal letters via snail mail. He seems to be the only person who knows the true Hanna. 

The real action of the book starts a few years later. Jo is 16 and has a new boyfriend. Hanna feels ignored by Jacob, preoccupied with work and hobbies, and Jo, who has quit all her activities so she can hang out with the boyfriend. Wanting attention, Hanna fakes a pregnancy and a miscarriage. But the ploy backfires—Jacob wants to try again, and Hanna has no interest in being a mother. Then Jo ups the ante by announcing her own pregnancy. Furious at being sidelined, and terrified of what she might do to a baby in the house, will Hanna revert to her old tricks?

Just like she did in Baby Teeth, Stage does a spectacular job making readers understand the thought processes of a sociopath, whether she’s seven years old or 24.  I hadn’t expected to find myself sympathizing with a sociopath, but I did. (Alternate view: I am also a sociopath.) At the same time, I really missed having Suzette’s point of view. I had expected this sequel to pick up with Hanna being discharged from her school, and I was surprised and a little disappointed to find her so much older, and Suzette practically missing from the sequel. 

Hanna reminded me of Cassidy in May Cobb’s The Hollywood Assistant (reviewed here). While Cassidy didn’t plot anyone’s murder, both women were on the same slippery slope, and it’s a slope most of us have found ourselves on at one time or another. Everyone has a little sociopath in them. 

Some readers of Baby Teeth complained that the book ended not with a bang, but a whimper. They might have a similar complaint about Dear Hanna. The final twist is easily predicted by any fan of the genre, and the denouement is quiet. Still, I’m a big fan of Hanna and I hope this book is the second in a trilogy. Seeing Hanna as a mother worried about her child’s intentions would be the chef’s kiss for this character. 

Thanks to Over the River PR for the book in exchange for an honest review.

More by Zoje Stage:
Mothered
Wonderland
Getaway

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Spotlight and Giveaway: The Break-Up Pact

The Break-Up Pact is the first adult rom-com by YA author Emma Lord and it just released this week! We are excited to feature it here today. Melissa has it in her five-book pile and can't wait to read it. It was listed as one of the best romance novels of 2024 in Cosmopolitan magazine! All the more reason to pick it up. Thanks to St. Martin's Press, we have one copy to give away!

June and Levi were best friends as teenagers—until the day they weren’t. Now June is struggling to make rent on her beachside tea shop, Levi is living a New York cliché as a disillusioned hedge fund manager and failed novelist, and they've barely spoken in years.

But after they both experience public, humiliating break-ups with their exes that spread like wildfire across TikTok rabbit holes and daytime talk shows alike, they accidentally make some juicy gossip of their own—a photo of them together has the internet convinced they're a couple. With so many people rooting for them, they decide to put aside their rocky past and make a pact to fuel the fire. Pretending to date will help June’s shop get back on its feet and make Levi’s ex realize that she made a mistake. All they have to do is convince the world they're in love, one swoon-worthy photo opp at a time.

Two viral break-ups. One fake relationship. Five sparkling, heart-pounding dates. June and Levi can definitely pull this off without their hearts getting involved. Because everyone knows fake dating doesn’t come with real feelings. Right? (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

“The Break-Up Pact is like your favorite Taylor Swift song on repeat―romantic, heartbreaking, and utterly enchanting. I laughed, I swooned, I sobbed my eyes out. The perfect blend of Emily Henry and Nora Ephron, Emma Lord is your next perfect summer read!” 
― Ashley Poston, New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Year Slip

"A heartwarming group of childhood friends support the friends-to-lovers couple in a funny yet sentimental story. What starts with an outrageous moment when the heroine "goes viral" for all the wrong reasons quickly gets deeply emotional as the characters rediscover their lifelong love for each other." 
― Jayne Denker, author of The Rom-Com Agenda

"An immensely charming adult romance debut from Emma Lord! With its lovable characters, quaint seaside setting, and gorgeously insightful prose, The Break-Up Pact is a joy to read. This estranged-childhood-friends-to-fake-dating-to-lovers story is as delicious and warm as one of June's specialty scones. Humor and heart at its best -- I loved it!" 

―  Sarah Adler, author of Mrs. Nash's Ashes

Courtesy of Emma's website

Emma Lord (she/her) is a digital media editor and writer living in New York City, where she spends whatever time she isn't writing either running or belting show tunes in community theater. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a major in psychology and a minor in how to tilt your computer screen so nobody will notice you updating your fan fiction from the back row. She was raised on glitter, a whole lot of love, and copious amounts of grilled cheese. Her books include Tweet Cute, You Have a Match, and When You Get the Chance. 

Visit Emma online:

Website * Twitter * Instagram

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

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Giveaway ends August 20th at midnight EST.

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Book Review: Enemies to Lovers

By Melissa Smoot

Ever since The Embarrassing Meltdown Incident, Flo has been on an enforced break from life. And the timing couldn’t be better, as her family sets off to Greece for their summer vacation. 

Enter Jamie Kramer . . . literally. Broad, sun-kissed, and fitter than ever. Jamie is Flo’s brother's best friend, and the person she wants to see least in the world. He’s also her family’s "adopted" son after he lost his parents at a young age.

Flo and Jamie hate each other. Except, Flo actually has a mortifying crush on Jamie, made infuriatingly stronger after The Christmas Incident. And nobody—least of all her family—can know. So, with two weeks of steamy outings, rocky boat trips, and sunshine on the horizon, Flo is going to have to fix the situation the only way she can think of: by spending time with him. What could possibly go wrong for the pair of Enemies to Lovers? (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

I really enjoyed this book. The story took a few chapters for me to get into, but once I did, I could not stop reading. I liked how the author made the main character, Florence aka Flo, so relatable. The subject matter as well as the premise of misunderstandings and missed opportunities were also relatable. I have personally been in situations or relationships where not everything is as it seems, and it can be frustrating to always guess where you stand with someone or walk on eggshells. It is easier to just talk things out so that everyone comes to an understanding and is on the same page.

Williams captured this frustration perfectly and I was on pins and needles until the very end to see how things would pan out. I loved the family dynamic of the Greenberg’s and how they all made the effort to take a holiday together, even though the children are grown adults with their own lives. The beautiful Greek setting didn’t hurt either. If you are looking for a fun and witty read with a dash of romance and sibling rivalry, this is for you. 

Thanks to Putnam for the book in exchange for an honest review. Purchase Enemies to Lovers here.

More by Laura Jane Williams:
Our Stop
The Lucky Escape
The Love Square

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Book Review: Plays Well With Others

By Jami Denison

My son is thirty now, but I’m still drawn to books that recreate the highs and lows of parenting littles: toddlers that won’t sleep, friendships with other moms, school drama, competitive sports. There’s a universality to these experiences that make them natural fodder for novels in every genre. But time and distance has also given me perspective on how unique some of my experiences were, and how privileged our options. I’m starting to see these books in a slightly different light. 

In reporter Sophie Brickman’s first novel, Plays Well With Others, NYC mom Annie Lewin is headed for a nervous breakdown. With three kids under five (two in preschool), a nanny, a two-story penthouse apartment, a husband who works constantly at his own fund, and a part-time job writing an advice column for moms, Annie is pushed to the brink by the process for finding her genius son Sam a place in one of NYC’s amazing and competitive private schools. Her friendships start to fray: she’s jealous of wealthy divorce lawyer Belinda even though their sons are best friends; she hallucinates that a black hole is trying to suck her down. But as her advice columns become more unhinged, Annie earns the 21st century’s most coveted status: She goes viral. Will her new popularity help Annie and her family… or blow up in her face?

Plays Well With Others is very well-written, which is not surprising considering Brickman’s long list of publication credits. Annie is a funny woman who, at least in the beginning of the book, has a wry voice and some perspective about her situation. Her descent into irrationality—along with her crush on a dad at her kids’ pre-school—is something that any woman who stayed up all night to design her son’s PTA directory can appreciate. 

And yet, Annie is not someone that every mom can connect to. She and her husband both went to Harvard. Annie was an arts reporter for the New York Times before taking on the advice column gig. Her husband makes so much money that specific amounts are never mentioned. Her nanny might live in or not; a scene from later in the book implies that either she lives in or Annie is fine with her children being alone in the apartment overnight. 

Plays Well With Others has been compared to Fleishman is in Trouble, another novel about how parenting in NYC can make a woman lose her mind. (Fleishman, however, is not told from the point of the view of the mom who actually does have the nervous breakdown.) No one in these books ever mentions moving to New Jersey or Long Island or Connecticut or any town within train distance to the city that has an exceptional public school system, except as a mean joke. Nor does anyone think about working with the neighbors to turn around their public school. 

New York City is still the sun in the publishing universe, so it’s not surprising that editors and acquisition teams would connect with these characters. Who doesn’t like to read about themselves? For most women, though, sympathizing with a woman because her brilliant son might get into a “safety” school that features numerous playgrounds, small classes, and lots of chances for a child to be himself is almost impossible. This is not a criticism of Brickman’s writing talent, which is strong, but a plea for publishers to realize that a reader’s ability to connect to characters should be the most important factor in a book’s marketability. 

Truthfully, I did connect with Annie, because I was a privileged mother who struggled to get her son into private school, and when that didn’t happen, we moved to a better school district. And it wasn’t until I moved to Florida and got out of the Washington D.C. bubble that I realized how unusual our experiences really were, in comparison with the rest of the country’s families. As for Annie, an epilogue written fifteen years in the future adds further twists to her story that I would have liked to see play out. Losing her status, however, didn’t seem to be one of them. 

Thanks to William Morrow for the book in exchange for an honest review.

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