Review: The Summer House

Title: The Summer House

Author: Jenny Hale

Publisher: 9 June 2017 Bookouture

Pages: 269 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: women's fiction, romance

My Rating: 4.0 cups

Synopsis:

Some summers will stay with you forever...

Callie Weaver and best friend Olivia Dixon have finally done it: put their life savings into the beach house they admired through childhood summers, on the dazzling white sand of North Carolina’s Outer Banks. They’re going to buff the salt from its windows, paint its sun-bleached sidings, and open it as a bed and breakfast.

Callie’s too busy to think about her love life, but when she catches the attention of local heartthrob Luke Sullivan, his blue eyes and easy smile make it hard to say no. He’s heir to his father’s property empire, and the papers say he’s just another playboy, but as they laugh in the ocean waves, Callie realizes there’s more to this man than money and good looks.

Just when true happiness seems within reach, Callie and Olivia find a diary full of secrets... secrets that stretch across the island, and have the power to turn lives upside down. As Callie reads, she unravels a mystery that makes her heart drop through the floor. 

Will Callie and Luke be pulled apart by the storm it unleashes, or can true love save them?

The Summer House is an absolutely gorgeous, heart-warming summer romance, about the importance of family, not keeping secrets, and learning how to open your heart.

My Thoughts:

"The cottage was something out of Callie's dreams - dark wood shingled siding with white trim; the whole thing was on stilts to keep it safe from the rising tide in storms.... she could just imagine the cottage as a bed and breakfast once it was finished, with weary travelers resting on rockers or on the upper deck, taking in the view of the island, the sounds of the Atlantic lulling them from behind."

Callie and her best friend Olivia have moved to the Outer Banks, Carolina to follow their childhood dream of buying the cottage across from Olivia's grandmother Gladys and restoring it to its former glory as a bed and breakfast. The women have their work cut out for them as they hurry to get the cottage renovated and ready for a late Summer opening.  Too busy for romance and other complications, and burdened by past issues, the women are both solely focused on achieving their dreams but fate, love, and a little stardust have other ideas.  When Callie meets Luke she sees more than the playboy millionaire facade he shows to the world and he sees in Callie someone who he can truly be himself with. But as the hot Summer days morph into intense Summer storms, secrets are uncovered that could shatter not only their budding relationship but an entire family. 

Jenny Hale does a wonderful job describing the beauty of the Outer Banks area and clearly has a deep love for the beach, at one point you can almost smell the crisp salty air and feel the zap of electricity as the afternoon storms rumble in. I delighted in the synchronicity of the unravelling family drama with the increasingly dangerous weather.

With well-developed characters, family intrigue, secrets, and lies, a realistically paced love story that doesn't rely on the insta-love trope, and a tropical storm that leaves mayhem and destruction in its wake, The Summer House is undoubtedly a satisfying and heart-warming story. I can thoroughly recommend it as a perfect  Summery beach read!

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.