I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I love author Jenny Hale for a contemporary romantic quick read. I liked this but it was overly predictable and I was kind of bummed by that.

This was the perfect summer read. I really love Jenny Hale's writing. I will be featuring this book in a future post on summer reads.

I love this author so I’m not at all surprised I loved this book. The characters feel like friends and I just want to keep reading their story. This is an excellent book to read on a day you just want to relax and spend an afternoon reading

Jenny Hale never disappoints. Summer at Firefly Beach was a sweet, story that made for a great escape. An easy read with a steady pace, Hallie returns to the home of her favorite aunt to complete a bucket list that her aunt left for her in her will.

Her best friend Ben comes along with her sister and sister's kids, and they join Hallie's uncle at the beach house. Ben is there to help Hallie with her plan, and there is a history between them. Ben and Hallie kind of dance around each other, and I was rooting for BEN to get his HEA. (I admit, I had mixed feelings about Hallie in the end and how she came to her HEA...)

Still, this was a fun and easy read.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an eArc for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Hallie’s favorite memories are spending her summers staying at her Aunt Clara’s home in Firefly Beach. This summer is different, Aunt Clara has passed away. She has left Hallie with a bucket list of items to complete, in order to receive her inheritance. The best part, this is the bucket list Hallie wrote as a child. Some of the things on the list seem impossible. Hallie is going to have to take on some real challenges. Will she be able to complete it?

I really enjoyed this story. It had such a fun plot line that I haven’t read before. I loved all the characters, I felt like they were all so real and relatable. This is a story with reconnecting, sharing, revelations, and new beginnings. There was also a best friends turned lovers romance in this book, that I absolutely loved!! This is quite the emotional read, but it’s the perfect book to bring to the beach. I would highly recommend if you’re looking for a good summer romance!

Thank you Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am struggling a little bit to review this one. There were some things I really liked about this story and others that just didn’t do it for me personally.

I really liked Hallie. She is grieving, trying to figure out what she wants in life and clinging tightly to her childhood best friend. She has lost her aunt with whom she was very close. She returns with her family to her aunts house at Firefly Beach to check on her uncle who is not handling his grief well. I enjoyed all of the descriptions of this beautiful beach town and the inhabitants who this family has known for a lifetime. The grief that both Hallie and her uncle are going through is palpable and I loved reading about their bond and their memories of Hallies aunt and the summers they spent as a family at the beach. I also enjoyed that Hallies aunt left her a letter with a task list to complete in order to receive her inheritance. It had some fun activities and it definitely helped Hallie figure out the direction that she wanted to take with the rest of her life.

However, the relationship just didn’t do it for me here. Ben and Hallie were childhood best friends and it’s pretty obvious that he has loved her forever. I felt that the encounters with Ben current day were a bit awkward when they started addressing their feelings for one another and the ending/ happily ever after kinda came out of nowhere. It seemed like Hallie was just sort of accepting her feelings and their relationship and then bam - proposal. That definitely threw me for a loop.

If someone taught a class about writing the perfect summer novel, this would be the only book they'd talk about. It has everything: a super-realistic summer beach house and beach town, a slow burn connection between the leads, fabulous history and backstory unspool so that the relationship grows authentically and we really care about them getting together. We get stellar voices, a bit of that beachy breeze and a warm feeling like we've been in the sun all day. This book just simmers into you. Loved it. Will keep it and read it again and again. Hale writes like magic.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this free review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Hallie Flynn's aunt Clara has passed away and left her inheritance to the family. She left a bucket list for Hallie that Hallie wrote as a child and needs to fulfill it.
Hallie left her job to come to Firefly Beach and needs to decide what she wants to do with her future. Also helping her is her best friend Ben who is always there for her, her mom and her sister. I love Hallie's nephew Robby as he seemed so cute and needs a man figure in his life. Hw always seemed to be with Ben and Hallie that at sometimes I forgot he was Hallie's nephew and not her son.
All during this Hallie has a secret and what will happen when it comes out?
I enjoyed this story and the setting as I wanted to be there.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC to review.

Sweet romantic story that was a relaxing beach read! Emotional- did I say emotional? Hallie has lost her favorite aunt and the person she most closely identified with. Taking the summer to complete a bucket list for inheritance, Hallie is joined by her lifelong friend, Ben. Hallie definitely needed to open her eyes to Ben much sooner, but I guess the point of the book was to draw that out. Ben was always there for Hallie and always patient.

Loved this family and the emotions and love.

Lovely book from the gorgeous cover to the warm wonderful story.Homecoming memories characters tht come alive,Perfect summer beach read.#netgalley#grabdcentral

Summer at Firefly Beach
by Jenny Hale
Forever (Grand Central Publishing)
Forever
Women's Fiction
Pub Date 02 Jun 2020 | Archive Date 06 Jun 2020

Great book for a beach or vacation read! Thanks to Net Galley and Forever Publishers for providing the ARC of
this book.

4 stars

They say you can't judge a book by it's cover, but with how gorgeous the cover is for Summer at Firefly Beach, you can totally judge this book by the cover! Summer at Firefly Beach is the perfect summer or vacation read! It has a Hallmark-like feel to it, which makes it a good book for a variety of ages. The book is sweet with some heartfelt moments and the writing flows making it easy to read. I highly recommend if you're looking for a cute book to read while you're on vacation!

This was my first book, by author Jenny Hale, but it certainly won't be my last. My immediate thoughts were if Firefly Beach was a real place and, if so, I wanted to live there! I searched realtor.com but couldn't find any listings. Darn! I flew through this book, reading it in a day. I couldn't put it down!

This is a classic childhood friends to lovers romantic fiction novel. But not without it's hurdles! I was rooting for best friends Hallie Flynn and Ben Murray the entire time! They were such adorable-likeable characters.

I know as readers we often stereotype books. Some adjectives you often hear for romantic novels are: feel good, easy read, fluff, beach read... need I go on!? Sure, this book is some of those things, but it's so much more. It deals with grief, family secrets, strong woman, and finding yourself.

I can't recommend this book enough! I immediately purchased the next book in the series "The House on Firefly Beach" which centers around Hallie's sister, Sydney.

Thank you to netgalley and forever publishing for the opportunity to review this title.

When Hallie's beloved aunt dies, she finds herself on a journey of self-exploration. Where will it take her?

I loved watching Hallie as she stepped out of her comfort zone and worked alongside her friend to accomplish this 'mission' of sorts. The characters were well written and the story was beautiful. There may be a few tears.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this and give my honest opinion.

One of the best of the summer so far. This was a great story of coming home and rediscovering all the little things in life that truly make you happy. Expertly written with intriguing characters and a light carefree story. Ben and Hallie will quickly steal your heart. Recommended read for sure.

This is the perfect romantic beach read!

Hallie returns to her childhood vacation spot in Firefly Beach, Florida with her family and childhood best friend, Ben, to spend time with her Uncle Hank after the death of her Aunt Clara. Starlight Cottage has always been a place of magic and good times, but without Aunt Clara's spunky personality filling the house, everyone finds it hard to be cheerful; especially Uncle Hank. Hallie hopes to find healing from the recent losses in her life as she spends time with the only person that gives her peace and comfort, her best friend Ben. While she is at Starlight Cottage she must complete a bucket list of things she wanted as a twelve-year-old girl in order to receive her inheritance from Aunt Clara. Did Aunt Clara know what Hallie needs in her life better than she does? Will Ben be able to help her accomplish the tasks on the list? Will Ben be able to help Hallie heal?

This book is like reading a Hallmark movie! It's full of that warm hometown feeling, sprinkled with family fun and heartwarming memories, and wrapped up with love and romance. It's a perfect fit for a hopeless romantic like myself.

The writing is absolutely beautiful! I could not put the book down. The author knows how to pull the reader in and connect them emotionally with the characters. When the character was in pain, the reader felt it. When the character was excited and hopeful, the reader was excited with them. The reader often feels frustrated with Hallie because she cannot see what is right before her face.

Summer at Firefly Beach is the story of Hallie, a young woman coming to terms with the loss of her beloved Aunt Clara. Clara left letters for each of her family members, but Hallie’s was different. In her letter, Hallie was given a bucket list of five items that she wrote when she was twelve. She must complete the list before receiving the details to her inheritance. Hallie and her family, as well as her childhood best friend, Ben, go to Firefly Beach to visit their grieving Uncle Hank and it is there that Hallie begins to work on her list
I went into this story believing it would be a light summer romance. In actuality, it’s about Hallie, her grief and how she grows and changes as she works through her bucket list. There is romance and if you like a sloooooooow burn, you’ll enjoy this. It was a bit TOO slow for me, but I do love a friends-to-lovers romance and Ben was incredibly sweet in his feelings towards Hallie and her entire family. You combine those things with a bit of mystery and you have everything you need for a fantastic summer read!
Thank you to NetGalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and the author for the e-galley in exchange for an honest review. Summer at Firefly Beach is out June 2, 2020.

I wanted to relax and enjoy this book instead I found this a stressful read.
The story starts with a big secret, I find that stressful and I hate that. The whole "I know better and want to save everyone else from potential hurt" has been done many times and we have all seen that it never ends well. This book is also filled with grief. Favorite aunt, beloved wife is dead when the book starts, with a dead girl friend, brothers that have not spoke in 50 years and a divorce thrown in.
I found characters not developed and a lot more pages spent on snapping pictures and planning furniture than on people. It seemed people got skipped over for secrets and snapshots.
Even though you know how it will end, pick it up and take it to the beach you will be left with a "feel good" ending.

This was a quick, cute beach read. Everything about it is pretty superficial, but it was engaging and a decent read. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.