Summer at Hope Haven by Kristin Harper is the first book in the new contemporary romance Dune Island series. With this series being romance I would expect that the second book will probably change main characters as do a lot of these series however I’m not positive on that just yet. This first book does however read well on it’s own bringing this couple together without any cliffhanger or seemingly need to continue their story further.

Emily is an artist that is struggling with grief after the loss of her entire family in an automobile accident. As Emily found herself drowning in grief she felt removed from not only her work but from her relationship and found it crumbled around her leaving her alone. In order to try to get past the loss of her parents and brother Emily decides to move to Hope Haven where her family had vacationed as she was growing up.

When Emily arrives on Dune Island in Hope Haven she finds the memories in the house she shared with her family surrounding her. With old friends nearby and an art project lined up Emily hopes that she will begin to heal over her summer and finds herself enjoying the time she spends with a man she has met on the island, Lucas Socorro. Before long though Emily finds out a shocking secret about her family’s past.

I have to say the majority of Summer at Hope Haven was actually quite enjoyable to read. Having Emily be a somewhat flawed character dealing with such a huge impact on her life made me warm up to her rather easily and feel the emotion that oozed from her. However, the one thing I would nitpick at with this one was the inevitable conflict comes and it seemed the characters took the longest time to learn their lesson repeating the same confict. Of course I’m one that would just prefer the HEA without the messy stuff so maybe I’m being picky there as the rest of the book was lovely.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

The cover is what initially drew me to this book and made me request it. This is a book of grief, love, secrets, and friendship. I wanted to love it more than I did. The main character Emily was hard for me to take. I understand the grief but, she's just off the rails at times, petulant, and childish.

Emily Vandemark returns to her family cottage in Dune Island to reflect and try to move forward with her life after an emotionally devastating year in which she lost her entire family, consisting of her parents and elder brother, to a helicopter crash and her fiance ending their relationship.
She has accepted an invitation to volunteer for a mural art project for the new children's ward at the local hospital, hoping that this art project will not only keep her busy for the summer but will also be a healing process for her emotionally, mentally and physically. While at it, she also decides to give the dour looking cottage a bright and lively makeover. With the help of her art, the support of Wilson, her brother's best friend and his wife Collette and her newly formed friendship with the handsome Dr. Lucas Socorro, Emily gradually sheds her shell of grief and begins to hope, live, laugh and love again. Her summer at Hope Haven truly becomes a haven of hope for her.

This is a lovely, slow burn story about making peace with past secrets, healing and finding hope and love again. Dune Island, with its beaches, coves and inlets is beautifully described and the setting has a soothing and therapeutic feel to it. Even the thought process behind the murals and the invitation cards for Collette's baby shower that Emily paints show her moving towards hope and healing. The only thing that irked me about Emily was that she could at times become very impulsive and jump to conclusions about things which led to a few issues and misconceptions between her and Wilson as well as Lucas.

Overall, I liked it and look forward to reading more of the series. This is also the author's debut novel. My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture and the author Kristin Harper for the e-Arc of the book.

The story of a woman struggling with the grief of losing her parents and only sibling. She finds peace and healing by returning to Dune Island, where she and her family had spent every summer. I love any book set by the sea, as for me too, that is the most healing place on earth. Stories involving medical personnel also draw my in - so this book hit two of my favorites.

Emily has lost weight and looks sickly due to her overwhelming grief. The portrayal of pain and grief is very realistic and not glossed over - there is no time limit to it, and I appreciated that everything is not easily resolved. There are additional problems to work through.

One mistake that is relatively minor to the plot but that grated on my nerves was in the character Barbara. The author noted that she would be a doctor once she completed her residency. However, in the United States, an individual is a doctor once she completes Medical Schools before she begins her residency.

I look forward to reading future books in this series and to learn more about the other characters at the hospital and on the island.

This is the debut novel by this author and let me just say I love her writing style. Kristin Harper knows how to grab you and pull you into this story, so, pack your bags because you’re going to Cape Cod. I was looking forward to escaping into this book and seeing what Hope Haven has to offer.

As Emily arrives in Hope Haven she is there to feel close to her family whom she had just lost. She went back to a place full of happy memories of her childhood, with the family she loved. As she begins to make changes to her family’s house, she is also changing. As she moves through the stages of grief, she meets Lucas who is the pediatric doctor in the town’s hospital. Emily is an art history major as well, and as she paints murals on the walls at the hospital, a relationship begins to develop with Lucus. As the story continues, you find yourself cheering Emily on. Flipping through the pages, you see her flourish and once agin finding happiness in her life. I loved the details in the back stories of both Lucas and Emily. The characters are so relatable and they make you want to hang out on the porch chatting and drinking iced tea. This is a real page turner that you can’t put down once you begin reading it. Thank you Kristin Harper for such a wonderful story of love, family, friendships and most of all hope. I highly recommend this book as I’m sure it won’t disappoint. It definitely has all the feels.

I really enjoyed this story and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. I am so glad that this is just the start of a series, that means there is so much more to come and I look so forward to reading what’s next. I will definitely read more books written by this author.

This is a debut novel by Kristin Harper and the first in the Dune Island series. I really enjoyed this story and am already looking forward to what will come next. This is Emily's story. She is reeling from not only a broken engagement, but the death of both parents and her brother in a helicopter crash 9 months earlier. She escapes to Dune Island to the family's cottage to lick her wounds and use her art to help the hospital and hopefully, to help her heal. With her brother's best friend and his wife next door, she is welcomed back to the island with open arms. Enter a handsome Pediatrician, Dr. Luke, and you know there is going to be some romance involved.

This is a story of healing, grief, secrets, friendship and romance. I really liked Emily's character. She had been through so much, but was still strong and trying to heal. She was a great friend to Wilson and Collette and they were to her as well. I loved the setting of the story, the atmosphere, the storms as well as the sunny, hot days floating in the ocean. The addition of the art that showed the emotion and heart of the subject was a wonderful metaphor. The dialogue, apt sayings from Emily's parents and the banter all added much to the story. Throw in some angst, (what is a romance without some angst), a rather nasty, bitter woman, a party, and a baby and you have a delightful story that will have you smiling widely by the end.

Emily is grieving for her family who died in a helicopter crash. Struggling with the overwhelming loss, she pushed away her fiance who then jilted her. She has arrived at Hope Haven to heal her heart and soul at the family summer home. Love isn't on her mind but she feels an attraction to a doctor at the hospital where she is painting a mural in the children's ward. Plus her childhood friend Wilson and his wife Collette are expecting their first baby but he is acting strangely...
Summer at Hope Haven is an emotional book about loss and grief but also forgiveness and acceptance. Emily is working through the stages of grief and coming to terms with her new life alone. She also discovers that her family was not quite as perfect as she believed so needs to accept that too.
The writing is easy to read and feels very natural. Emily's vulnerability is easy to imagine and identify with, even as we despair at her lack of trust and the frequent miscommunication with Lucas.
There are some interesting plot twists which make this more than a simple love story. They may have been easy to anticipate but it was interesting to see how author Kristin Harper handled it in a sensitive way. I really enjoyed the realistic dialogue as Emily negotiates new friendships, becoming especially close to Wilson's wife.
Summer at Hope Haven would be a fab beach read as it has a mix of warmth and emotion but also has a lighthearted tone to soften the serious themes.

1st book in a series. A wonderful summer romance with a beautiful beach town setting. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read the advance copy.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary advance reader copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

A lovely, enjoyable read. Emily is trying to deal with the loss of her parents and brother in a tragic accident and the recent break up with her fiancé. She escapes to her family’s cottage at Hope Haven; where she has volunteered to paint a mural in the new children’s wing of the hospital. Her closest neighbour is a childhood friend, her brother Peter’s best friend, Wilson and his wife, Collette. As Emily tries to put her life back together, she meets local doctor Luke, who she finds herself attracted to but is she ready to trust her heart to someone again; or is she doomed to be alone with her pain. Also, why is Wilson acting strangely, what is his secret and how does it relate to her. I loved reading about the local area of Hope Haven, it seemed so peaceful and calming.

I will definitely be reading the next book in this series. I really enjoyed this book, great summer read.

Emily Vandemark has arrived at Dune island to paint murals on hospital walls in the children's wing. She has lost her family in a helicopter crash. The neibors next door to her cottage are Wilson and Collette, and Emily has grown up with Wilson. She meets up with a doctor Lucas.
A very good romance that would be great for the beach.
This is the first book in a series.

Emily can't get over the loss of her parents and brother in a helicopter crash and so is not sure that she is making the right decision returning to Dune Island for the summer, at least Wilson who was like another brother growing up will be next door. She is soon settling in and spending time with Wilson's wife Collette who is expecting their first child...... and then there is the sexy doctor Lucas! Then secrets from the past start to emerge and Emily will have even more to contend with and can Lucca be trusted?

A lovely story in a beautiful setting with some great characters with Barbara being the only one that I disliked. A perfect summer read and I will be looking for future books from this author

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. I wanted to end my summer with a fun beach type family drama so I chose Summer At Hope Haven. I must say I am surprised that this is a debut novel. I thought the writing was really good. It reminded me of some of my other favorite authors like Elin Hilderbrand, Susan Mallery and Nancy Thayer. The story itself was very enjoyable. I thought the author did a great job with the characters. Usually there is atleast one character that drives me crazy when I read a family drama but that was not the case with this book. The story takes place on Dune Island where Emily is reconnected with Wilson, who was like a brother to her growing up. She immediately becomes close with his wife, Collette. Some of my favorite parts of this book were the conversations between Emily and Collette. Then Lucas comes into the picture and he is a very likeable character....no flaws with Dr. Luke...his patients love him, the kids love him, the other doctors love him and the ladies definitely love him.

The story deals with a tragedy in Emily’s life that is hard for her to deal with even almost a year after it happened. She learns to lean on the people who have become so important to her over the summer. Overall this was a great book to choose for an end of summer read. The only reason it wasn’t the full 5 stars was because although I really liked Emily’s character, I was a little annoyed at the back and forth distrust in Lucas. But I was very happy with how it ended. I highly recommend this one and look forward to a sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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This sweet, summer read was a story og grief and how it can tear you down and destroy the person you were. How it guts you and creates a void. It makes you sick and it decimates your will to get out of bed, to take care of yourself and those around you. Emelie discovered all of it when the u thinkable happened and her entire family was gone. Thats why after months and months of drifting through life lost in a fog of grief she decides to go back to the family cottage where they were once so happy. There she discovers more than she could have bargained for, then she ever could have imagined. She may have lost most of her family, but along the way she discovers something new, something that changes her and heals her broken heart and soul. It's beautiful and sweet and such a great read that you can finish in a day. Definitely worth a read!

A good debut novel and a good start to a series. A beautiful backdrop for a lovely piece of summer escapism.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

A heartwarming and poignant book that made me smile and moved me.
I loved the great characters and how the author deals with topics like overcoming grief, trust and moving on.
The author is a good storyteller and the story kept me hooked.
I can't wait to read the next installment in this series, recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This is a beautifully written story about overcoming grief and trust issues, dealing with family secrets, and forgiveness! It is an easy but complex read. It will take the reader on an emotional roller coaster ride. One minute Emily is doing great and the next minute she is reminded of something about her family and breaks out in tears. The characters in this story are very relatable, likable, and are full of emotions. I enjoyed watching Emily form relationships with Collette and Lucas. They had the type of personalities to keep Emily grounded. I also liked the way the relationship with Wilson became closer and how they leaned on each other to overcome the tragedy of losing their loved ones. I would definitely recommend this book to readers that like a complex story with lots of ups and downs. I can't wait until the next book in the series comes out!
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Summer at Hope Haven by Kristin Harper is the first book in the Dune Island romance series, and my first book by this author. I really enjoyed this book, and visualized myself swimming with the ladies. This book was easy to read and perfect for an escape from hot weather or the pandemic. I will be reading more books by this author, looking forward to book two in the series. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy sweet romances.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Beautiful story. Gorgeous setting. All the feels. Kristin Harper has vividly woven together a tale of grief, hope, and heart. Emily has lost her family to tragedy and her fiancé to another woman. Faced with a long summer away from her job in academia she decides to return to her family cottage on Dune Island. She begins to regret her choice when the cottage starts bringing up too many painful memories. BUT Emily decides it is time for her to face her past not to mention she has volunteered to paint a mural in the local hospital. When she meets the affable good looking doctor Luke there is a definite attraction, but Emily is not ready to open her heart to anyone.

This was a sweet emotional slow burn romance, but the setting stole the show. This gorgeous island was so vividly described I could... feel the sand between my toes... smell the allure of the sea... hear the crash of the waves... taste the salt in the air.... Emily was such a lovely character. My heart broke for her for what she had gone through and my heart sword for her as she fought to get her life back. Lucas was a great guy and I really was hoping Emily and he would find their way to one another. The side characters were great and there were a few secrets and twists that were unexpected. This book was an absolute treat packed with all the feels.

This book in emojis 🖌 🎣 🎨 🐠 🏊‍♀️ 🏄🏻‍♂️ 🤰🏻 ♟

*** Big thank you to Bookouture for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

Summer at Hope Haven is the 1st book in the Dune Island series, and the first book by this author I have read. I throughly enjoyed the book, I found it to be very well written and it kept my interest from start to finish. Emily has had to face more in a few people have to endure in a whole lifetime, and this book helps take us along with her journey. This book contains heartache, humor, romance and forgiveness. I look forward to reading more books by this author. I would certainly recommend it to others.

I received a ARC from NetGalley and the publisher Bookouture and was under no obligation to leave a favorable review, all opinions expressed here are my own.

Let’s cut right to the chase.

I. Loved. This. Book.

I sometimes avoid stories like this because I’m not always keen on stories with family secrets or realistic family problems. Something about this one caught my eye, however, and I am so glad that I decided to pick it up.

In fact, I was so happy to pick it up that I couldn’t put it down. I read it in one sitting. For me, that is pretty much unheard of, not only because of our hectic family schedule but because I often have so much going on in my head, I can’t concentrate on one story all at once.

Aside from these positives, kudos to the author for so many other things.

For establishing a setting that could reflect the emotions of the characters.

For creating characters with depth and realism.

For capturing grief so poignantly and accurately.

For crafting a story that was heartfelt and emotional.

I loved Emily’s journey to becoming whole again. Tragedy strikes her in a one-two punch that would floor anyone, so she retreats to a place that holds special family memories. I could totally relate to the feeling of wanting to be alone and feeling even lonelier in doing so. Getting out of that cycle is difficult.

What Emily ultimately realizes is that it’s not always about what she thinks other people think. That’s another by-product of grief, in my experience. It’s easy to become so introspective that one doesn’t realize that other people may have different and helpful perspectives.

She needed to experience that through listening to other people and getting out of her own head. Fortunately, she had good (and patient) people around to help her, as well as a neat volunteer job that was therapy in its own manner.

I usually don’t like it when characters make assumptions about something thereby creating annoying drama. That happened with Emily a few times (and with Lucas). But, again, I am willing to give Emily a pass because peopling is sometimes difficult even in the best of times. When one is trying to find the way back to life again, it is sometimes harder to stop and think things through.

That being said, when I expected her to really lose it and go on a tirade at a particular person, she was calm. It was only later that her emotions caught up with her. I think deep down, she realized that the first person wasn’t worth the time or energy. That’s another lesson about self-realization that came through in her story.

I liked how Emily’s parents’ situation (no spoiler here, although I did guess the heart of the family secret) actually gave Emily the perspective and proper attitude to change for the better. I was especially touched by the reactions to art, both on Emily’s part and others who saw Emily’s art. Those were special moments in the book.

I see that this is book one in a new series set on Dune Island. I can’t wait to read more, and hope that at least some of the characters make appearances again. Do yourself a favor and pick up this excellent novel.