A fun sweet read! Highly recommend.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my ARC.

A long time has passed since I requested this title and my tastes have changed. If I come back to it in the future I'll edit this review!

Unfortunately this book was a DNF for me.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. I was able to find the audio version through my local library. I would honestly recommend that everyone should read the book instead of listen. The narrators were not that good (my opinion).
The book was okay. If you are looking for a Hallmark type romance. Full of cheesy lines and a fake relationship turn romance. I have no idea why authors write about fake relationships/engagements in modern times. To me it only works in period books where you have to do an arrange marriage, mail order bride type story plot.

I received this book for free from netgalley for an honest opinion

Sugary sweet concept that I just devoured in two days. Really great characters that stick with you.

This was a predicable book but of course I still enjoyed a ton. Very wholesome and heartwarming.

Thank you NetGalley for eARC in exchange for an honest review

Stella and Luke’s HEA is sweet and slow like molasses, in all the best ways. Their fake dating is adorable. Luke deals with some heavy issues, but Calhoune treats them with gravitas. This is such a fun series, I can’t recommend it enough.

Another chance to meet back up with our friends in Mistletoe,Maine and I am delighted with these characters. You can be assured there's plenty of romance in this hard to put down fun book. The first book in the series was sister Lucy Marshall's story now it's grade school teacher Stella Marshall’s turn to have a little romance brighten her life. Her high school crush is back in town, former Navy SEAL, Luke Keegan. He never even noticed her back in school when she was crushing on him but believe me he sure notices her now. There is wild speculation around this small charming town that the two are already an item so they agree on a fake romance to throw everyone off track. What they feel between them isn't fake though so how do they fight their feelings?
Luke doesn't feeling deserving of a good woman such as Lucy though after what he went through as a SEAL. Romance or memories? Will Luke let his past hold him back from a fresh start with this special woman? The author writes in a sensitive way handling the character's PTSD in a gentle way.
I am looking forward to reading the next book in this inspirational series.

Pub Date 28 Jun 2022
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

4.5 Stars

Summer on Blackberry Beach is the standalone second book in Belle Calhoune’s Mistletoe, Maine series. It features Stella Marshall, the oldest sister of Lucy Marshall, the heroine from the first book, No Ordinary Christmas, and Luke Keegan a recently retired hometown Navy SEAL.

It’s been two years since Rafe broke up with Stella a mere two days before their wedding to reconnect, marry, and start a family with his high school sweetheart. During this time, Stella has had to endure pitying looks and multiple attempts to set her up with “eligible” men. Stella, a second-grade teacher, is just looking forward to summer so she can relax and maybe even take a girls' trip.

After an explosion ended his military career, Luke is back home in Mistletoe trying to figure out his next steps. He isn’t prepared for his younger brother Nick to be inundated with multiple calls to have him set Luke up on dates. After rescuing Stella from an epically embarrassing situation, the two decide to pretend to be a couple, in order to keep the well-meaning townfolk of Mistletoe off their backs. As is always the case, a fake relationship produces real feelings.

Stella and Luke are afraid to take the step to becoming a real couple and risk their hearts. But when Stella’s ten-year-old sister Tess, and Luke’s eight-year-old nephew Miles join forces, they have no choice but to face their fears and admit their true feelings. I really loved these two together. They are just what the other needs to put their lives in perspective and learn about themselves.

If you like/love Belle’s Love Inspired books, you are definitely going to love this sweet romance. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series, which features Nick, a widowed single father.

~ Favorite Quotes ~

“Perspective was a funny thing.”

“Life isn’t any fun without surprises.”

“Happiness is something to rejoice about.”

“No one’s life is perfect.”

“Trust your instincts.”

“Love is terrifying and amazing and powerful.”

“I’m a work in progress. I’m not finished. Not by a long shot.”

“With love, anything was possible.”

This story would be perfect as a Hallmark movie. It was very predictable, but that is part of the charm of the book. It was a quick and easy read. The characters were fun and the small town setting was a great part of the story.

I think my only real frustration was some of the repetitiveness. I believe we were told that Luke was a Navy SEAL at least a dozen times each chapter.

On the positive side - it was very wholesome ( which I really enjoy ) and very cute! I do like the sub-genre of faking the relationship until it becomes real.

Summer on Blackberry Beach is a fun look at how to keep your friends and family from trying to set you up. Stella and Luke decide to fool everyone into thinking they are a couple to take the pressure off constantly being set up with someone. The idea works perfectly! No one is bothering them, and they enjoy doing stuff together. Maybe too much. Perhaps it's too easy to be together. Maybe it's more than pretend...
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this early release!

Once again I have the pleasure of visiting the fictional town of Mistletoe, Maine and becoming acquainted with teacher, Stella Marshall and former Navy Seal, Luke Keegan. The last time I visited the town, it was winter and the citizens of Mistletoe were celebrating Christmas (NO ORDINARY CHRISTMAS. Living on Blackberry Beach has a special appeal to Stella as she looks forward to the beautiful sunrises and peaceful sunsets that come with living near the beach. On the last day of school, one of her students, as well as the town, is treated to a special surprise.
A great deal of the storyline is devoted to Luke and Stella coming to grips with their dark pasts so they can have a future together. However, the storyline doesn’t get bogged down with their woes, because Ms Calhoune is very adept at inserting festive scenarios that highlight town events. It’s a good balance of dark and light moments.

The side characters are mainly composed of family and friends of the heroine and hero. They lend support and unsolicited advice. I love the roles of Luke’s nephew, Miles, and Tess, Stella’s ten year old sister. The HEA is so gratifying.
SUMMER ON BLACKBERRY BEACH is an engaging and entertaining summer read. I recommend that you add it to your summer reading pile. You won’t be sorry.

Stella is a teacher on summer break and isnt really looking after having her heart broken recently. Luke is a former navy SEAL dealing with a lot right now and the last thing he's looking for is love but that won't stop every who keeps trying. So a fake relationship was set up to get everyone to back down, they never expected to fall for eachother for real.

This was a pretty enjoyable book I really liked it. I liked getting to know the character and about their lives and what lead them to this point of really not looking for love. I liked seeing how everything play out and how right they were for eachother. I loved watching them fall for eachother but since the characters are going through things trust can be hard and getting past the past can take things complicated between the two but I overall enjoyed seeing how everything played out.

Which is more dangerous, love or the battlefield? This is what former Navy SEAL Luke Keegan is forced to determine when he realizes that his “showmance” with Stella, a grade school teacher, really get him into deep water. Not only is he falling deep and fast, but Stella cannot deny the fact that she had a crush on him years ago. Perhaps she never lost that crashed. Perhaps faking a relationship in order to quiet the gossipers is not faking it at all.

Not only are Luke and Stella working with their emotions, they both examine past relationships and failures. More than that, Luke is coping with nightmares due to PTSD and survivor’s guilt. Them, there is the fact that Stella’s baggage from a previous bad relationship is very weighing on her. They must navigate the things that are bringing them down in order to find a way to trust their hearts and find a future together.

I loved Tess, Stella’s youngest sister, ten going on thirty. I loved her in book one of this series, No Ordinary Christmas, which was Lucy’s story, the middle sister. Another great supporting character was Miles, Luke’s nephew and one of Stella’s students. Teaching was Stella’s dream job and Miles was one of her favorite students. I really enjoyed the strong bonds between Miles and both Stella and Luke.

This delightful read contained some powerful emotional moments, and made this book a wonderful summer read. The fact that I was able to listen to this book by excellent narrators made a very good story that much better.

Many thanks to Forever and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion

Please enjoy my YouTube video review - https://youtu.be/gsEvio49qY0

My thoughts: this book is a sweet Beach read that would be perfect for your Ocean side vacation. This is clean sweet romance set in Maine on the beach complete with the lighthouse. The characters are realistically developed and won my sympathy and I cared for what happened. I enjoyed reading the story and recommended for your summer vacation or any time of the year. It was perfect for a 4th of July read. I was given a copy free and all opinions are my own

This was such a sweet read. I did however feel it was necessary to read the first book in the series to really get the whole picture. Overall, I felt like the main characters were super sweet, and genuine. The romance was a good even build. Oftentimes Romances tend to be either too fast or too much of a slow burn but this was a nice, easy paced book. It was a perfect beach read. I've noticed a new trend in teachers finding romance over the summer in some contemporary novels and I adore it.
Stella was a really great character, who had her flaws...and yeah I'm a total sucker for a fake romance turned into real love trope.
Excellent read!

I really was looking forward to this installment in the series! Unfortunately I had to DNF around 25%. I enjoyed the first book enough and was hoping, like with a lot of companion series, that I would love the second book more with different characters in the same setting. My issues with the writing style were more apparent in this book unfortunately. I found it to be super repetitive. The characters referred to the MC as a Navy SEAL every two seconds. His inner thoughts were also very caught up in what happened, which I totally understand, but he had the same thoughts over and over again so it was tough to read. I'm not huge on an ex-military hero and thought I wouldn't have an issue but because it was constantly discussed in the beginning of the book, it took me out of it. I guarantee there are others out there who will love this book but I think this series is just not for me!

More wholesome than I usually enjoy and not diverse at all that I could tell. I also stumbled onto a trope I don’t enjoy reading so that soured the book on me. The concept was cute- the execution had no MMPH!

Stella Marshall is ready for summer vacation after teaching all year in Mistletoe, Maine. Sun, sand and sleeping in are the only things on her agenda. That is until Luke Keegan shows up in town. She has had a crush on him since high school but vows to keep him in the friendzone as she is not looking for a relationship. When the towns gossip mill starts up, Stella and Luke see that maybe having a fake romance will keep their family and friends who are playing matchmakers at bay. Can they keep up the façade without becoming a real couple when they start spending more time together?

This is such a sweet story with so many humorous and touching moments. With Stella trying to dodge her ex-boyfriend and Luke running from all the women vying for his attention, I could not help but giggle throughout the book. It was fun to revisit the small town and reconnect with previous characters from “No Ordinary Christmas”, the first book in the Mistletoe Maine series. To me, Belle Calhoune has a home run with this book, and it is a solid five stars. Thank you so much Forever Publishing for my advanced copy. All my thoughts and opinions are entirely my own. A delightful summer read friends.

Stella had a crush on Luke back in high school but he never knew the nerd girl existed. After a stint as a Navy Seal, he's returning home to recuperate and regroup. He surprises his nephew Miles', a 2nd grader in Stella's classroom, in a big schoolwide meeting.

Stella's best friend was Miles' mom, Kera, who died. She feels an attraction for Luke immediately She's had friends and family set her up on dates ever since her fiance broke it off 2 weeks before their scheduled wedding. Luke finds all the single women in town itching for a date. What starts as a fake arrangement to protect both of them from meddling becomes a real relationship when they profess honest feelings for each other.

But Like is suffering from survivor syndrome and PTSD due to an IED explosion that killed 2 of his brothers in arms and injured others, causing his medical discharge. Can he overcome his past to fight for love and a future when he feels responsible for 2 deaths? You'll want to read this one to find out.

Although part of a series this can be read as a standalone book. I received an ARC eBook from Net Galley and I am voluntarily submitting this review.