When reading Sweet Pea Summer I was immersed in the quaint yet tangled dynamics of a small town romance.
May’s high school sweetheart, Tom, departs for greener pastures, and their breakup leaves ripples of unresolved emotions.
Years later, Tom’s unexpected return stirs up suspicion among the tight-knit community, who were led to believe he was the one who ended things.
May grapples with her past choices and present feelings.
I was swept up by this lovely book!
It navigates the complexities of forgiveness, second chances, and the enduring sweetness of true love.
Coming from a small town originally myself, I was totally able to relate to the small town vibe and the sweet romance of this story.
I highly recommend it!
Although it is part of a series, I don’t believe I needed to have read the previous book to understand this one at all. They seem to be quite standalone books. Connected, but not necessary to read in order. I will definitely pick up more of these books.

Thankyou to Author Alys Murray, Bookouture and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
Charlene 🌸📚🤗 @lastnownext

Blurb:
Can you ever really forget your first love?

It’s been eight long years since May Anderson’s high school sweetheart Tom Riley drove down Main Street in his truck, leaving Hillsboro—and May—in his rearview mirror. Now he’s back and, try as they might, the pair can’t avoid each other.

As Hillsboro prepares to host the prestigious North West Food and Wine Festival, Tom and May are reluctantly called in to plan the big event. Tom needs May’s help to repair his bad-boy reputation and, with the whole town counting on them, May and Tom need to learn to trust each other again.

May is determined to protect her heart, but a lot has changed since high school. She can’t help but notice how the skinny boy she used to know is now a man who perfectly fills out his button-down, and Tom can’t seem to tear his gaze away from May’s sweet smile. It’s clear old feelings are surfacing again, but there is a secret keeping them apart and, until they find the courage to face it, their second chance summer will be only that…

My thoughts: Sweet Pea Summer was an enjoyable read. I enjoyed the characters and the settings. I'm a sucker for small town novels and this hit just right!

This was the first book I had read by this author. I enjoyed her writing.
Tom and May were high-school sweethearts. They were supposed to leave together after graduation to get away but that didn't happen. May broke up with him believing he wasn't good enough. But the feelings for him did not go away like she thought they would. May runs a business with her bees and makes goodies with honey. Her friend Annie throws her into being in charge of the North West Food and Wine Fest. Annie knows the past of Tom and of May and then suggests that Tom should co-chair with her since his family owns the winery. They both realize how well they still work together how easy it is to laugh and talk. I thought the good was cute and easy to read.
Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is a good book. The two main characters are May and Tom. They dated in high school. When they graduated they were going to leave and travel. But May told Tom she didn’t want to leave and broke up with him. Several years later they meet again at a party. The old feelings were still there. They feel in love again.

Sweet story about living in a small town, and gaining a second chance on love. A little predictable, but a nice, easy read that would be perfect for reading on the beach.

Went into the book with high hopes.but could never really get into it. The story felt too unrealistic.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A Wonderful, sweet story that you will love and enjoy too. Enjoyable characters!

I LOVED this book! It had all the feels and small-town romances are some of my favorites. Plus, the minute you say 'Persuasion retelling,' I'm in! Murray did a great job giving it that Persuasion vibe while also keeping it fresh and contemporary. This will be going in on my reread shelf!

This was such a cute small town second chance romance. She really knows how to pull at your heartstrings. This was a fast paced book for me and I enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend this book if you love second chance romance.

Thanks NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for allowing me to read this ARC.

It is so heartbreaking to witness two people in love struggling to reconcile. This story was so raw and captivating that I couldn't put it down.

May has been living a lie for many years. She bailed on her boyfriend Tom when they were supposed to blow their small town after graduation. Instead May broke Tom’s heart by dumping him and has allowed the false narrative to be strewn about. When Tom Returns and they’re paired to make the festival happen, will May own up to her mistakes.
I wasn’t overly fond of May. I thought she was quite cowardly to let others take the heat for her and allow the lie to perpetuate. I thought Tom was too patient with May and had to really love her.
The small town setting was fun but also cloying at times.
Alls well that ends well.

Sweet Pea Summer by Alys Murray is the 2nd book in the contemporary romance Full Bloom Farm series.
The story was sweet, the book a bit predictable. I would say the genre crosses the line between contemporary romance and women's fiction. This is the 2nd in the series but can easily be read as a standalone. The book takes place in the small town of Hillsboro CA, where gossip and judgmental attitudes run rampant. Where people hold a grudge for so long that they may not even remember where it originated but they're happy to perpetuate the problem. And a big part of that problem is May herself. She thinks she's her parents least favorite. That her 2 sisters are an in-tune unit that she is not a part of. But perhaps this is all her guilt speaking? Her lack of self-respect? Her All About Me attitude? I had about 0 respect for May and I could only work up a tad bit of sympathy. You make your bed, you lie about it, and then you lie it. The story itself was cute enough, sweet enough. Just enough intrigue to keep you reading. But the character of May never really fully developed and could have been much better. The character of Tom was better developed and more believable. The story of May and Tom's relationship - just too predictable. 3.5 ⭐️s overall for me.

The story idea was great, the execution, not so good. One of my frustrations with this story was the lack of communications between May and Tom. If they had each said what they were thinking, if they were honest, it would have been so much better. Another frustration was the constant repetitiveness of information. Over and over we were told how May let the whole town believe a lie, but she didn't do anything about it.

The end was too fast. They couldn't trust and believe each other through the whole book, then at the end they did.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me an ARC! It was a good book.

Tom and May were high-school sweethearts in Hillboro. They were supposed to leave together after graduation and get away. But alas that didn't happen and May broke up with him believing the town and them saying he wasn't good enough. But those feelings for him did not go away like she thought they did.

May runs a business with her bees and makes goodies with honey. She also sells the queen bees to keep the population going. Her friend Annie basically throws her into being in charge of the North West Food and Wine Fest. Annie knows the past of Tom and of May and then suggests that Tom should co-chair with her since his family owns the winery.

They both realize how well they still work together how easy it is to laugh and talk.

Do you think they are meant for each other? Do you think the bad name that Tom has because the town thought that he broke May's heart when really it was the other way around? Do you think May can step out and take chances?

Read the book!

A cute small town romance!

This is not my usual read but I did like it most of the time. The romance between Tom and May is second chance and very slow burn but you do root for them. You also very much get the small town feel of the book. May, however, was not my favorite. She had too many hang ups and while she does get over them, it was hard to understand them to begin with.

This is a good read for these who like small town, sweet, closed door romances.

I loved my quick visit to Hillsboro County in California and my time with the Anderson sisters! This is book two in the Hillsboro Flower Farm series and it features the youngest Anderson sister, May, who reneged on her deal with her boyfriend to leave town after the night after their high school graduation party. Eight years later he’s back in town and it’s obvious they’ve never been able to get over each other.

This is a sweet small town second chance romance that explores whether we can ever really forget our first love and reminds us that we need to face our past before we can move on with our future. The focus is on reconciliation. There are secrets to uncover and meddling sisters to sidestep, businesses to keep afloat, a food and wine festival to organize and lots of angst and regrets to work through. Can this couple make it, the second time around?

My only challenge was May! I struggled to identify with her. Perhaps it was her personality, her narrow outlook or perhaps it was my difficulty as a big-city girl trying to understand a small-town girl’s actions. I don’t know, but I didn't understand the reactions of the townspeople towards Tom and wonder if May could have made it easier for him. Tom was easy to love and carried the story. I’m looking forward to book three and getting to know the third Anderson sister, Rose.

Wine, flowers, siblings and sweet romance?! It’s a great choice for a quick read.

Murray always creates an original pie recipe with every book she writes, and this one is no exception. Mmmmm. Looking forward to a baking weekend.

I was gifted this copy by Forever, Grand Central Publishing, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

A fantastic book! I really enjoyed everything about this book. The characters were relatable and the story line was unique! The themes were redemption, second chances and that love will always find a way. A definite must read!
I was provided an ARC copy of this book by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I found the plot very interesting but I found the character May very frustrating. I know she is young but her whole mousey demeaner was aggravating. It seemed that she wanted to act like a grownup but didn't want to be responsible for her action. I loved how Tom try to help his grandmother and understand May but it was hard to see him keep hitting that wall. In the end everything turns out fine, but I think it took longer than it needed too. The story is fine but there are a lot of frustrating characters that interfere when they shouldn't.


I want to thank Forever (Grand Central Publishing), Forever and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

I was disappointed with this book. I was expecting a book filled with love and friendship from family, friends, and the community. Instead, there were adults that held grudges and liked to spread rumors. Thanks to the author, Forever (Grand Central Publishing), and NetGalley. I received a complimentary copy of this ebook. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

sweet story about first love, they meet again years later and have to work together. enjoyed this sweet story.