Golf is the sports romance I never knew I needed

This start to the multi author summer series is funny, sweet, and kept me smiling all the way through. Golf star returns, best friends brother and all the micro tropes you could ever want can be found in this laugh out loud romcom. Check it out asap!

I had the opportunity to listen to an ALC of this after I finished reading it, I found the narrators an excellent fit, with good emotion portrayed in their voice, fitting for each situation. Laughs abundant!

Can I tell you how much I love Kortney Keisel? She has the most original ideas and is such a great storyteller! I love all the awkward moments, the witty banter, and the sizzling romance without any of the spice!

Jane has decided this is her summer to fall in love. She lives on an island and refuses to leave. So she must find “the one” among the few available makes who live there. To accomplish this she makes a list of eligible males and makes dates with them. She tries to create the spark through forced romance tropes like food in her hair (for him to pull out), jealousy, forced proximity, etc. the awkwardness of these forced situations is hilarious!

Enter Walker Collins (who didn’t make the list) who seems to fall into these tropes naturally. But he’s off limits. As much as she tries to avoid his attentions the feelings between them sizzle!

This is so original, cute and fun! You really need to read it.

Cute story of Jane trying to find love using all the typical love tropes. She runs into her childhood friend's brother who is in town working on his professional golf game. Will the best friends brother trope finally have Jane finding love? Spice level 1/5.

Easy, light summer romance. Mostly cute, but at times a little over the top. Jane is on a mission. She wants to be in love by summer's end. She lives on an island with a limited population from which to choose, but also never, ever wants to leave. Hmmm. She tries to throw herself at a few who have no clue or no interest and at times she somewhat comes off as really desperate and that's never a good look on anyone. Ever. When her best friend's brother comes home to take a break and get his game back (professional golfer) her interest is piqued, but he is off limits to him and he to her. Small town, opposites attract and a few more cute tropes thrown in all lead to a much expected, but sweet happily ever after.

4⭐
Genre ~ romantic comedy
Series ~ Falling for Summer #1
Setting ~ Island off the coast of Florida
Publication date ~ ebook ~ June 12, 2024, audio ~ July 21, 2024
Publisher ~ Dreamscape Media
Est Page Count ~ 364 (41 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 8 hours 37 minutes
Narrators ~ Amanda Friday & Andy Harrington
POV ~ dual 1st, present tense
Featuring ~ small town, island life, pro golfer, best friends brother, sisters best friend, forbidden, off limits, slow burn, no steamage

Jane & Walker
Jane is ready to settle down and find love on the island she adores. She uses popular book tropes to set the tone. And boy do we hear the word trope a bunch, a bit too much obsessively tropey for me. But now her school crush is back in town putting a damper on her plans to find love this summer.

Walker is ready to get his golf game back on track after an injury. He’s not interested in being on the island any longer than he needs to, but his sister's best friend catches his eye. Will the fun times they have together make him change his mind and stay? Or is hanging with Brooks Koepka and Tiger Woods more appleaing? That’d be a yes to Brooks for me, wink wink.

I could’ve gone without the time wasting because of the sister crap, but overall this was cute, had some nice banter and a great series starter. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s in store for the rest of the island peeps.

Narration notes:
Duet!! Whoop whoop! Both of their voices were pleasing to my ears.

Really loving the Falling for Summer series and this installment was especially cute. The tropes are troping...especially in this one, considering it's all about tropes. I recommend this book if you're into romcoms, clean romance or fluffy fiction. A great beach read!

3.6 rounded up to 4.

4⭐️ Audiobook ARC Review: My first book in the Falling for Summer series and I am hooked! This was the perfect book to start with, obviously because it’s the first book released in the series, buuuuut it kind of sets the scene for all of the other books. It introduces almost all of the characters, their backgrounds, personalities, who they will date, all the things. But that didn’t overshadow the main love story in this one between Jane and Walker.

They were so cute. Jane was an idiot (a sweet idiot) for most of the book, but Walker redeemed their love story. Like, I didn’t love that Jane was kind of a serial dater with all of the men that we will see later in the series. It was just weird. I get that the author wanted to introduce them but it was like, come on. Jane seems kind of tacky to go through all the men her friends will end up with, but whatever. I still loved the story. And Walker. Oh he was so patient and adorable. He watched her date all these men, and waited for her to choose him. It was a very satisfying first kiss and ending that’s for sure.

I read the book along with listening to the audiobook, which I think magnified my enjoyment of the story. It was my first duet narration audiobook which was so much fun! It was so much more natural and way better than the normal dual narration. I far prefer this way. And the narrators were great. I usually hate one or the other, but I enjoyed them both.

So excited to read the rest of characters stories from Sunset Harbor!

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Kortney Keisel for the complimentary copy of this audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Read if you enjoy:
- Every cute micro-trope ever
- Childhood crush
- Best friend’s brother
- Forbidden romance
- Pro golfer
- Clean romance

Summer Ever After, by Kortney Keisel, is the first book in the collaborative series Falling for Summer. These books are set on the fictional island of Sunset Harbor, Florida, and bring to life current and former residents of the island. Jane Hayes, daughter of country music royalty, could live anywhere but has chosen to stay in the beachfront family home on Sunset Harbor, working as town administrator, and vowing she will spend her entire life on this jewel in the Gulf of Mexico.

Ready to settle down, Jane has decided this is the summer she will find her forever love. One main criterion for this potential mate as that he must be as devoted to the island as she is. Now, using every romance trope she can recall, she is working her way through the locals with no luck and no spark.

Walker Collins first set foot on Sunset Harbor when he was a grieving kid. His mother, two sisters, and he moved to be with his grandparents after his father’s passing. Although Walker settled in and was popular, he was never happy on the island except when he was on the golf course with his neighbor and golf coach Pete. Now in a huge slump following back surgery, Walker is back on the island teaming up with Pete to get his game back.

With no intentions of staying, Walker is not on Jane’s radar as a person of interest. Plus, when they were kids Jane had promised his sister Capri that she would never go for him as so many people had used Capri to get to Walker. But it would seem that the fates might just have different ideas.

This is a delightful summer tale! It’s a story of romance tropes, tropical beaches, and textured characters. I very much enjoyed its humor and plot line, and I do recommend it.

This book is so fun. I loved the characters and the fictional town. I also liked all the things golf. We don’t see it that often. So it’s fun to have that be the perfect sport for the island.

I loved the narrators and hope they continue thru the series. They did a great job of capturing the emotions of the characters and enhancing the story.

This is a slow burn so get settled in and ready for them to connect. Also thru the dating process you’ll get to see all the tropes at work!

I enjoyed the side characters and I’m excited to see who else gets a story in this series!

This book was such an ode to romance trope-lovers, and I was so happy to return to Sunset Harbor and enjoy another installment in the Falling for Summer series! Jane and Walker made such a cute, sweet pair and I thoroughly enjoy losing myself in their love story as they played out the different romance tropes. The audiobook narrators were *chef's kiss* perfect and made this book such a treat to listen to! I highly recommend this book and others in the series. It's the perfect addition to a sweet summer.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media for gifting me with an ALC to review. All opinions are my own.

"Summer Ever After" by Kortney Keisel is a fun romantic comedy of a book. Jane, our heroine decides this is the summer she is going to fall in love. She makes a list of men that want to stay on the island and a list of romantic tropes and decides to date until she finds the one.

Enter Walker, a man not on her list that doesn't want to stay on the island. He was her childhood crush and brother to her BFF Capri. Walker manages to walk in on her in various moments and sets this up to be such as sweet, funny book.

I loved the fact that this was no spice, with a little kissing and lots of comedy. There are great tropes explored in a funny funny way and a great story behind both main characters. Family is also a focus in the background as is found family. The fictional island this is set on off the coast of Florida is a very believable community with lots of quirky characters.

I listened to the audiobook and it was overall well done however I was thrown a bit by the pronunciation of Jane's BFF Capri's name. The narrator pronounces it "Cap-ri" instead of the regular way I'd hear it "Ca-pri" so not sure if it was intentional by the author to pronounce it that way or an error by the narrator. Other than that though, I liked both narrators for the audiobook.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape publishing for the chance to review an ARC of the audiobook. All opinions expressed are my own.

If you want to listen to a great opening chapter....this is it. Sweet old ladies reading spicy romance out loud LOL! Amanda pulls off all the voices and I was dying while I listened to the narrators. It immediately pulls you in.

The narrators for this story are 100% on point. They bring the personality and details you imagine when you read. I loved the dual POV and both the narrators are fantastic. Amanda doing various voices are believable and not cheesy. The first chapter has so many parts and she does them well. She has so much personality and you are immediately sucked in. Andy's timbre and deep voice give Walker the personality. The back and forth with the male and female parts are amazing. It's like watching a play in my mind while listening. Another fantastic book with great narrators.

Jane is happy with her job and loves her friends and book club on the small island of Sunset Harbor. She loves love and wants to find a man on her small island, so she'll do everything she can with the small pool of men she has to choose from. The idea: try every to create every romance trope she can with the men on the island until she falls in love. It can't be that hard?
Enter Walker, a pro golfer back to the island to work on his golf game and hide out. Walker keeps getting in Jane's way or accidentally being apart of her trope plan, until it's clear these two need their own "best friends brother" trope.

A very sweet and short summer read. It was fun to follow all the different tropes Jane tries out. And the ones Walker just happens to do anyway. I worried that it would be too insta lovey, but the pacing was done well. Done in duet narration, this audiobook was a great experience. I loved the narrators. They did a wonderful job. This was a great start to a series and I will be reading more.

*3.5

Thoughts on the book: I enjoyed the story; I thought the plot was well-developed and the book gave me summer vibes. I didn't really like that Jane held herself to a contract that she and her best friend made when they were 12. Like, you're adults now? Other than that bit, I thought the story was well-written.

Thoughts on the audio: This is a rare instance when I would say to read the physical book rather than listening to the audiobook. Both narrators felt a bit robotic with their voices and there was a reverb on lots of words. It was also weird to me that the male narrator would narrate the male POV as well as any male characters while the female narrator would read the female POV as well as any lines spoken by a female character regardless of which POV the chapter was in (hopefully that makes sense).

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Jane is using all her favorite romance tropes to try to find a boyfriend on the small town island she grew up on. I love that she has history with all of the men she tries to date because they live in such a small town. She knew them when they were kids and now she's trying to find "the one" out of all these guys she's never looked at like that before. A cute concept! However, the one guy she's forbidden to date is her best friend's brother. And swoon, he's a professional golfer who is back in town because he's off his game. Turns out being hard to get is working for her!

I've never read anything by this author before, but after enjoying this one, I'll add more to my list!

If you like:
Quirky female main characters
Sports romance - golf
Dual POV, 2 narrators
Best friend's older brother, forbidden romance
Teasing banter
Closed door romance

Jane isn’t having much luck finding love, so she has decided to test out various romance tropes that work in books. The problem is as she tries to go on dates using the tropes, her 7th grade crush and now professional golfer, Walker Collins, keeps showing up. He’s on to her schemes and doesn’t make things easy for Jane. The more Jane forces her romance tropes- the more she seems to be naturally falling for Walker. Can Jane accept that true love is right in front of her?

Walker and Jane will make you swoon and laugh out loud at the their antics. The first book in the Falling for Summer Series.

Read by Amanda Friday and Andy Harrington. These two brought Jane and Walker to life to deliver an entertaining audiobook. You will definitely want to add this audio to your collection.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so cute! I loved this small island town and the close knit community. Jane and Walker were a hilarious couple and I could not wait for them to finally get together! This book had me giggling at Jane’s antics and her drive to use romance literally tropes in real life to jump start her own happily ever after. I loved how Jane tried so hard to use these tropes to start a romantic relationship, it was hilarious and made Walker dreamy when he played into all of them and went along with making these tropes happen in real life.

Oh, I loved this audiobook so much. Listening to SUMMER EVER AFTER reminded me of how much I loved reading it for the first time and why I loved this book so much. The characters are so well done. And the humor is so perfect.

This is such a great series! It's so funny and sweet.

As I listened, it was fun hearing the names of characters whose books I read and I could picture their stories and their HEA. (Beau, Holland, Cat, Noah, Dax, Phoenix). All the names! I still need to read Capri’s book and I can’t wait.)

Do I sound like a broken record yet? Best series ever!

The narrators do an amazing job. They added a fun vibe to this wonderful book. Their expression was perfect and they made me love this book even more (I didn’t that was even possible!) as I laughed and sighed all over again.

Thank you to the author and the publisher for the NetGalley link!

I’m a sucker for a book that acknowledges and winks at book tropes. In this delightful romcom we have Jane, an employee in the mayor’s office on Sunset Island, off the coast of Florida. They don’t know what the town would do without her vast knowledge and abilities to execute things like the annual 4th of July celebration, and thankfully they’ll never have to find out because she adores it here and is never leaving the island.

Unfortunately, that has also made Jane’s dating pool a bit limited — and, with famous country singer parents who have moved to Nashville and are rarely around, she’s starting to feel alone in life. She decides it’s going to be The Summer of Jane Hayes. She writes a long list of romance tropes, which she knows well because her best friend is secretly a well-known romance writer publishing under a pen name, and is going to execute on each of them with different men on the island, whom she is asking out in an effort to find out who is meant for her. Hilarity ensues when most of these efforts go horribly wrong. This romcom really does bring the com.

And then there is Walker. Her best friend’s brother is not on her list, first because of the best friend code, obviously, but also because he has moved away from the island to follow his dreams as a golf pro, which makes him ineligible because she’s never leaving the island. But she’s had a crush on him since grade school, and he just keeps hanging around. Can The Summer of Jane have a happy ending?

These characters are absolute delights! At first I thought Jane was going to annoy me. She’s really earnest and extra, not just a little (and the audiobook narrator understands the assignment). Her tropes include choking at the table so her date will have to save her, for instance. But she looooves love and is so darn hopeful and genuine, you can’t help but root for her. Walker, a onetime Masters champion who has fallen on rough times, is sure of himself without crossing the line into unlikable, and a genuinely good guy. I loved them both and all of the supporting characters, save for a few of the losers Jane attempted to date.

This is one of a series; although I think they’re not all written by the same author, all take place on the island with the island characters. I would definitely give another a try, but I like this author‘s voice a lot. Such a fun read! Thank you so much, #NetGalley #DreamscapeMedia and #KortneyKeisel for the audiobook. This one is now available!

This is great light-hearted, summer romance! Both narrators were enjoyable and played the parts well. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a closed-door, best friend's brother romance. Thanks for the read!