3,75

A breezy enemies to more summer romance that both delighted and irked me.

Delighted because…Beau. Dedicated to serving the island and his family, he’s quintessential hero material. Infinitely patient with some of the more…unique…Sunset Harbor citizens and more than fair at times when I just would have thrown the book at the culprit (I’m looking at you, Grams!)

Irked because Gemma was so combative and unwilling to compromise. She did not make a good first impression on me, though Beau took her ire in stride. Their families have a feuding history, so they’ve kind of grown up with the idea that Palmers and Sawyers don’t mix but Gemma took it to a whole other level, expecting the worse from Beau and his family even though they prove themselves time and time again. She does soften as the story progresses (this is a romance, after all) but, in the beginning, I couldn’t understand what Beau saw in her. He definitely has a kinder, more compassionate heart than I do.

Then there’s Grams — oy, spunky and ornery and her outrageous antics were sometimes hilariously funny and others times just plain annoying. I had a love/hate relationship with Grams. 🙂

So, not the ideal mix for a summertime romance, but Keyes makes it work, largely because of good natured Beau and his gentle pursuit of Gemma — at first just to lighten her load as she deals with moving her Grams into the retirement home and fixing up her cottage to sell (see, totally nice guy vibes all the way.) But his reasons soon morph into something much more personal, and honestly, Gemma didn’t stand a chance…I sure capitulated waaaayyyyyy faster than she did.

Like when he introduced his police partner, Xena the fluffy K-5 (because she only completed half the K-9 training and her easy going, love ’em and lick ’em into submission temperament wasn’t exactly K-9 material. Bwahahaha! ) I was a goner in chapter two.

And to be fair to Gemma, she’s been spoon-fed Palmer hostility from childhood and Grams keeps it up once she’s back on the island so it isn’t really any wonder that she struggles with her feelings for Beau. Until island history unravels their families’ dispute and causes Gemma to take an honest look at her past…and her future.

I enjoyed listening to the audio edition of ‘Summer Tease’. Narrator, Ariel Royce made the listening easy — and I loved the way she delivered Grams’ mercurial temperament with such panache!

My thanks to Paradigm Press, Dreamscape Media and Net Galley for providing me with an audio copy of this book.

Thoughts on the book: I immensely enjoyed this book! Take the small town from Gilmore Girls, but make it summery, and you get Sunset Harbor. I loved the Capulet vs. Montague aspect of the story and found that it didn't come across as petty, to me at least. Rather, it created a different foundation to the dislike-to-love trope than most books. I enjoyed all the characters, especially Gram's antics. I thought the book was well-written and I definitely need to check out more books from this author.

Thoughts on the narrator: I really enjoyed the narrator. She brought the story to life for me and it was really easy to follow along.

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

This was a reread via audio for me. I enjoyed the narrator and loved diving back into this story!

This is book four in the Falling for Summer multi-author series and it was a blast! One-sided enemies to more, a long time family fued, small town island antics, a sassy and spunky Grandma, all the feels, and so much fun banter make for one fantastic read.

Things I Loved:
-Grams 😂
-GG
-Jamie 🤣
-“‘Oh, and Grams? Please, for the love of all that’s good and beautiful, behave yourself until then.’ She cackles and hangs up.”
-Birdfeeder wars
-BB
-Citizen’s Arrest
-“Sure, Gemma. It’s Deedee in the driver’s seat in that friendship.”
-Trash Can Encounter
-Taps on the Window
-PR Presentation
-“Ask me the question.”
-“Don’t Stop Believing.”

You literally cannot help but adore Beau Palmer. He’s a golden retriever in all the best ways and I love how he won Gemma over. I also loved that in between the fun banter and reluctant falling, Beau helped Gemma heal and find herself home in a place that had understandably left her with major conflicted feelings.

These stories are interconnected while remaining standalone. The connections are so fun!

I was lucky enough to listen to a copy of this and fell in love all over again with Sunset Harbor. Enemies-to-love is a favorite trope because of the electric friction and banter. Beau and Gemma have a background of hating each other’s families, but the pull they feel to connect, as next-door neighbors and with reasons to help each other out, is undeniable. The birdhouse had me laughing, as did many other things.

I’m not ready for summer to end and I’m not ready to let go of this gem of a series.

Summer Tease, by Martha Keyes, is a novel in the collaborational Falling for Summer series. Gemma Sawyer has returned to Sunset Harbor for the sole reason of preparing her grandmother, Virginia Sawyer’s, island home for sale so Gram can afford to live in Seaside Oasis senior living center. Even though the senior center sits atop the land which previously housed the swim center where Gemma’s dad was the manager and its demise left no option except for the family to leave the island and Gram behind, and the family has nothing but hard feelings for the Parker family who owns it, Gran wants to be with her friends who live there.

Gran, however, is not a model resident and there are repeated warnings that she could be removed from the establishment. Run by elder brother Tristan Parker, when the only island police officer Beau Parker offers to intercede on Virginia’s behalf Gemma trades her PR expertise to help Beau establish himself as a full time officer with medical benefits. In order to do the PR job, it is necessary for Gemma to spend a lot of time with Beau to get the footage needed for his presentation. With close proximity, Gemma learns new things that may just change everything.

This is a fun read that has some serious undertones. With a picturesque setting, fabulously unique characters, and a nice crossover with some of the characters in the others series novels, I found this book quite entertaining and I do recommend it!

I have been no so patiently waiting for Beau's story. We get glimpses and little bits of him in other stories in the series and just based off of those interactions, I KNEW this was going to be good. And he did not disappoint. Their story was so sweet and lovely. He just was determined to get her to like him and he was golden retriever energy. And Zena. Gah! I just loved this whole story!

It's another fun romp in Sunset Harbor! I am loving the Falling for Summer series, and Summer Tease is a great addition with an interesting combo of friends-to-lovers and enemies-to-lovers with a little bit of small town childhood history and family drama to round it out. Gemma and Beau make a really cute pair and I enjoyed how the love story developed. I do wish it was a dual-POV story, but the female narrator did a fantastic job with the whole book. 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.

Another part of our Falling For Summer series! This is book 4 (though I am not reading/listening to them in order) and my first read from this author. I was looking forward to this one probably more than any of the others because the MC is a police officer and being married to one I always enjoy reading romances about them, but they’re hard to find!

I am loving Sunset Harbour! Getting to know and see character’s from one book to the next is so fun with all of the connections and growing personalities. Gemma and Beau’s story was a fun take on enemies to lovers with their families being in a generations long feud that causes tons of fun and playful banter back and forth as Gemma tries to deny her developing feelings. There were many belly laugh moments in this one especially with the seniors and all their shenanigans.

I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed Ariel Royce as the narrator bringing it all to life. Her voices and expressions were so well done and made it a fun and quick listen.

All that said this one did fall a bit short for me for a few reasons. First of which would be the single POV. It’s not the norm for Rom-Com’s like this and now I see why. It would have been so nice to see Beau’s POV and would have added a lot to the story. It may have even helped with some of the repetitiveness that felt like space filler which was another issue I had. The last thing I had a problem with was the use of “Pig” when referring to Beau multiple times throughout. I’m sure some of that is being an LE family, but that derogatory term used so flippantly just left an ick feeling for me.

I would say even with my personal preferences it was still a cute read that I would recommend to anyone looking for a sweet, summery, swoon worthy read! Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and the author for a chance to review this ALC!

This is a fun beach read/summer romance. This book is set in Sunset Harbor an island off the coast of Florida. This book focuses on Gemma Sawyer and Beau Palmer. The Palmer family and Sawyer family have been neighbors and funding for about half a century. After the Palmer family built a retirement home where the public pool had been that the Saeyers ran most of the Saweyers left town, but when Virginia Sawyer, the matriarch of the family, needs to move into the retirement home, Gemma, her granddaughter comes back to help. Instantly Gemma runs into Beau when he pulls her over. Beau is Sunset Harbor's only cop and he is excited to mess with Gemma again, just like when they were kids. Beau and Gemma instantly start bantering and making plans to mess with one another. Gemma is staying her Grandmother's house which is next door to Beau's family home, where he is living. This makes it so the friendly fueding starts right back up between these two. After Virginia starts problems at the retirement home Gemma agrees to help Beau out if he will make sure her grandmother doesn't get kicked out of the retirement home. This is a fun childhood rivaly/family rivalry to lovers. The banter is hilarious and the setting is an adorable small island town! I really enjoyed listening to this book! The narrator was easy to listen to and made this a very enjoyable book! Thank you for the access to this audiobook NetGalley! I definitely would recommend this book!

Gemma Sawyer returns to her dreaded hometown to make sure her grandma is treated well at the retirement home owned by the rival family, the Palmers. As soon as her grandma moves in though, her mischief puts her at risk of being kicked out. Gemma decides to strike a deal with Beau Palmer to prevent that from happening. In return, he wants her to help him convince the council to hire him as a full time cop in the small town.

The Palmers and Sawyers had a feud lasting decades which made Gemma reluctant to strike a deal with Beau. It also came into play when she couldn't help being attracted to Beau after spending time with him on his calls around the island.

I loved their chemistry so much. My favourite scene was a citizen's arrest involving a bird feeder and rubber bands as handcuffs 🤭 I loved that Beau didn't care about the feud and just tried to win Gemma over one rock at a time 😂

This was single POV but I found I didn't mind that at all. The narrator did a great job to that effect 😄

Thank you to Netgalley and Publisher for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Summer Tease
An Enemies to Lovers RomCom
by Martha Keyes
Narrated by Ariel Royce

I received an ARC of this audiobook through netgalley.

First - the narrator was perfect!

Second - This is my favorite book so far in the Falling for Summer series

It’s the cutest star-crossed lovers book!

Gemma Sawyer and her family had to move away because of the Palmers, so one thing is clear - all Sawyers must unequivocally hate all Palmers. The feud is real. It even harkens back to the days of the grandpas - Grandpa Sawyer and Grandpa Palmer fought over a truly hideous birdhouse they created in shop class together.

Gemma comes back to Sunset Harbor for Grams who she loves with all her heart. Grams needs her house cleared out & sold so that she can live out her golden years in Sunset Harbor’s retirement home (which is sadly owned by the Palmers).

Beau Palmer is a genuinely nice guy and happens to be Sunset Harbor’s only cop. He also has an adorable dog named Zena.

Grams gets into trouble almost immediately at her new retirement home. The Palmers may have no choice but to kick her out due to her shenanigans.

Gemma agrees to help Beau go from part-time cop to full-time cop using her magic marketing skills. In return, he will do his best to keep Grams living in her retirement home, Seaside Oasis.

This couple is so easy to fall in love with!

Definitely recommend!!

Summer Tease is the fourth book in multi-author Falling for Summer series. The series is set on fictional Sunset Harbor Island, off the coast of Florida. The stand-alone stories are closed-door romantic comedies (no sex or profanity) and can be read in any order.

After being away for 14 years, Gemma Sawyer has returned to Sunset Harbor Island to help move her grandma into Seaside Oasis Retirement Center. She has to get her grandma’s house ready to sell, while avoiding her grandma’s annoying neighbors, the Palmers. They own the Seaside Oasis, which just adds to her irritation about the situation. When she gets pulled over by handsome police officer Beau Palmer, she almost explodes. He spends his time trying to win her over and sharing the good things about the island. Naturally Gemma can’t resist Beau’s golden retriever personality.

The best thing about Summer Tease is the banter between Gemma and Beau, with Beau’s dog, Xena, a close second. Grandma’s shenanigans and the residents of the Seaside Oasis Retirement Center make this story one of the funniest of 2024.

I enjoyed listening to Summer Tease. The narrator, Ariel Royce, does an outstanding job performing all of the characters. I‘m looking forward to reading and listening to additional titles in the Falling for Summer series. These stories could easily be made into Hallmark movies.
After purchasing the ebook from Amazon, I received an advance review copy (ARC) of the audiobook from NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I loved being back in Sunset Harbor with this fun town and quirky grandmas. This is the fourth book in the Falling for Summer series I've read (a interconnected seven book stand-alone series written by seven different authors) and it's just as cute as the others.

I loved the whole enemies to lovers vibe with Gemma and Beau. Think Romeo and Juliet with a better outcome. Plus a sassy trouble making Grandmother.

Read if you like:
Enemies to Lovers
Small Island Towns
Closed Door/Clean Romance
He Falls First
Rival Families

Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for this free audio Arc in exchange for my honest review

My thanks for the audio ARC goes to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media, Paradigm Press. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romcom, Sweet Romance
Spice Level: Kisses
Language: No profanity
Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Small-Town

SUMMER TEASE is a fun light-hearted romance, perfect for a beach read. It takes place in a fictional island off Florida and brought me into its world with the humidity, heat, and beautiful water. I love small-town romances.

Gemma has a huge chip on her shoulder as she's returned to her childhood home which stirs up all the old feelings and slights her family suffered. She's there to help her grandma get her house ready to sale.

Grams is a head-strong 78 year-old with a long-abiding hate for the Palmers. (I'm going to mention that I dislike seeing people in their 70s being portrayed as being so feeble that they must go into an assisted living center. I mention this because it's a trend of aging people up too much. The average age of people in a care center is mid-80s. So, it's possible someone a decade younger would be there, but all of Grams friends are there too, so it bugs me a little. End of rant.) The golf carts—Grams in particular—are quite charming and fun.

Beau Palmer is a part-time cop on the island, a cinnamon roll, and he must be nearly perfect to break through Gemma's defenses. I thought his character worked, and he made me laugh when he started calling Gemma GG. In fact, all of the love interest couple's interactions had me smiling.

There really was a lot of hurt for Gemma to overcome while at the island. The reasons she didn't want to stay made sense, and I wondered how this might get resolved.

I felt like the ending was satisfactory—its warm and funny and sweet.

To find out more about the lies and misunderstanding in this island feud, you can pick up the book for a fun read.

I also enjoyed the narrator in this audiobook. She kept the voices distinct.

The dog is fun too!

Happy reading!

This series is just so fun! I want to live in Sunset Harbor-or at least visit! Too bad it's fictional. I love that each book can be read as a stand alone, but the books share characters and it's fun to hear about them as the books continue.
Beau and Gemma are a fun couple that you really cheer for. He is a complete cinnamon roll; patient, kind, gentle and wants the best for everyone. (is he for real?!) Gemma has been taught to hate his family, however.
The long standing feud has affected the entire community- and they have taken sides, but not as harshly as it feels to Gemma. As she thaws towards Beau and the community she feels almost guilty, as if she's betraying her family. Especially her Grams, her very feisty and hilarious Grandma. No story is complete without a grandparent being mildly inappropriate and speaking their mind at any given time.
I enjoyed the banter, the sense of community of Sunset Harbor, the love, and the forgiveness of past mistakes.
Thanks NetGalley for the audio arc- it was a joy!

I’m just absolutely loving the Falling for Summer series, set on the small island off Florida and the town of Sunset Harbor! This multi-author series is just so utterly fantastic and I’m halfway through right now and already don’t want it to end, but can’t wait to read the rest all at the same time…

This is my third book read, even though fourth in the series (audio is releasing out of order), but I’ve read just about half of Plotting Summer by the time I’m writing this and wow, I’m so hooked. These books, characters and plot lines flow seamlessly together and have such a solid voice that I can’t really even tell they’re by different authors. There are mentions of things happening in the other books I’ve read but not too much to give away if you haven’t read that one yet.

Summer Tease is great - talk about next door enemies to lovers! Long-time family feud coming to life again when Gemma Sawyer returns to the island to assist her grandmother move into the retirement community and sell the family home. She and the rest of the family left many years ago when they felt the community disrespected them and moved across the country, never to return. The Palmer’s were their biggest antagonists… Now, Beau Palmer is overly friendly, overly helpful and overly sweet to Gemma, bending over backwards to make her feel welcome and wanting to stay. He’s supposed to be enemy number one but she’s having a hard time with remembering the “why” of that fact with each day she has to push her plane ticket back.

Such a great enemies to lovers story with such sweet favors, cute shadowing on the job for social media video tales, and the cutest nicknames. I immensely enjoyed this one and can’t recommend it enough! being a clean (kissing only) romance, this one is good for all readers.

Narrated by Ariel Royce - she is new to me but did a great job and I enjoyed her performance. I look forward to hearing more from her in the future.

I received an advance listen copy from NetGalley and Dreamscape Media / Paradigm Press, and this is my honest feedback.

This is such a great series and I loved this book. The narrator was amazing and it was so much fun being back on this small town.

This cute rival neighbors to lovers story was like a modern day Romeo and Juliet (with a better ending 😉) in a small town island setting. A little forbidden love? Count me in!

Beau is kind, caring, and swoony. Gemma is headstrong and in denial about her feelings for Beau. Grams (Gemma's grandma) is a sassy troublemaker. It's the makings of a fun and light summer read.

"I'm not sure if she's mine, but I'm definitely hers."

The single POV narration is very nicely done and really helped me get into the story even more!

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for my gifted ALC. All thoughts are my own.

Rating: 5 stars!

Beau + Gemma!! The small town cop (like legit just the only cop in a small town, Gemma & her grandmother on a long standing family feud, and the sweetest ending!

I ate this book up in a single sitting too! Now I'm on a quest to read the entire series as fast as possible so I can stay in this dreamy town!

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Contains a review of the audiobook.
Oh my Martha has done it again! She shot for the stars and got the moon and the stars! She's written a completely swoon worthy book with all of the Rom and Com!

Summer Tease is a standalone book that is part of the multi-author Falling For Summer series. These books have interconnected characters, but each has their own storyline. Gemma, the main female character of this book, is Mia's sister. Mia is the main character in Martha's book Selling Out. That's part of the Sheppards in Love series. That doesn't need to be read first either. I just like to know the connections authors make in their books/series.

Anyway... Back to Summer Tease...
Beau is amazing! He's so patient with Gemma but also quick to call her out when she needs it. Their banter is great! And then there is Grams... What a side character she is!

I enjoyed this book so much, as I have with most of Martha's books, both contemporary and historical.

Now for the audio. This story is written in first person from Gemma's point of view. So, it makes sense that the narrator is a female for the whole book. She has a nice voice quality and is easy to listen to. She doesn't have a big range of voices for the male characters, but I wasn't distracted by the ones that she did. I enjoyed listening.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for the complimentary copy this audiobook. And also thanks to Martha Keyes for the advanced copy of the ebook. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.