Hope Thompson has never recovered from being left by the love of her life, Nick Fortune. The man who fathered her twin children. When her son becomes ill she is left no choice but to contact Nick for help. Something which ties her up in knots.



Nick Fortune has succeeded in life, becoming a famous race car driver. When Hope originally contacts him, he’s sure this is some kind of con. But after checking he realizes he does have two children that he’s never known. He’s beyond furious at Hope for never telling him about the twins and is determined to get to know them. However, as he does he finds that his feelings for Hope are still there and decides he wants to be a family. Can he convince Hope to give him another chance?



Boardwalk Summer is the first book I have read by Kimberly Fisk and I thoroughly enjoyed it. From the first page I wanted Hope to have the happy ending that had eluded her. And Nick still adored her and wanted to know his children. I loved watching Nick learn how to interact with teenage children, which is never easy! I do have one pet peeve, while Nick has gone on with his life, had other relationships etc…Hope has been frozen almost the same as when Nick left her. While I have no problem with Nick and Hope being each other’s soul mate, it drives me crazy when the heroine of any story has no relationships while the hero dates all around. Kimberly Fisk has written a sweet romance with a happy ending that will keep me on the look out for new books she writes. I love a romance that leaves me with a smile on my face!

Very nice contemporary summer read for those looking for a book with romance and intrigue.

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jerjen

Hope Thompson is a single mom, raising her teenaged twins in Tranquility Bay. She has her children, she has a best friend and she even has a potential love interest, she is happy with her life.

Until her son is diagnosed with leukemia, and then everything changes. After having exhausted all other courses of treatment, it is determined that a bone marrow transplant is needed. The best chance of a match is a family member, but when her and her daughter are not matches, Hope has to turn to the two people she never wanted to see again: her mother and the twin’s father.

She has never had a good relationship with her mother and she has not seen her in sixteen years. Her mother is unloving, uncaring and only worries about herself. Her mother never really cared about her, and when Hope got pregnant as a teenager, her mother sent her away. Now Hope has to find a way to get her mother to agree with being tested, to help out her grandson.

At one time, Nick Fortune was the most important person in Hope’s life. When they were teenagers, they were in love and had their whole life planned out, being together and raising a family. But life got in the way, and instead, Nick went on to become a famous race car driver, which was also another dream of his. And Hope was left to raise their twins on her own, with no help from Nick. She tried to get a hold of him to let him know she was pregnant but could never get in touch with him. Now Hope has to tell Nick the truth and pray that he is a match.

The characters are well rounded, well developed and three dimensional. Hope is a loving and caring person who will do anything for her children. They are her whole life. Nick is a good decent guy and he has not let fame get to his head. When they first reconnect after being apart for so long, Hope is worried and scared that Nick is going to completely destroy what is left of her family. Nick is angry that Hope has kept her pregnancy (and his children) from him. They have a lot of work to do to mend their relationship. The characters both have a lot of things to work through and growing to do but if they do it together they just might find their happily-ever-after. The secondary characters (Hope’s children and her best friend) added a lot to the story and I enjoyed getting to know them all better.

This book is such an emotionally charged story. You will laugh, you will cry, you will feel despair and you will feel hope. As a reader I could not help but be drawn into the story and wanting to find out how the whole drama was going to unfold and end. I feel like it takes a special author to get all of those feelings and emotions out of the reader in just one book. I also feel like it takes a special author to take such a heartbreaking topic and write about it in a realistic heart warming way.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted women’s contemporary. I really like the author’s writing style and I cannot wait to see what else she has written. Do yourself a favor and give this book a try, but be sure you have tissues close at hand.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

In Boardwalk Summer, Hope is desperate to find a bone marrow donor match for her teenage son. This desperation leads her to contact the two people she trusts the least - her mother, and the kid’s father, Nick. Hope thought she and Nick had the forever kind of love, but he left her in the dust as he pursued dreams of NASCAR superstardom (pun intended). Faced with the information that not only is he a father, but he’s father to a very sick boy, Nick has some decisions to make. Then again, so does Hope. Boardwalk Summer is an angsty, emotional story that will dampen a few tissues on the way to the satisfying HEA.

When they were younger, Hope and Nick thought for sure they were going to be together forever. When they parted ways after high school, the plan was for Nick to go off and make a living driving cars and then to return and meet Hope at the courthouse four months later. When he’s a no-show, Hope frantically calls him only to find his number disconnected. Not only was she furious and broken-hearted at his abandonment, she had some pretty important news for him - she was pregnant with twins.

Abandoned by both her mother and her partner, Hope soldiered on and built a good life for herself. We meet her about sixteen years after that series of events, when her son, Joshua, is critically ill. Everyone else in their lives has been tested and are not matches for the bone marrow transplant he desperately needs, not his twin sister, Susan, not his mother, none of his friends. There are no matches in the registry and time is quickly running out. Hope musters up all her courage and calls her mother.

Hope’s mother, Claire, has never met her grandchildren; in fact, Hope is not even sure she knows their names. Claire ignores her daughter’s pleas for help and Hope is forced to contact the famous Nick Fortune.

Nick’s immediate response to hearing he has children is fury - how could Hope keep this from him? He then commits to helping in any way he can, and the journey to insert himself in his children’s - and in Hope’s life - begins. Hope and Nick are initially wary of each other and both have resentments to work through and questions that need to be answered. That sounds vague, I know, but we’re getting into spoiler territory if I delve any further.

While the synopsis of the book focuses on Hope and Nick - which makes sense since this is a romance - I was more fascinated by the relationship between Hope and her mother. Hope and Nick’s slow progression towards permanence is just that, slow. It may be realistic because they have sixteen years of silence to deal with, but it occasionally feels overwrought and overdrawn. The HEA is satisfying, don’t get me wrong, but the road to get there takes a few more detours than I would have liked.

Hope and Claire, however; different kettle of fish. There is no working through anything here, there are just raw and real misunderstandings. These two women cannot exist together for whatever reason - as we’re never really given one - but this added element gives complexity and grounds the conclusion of the story. There is a glimmer of moving towards something positive - at least Claire knows her grandchildren’s names now - but no guarantee. In a novel that is largely about risks and rewards, that note sttikes true.

Boardwalk Summer may look like a frothy story, but the cover is deceptive. Inside are painful truths, sick kiddos, and a few adults learning to swallow their pride. It’s a worthwhile read for sure, but caters more to those readers who love drawn-out tension than those who like quick and snappy HEAs.

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Hope and Nick are forced to overcome many obstacles to try and help their son; it’s a life and death matter. Hope is a very private and guarded person, with her sons’ trouble Hope has been forced to become even more precautions and guarded about her life. Nick has always lived life in the fast lane; from absentee parents to fast cars and faster women, Nick are thrown a huge curve to find out he’s a dad.

Boardwalk Summer is a very hope filled novel. Hope that overcome a parents worse nightmare, hope to reconnect with a past love, hope to move past parental betrayal. I did feel a connection between Hope and Nick, their love is still burning strong after 17 years. Their relationship was a slow burn rekindling as opposed to an intense all consuming love. The secondary cast adding a great best friend paired along with an bitter old school mother. I would have liked to see more resolution to the mother daughter relationship, however I didn’t feel cheated out of anything. Watching the road to recovery for their children and a relationship become strong again was a great novel. If you are looking for a second chance romance, grab Boardwalk Summer, it will not leave you disappointed!

Boardwalk Summer by Kimberly Fisk is an emotional second chance romance. Hope Thompson, is a single mom, who lives with her two children, Susan and Joshua in Tranquility Bay, Washington. Years before, Hope left her hometown to start a new life, after finding out she was pregnant, and her then boyfriend left town and never returned as promised. Hope had tried to contact the father, but unsuccessfully. She had no relationship with her mother, who pushed her away. Content and happy with her wonderful twins, Hope’s life takes a dramatic turn when Joshua is diagnosed with Leukemia.

When there is no bone marrow match, Hope gives in and contacts her mother whom she has not seen in 16 years. Her mother hasn’t changed, and Hope must try her last resort, contact the father of the children.
Nick Fortune, our hero, is a famous race car driver. When Nick is told there is a message from Hope, he decides to visit her in Tranquility Bay. Hope is shocked to see Nick after all these years, and in a short time to tell him that he is the father of her children. Nick is upset and blames Hope; she tries to explain that she tried to find him; but he walks out threatening to come back and meet them. The bitterness from Nick and the fear from Hope was very real, but they must put that aside to find a way to help Joshua.

Hope was having mixed feelings, as their attraction to each other was beginning to rekindle; but she did not trust Nick, and only wanted to protect her children. Her despair is evident, and Nick will do all he can to help. When Nick turns out not to be a match, Hope falls apart, bringing them even closer. Money is no object for Nick, and he will get the best doctors for Joshua.

What follows is an emotional story line, where the family, including Joshua begins to lose hope. Kimberly Fisk does a wonderful job allowing us to feel the emotional toll on each of them. I really did like all the characters in this story. I did feel that Hope, who was a wonderful mother, was a bit too hard and unbending with Nick. She does warm up later, even if she continues to not want to take risks, especially with his racing career.
This is a beautiful & heartwarming story on life, heartbreak, taking risks and the different degrees of emotions throughout. Once again, Kimberly Fisk gives us an emotional story with real life issues when faced with possible death of family; you can’t help be drawn to them in this trying time. The romance between Nick and Hope was very nice, and Fisk did not let that overtake the real story. Very well written.

I liked this book/story. It had a nice balance of romance and gaining maturity. It also addressed a medical problem for kids that we need to address with more people getting tested to be donors.

I really enjoyed this story though its about a serious topic. Hope has two children, twins, 16 years old and her son has Leukemia. She calls everyone she knows to get tested and that is why she calls Nick, her high school boyfriend who left town to join the NASCAR.

As soon as Nick gets a number for Hope and an urgent message he finds her address and shows up. He is 100% there for her and he deals very well with finding out he has twins. This was a wonderful story and two people working to save their son. Also about how Nick has to learn to put the kids before Nascar.

I loved this story. It is well written. The characters are deep and the storyline was very dramatic as the two try and save their sons life.