Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins One More Chapter for an ARC in exchange for an honest review – this post may contain spoilers.
Booked for Summer by Kathryn Freeman follows newly appointed manager of Little Bay Book Shack on Nantucket Island, Jade Taylor and grumpy billionaire resort owner, Liam Haven. When Jade takes on a new challenge managing the bookshop for three months over the summer, her dream is soon dashed when Haven resorts absorbs the quaint shop and wants to the flatten the lot to build luxury and expensive housing – much to the disgust of the locals. As the clock is ticking, Jade has only a short time to change Liam’s mind and convince him that there is more to life than money and being the best. A small town romcom where opposites attract and is a perfect summer read!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
Booked for Summer had the perfect blend of lush description and quaint small town vibes mixed with well rounded and interesting characters. The description of Nantucket helped bring the story to life and I could easily imagine the resort and the bookshop. What I enjoyed the most was the fact that both Liam and Jade had a personality outside being the main love interest and their characters developed and grew throughout the book. Liam’s backstory of growing up with nothing and working hard for wealth added a lot of depth, especially when it was revealed about his childhood bullies were still treating him as less. Even when he became arrogant and tunnel vision seeking revenge from all those who put him down – which made me frustrated with his character and how much he was oblivious to the situation – I liked his change of attitude and emotional growth overall. The same with Jade, she isn’t confident or self assured and I enjoyed the way that managing the bookshop helped her find her independence and her voice aside from being a stereotypical blonde that is continually treated different based on her appearance. I did feel at some points their relationship was very much based on physical attraction, but there were other moments that their emotional connection really shined through. The lovers to enemies to friends back to lovers again was well written because it happened subtly throughout the book and the conflict of trying to keep the bookshop open was a good wedge between them both. This also made Liam recognise how he was behaving and fall in love with the island again, rather be this selfish and arrogant billionaire. I will say I did find the back and forth between Jade and Liam being friends and bickering did feel drawn out towards the end and I would have liked an epilogue just hinting at what the future had in store for all these characters. The other side characters like Jeremy and Leroy were such fun additions to the story and how they seamlessly integrated into the main story of saving the bookshop, but also helping Jade and Liam develop as characters. The writing style was easy to read and kept a good pace.
Overall, I was hooked from the start and the lovers to enemies to friends was well written and was written at a pace that showed the progression of the budding romance.
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