Simona's Corner of Dreams: Summer at Oyster Bay

Original Cover

My own copy

The blurb:

Summer at Oyster Bay is the perfect, feel-good summer romance, about the importance of home and family, learning what love is, and living for the moment.

They say falling in love is easy. But what if you know it’ll break your heart?

For Emily Tate, returning to her charming childhood home Oyster Bay is like coming up for air after the fast pace of her city life. At the farm her grandfather built, surrounded by sister Rachel’s chatter, Gram’s buttermilk biscuits, and the soft, white sand, Emily is reminded of exactly who she is and what she holds most dear.

When Emily starts work at elegant Water’s Edge Inn, Charles Peterson, the handsome new owner, asks for her help. He wants to expand and needs Emily to teach him the local ways, so he can convince the planning commission. Emily vows to make him fall in love with her hometown, just the way it is.

At work, Charles is reserved and serious, yet once Emily has him kicking off his shoes in the sand and sailing across the glistening Chesapeake Bay, she sees another side to him, and their easy rapport feels like the start of something big.

But when it becomes clear Charles’s plans for the inn involve bulldozing Oyster Bay, Emily is heartbroken. Will she lose her home and Charles all at once, or can she save Oyster Bay, and give true love a chance?

My Opinion:

*Book provided by the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

So, if you have been a reader of my blog/my reviews for a while, you know how much I love Jenny Hale’s books and yes, she did it again!

Summer at Oyster Bay follows the story of Emily Tate who finds herself back at Oyster Bay after saying no to her ex-boyfriend’s proposal. Oyster Bay contains a lot of memories for her, because it’s her childhood home. It reminds her of her grandfather and brings her back to her gram and her sister Rachel.

All this tells us more about her past and what was important in her childhood. Emily’s gran plays an important part in the novel, which was great. Also her sister Rachel got her part of the story and it was adorable to see Rachel with her daughter Clara and her husband Jeff. They went through quite something in this book actually. I felt really close to all the characters, they seemed very real and authentic. I loved how they were all connected and I think Jenny did a great job including them all in the story, with their unique personalities.

Emily starts work at Water’s Edge Inn and soon meets handsome owner Charles Peterson. He wants to expand the inn and seeks Emily’s help to show her the area and convince the right people. She wants him to see the place from another point of view and appreciate what the area has to offer. Her dreams are crushed when she hears that Oyster Bay is part of the expansion, meaning it’s all going to change. Her childhood would be gone…

It doesn’t make it easier that on the other side she really likes Charlie and actually enjoys her time with him. I have to say that they had deep chemistry from the start, I was really routing for them, but then got annoyed with Charlie’s plans. It’s hard when you really like a character, but there is one thing that gives it all a dark spot. I think that’s the way Emily felt as well.

This story is full of wonderful moments and scenes, especially between Charlie and Emily, but also within the family and they way Charlie was with her family. Jenny’s writing is on point. She catches the scenes from a beautiful angle, makes you feel like you’re there with the characters and lets you vanish into that world. She describes everything in a vivid, realistic, bright and sweet way. The story combines family, love, passion, romance and a wonderful setting and it also shows the difficult sides of all these aspects.

I got hooked from the first page and in the end I was really sad when I had to say goodbye to the characters, the story and Oyster Bay. Please take me there right now!!!

The way the story developed was great, the storyline flows beautifully. So I just have one word to sum it all up: AMAZING!!!

Rating: