This story was such fun to read. I’m coming to the end of summer where I live, which is nowhere near the sea, but I still found myself digging my toes into the imaginary sand as I immersed myself in this book, the first in the four book multi-author Paradise Keys series. Loosely the series is about four friends who’ve returned to Paradise Keys for the funeral of their friend Lilly, who was killed in a car crash.
As the title suggests, this is a second chance at love story as Lauren and Carter encounter each other in Paradise Keys, Florida ten years after their teenage love story ground to a halt because Carter couldn’t wait to leave the place Lauren had fallen in love with at the same time as she was falling for him.
The plot is fast paced, light and flirty. Lauren is at a point in her career where it’s make or break, which means she doesn’t have time to relax let alone fall back in love with Carter. He, on the other hand, has lived the high life and found it wanting. He loves his sleepy little island and he loves Lauren. All he has to do is get her to give their relationship a chance.
The story is warm and heartening with plenty to make you smile. It’s also short so perfect for a lazy afternoon on the beach ... or imagining yourself there.

When Carter's Dad has a heart attack he returns to Paradise Key. Lauren spent a summer there and had a summer love with Carter. He broke her heart and she moved on. Now her last chance to prove herself to her father rests on a successful campaign to commercialize it and bring in more tourists. The town, Carter included, want to keep their town a feel good small town. Can they agree on how to sell Paradise Key to tourist and still keep the sweet small town feel? Can a long lost love be rekindled and happiness be found? Great read!

Summer Love: Take Two is book one in the Paradise Key series. This is Lauren Webster and Carter Malone’s story.

Years ago Carter broke Lauren’s heart. Their paths cross again. Will Lauren give Carter a second chance?

I really enjoyed Lauren and Carter’s story. Two people that are learning what’s really important in life. This is a sweet, heartwarming, and emotional second chance romance.

FYI, contains mature content. I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Lauren and Carter were once in love until he decided that he wanted more than living in a beach town. Lauren Webster was ready to give up everything to be with him until he left her stranded. Now years later she's back in Paradise Key, with grand plans to give the place a much-needed facelift and the last person she expects to find standing in her way is Carter Malone. The man who once couldn't wait to leave Paradise Key behind is now the person who won't allow her to change a single thing about it. And Lauren really needs to snag this contract to prove to her father that she's worthy of him. But Carter and her old feelings for him are getting in the way.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy. This is book #1 in the series and it does not disappoint the reader. Lauren is a major marketer who has been down on her luck and is in fear of losing her job. Carter is the hometown hero who once broke her heart. Working together to develop a marketing campaign for Paradise Key helps to rekindle those long lost feelings and sparks fly! Love is in the air! A great beach read!

I am so impressed with these series published by Tule Publishers. The Paradise Key Series, all written by different authors, feature four young women who met in Paradise Key as teenagers. Over the years they have kept in touch and are still BFFs. Unfortunately, there were five of them but one of them, Lily, has tragically died. The remaining four meet up again while attending her funeral. This is Lauren's story.

Lauren Webster works for her father’s marketing firm, but does not like her job. She is doing it for her father, trying to make him proud of her. After her marriage breaks up, she takes off for a weekend and some mistakes she made, cause the firm to lose a huge client. She heads off to Paradise Key trying to get the town to hire the firm for a media campaign. Her father has given her a timeline to land the client before he heads down and closes the deal himself. As she tried to convince the town councilors to hire her firm, she becomes reacquainted with Carter Malone. As a teen, she and Carter had a summer romance and he broke her heart. As the book unfolds, Lauren, Carter and her father, all reevaluate their lives to see what is really important to them.

This is a wonderful second chance romance which also highlights family dynamics, how people respond to tragedy in their lives, and how small communities come together to support one another. I really wanted to hop in my car and drive down to Paradise Key as I read this story. It seems to be such a wonderful community and a place I would love to spend time in. I loved the ending of this story and am ready to find out what happens to the rest of the friends. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book per my request.

Summer Love : Take Two is the first book in the Paradise Key series. What is cool about this series is that all 4 books are written by a different author. This book is , about what else ? Second chances.

Lauren returns to Paradise Keys for a funeral of a close friend after being gone for 10 years.. While there she tries to land a marketing account for this little town to get back in good graces with her father's company she works for in New York , after loosing a major account.

She runs into roadblocks every which way. This little town while would welcome the extra revenue of the tourism that the new marketing could bring. They like their little down just that way it is. Everyone knows everyone and they look out for each other.

Carter is her biggest road block for more then one reason. First he doesn't want his town to be over run with strangers and two he was her first and only love.

Lauren is now in a pinch does she break a promise she made to Carter about the marketing plan and follow her heart. Does she try to gain back her father's respect and just go with the plan no matter what the cost is ?

This was a sweet read about summer romance in a small town. A perfect beach read !

Lauren is back in Paradise Key for a funeral and is in hopes of revamping the town.
How hard can it be really all she has to do is convince a few people that marketing their town for tourism is the way to go and close the deal. Carter will stop at nothing to protect Paradise Key. He doesn't care if he has known Lauren for ten years but this is his town. Can they work together or will the past between too much?

This book was such a sweet story. Lauren is looking for herself while finding a way of helping those she loves. She works hard to keep her heart protected almost through the whole story. She has a way of independence about her but still feels vulnerable. I just loved her fighting spirit. Carter seemed to be searching for who he is. I feel like in this book it wasn't so much as falling in love but discovering who each character was while dealing with a strong attraction to each other. I loved how each wanted to make each other better while working hard to make the town they both loved better. This book has some strong language but overall this book was a quick read and super fun love story.

Absolutely loved Summer Love Take Two. Second chance love is one of my favourite genres. I think they give hope, that you can make mistakes and it doesn't mean that's your chance of happiness gone.
Many years ago Lauren was holidaying in Paradise Key when she met local boy Carter. They were each others first love. Lauren was prepared to stay in Paradise Key forever. Until Carter panics and breaks her heart. Now Lauren is back in town and so is Carter.
Lauren works for her father as an advertising executive. After messing up a huge campaign, she has been tasked with getting a contract to get more tourists to come to Paradise Key. Now she is having trouble getting the tourism board to agree. They don't want the beloved town to become something garish. Its up to Carter to show her the real Paradise Key. As they spend time together its obvious that the feelings are still there. Things are made extra tough with the pressure her father is putting on her. I loved the romance between Lauren & Carter. The ending was so sweet. I look forward to reading more from the author. Recommended for fans of contemporary and second chance romance.
ARC requested from Net galley. In exchange for an honest romance.

Summer Love: Take Two by Shirley Jump is the first book in a new series called " Paradise Key". The series is off to a slow start with this book, but it´s still a nice story about finding love and your place in life.

This was a cute, summer read. It was a little predictable, but part of what you can enjoy for a summer read.

It was second-chance romance. First MCs had met at their 18... H dumped her, and left his small town for archive his biggest dreams, cars, etc... You know the drill. Ok. Young and stupid, I get it.
10 years later they meet again and he realised she was his big love, and his big whatever.... Huh.
There was some push/pull from both MCs...
She was enough strong to push him away. But I didn't like her way with her father, it seemed she was his puppy.... Although later she convince her father to let her live and for him to live again
Safe read: no OP scenes, no ex-drama. No sex scenes at all... LoL. I've miss this things a bit.
A light read for vacation!

A second chance romance, Summer Love: Take Two is book 1 in the multi author series Paradise Key. I liked this story the characters were enjoyable and the emotionally driven storyline made for a good weekend read. I look forward to reading more of this series.

Summer Love: Take Two, by Shirley Jump is a second chance contemporary romance, and the first book in the Paradise Key series.

Lauren Webster currently works at her father's marketing firm, yet she's ready to leave the company for a new job. Unfortunately, she made an error that cost the company, so she's drastically attempting to fix it. While in the town of Paradise Key, Lauren attempts to work with the Tourism Bureau to create a new media campaign, yet she has to convince Carter Malone of her plans.

Carter Malone returned to Paradise Key, when his father's health suffered. Now, he's settled back into the small town and doesn't want it to change. However, Lauren is determined to convince Carter of her new media campaign for the town. Of course, Carter and Lauren were previously involved years ago, until he broke her heart. They are still in love and reunite, despite their differing points-of-view.

Summer Love: Take Two is geared towards those who enjoy reading modern romances.


Note: I received this book from NetGalley, which is a program designed for bloggers to write book reviews in exchange for books, yet the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Book one in the Paradise Keys series brings together Lauren Webster and Carter Malone. This is another sweet story of second chances for two people meant to be together but young age and different pressures abruptly ended them. Carter wanted nothing more than to leave Paradise Key and become a successful businessman. He suddenly ended his relationship with Lauren and left for college and Chicago. A father’s heart attack brought him back and he found Paradise Keys to be much better than he imagined. When Lauren comes into town, he sees the chance to woo her back and never let her go again. Lauren, though, is driven by her own problems and remaining in Paradise Key is not on her agenda.

What a delightful start to a new series this proved to be. Okay, so I accidentally read the second book in the series, Love at the Beach Shop by Kira Archer, first but that was great, too, and got me intrigued  enough to check out all four titles in the series . . . . All the stories feature young women who met whilst spent their summers in Paradise Key as teenagers and have kept in touch as best friends ever since. There were five of them but one of them, Lily, has tragically died. The remaining four meet up again whilst attending her funeral.

Lauren Webster now works for her father’s marketing firm in a job she isn’t exactly happy in. She’s forever striving to impress her Dad but nothing she does is good enough and she’s recently made a mistake that has cost the firm a very lucrative contract. Now she’s hoping to make amends by getting the Paradise Key Tourism Bureau to agree to her creating a media campaign for the resort. However, the more she remembers of her time as a teen there, the more she reconnects with Carter Malone, the ex who broke her heart, the more she starts to question and re-evaluate her life and future.

This is a lovely second chance romance which explores community and family dynamics in a heartwarming manner. It explores the past, shining a new light on events and interactions as well as, though a complex series of twists and turns, leading to a more hopeful future for all concerned. This is one of those stories where you may well need the tissues handy and, I suspect, that you’ll also want to read the other books in the series when you’ve read this one (or any of the others!)

I requested and was given a copy of this novel, via NetGalley, with no obligation. This is my honest review of the book after choosing to read it.

This is a great quick beach read to get the summer going. This is a second chance love story and is the first of a new series for Paradise Key. The book was well written and I liked the characters. I will look forward to the next book.

I first found out about this multi-author series when I saw that Priscilla Oliveras had a book in it, so after reading and loving it (review to come!), I went back and requested the rest of the series as well, though this book can be read as a stand-alone.

“Real life, though, didn’t exist in some cottage on the beach with a boy who’d only loved her until the end of August. Real life came with bills and rent and a sick father who was expecting her to become the daughter she should have been all along. Someday this company will be yours, her father often said, with the unspoken message that he expected her to not only carry on his legacy, but also make it even bigger. The trouble? Lauren didn’t love the job her father lived for.”


Lauren was ready to give up her chance at a high-powered career in her father's company to stay with Carter years ago, except she became convinced that he didn't love her. She wanted to stay in Paradise Key, the sleepy Florida resort town where they'd fallen in love and where Carter's father owned the general store, but Carter was jonesing to leave as soon as possible and didn't want anything to tie him there. Ten years later, Lauren's back in Paradise Key following the funeral of one of her best friends, and the last thing on her mind is rekindling her summer fling with him. After bungling a high profile client, she needs to land a client to appease the partners are her father's company. Since her memories of summers in Paradise Key are one of the few things she cares about any more, she hatches a plan to sell an advertising campaign to the local tourist board. Unfortunately, her beach bum boyfriend is now somehow one of the de factor town leaders, and he's against anything that would change the tone of Paradise Key. Carter left after high school for Chicago - to go to college and get a job in finance. But the high-powered job - completely with swanky apartment and equally work-obsessed fiancee - paled when he returned to Paradise Key to take care of his father after his heart attack. After seeing how the town rallied around his family, he realized he was home to stay for good. With Lauren back, he realizes what he's been missing... and if only there were some way to show her what she's been missing, too.

“There’s just something about this place, isn’t there? Makes you do things you wouldn’t normally do.”


For the most part, I enjoyed this book. The descriptions of small-town life were so much fun, and I especially loved all the secondary characters, like Carter's dad and Mr. Evans with his string of lady friends. I liked Carter's attempts to win back Lauren, even when all she wanted to do was talk about an ad campaign for the town. The problems that really brought the book down a star for me were the resolutions of the romance and her conflict with her father. Despite hardly ever being able to stand up to him for her entire life, when he arrives at Paradise Key, Lauren's somehow able to convince him to give up his life's work and move to the small town after a five minute walk on the beach. As for Lauren and Carter's relationship - if you can call it that, based on a summer when they were teens and something like three dates over the course of less than a week - ends in a marriage proposal. While I certainly felt like they had potential as a couple based on their time together, it seemed too short for them to decide to spend the rest of their lives together after spending ten years apart. It just felt like everything wrapped up way too quickly, and with a neat little bow on top as well.

Overall, while I enjoyed it, the quickness of the resolution was too much for me. I think it's still a fun summer read, perfect for a beach vacation, and perhaps a reader who wasn't as skeptical of insta-love would enjoy it more.

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

"Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review."

Loved this book very much. It had just enough sweet romance and the storyline was great! I highly recommend!

Summer Love: Take Two

Shirley Jump


Wow, all I can say is, this story blew me away! Keep the tissues close by as you are reading SUMMER LOVE: TAKE TWO by Shirley Jump. She will have your emotions all over the place. Once I started reading, it was very hard to stop! I have never read a book by Shirley Jump before but I know SUMMER LOVE: TAKE TWO won't be the last! The twists and turns made it impossible to put down, as I had to know what was going to happen to Lauren after so much heartache! Wow! What an awesome story.


SUMMER LOVE: TAKE TWO is the first book in the Paradise Key series and it hooked me from the very first page and never let me go until the very last. Shirley Jump has written a contemporary story that takes place along the Gulf of Mexico and is filled with strong, caring characters that everyone will be able to relate to and care about. Soon, you will feel as if you are in Paradise Key watching a second chance love grow between two old friends. After Lauren's friend dies, she returns to Paradise Key and while she is there she tries to land a new account with the tourism bureau. That is where she runs into her first love, Carter. While she tries to deny that she is still attracted to him, her heart and body fights those thoughts almost instantly!


SUMMER LOVE: TAKE TWO is all about family and the past and the secrets that come out are heart tugging. It had me flipping through the pages like a woman on a mission. I had to know what was going to happen to Carter and Lauren and all the secondary characters. I can't wait to continue with this series and luckily, I have all four of them. The characters are all well written and totally believable.


SUMMER LOVE: TAKE TWO is without a doubt one of the funniest books I've read in 2018 so far. When Carter hears how Lauren wants to bring change to the town, he instantly becomes her biggest obstacle. I sat there wondering if these two would ever begin to realize how much they belonged together! I was instantly emotionally invested in all of the characters and I can not wait to read more by this wonderful and heart tugging author.