A good summer read. When Jill gets tricked into going to Florida, little does she know her house-sitting would include cooking and taking care of a handy man, his nephew and his nephew's daughter. A lot of issues on both sides, but all works out for a HEA. Highly recommend this one, and found it hard to put down. Only thing I didn't like was Charlie. Didn't see the need.

A Summer of Surprises by Judith Keim.

Thank you to Netgalley, Wild Quail Publishing and Judith Keim for giving me this book for review.
This was my first Judith Keim novel and it will not be my last. I loved the way in which this story was written, with a multi perspective. For me it helps me get inside each character.
Jill is for me the main character in this novel, she is a teacher and is asked by her sister if she would look after a house in Florida for the summer. She is told that there is an older man in the house doing repair work to it but decides that will be ok. When she arrives however, Jill discovers that there is more to it that just house sitting. She decides to go with the flow and enjoy the summer and all that it will entail anyway. As Jill does this, she begins to find out more about herself and what she wants. We also discover that Jill is not the only one with secrets in her family.
The other characters in this novel are also very engaging and they really get under your skin. I don’t want to give away any spoilers but I would highly recommend this book. It has second chance romances as well, which are so lovely.
Here are a couple of quotes that I liked and I hope you do as well.
“A strong woman can change her future”.
“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny, but in ourselves”

This book is the perfect summer beach read/fun/lazy afternoon read. I loved this story! Families and the different ways they interact and learn to work out their differences.. The main character had a terrible first marriage and had to learn to trust all over again. I loved the descriptiveness in the book and character development was great. This is truly a book to enjoy.

Thank you Net Galley, Wild Quail Publishing and Author, Judith Keim for an ARC of this book. The review and comments are my honest opinion.
Emotionally distant sisters, Jill and Cristal have never been close and their mother has perpetually kept the sisters apart. Constantly extolling the beauty of Cristal, Jill, the smart one, has always felt alienated. Given the chance to become her own person, Jill moves temporarily to a beach town in Florida. What she finds there is more permanent than temporary and more than she could have dreamed. Judith Keim has written another wonderful book of healing and acceptance with just a touch of love that we have come to expect from this great writer of women’s fiction.

A Summer of Surprises is a book about a woman needing to get rid of the negativity in her life by visiting Seashell Cottage in Florida. Her summer vacation was not expected, she had three guests living with her while they updated the cottage. Jill learns to speak about her past and move on which includes becoming close to her guests especially, the father and daughter. This book is a real page turner because you want to find out if Jill lets her past go and falls in love.

An engaging romance and personal growth issues. A wide variety of problems for the various characters. Nice resolutions, most of which are predictable, but enjoyable.

A Summer of Surprises was a wonderful story of reimagining life. Judith Keim was a new author to me and I enjoyed her novel. She is another author to add to my list of authors to read. The reclaiming of a life, and the reimaging of what is possible was wonderful.

It has been a couple of years since her husband died. Jill is just moving in place, but doesn’t know quite what to do. Her sister, Cristal has asked Jill to house-sit for a friend in Florida whose place is being renovated, while she is away. Jill is reluctant (for a few reasons), but decides that a summer away might be freeing. Her reluctance was appropriate as suddeningly she is chief cook and bottle washer for a couple of workmen and a child. All the free time seemed to evaporate as she also added chauffeur to her things to do, but it opened up an opportunity if she was brave enough to take that step. How much change can a person accomplish in a summer? How much can be a surprise? And then Christal returned early and another challenge happened.

The story captured my attention and made me believe that you can start over again with your family, if everyone is really invested. I enjoyed the main characters and found Jill’s reinvention of herself a remarkable feat of strength. A Summer of Surprises by Judith Keim was a good read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I appreciated how Jillian took her life back and recreated her own happiness given the stagnant nature she felt in her hometown coupled with the emotional abuse from her late husband. A great restart to live and I thoroughly applaud all of her decisions with Brody, Kacy, Cristal and her mom. I resonated with this book and can't wait for the next one!

This is my first by this author. I was interested in the story because of the relationship between the sisters. Jill is the younger of the two and told she was not "as pretty" as her older sister Cristal. Since she was told this at a very early age this shaped the way she thought about herself and what she attracted. This book is about Jill finding herself and repairing the relationship with her sister. I thought it was pretty good and a light summer read.

#ASummerOfSurprises#HerBalist
As the story opens Jillian is offered a house setting job in Florida by her sister. She knows there is more to the story As her sister always makes any situation for her benefit. Jillian starts to reinvent herself while in Florida. She no longer has her abusive husband as he has died in a car accident. She finds the cottage comes with two batsmen and a young daughter that she has to cook and clean for them. She makes a deal to help with Kacy . She becomes closer to Lacy and her dad.. She decides to stay in Florida and everything falls in place, a new job, a rent, New friends, and coworkers. Her sister calls. She is coming home early and begins to issue orders to Jillian. Jillian is now strong enough to stand up for herself. Jillian is no longer in her sisters shadow. She will no longer out up with her mother's breathing comments and verbal abuse. As the story revolves Jillian and Crystal discuss their past and move on to become true sisters. You will have to read the book to find out how Jillian's decisions make differences in her life. Read this great book to find out all the sun plots and secrets of the summer at the beach. Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read and review this book.

A Summer of Surprises by Judith Keim, is a wonderful book with a sweet romance and sister issues. Jill Conroy is tricked by her sister, who invites her to Florida to house sit Seashell Cottage on the beach. When Jill arrives she realizes that is she is expected to cook and clean for the men working on the cottage improvements. I really enjoyed this book, and love the ending. I will be reading more books by this author, and I highly recommend if you enjoy romances.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book is a nice, light summer read. It's about finding yourself and changing your life. I enjoyed this book and will recommend it to my friends.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance digital copy of this book!

I enjoyed this light romance a lot.

Jill heads to Seashell Cottage for a summer away from her life. She's been stuck in a house shared with her deceased husband and tethered to her mother's demands. Time in Florida will be a joy after the request comes from her sister Cristal. She heads south knowing there will be a repairman, Greg, there.

Upon arrival she learns that she's supposed to cook for not only him but his nephew, Brody, and Brody's mouthy daughter, Kacy.

Within short order, she's finding herself drawn to Brody while also helping Kacy overcome issues of low self-esteem and carrying a bit of weight. She also finds her calling at the camp Kacy is attending that summer.

In the end, she waves goodbye to her past, ends up restoring her relationship with her sister and mother, and wraps up her new life in Florida with Brody by her side.

All in all a fun read with the gentle reminder that it is never too late to reinvent yourself or repair a relationship.

This book is so good!! It is well written and hooks you on the first page. The author makes the book come to life with with her words. You can see all the scenery and feel all the emotions. I highly recommend this book. Thank you Wild Quail Publsihing via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

I have been an avid follower of Judith Keim books for several years. I truly enjoy her beach settings, and I feel the warmth and ocean breeze as I read! How we view ourselves and the change that can occur if we allow rang true through the characters of this book. The positivity that Ms. Keim brings as you read her stories leaves you anxiously awaiting her next book. A definite book to add to this summers beach reads!

A Summer of Surprises by Judith Keim is a delightful summer read! Jillian Conroy gets tricked again by her selfish sister, Cristal. Jill is given the opportunity to house-sit a beautiful cottage while the owner and her sister go to Europe for the summer. Sounds wonderful. right? later Jill realizes she will be taking care of the house and cooking meals for the two workmen who are there to make repairs and a few renovations. It gets even better, Brody brings his young daughter, Kacy, with him and is soon asking Jill for help with the difficult girl.
Now right here I have to say I was really doing a slow burn! Imagine the promise of a sunny beach, books, watching sunsets, and a bit of personal time. Now Jill is facing much more than she bargained for with Cristal. Also, Jill's mother is unbelievable in her attitude! Ok, let's move on to say, the story is written very well and kept me entertained once my anger at Cristal and Kacy faded a bit. LOL
It really is a summer of surprises for Jill. She lets people know that she will not be a doormat. Jill finds a new purpose and surprisingly, changes the direction of her life. It is a lovely story.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book really helped me get into summer mode!! What I really loved about this book is how a young woman learns to love herself for who she is. Jill is shown to become more confident and strong throughout the story. The way she left her past behind her and found a fresh start to be the person she was meant to be was absolutely enjoyable. However, one issue I had about her was the love life. It was clear she had feelings for Brody right from the start, so I did not understand why she kept going out with Charlie? Even after Brody and her shared many moments? Those parts did not seem fair to Charlie and made Jill seem like a bad person. But, it was good to know that Brody spoke the truth with her and she realized who she was really meant to be with. A GREAT SUMMER READ!

A Summer of Surprises was a good summer read! This was my first time reading a book by this author and I will look out for her other titles after reading this one. The story is about a woman, Jillian, who agrees to do her sister a favor and house sit a cottage on a Florida beach for the summer, so her sister and friend can go to Europe. As we go through the novel we follow her complicated family relationships with her sister and her mother and watch her begin to heal from an abusive marriage that ended in the death of her fiancee (through a car accident). The story was a bit predictable (hence my 4 stars) but the character development was touching all the same. The honest look at difficult family dynamics and how we can break free from allowing those in our life to define our sense of self and our worth made this a book I enjoyed even though I was sure I knew how it'd end.

In Judith Keim’s novel “A Summer of Surprises”, Jill spends her Summer vacation in Florida to help her sister, but her trip ends up changing her life. While I enjoyed the overall plot of the book, I felt it lacked depth. Everything happened so fast, in a very superficial way. More important topics (ie spousal abuse, cancer, child abandonment issues) were repeatedly brought into the story line, but the conversations around them were stilted, making it hard for me to engage in the novel.

A sweet and fun beach read about changing your life and find out where you should truly be. This is the second seashell cottage book I have read and it doesn’t disappoint. If you are looking for a sweet story love, in this crazy time we are living in, you should check this out.

Thank you Netgalley, Judith Keim and Wild Quail publishing for the ARC.