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.

“It was going to be a carefree, barefoot summer.”

Description:
Jill and her sister Cristal are often competing against one another as their mother set the roles of their relationships early on. Their mother always referred to Cristal as the pretty one and Jill as the smart one.
Jill, although expecting a wonderful summer away, is set up by her sister to become the caretaker of the Seashell cottage on the Gulf Coast. Jill does not know this when she first arrives at the cottage and is thrown into the role of caretaker having to cook, clean, and watch over one of the workers children who is a spoiled 8 year old girl.
Jill is rightfully so upset about this in the beginning, but uses the summer to help find herself and grow from her past. You find out that Jill was in an emotional abusive relationship prior to leaving her life in New York. Jill is a teacher by trade and takes on a part time position at the summer camp during the summer. This position leads to Jill’s decision to permanently relocate to Florida, find a new teaching position, and leave her mother in New York with her past. 

The Breakdown: 
This book has it all. Romance, the hot construction worker, a whole lot of drama, family struggles and self-discovery. The emotions portrayed by Jill were very well done, I wanted to just give her a hug at certain points of the story. 
Overall, I enjoyed the character development of Jill. She worked on overcoming the abuse from her marriage and she found both self confidence and the power to believe in herself. I look forward to reading more books by Judith Keim. 

Thank you to NetGalley, Wild Quail Publishing and Judith Keim for the ARC of A Summer of Surprises. You can pick up a copy of A Summer of Surprises on June 23, 2020

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.

What a wonderful book - perfect for a day of leisure at home.  Jillian is duped by her sister to house sit for a friend.  When she arrives, she finds out she is to cook and clean also for the work crew.  She takes the time to breathe and re-evaluate her life and starts making some drastic changes.  Changes that are necessary to undo the hurt from her deceased husband.  The author paints a beautiful picture of the coast of Florida and the wonder to live there.  There is a sequel coming out for this book next year.  I am excited to read that one also.

***A Summer of Surprises by Judith Keim is a story about change and new beginnings.  Jillian gets hoodwinked by her sister into cooking and cleaning for two men and a confused 8 year old.  What she thought would be a vacation in Florida turns into a life changing event.  While the author has many published books and an appreciation for the rules of grammar, this reader wasn’t driven to complete the book in one sitting.  The premise and the message about freeing oneself from the negativity of others and finding new paths is significant, but cardboard characters and stilted dialogue actually made for a somewhat boring read.  I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book from NetGalley.

Jill Conroy was asked by her sister Cristal to house sit at a Florida cottage over the summer.  Jill soon realized she was also sharing the cottage with the maintenance crew, Greg and Brody, and Brody’s eight year old daughter, Kacy.  Instead of spending the summer relaxing by herself, Jill found herself cooking for the crew, helping out with Kacy, and ultimately working at a nearby summer camp.  The book followed Jill throughout the summer, as we learned about her abusive ex husband, her complicated relationship with her mom and sister, and the new friendships she formed with Brody, Kacy and members of the summer camp.  

I loved the growth Jill experienced throughout the summer, the relationship development with Kacy and Brody, and learning more about how Jill's life was shaped by her interactions with her mom and sister. 


I wish the author had gone more in-depth with the relationships between Jill and her family (her mom, sister, and ex-husband).  We learn more about the dynamics at the end,  but the narrative with Jill’s ex-husband was lacking.  

Overall A Summer of Surprises was a quick, light beach read.  


Thank you NetGalley and Wild Quail Publishing for the ARC of A Summer of Surprises.