Summer by the River easily captured my imagination as we are invited into the world that Josie has created for herself out of chaos and fear. Told in some places through flashback, Josie’s backstory is one of danger and secrets she’s kept, secrets that will steal her sense of safety, with the need to keep on the move trusting no one for long. When she arrives in Galena, Illinois she’s just about out of energy to go any further with her young daughter, Zoe. Thankfully, she’ll find a refuge and a helpful friend in Myra. Settling down in Galena, helping Myra with her tea parties in her beautiful home and garden seems a safe thing to do, for now. But that’s about to change with the arrival of Carter, who has issues of his own.

Carter is a journalist searching for answers to a family mystery of years gone by and hopes that Myra can shed some light on his grandfather’s disappearance so many years ago. As Carter arrives with his lovable dog, animal lover Zoe is immediately in love with Carter’s rescue dog – Mom, well, she’s far more cautious for she cannot trust that this man will not oust her secrets and while answering his own questions.

Summer by the River is a discovery journey for all the people involved in so many ways. It’s also a story that doesn’t fit into just one genre for you’ll find touches of mystery, suspense, romance, and women’s fiction within these pages artfully blended into a look into a world filled with secrets that are about to be revealed. No spoilers, but I did enjoy my time in this world with characters who felt realistic for the situations they were in. Touches of humor, danger, and hope were woven throughout giving the feeling of stepping into the lives of these characters and hoping for a well-deserved happy ending for them all.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca and Debbie Burns for gifting me an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
If you’re in the mood for a romance with a twist, look no further! I am getting over a serious book hangover and I needed something that was both light and easy to read, but not too fluffy. The hints of mystery and suspense peppered in with the chemistry and likeable characters made this a quick read! I would tag this as more of a women’s fiction with a splash of suspense, and a swirl of romance. A perfect palate cleanser!

Josie Pictures and her brother Sam had a dysfunctional childhood and now Sam is gone. As Josie Waterhill, she and her six-year-old daughter, Zoe are living in Galena, Illinois. Working and living at the tea house is a much-needed escape from her past and a new life for them. Her employer and friend Myra, invites Carter O’Brien, a journalist, to stay at the house while he investigates the long-ago death of his grandfather, Myron. As secrets are revealed, Josie worries that she and Zoe are becoming too attached to Carter. Josie and Carter finally act on their attraction, but she can’t get further involved as there is no guarantee that her past has been left behind. As Josie and Carter become closer, he brings some welcome closure to her past, but can Josie finally be confident that she and Zoe will be safe? A beautiful story of recovering from the past and taking a chance on love. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

This was good read wit hint of suspense. I really enjoyed reading this book. This wasn't my first read by this author, so I knew what I may expected.
Really good read 3.5 stars for me

Summer by the River by Debbie Burns is a standalone novel. I have read a number of books by Debbie Burns, but Summer by the River was totally different, and I loved every moment. Very well done.

Josie Waterhill, our heroine, lives in a midwestern (Galena, Ill) town with her 6-year-old daughter, Zoe. Josie, who arrived 5 years before totally broke and, on the run, but had the fortune of meeting Myra, who owned a mansion, and offered her a job. Now all these years later, Josie runs the historic tea house that she helped build for Myra, who is getting up in age. Josie is happy with her life, especially loving her daughter Zoe, and Myra; until she meets a journalist, who makes her nervous.

Carter O’Brien, our hero, is a journalist, who comes to Galena to interview Myra, in helping him find information from many years ago about his grandfather & and their possible history. Myra is thrilled to be able to investigate the past and work with Carter, offering him to stay a lot longer to write the story. But Josie, having run from a violent life as a young girl, wants nothing to do with him, even if they both begin to feel an attraction to each other. Josie also worries about Zoe, who is becoming too attached to Carter, as a father figure.

What follows is a wonderful story that has romance, mystery, suspense, intrigue, as we learn more about the past memories of Josie, Myrna and Carter’s fact-finding information. I loved the addition of thecute dogs and a cat, especially Buttercup, who was a big rescue dog, as well as Myrna’s long time dog, Tidbit; later on there will be a cute rescue cat. Though they were the backdrop of the story, it was fun, as well as Zoe’s antics.
As we reach the last third of the book, Carter and Josie allow themselves to act on their feelings, but she is afraid he will eventually leave them; especially since she is still not comfortable about revealing her past life. Myrna knows everything, but Carter needs to find out for himself. Which he does, and the past comes flooding back. What will Carter find? Is Josie’s life in danger?

Summer by the River was so well written by Debbie Burns, with a couple we wanted to root for, a friend so great like Myrna, the fun times with Zoe and the dogs, as well as learning all about Josie’s life years before. It was such great story that kept my attention from start to finish. Summer by the River was a story of family, love and trust, as well as a captivating read. I suggest you read this wonderful book.

Another winner by Debbie Burns!

Josie Pictures has grown up rough in LA. Her mother was an alcoholic more concerned about her next movie role, man and drink, not necessarily in any order, than she was about her children, Josie and Sam. Josie pretty much was the head of household by 8 years old, responsible for her younger brother Sam.

Josie's life gets more difficult as the years go on, and she is forced to run for her life. She eventually winds up in Galena, a small river-side town in the Midwest, out of energy, money and the ability to go any further. Luckily, she is befriended by a local businesswoman, Myra, who takes her home and she never ends up leaving. Over the next few years, Josie and her daughter Zoe live a nice life with Myra, helping to run her tea garden business.

Carter comes to town because Myra wants to research and document an event from her past, and the sparks begin to fly between Josie and Carter. Josie is torn between her developing feelings and her need to protect herself from her own past. I don't do spoilers, but please read this book and follow Josie and Carter's story, and meet a cast of characters from Josie's past as well.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

First let me say, I really enjoyed this book. The Characters are very well thought out and brought to life, realistically. The plots kept me interested and waiting for the next bump in the road. I was cheering on our lead characters, as well as hoping for good news about side characters.

Josie is a hero who deserved a little love and happiness in her life. It was time someone stepped in and took care of her, for a while. And Carter is just the man to do it. Zoe is an adorable character and Myra ties it all together. Josie has definitely pulled herself up by the bootstraps, while dealing with several heartbreaks in her life. It was so heartwarming to read about her happily ever after.

The only thing that I had wished, is that in the final chapter or an epilogue, we had learned how Myra faired, healthwise. That was missing for me, and i think it should have been included.

Josie and her little daughter Zoe have made a good safe life since moving to Galena, where they live with Myra. Then Carter comes to town in search of answers about hus grandfather, who went missing years ago. First Zoe then Josie find a pull toward Carter (and his pup) but Josie has a secret. No spoilers from me. SHe's worried, and rightfully so, that Carter will discover it and thus she pulls away from him. Readers know that these two are meant to be together so how do they get there? I wanted to tell Josie to fess up early on because it's always better to own it than to be found out. Carter is a good guy and a determined one. This mixes both mystery and romance in a good way- it kept me guessing. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A nice read.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Summer by the River is a bit different than what I expected. It’s categorized on NetGalley as romance, but I found the book more of a small-town women’s fiction with romantic and mystery elements.

The part that appealed to me the most was the mystery, what with a missing person and suspected murder during the Great Depression, and how that leads Carter to investigate the town and what happened to his grandfather. I also really liked the animals, like his lovely rescue dog, although I was a bit disappointed to find that the dog wasn’t as big a role as I thought.

The other characters, like Josie and Myra, were marginally interesting, but I wasn’t super invested in them. And what romance there was felt really underdone, so I just wasn’t interested and didn’t feel like they had chemistry.

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I hoped, but I think there’s a lot to enjoy if you go in with the proper expectations and are prepared for the multifaceted story, I think you might like it a bit more.

Great feel good story about overcoming life's obstacles.
Josie flees her violent and drug infested neighborhood, where she has spent her life, one dreadful day with her daughter, Zoe. Josie's world came crashing down around her that day, but with the help from strayers she met along the way, she ends up thousands of miles from her home in a small town of Galena, where she meets Myra. Myra is an older woman who owns a tea shop in town. Josie and Zoe live and work with Myra for five years, effectively hiding from the life she fled. One day a stranger, Carter, shows up on the door of the tea shop and suddenly Josie's safe new world doesn't feel so safe. Soon Josie's past and present are colliding in ways she could never imagine. But when the dust settles, will the life she built for herself and Zoe still be there?
Loved the plot and characters.
I received an advance copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, Debbie Burns and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for the ARC of Summer by the River. This is my personal review.
Josie decided she wanted to start her life over with her daughter, Zoe and she moves them to Galena Illinois. When they got there Myra who owns a mansion invites them to stay there with her.
Josie is settling in until Myra invites a writer to stay with them also. He is in search for answers to missing person and murder that happened in the area.
Josie is hiding her past, but she knows it with Carter there he could dig into her past and find out.
The book has a bit of everything in mystery, suspense, romance and hidden secrets.
I enjoyed the book but did not feel the chemistry between Josie and Carter.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca for an advanced copy of Summer by the River

This is my first Debbie Burns book and it was a wonderful women's fiction with a hint of suspense.

I liked seeing Josie think about her future and learn how to live with her past. I liked the town of Galena, Myra and the cute pups that were side characters in this book.

Summer by the River by Debbie Burns is a feel-good story about Josie Waterhill, a single mother and her six-year-old daughter, Zoe who escape LA and the violence Josie grew up around. They end up in a quaint Midwestern town where they meet Myra Moore, owner of a historic tea house who invites them to stay. For five years, Josie has felt safe from her past until Myra invites a journalist to visit and encourages him to stay. However, Carter O’Brien is researching a missing person. Has he discovered the truth and the secrets she carries with her? As their relationship develops, can Josie learn to trust and let go of the past to embrace a future with Carter? Debbie Burns does it again with a heart-warming story of family and trust. Throw a rescue dog into the mix and you have a fun story that is worth the read.

Burns is a new author for me and she turned out a good book. Set in a Galena, IL, Josie is hiding from the world. Readers are slowly able to piece together her story as the chapters unfold. The beginning was a little slow, but the momentum picked up the more I delved into the book. My favorite character was Myra. I did think Josie’s actions were a little out of character when she does something toward the end of the book. I know it was necessary for the story line, but it just didn’t fit, in my opinion, especially given her protectiveness over Zoe. All in all. It’s a decent story.

Summer by the River by Debbie Burns
An author I haven't read in the past but look forward to reading more books by.
This book took me awhile to get into but I ended up enjoying the storyline and the character development. Small town, mysteries, possible romance this book hits the bill.

Summer by the River is an entertaining read. Well written plot with a few twists to keep the reader guessing. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and Netgalley and this is my unbiased review.

This story is filled with with excellently written and well-developed characters. The two main characters Josie Winterhill and Carter O'Brien meet and are instantly attracted to each other. Josie's background doesn't lend her to believe in Happily Ever After much. Plus she's in hiding and her first priority is her daughter Zoe. Carter's ex-fiancee cheated on him and that was the end of their relationship. So both characters have past issues to deal with. I enjoyed their journey to happiness as they slowly overcame the things holding them back. This was a very entertaining read.

Josie Waterhill fled a past filled with violence, and made a safe life for herself and Zoe, her six year old daughter. Zoe is an extremely bright child who loves animals. They have a home with Myra Moore, a sweet, elderly woman who hosts tea parties in her lovely backyard gardens with the help of Josie’s capable hands. Then, freelance journalist, Carter O’Brien comes to town researching a missing person and an old murder, and Myra’s memories could help him. Josie’s afraid he’ll find out about her past.

Through vivid flashbacks, reader’s learn of Josie’s traumatic childhood. The story unleashes some strong emotions when the past catches up with Josie. If Josie is to have a future with Carter and Zoe, she must confront the past. Author Debbie Burns writing voice is strong and sure, and the story is moving. The plot contains surprising twists and turns and provides a happy ending. Several rescue animals are supporting characters.

I honestly reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca. All opinions are my own. Thank you.

My mouth almost hit the floor. I didn't see that plot twist coming at all. Wow! I loved reading, Summer By the River.

Summer by the River is a great page-turner! It contains twists and turns, all the while depicting the many layers of love for different people in the lives of the heroine. In her many bids for survival, she never loses faith that love wins in the end. A great read providing many relevant topics for discussions about loyalty, betrayal, uncertainty, strength, acceptance, choices, and of course, love.