Get ready because this one will crack your heart wide open. Stella still feels the reverberations of being dumped two years earlier by her jerky ex fiancée who makes snide comments at her expense. Luke, a former Navy SEAL, is seeking absolutions that only can be found from within. To escape the pressure from the nosiest community ever, they start fake dating.
I love the town and the beach setting. I love all the close scenes Luke and Stella. Tess, busybody galore, is a handful. A few of the scenes may send you into a crying cachonany, so have tissues handy.
A tender read for the beach. Hide any tears behind your shades!

Summer on Blackberry Beach
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 6/28/22
Author: Belle Calhoune
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Pages: 336
Goodreads Rating: 4.28

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Teacher Stella Marshall’s summer break has just began, but the gossip is already sizzling: Luke Keegan’s back in town! Stella’s high school crush is all grown up and smolderingly sexy. She might even consider a fling with the former Navy SEAL, if she hadn’t already sworn off all romantic entanglements. A showmance! Luke never thought he’d propose a fake relationship, but it’s the only way to stop the runaway speculation about their love lives. Pretending to date a woman as stunning as Stella is easy. Not actually falling for her is the hard part. Luke isn’t sure he deserves a hometown happy ending, when members of his SEAL team never made it back at all. Could their faux summer romance lead to true love?

My Thoughts: I really enjoy fake dating tropes, one of my favorites. Stella has become extremely untrusting of men due to her prior relationships and Luke has prior military baggage that he has not dealt with causing some PTSD, especially that he survived and they did not. The story is told in dual narrative, from Stella and Luke, from their individual perspectives. The characters are well developed with depth, witty banter, chemistry, and just all around fantastic. The author’s writing is complex, intriguing, inventive, and kept me engaged throughout the story. Even though this was part of a series, it is a great standalone. I had no issues keeping up. It would be a great summer beach read. I highly recommend!

Summer on Blackberry Beach is a sweet romance novel set in a charming small town and all the usual gossip that comes with living there. While the first book in the series No Ordinary Christmas focuses on Lucy and Dante’s story, Lucy’s sister Stella is the protagonist of this book.

There were many good things about this novel. I enjoyed the dual narrative of Stella and Luke and the pair’s backstories. The respect that the author writes about the trauma Luke has experienced while in Afghanistan is admired. But there were a few things that prevented me from liking this book as much as the first book in the series.

The relationship between Stella and Luke initially is being sold as fake dating. Although this went on for quite some time in the book, I never felt that this was anything but a genuine romantic relationship. The sparks between the two were there from the moment the two were first reunited.

The other confusing moment for me was when Luke drives 3.5 hours in each direction to meet with a family of a SEAL killed in action without calling ahead. Without giving too much away, I felt that this was selfish on Luke’s part. Having said that, it did allow the author to convey that everyone experiences and processes grief on their own schedule.

Summer on Blackberry Beach is a light read and romance readers will enjoy it. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

What a perfect beach read! Stella and Luke's story is full of emotions, and you can feel every one of them. It will keep you turning the pages to see what happens next. Highly recommend this book.
I received a complimentary copy from Forever (Grand Central Publishing) via NetGalley and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you NetGalley, Belle Calhoune and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the ARC of Summer on Blackberry Beach. This is my personal review.
Stella and Luke are made for each other, but they think that to get people to stop with the talk of their love lives they will pretend they are a couple.
They may be what they are each looking for and this fake romance may not actually turn out to be fake but is the attraction strong enough to hold them together?
This was such a good heart warming romance to pull me in to the story and keep me to the end.

The beach setting and patriotic feel make this such a cute summer read!

Definitely did not know this was a series but will be one I watch for and read now. Sparks literally flew off the page as soon as Stella and Luke come face to face and I was here for every bit of it.

Stella Marshall was supposed to get married but her fiance broke up with within days of the wedding. Claiming he was in love with his ex. Who he married and had a child with.
Luke Keegan comes back into town after being wounded in the military and the person who Stella had a crush on in high school.
They both decide to have a fake relationship to keep other away and to stop having people set them up on dates.
Stella is not to trusting of men at the moment and Luke has a lot of baggage thinking it is his fault 2 men died on his watch in afghanistan.
These 2 were so funny and you knew they would end up falling for each other but getting to that journey was the fun part. Stella has a sister getting married and Stella is trying to help her with the wedding and then they have an 11 year old sister, turning 30 lol. She is quite a spunky thing and very nosy and gossipy.
Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the book to reveiw.

I wanted to love this book, the summary sounded great, the characters seemed lovely and the setting divine. But if I’m being honest I was bored to tears. The internal monologues & conversations just felt awkward and unnatural to me. Just didn’t do it for me but I’m sure for others perhaps it’ll be just the kind of book they like.

This is a good book. The two main characters are Stella and Luke. They have known each other all their lives. Stella is a teacher and Luke is a retired navy seal. They decide to start dating. There is a mutual attraction. They each have issues but together they work them out and find love.

This book is perfect read, especially with the upcoming summer break! This is about a teacher who bumps into her childhood crush who is now a Navy SEAL. He came home because he got injuried overseas. They decided to fake their relationship to put end to the town gossip. As a New Englander, I loved how the setting was a small town on the Maine coastline! The characters felt real - with their struggles, flaws and all. I appreciated that the author didn’t magically make PTSD (that the Navy SEAL was struggling with) go away, but showed that he was getting the necessary help. I didn’t read the first novel, but this easily stands alone. I enjoyed this great romance book, now I’m definitely planning to to read the first one! Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the ARC for a honest feedback.

We are back in small town Mistletoe, Maine with a focus on Stella. We learned a bit about her history in the previous book (No Ordinary Christmas). Her fiance left her days before their planned wedding. Now everyone in the town is looking to set her up. So when Luke, a former Navy SEAL, returns to town, it doesn't take long for rumors about them to start flying. Rather than correct the gossip, they decide to lean into a fake relationship, as the town excitedly chatters about Stuke (their couple name).

Luke is dealing with a lot of grief after his honorable discharge from the Navy. He was badly injured, and others on his team died. Reading this on Memorial Day felt especially poignant.

This is such a great book for the summer. It made me eager to participate in all the festivals and fun that summer brings. I loved both Stella and Luke and how their relationship evolved.

Although this is the second in the series, it stands alone. You get enough information about Lucy and Dante that I do recommend reading their book first (especially as it was my favorite Christmas book last year), but it's not necessary.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.

enjoyed this sweet story, this is part of a series, i would read in order,very likable characteres, read this in one day

Such a sweet, romantic story! I really enjoyed reading this book, finished in a day! Thank you Netgalley for a ARC!

I devoured this book. Such a sweet story. If you fake dating trope, you will enjoy this one. I’m getting her other books for sure. I really think this would a perfect Hallmark movie, the one that warms your heart. Love love love it!

Enjoyable and entertaining romance. Lots of tropes combine to make one terrific story. Children and a dog add to the charm. I look forward to another visit to Mistletoe, Maine. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this book! It was so sweet, and romantic! I loved the characters and the storyline so much!

I received an ARC of Summer on Blackberry Beach, by Belle Calhoune. This book has lovely characters, Stella and Luke have great chemistry, but can they stay together?

Plot: I absolutely loved the first book in this authors Mistletoe, Maine series, so I knew this book was going to be a highly anticipated read for me. And when I read the summary and saw fake dating (my favorite trope) mentioned? Plus, it's set in summer, which is my favorite season. I was looking forward to this book so much! And I'm happy to write it did not disappoint. This was a lovely romance, with a perfect summer feel.

Characters: Stella and Luke were great main characters, and the supporting cast was wonderful. I loved the glimpses of characters from the first book!

The Cover: I love it!

Overall: Where are my Hallmark movies based in this series?!? They would be perfect for that. This was an absolutely wonderful romance that I highly recommend reading!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

Loved reading this book and series. If you haven't read it yet I highly recommend her and her books. I suggest reading the books in order

This was such a lovely sweet story of two wounded people coming together and learning to love. Stella has sworn off men after being left at the altar two days before her wedding 2 years ago and Luke is suffering from ptsd and survivors guilt after an honorable discharge from the navy seals. What starts off as a rumor turned fake dating scheme to keep people off their backs turns into so much more. But will there pasts keep them from a happy future?

I loved Stella and Luke! I felt for both of them and the trauma they’d lived through. Although there were many times I wanted to yell at both of them to get into therapy! I’m glad that Belle didn’t magically make Luke’s ptsd disappear at the end of the book but showed he was getting help. Grief, ptsd, and survivors guilt affect so many people and since it does I appreciate when books don’t make it seem like something you just magically get over.

They’re story was sweet and there are some great secondary characters. I haven’t read Lucy and Dante’s story and they seem great but the real secondary stars are Miles (Luke’s nephew) and Tessa (Stella’s baby sister) Miles is just absolutely precious and Tessa is the most precocious old soul 10 year old who I hope one day gets her own grown up story.