#Summerhaven #NetGalley

I know some disagree, but I loved this book. I like that it didn't have a typical ending, but it was so much more. I really liked the character development and how each person is put under a microscope and left to really examine themselves, the good and the bad. It is not your typical boy and girl romance, but in another way, it is.

Thank you to NetGalley and Covenant Communications for an advance reader copy of this wonderful book in exchange for a fair review.

I’ve seen so many advance raves for this book, and my expectations were high. Sadly, the book did not live up to them.

Oh, it’s romantic. There are lots of pretty words, and lots of feelings. It hit the mark in those goals.

Interestingly, it’s set in the same “year without a summer” that we saw in Jane and the Year Without a Summer. My reading lately has been full of interesting parallels like that.

But the protagonist, Hannah, was so disappointing. The whole book is about her wanting to be in love/have someone be in love with her. If she’s not thinking about that, she’s missing her deceased mother. She mentions, a few times, doing charity work for her father’s church, and how much she enjoys it. And we actually see her doing something charitable once. It’s a great scene, but it’s isolated, with no real effect on Hannah. As Damon tells her in the book, she is “In love with the idea of love”. She’s spunky, and wants to ride a stallion. (She insists on it being a stallion…more on this later.) She calls herself a bluestocking because she likes to read books and the newspaper, but she shows none of the real literary or intellectual life of a true bluestocking, just some opinions on how the world should work.

There is no real antagonist in the story. There are a couple of women who might keep Hannah from the man she wants. She even mentions how cruel one of them was to her—and I went back to that interaction and saw nothing cruel at all. I suppose you could call society an antagonist, because of the demands it places on people’s lives. But that’s a stretch, too. Maybe Damon and Oliver’s father, a little?

There are some editing issues that I hope are cleared up between the ARC I read and the publication version. First, Miss Diggs is mentioned as having honey-colored curls. Then, when Hannah sees her outside the dressmaker’s shop, she is raven-haired. At the picnic, she is blonde again.

And then there’s the bit that really brings out the Picky Vicky in me. You have to understand—horses are a big thing in my family. My mother was an equestrian and a riding mistress in the UK before she emigrated to the US, and continued to teach riding into my childhood. I had a pony growing up. My children love to ride, and the youngest takes riding lessons currently. So you could say I know some things. I’m not sure the writer or editor of this book do. Hannah is so insistent on riding a stallion. A stallion, for the non-horsey out there, is a male horse that has not been castrated. They can be a handful. Clearly, Hannah wants to ride a horse that has some spirit. But the insistence that it be a stallion is just silly. Mares can be a handful too. Second, the stirrups are constantly referred to as “footholds”. Every time. I did some googling and could not find any evidence that stirrups are referred to anywhere as “footholds”. I know these things might not be as bothersome to others, but for me, they were highly annoying and I really hope they were fixed.

And can we talk about the use of "okay"? In a fantasy book, I can let it slide, since the characters probably speak some other language that we've put into English equivalents. But this book is set in England in the early 1800s. Okay didn't enter the language until 1839.

It’s not a horrible book. It’s not as great as I was led to believe. Of all the characters, I think Damon was the best—his big “revelation” to Hannah was no surprise, but I liked that aspect of his character.
The character who grew the most was definitely Oliver. I really disliked him at first, as I believe we are meant to, but he shapes up beautifully by the end.

I don’t hate this book. I give it three stars. But I don’t love it either.

Possible Objectionable Material:
As with any book published by Covenant, this is squeaky clean. We witness some poverty. Some anger. Loss of a parent. A woman breastfeeds her baby.

Who Might Like this Book:
Romance fans, especially those who like romance that doesn’t have anything past kissing onscreen. Those who like family dynamics, and books set in the regency period.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review also available at https://biblioquacious.blogspot.com/2022/02/romantic-release-for-valentines-day.html

Beautiful. Lovely. Delightful.

After hearing so many great things about this book, I was eager to pick this up and escape to Summerhaven. I'm so glad I did.

This is a story of lifelong love, friends to lovers, and finding what your heart truly desires. Hannah is genuine, sweet, with a big heart. I love her strength of character and her willingness to see to others' welfare. Hannah has a little "Tom boy" in her which makes her very relatable.

Enter Damon, the older brother, set to inherit the estate. Let me just say, he has been added to the book boyfriends list. From beginning of the book to the end, he was nothing but swoony, flirtatious, loveable, and just perfect. Every interaction was again...DELIGHTFUL! I was smiling often. Damon is easily a five star hero.

If I had the time, I would have devoured this book in one sitting. Because well...Damon. When he talks, I can't stop reading😆

I will say I had a hard time with the last few chapters. I feel like things could have gone a little differently. I'm not sure how I feel about Ollie's role in the end. He needed a better redemption. Also, I needed a better kiss at the end. When two people come together and confess their love, they need a super swoony kiss!

All in all...perfect book for those clean romance readers out there who love historical fiction. You will adore this!

Thank you @authortiffanyodekirk @netgalley and @covenant_com for the early copy!

This book releases on Valentine's Day!

#valentinesday #februarytbr #netgalley #bookrelease #februarybookrelease #pubday #earlycopy #summerhaven #arcreads #historicalromance #histfic #christianfiction #cleanromance #cleanreads #lovestories #swoonyreads #swoonyromance #tiffanyodekirk #tbrpile #bookpictures #kindlereads #ebooks

I. LOVED. IT. SO MUCH!!! I was hooked from the beginning. It was such a cute story! It was the perfect balance of humor, romance, drama, wistfulness, & heartache.

I loved the love in this story! I love reading about swoony gentlemen and this fit the bill. It was well written and captivating! There was no waiting around for the plot to move or to understand the character objectives.

I kept wanting to know Damon’s thoughts. Was his actually sincere in his desire for her or just wanting not to be what his father wanted. I assumed he was sincere and concocted the plan as a way to convince her but I just didn’t know!

This is the first I’ve read by Tiffany Odekirk but I immediately added her other books to my “to read” list!

I absolutely loved this book! I was hooked and stayed up way too late. One of my new favorites!

The thing I loved most was how Hannah came to understand herself more as she got to know Damon. She had perceived him a certain way her whole life and he completely changed her perspective when he gives her the motivation behind his actions as a child. Seeing the whole story changed how she saw those around her, as well as how she saw herself. Such a powerful thought. I loved that he believed in her and that she could be a better stronger person with him by her side.

There were so many moments where I found myself smiling or laughing. Towards the end I was heartbroken, but it all works out in a way I didn’t see coming. This book made me feel so much. It was a rollercoaster that ended so perfectly.

I’m scared to give too much away, but my favorite parts were:
Fake relationship- and Damon’s reply to her about the idea
The piano scene
The chess game
All the dancing- the first dance and all the others after
Ginger candies
The tenant scene
Hannah’s true friendship with Amelia. There’s not enough books with women who are kind to each other.

It had so many wonderful elements in this book and it flowed so smoothly. I’m exhausted from staying up so late, but I have no regrets.

This book will for sure be one I go back and read a few times. There’s just so much to love in this book!

Summerhaven was such a delightful and engaging read for the first 90% of the book. I found myself really wanting to read it in the third person with some of Damon’s POV, but by the end I was happy with the choice the author made to keep it in Hannah’s perspective. The end of the book dragged on a bit, I just wanted them to get over themselves and get together already! But I was pleasantly surprised by the amazing female friendships and the maturity and responsibility shown by all the characters (with the exception of Georgiana but she was delightfully fun in her own way.)

The only thing that I wish was different is the lack of spice or even passion in this book. I believe that Hannah felt deep and true love for the men in this story, but it was certainly tame and lacked the physical connection that I wanted to see from these characters.

Hannah was silly, and her not noticing Damon’s attentions or affections and being fooled by Ollie made me want to facepalm so hard. She was remarkably naive for someone who’s that good at chess and comes from Cheapside! But after groaning a little at her foolishness, I started to find her endearing.

I quite enjoyed the book, thanks Netgalley for the review copy!

Loved this one! Couldn't put it down. The premise is wonderful and full of potential. The writing hooked me in and kept me so engaged the whole time.

So many great moments to swoon over - like the ginger candies for her motion sickness. It was so romantic and I lived for the pining. It had some nice nods to Austen, specifically Emma and Pride and Prejudice.

I'd love to read more from this author; I hope she writes more historical romance. I would love to Amelia's love story.

For a few things I didn't love:
I did think both brothers were jerks in different ways in different times. I felt that Hannah ran out the room crying a few too many times. I also felt that the final third was a little slow and a bit clunky. (The first two-thirds were practically flawless though!)

I loved this book so much! The writing was so well done, the characters were engaging and the romance was on point!
When Hannah receives an invitation to return to Summerhaven, the place her and her mother used to visit every summer, she looks forward for the chance to return to a place that feels like a second home, as well as, see her childhood friend, Oliver, again. She and Oliver grew up together and pledged their hearts to each other from a young age. When Hannah arrives, she is not greeted by Oliver, but by his brother, Damon, who she has remembered as a nuisance and unkind. When she finds Oliver smitten by another, Damon comes up with a plan: he and Hannah can pretend to be falling in love, keeping him from having to find a wife and helping Oliver see Hannah in a new light. What Hannah never expects is to find Damon different than she remembers. Could Damon be the source of the love she's always hoped to find?
Hannah's character was kind and caring to those from all walks of life. I enjoyed how her background of serving the poor with her dad had given her a heart for finding ways to care for others. I also enjoyed her friendship with Amelia. Damon's character stole my heart. He came across as maybe a little gruff and mysterious, but as his character was revealed throughout the story, and I loved how each layer created such a wonderful hero character!
I couldn't finish this one quick enough- I couldn't wait to find out what Hannah would decide and how everything would turn out! You won't want to miss this one!
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Where do I begin? First this is the authors first historical fiction novel and she did an excellent job. The book kept me engaged from beginning to end. I wanted to see how the connection between Damon and Hannah would work out. But then there is sweet but I would say flighty Ollie and even Hannah’s friend Amelia. How would each get their happy ending without others getting hurt? Tiffany did a good job with character description. I felt like I knew these people and their emotion in the story. The storyline was moving, I had a hard time putting the book down. I would have loved to have known Damon’s POV though. Would have that given too much away?
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book. Opinions expressed are definitely my own.

I wanted to like this book and I really did like the writing style but I felt like it was extremely improbable and I did not like how both brothers ended up falling in love with Hannah and how unrealistic it was that the guys parents would even think about a poor bride for their second son when they were near ruin themselves, seconds sons were supposed to make wealthy matches.
'Overall, I really wish the author had made it a bit more realistic. The writing was good though

Well that was a treat! I have been in a roll lately with my Regency reads, and this one was spot on. The characters, the romance, the teasing and yearning, this is what good Regency is made of and I flew through this book in just a few hours. It was adorable, funny, and left me with that happy, warm hug of a feeling. You know what I’m talking about, right. Yeah you do!

The book is paced well, the characters are well formed and likable, and of course the hero is swoony as all get out. Do they come in any other form when it comes to Regency? No, and that’s why we love ‘em so! Don’t miss this one!

What a book, y'all. Summerhaven was such a cute story!

This story seemed to have it all - from childhood best friends to fake dating to candied ginger to that gazebo kiss to the waltz and the quadrille to a brother who needs a good solid kick to the shins.....what is there not to love ? It was all just so well done.

Also Hannah and Damon were just the cutest. I was cheering for things to work out for them from the beginning. I loved watching as Hannah realized her feelings, and how attentive and kind Damon was. They really were so perfect together.

If this book isn't on your TBR list already, it should be.

This was a breath of fresh air! The chemistry between the love interests was palpable and the story was sweet. The side characters were interesting and while the storyline was familiar, the autor put in a few things that kept me guessing. I really enjoyed reading this book!

This book had all of my favorite tropes: dislike to lovers, fake dating, witty banter, forced proximity—all with a regency twist set within the gorgeous English countryside!

It was equal parts sweet and heartwarming while also being full of chemistry and completely swoon-worthy. I loved Damon and Hannah’s dynamic and how they challenged each other. It was a joy to see their relationship develop as they learned to see each other differently while also being humorous. I love regency era banter anyways and theirs was on point.

The chemistry and steam levels were also right in my comfort zone. Damon and Hannah’s relationship was wholesome and lovely while also being full of romantic tension and chaste steaminess (is that a thing?) That pavilion scene was a 10/10 swoon! It gave me serious Edenbrooke vibes.

If you are looking for a regency era, rivals to lovers romance look no further than this wonderful debut novel!

I can't even adequately describe my feelings for this book, but I will do my best. If I could give it 10 stars, I absolutely would. Regency romance is my thing. I will start with that. So I may be a bit biased, but I don't think so. The characters? Perfectly written. Plot? Believable and so sweet. The ending? So well done. It is a HEA, but it isn't the kind where the bow is perfectly tied and things end perfect and you aren't sure how we got there. The growth for each character was so well done. Even if I was frustrated with choices one of them made, it made sense for the story and how things were going. I know I am rambling. I have been stewing on how to even review it when I can't stop thinking about it. I know this will be one of the best books I've read this year, and it is only February.

Hannah Kent and Oliver Jennings have known each other forever but when Hannah receives an invitation to spend the summer at Summerhaven with Oliver and his family, she believes that they will finally marry. However, when she arrives, Hannah finds that Oliver is not the boy that she remembers. He is avoiding her but Damon, his older brother, who always seemed to taunt Hannah when they were young, seems to be the person that she finds herself spending time with. When Damon suggests to Hannah, that a way for her to garner Oliver’s interest whilst helping him to avoid marriage, is to pretend a courtship, Hannah agrees. Yet she soon realises that her feelings for Damon have changed.
This was a delightful read and I found myself going back and rereading sections of the novel, not wanting to leave behind the intense feelings that develop between Damon and Hannah. Without revealing what transpires between these two wonderful characters, I can only say that I was thoroughly enchanted by this novel. The relationship between the brothers, their parents and with Hannah, was so well developed and realistic, that I found myself wishing that this book could go on for longer.
I can hardly wait for the next novel by this talented author.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you Covenant Communications for the gifted ebook

Read for:
• Fake dating
• Loathe-to-love
• Country house setting
• Snarky banter
• Flirty Damon
• Dear Emmie Blue, but make it regency

Summary:
Hannah wants to marry Ollie. Ollie doesn’t think he want to marry Hannah. Damon doesn’t want to get married at all. So Hannah and Damon make a deal- they will fake court each other in the hopes of Hannah looking more desirable and keeping all the single ladies and matchmaking moms away from Damon.

Review:
Cute, cute, cute, swoon! Oh I adored this sweet romance. Summerhaven kept me smiling and engaged on a bad migraine-y day, so major bonus point for that!!

I love how Damon challenges Hannah and doesn’t let her make herself small or conform to how society tells her she needs to be. He doesn’t try to change her, but he wants to help her embrace the parts of her she allows others to shut down and dismiss.

I’m always impressed with an author can make a book feel steamy, while remaining very chaste and Tiffany Odekirk found that balance so well!

I now really want a hard copy of this book so that I can easily reread all of my favorite scenes!

I thought the overall story was engaging, kept me interested and was well written. I loved the cover and writing. This was my first time reading Ms Odekirk and will be keeping an eye out for more of her books.

Dreamy. Enchanting. Beautifully romantic. This is without a doubt one of the most charming regency romances I have ever read!

Where is the option to give extra stars? It is hard to believe this is the debut regency by this author.

This is the kind of book you fall into. You know, the kind that has you so wrapped up in the story and so full of all the emotions that the world around you ceases to exist. I was drawn in by the plot and the characters in this sort of, kind of love triangle involving two brothers and their childhood friend.

Hannah grows so much from beginning to end as she realizes her true feelings and her journey is one of the best emotional roller coasters I have ever been on.

Damon is, well, I won't tell you to much about him because you honestly just need to read and discover him for yourself but oh my, the flirty banter is fantastic. And can we just talk about the gazebo kiss?

You absolutely, positively do not want to miss this book. If you enjoyed Edenbrooke by Julieanne Donaldson and Lakeshire Park by Megan Walker, then this book is an absolute must-read for you!

I received a complimentary copy of this book but a positive review was not required.

Somehow I got lucky enough to be on Tiffany Odekirk’s launch team for “Summerhaven”. Having read her three other published novels and totally falling in love with them, I was sure it wouldn’t be hard to rave over and help promote this book. ☺️

This was a no-brainer, five stars for me. This story is captivating and beautiful. It was fun to have a front row seat to the flirting and falling in love of Damon and Hannah, and the evolution of Hannah and Oliver’s relationship. This story will touch your heart, make you smile, make you nervous for how situations will be resolved, and sigh with content and happiness when you’re done.