I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are mine.

The book is about lost love, unrequited love and hope. The book tells the story of Maggie who has been a widow for a couple years but in order to move on she needs closure. So she goes to the one place offering closure (the place where it all started) throw in a brother-in-law that has always been in love with her and a glimpse of a man that looks like her late husband healing and moving on may not be as easy. What a read!

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Unbeknownst to Maggie, her brother-in-law, Josh Reynolds, has been in love with her since they first met all those years ago. But his brother ultimately won Maggie's heart, and Josh's unrequited love has ruined all his relationships. If Maggie is ready to move on, then Josh is ready to lay it all on the line and come clean about his true feelings for her.

But his plans soon get put on hold when, shortly after Maggie returns to Seabrook, she runs into a man who could pass for Ethan's twin. But he disappears into the amusement park crowd before she can confront him.

The event rattles Maggie, stirs up impossible questions, and sends Josh and her on a quest to discover the man's true identity. But their search ends up raising more questions than answers—and soon Maggie isn't sure she wants those answers after

The Summer of You and Me by Denise Hunter is a sweet Christian romance and mystery novel that gives all the summer vibes. As one who enjoys a clean romance, I have enjoyed many of Hunter's novels and this was no exception. There's a little bit of everything you could want in this one: mystery, intrigue, romance, healing.

Maggie lost her husband Ethan five years ago when he was killed in action at his military base in Pakistan. Maggie was pregnant at the time. Now she and her young daughter have returned to Seabrook where she grew up and fell in love with Ethan. While attending the local fair with her daughter, she sees a man who looks exactly like Ethan, but she loses him in the crowd. As she and Ethan's brother, Josh, begin to investigate, Josh confesses his fealings for her - he has always loved her and felt like it was a good time to tell her but now she's distracted with finding this mystery person. I really enjoyed the way we got to see the character's growth and learned about them and their flaws and how they relied on each other and the Lord through hard times.

I thought this book was very well done and if you're looking for a clean, sweet romance sprinkled with some mystery and without blood and gore, then this is a great choice.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

The Summer of You and Me is everything I love in a Denise Hunter novel—tender, emotional, and full of hope. This story pulled me in right away with its coastal setting and heartfelt characters.

I really connected with the themes of second chances and forgiveness. The romance was sweet and slow-burning, and I appreciated how both main characters had real struggles and past hurts to work through. It made their connection feel deeper and more meaningful.

The writing is gentle and engaging, and I found myself turning pages late into the night. It felt like a breath of fresh air—warm, soothing, and full of heart.

If you're looking for a clean, uplifting romance with real emotional depth, this one is a perfect summer read. Highly recommend!

Thanks to Thomas Nelson for eARC!

ARC/ ALC REVIEW:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Maggie Reynolds is looking forward to spending the summer in her hometown of Seabrook. As a young widow and single mother, she has every intention of using her vacation to soak up the sun and connect with family. However, her plans are thwarted when she spots a man who’s the spitting image of her deceased husband. Before Maggie can confront the stranger, he disappears into a large crowd. Shaken by the uncanny resemblance, she launches a full on investigation into the mysterious man. Will her mission unearth a dark secret, or is this simply a coincidence?

If you are looking for a summer read that not only offers beautiful writing, but a little bit of mystery and a whole lot of romance, than look no further than Denise Hunter’s latest book, The Summer of You and Me.

This is the second time that I have had the pleasure of both reading and listening to one of Denise Hunter’s books. I am blown away yet again by the depth of her writing. Not only does she keep me on my toes with her brilliant plot twists, outstanding character development, she isn’t afraid to tackle difficult subject matter.

This book confronts topics that center around narcissism, abandonment, death, and grief. While one might assume these topics make for a depressing story, it is the exact opposite. You will leave with a renewed sense of hope and faith.

This book also features:
-he falls first
-forbidden love
-found family

Special thanks to Netgalley, Thomas Nelson Fiction, Zondervan Fiction Audio, and Denise Hunter for allowing me to read/ listen to this book in exchange for my honest review.

*While you can’t go wrong with however you consume this book, I highly recommend listening to it on audio. The story is narrated by the very talented voice actor, Kim Churchill. Teaming up, Hunter and Churchill make the ideal duo. Churchill draws on her years of experience to bring Hunter’s words to life.

What a beautiful yet heart-wrenching story it was.

This book deals with the grief of losing a loved one, trying to move on and falling in love with another person.

This book evoked different emotions in me. At some point, I was giggling, and after a few moments, I felt emotional, and then I felt butterflies because of Maggie and Josh's new budding relationship. I loved all the Joey parts and liked how the family dealt with all the matters and past revelations.

And I loved how the author portrayed both Ethan's and Josh's relationships with Maggie, and how she portrayed the fact that loving someone new doesn’t mean you’re replacing the person you once loved — it just means your heart has grown in a different way.

This was so beautifully written and immaculately constructed, and the pacing was a bit slow, but overall I had a heartwarming experience. I can't recommend this book more.

The Summer of You and Me by Denise Hunter is beautifully written and I could not put it down.

Five years after her husband's death, Maggie is finally ready to let go of him and the dreams she had for their future. A summer at Seabrook, where she and Ethan first became childhood sweethearts, seems the perfect time and place to find closure. Plus, she gets to spend time with his family, the Reynolds, whom she loves like her own.

Unbeknownst to Maggie, her brother-in-law, Josh Reynolds, has been in love with her since they first met all those years ago. But his brother ultimately won Maggie's heart, and Josh's unrequited love has ruined all his relationships. If Maggie is ready to move on, then Josh is ready to lay it all on the line and come clean about his true feelings for her.

Maggie and Josh’s characters are relatable with all the sweet moments they shared and the twists throughout the story kept on the edge of my seat.

This is my first book by Denise Hunter and I am definitely looking forward to reading more. I loved everything about this book and would highly recommend.

Thank you Netgalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely voluntary and my own.

After 5 years of morning Maggie’s is finally ready to let her husband go. Her brother in law has always loved Maggie. Just as they are connecting, she keeps seeing her deceased husband around town. It was a great story to read.

Thirty-six year old Maggie has been widowed for five years when her husband was killed while on his tour of duty. She had a great relationship with her in-laws, including her beloved brother-in-law Josh, who has been a stand-in dad for her daughter. Maggie's relationship with her own mother is toxic and continually causes wedges between them. At the carnival, Maggie thinks she sees her deceased husband, Ethan. She goes to Josh with this wild tale and they embark on a mission to find this person.
The story takes us through grief and recovery, loyalty and betrayal, and long-standing relationships.

The summer of you and me

I loved the mystery in the story. The twist in the story. A really great book. Maggie sees someone that looks like her dead husband, suspense and mystery of finding out who he really is. I loved all the twist and turns in the story. Loved Maggie and Josh and Zoey who is Maggie daughter. It was such an interesting book.

I received an advance copy of the book from NetGalley. This book review is my own opinion.

I found this story to be overly dramatic and quite a bit cheesy. It didn’t feel like it would be true to life at all. I almost stopped reading it, but decided to see how it would end. Overall, it was just an ok romance.

Romantic drama with an exciting blend of mystery!

I really enjoyed the dynamic between Josh and Maggie—the connection was undeniable! However, I wish their relationship had more buildup. Yes, the connection was there, but it felt like things moved too fast with them romantically, which missed a lot of the emotional depth that could’ve made their story better.

There was something about the pacing and structure of this that felt a bit off to me—I can’t pinpoint it, but certain parts didn’t deliver.

The plot twist was the best!!! I didn’t see that coming at ALL. I was literally freaking out, but it turned out to be so wholesome that I cried.

Even though the story didn’t reach its full potential, it was still an entertaining and emotional read that I’d recommend! Definitely worth diving into.

The audiobook was the best pair for this read; if you read it, PLEASE listen along to it. It makes it so much more engaging!

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙍𝘾 & 𝙖𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙤𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠!

Book itself: 2.6 ★
Audiobook: 4.1 ★

I'm not sure how to review this book. I liked it, I liked the characters, and I really liked the twist. A lot.

But, the story seemed to drag. Maybe the author couldn't cut out some of the minutiea to make the story flow more naturally.

I'm not sure. I'm not a writer, but there was just something that made the book not as good as it could've been.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved everything about this book. It connected me and had me hooked. It was so heartfelt and warming. I could not recommend this enough.

Maggie is shocked to see a person who she thought might be her dead husband of five years while attending a carnival. She searches frantically, but cannot find him. Could it be possible that her husband is still alive. His body never was recovered. This scene reminded me of when my father died. About a month later, I would have sworn I saw him in the Mall. Your mind can play funny tricks through grief. The search for the truth is an interesting story. Maggie's brother-in-law helps her in her search for the person who looks like her husband. I'm not one who likes a lot of "touchy/feely" dialogue in books. The romance in this book is clean. But in the middle of the book, it takes up too many pages for my taste. I skimmed over much of the dialogue that explored feelings. But don't give up on the book. The ending is well worth the read to the end. While some may think that some parts are unrealistic, it all could happen.

I received a copy of the book for my honest opinion. I was not required to leave a review.

This was a sweet read! I flew through it because I was so eager to find out how the story plays out. It was wholesome and light and a perfect book for the summer.

The perfect Summer read. This is my first Denise Hunter book, so I had no idea what to expect but wow - what a captivating writer who hooks you right from the beginning. I came for the mystery but stayed for the forgiveness and growth in and with both Maggie and Josh. The Summer of You and Me is a must add to your Summer TBR!

Thanks NetGalley for the eARC!

An interesting combination of mystery, approaching new life events and the case for questioning the what-ifs of life, and the opportunity to embrace a new path.

The Summer of You and Me
By: Denise Hunter
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Thank you to Thomas Nelson Fiction, NetGalley and Denise Hunter for allowing me to read an ARC of this novel. The opinions and thoughts shared in this review are my own.

Maggie Reynolds lost her military husband while she was pregnant with their daughter. Josh Reynolds has been in love with Maggie since she first walked in with his sister years before. However, she married his brother. At long last Maggie has come home for the summer. While at a carnival with her daughter, she spots a person who she thinks is her dead husband. Immediately she gets Josh involved and when he sees the picture and realizes she isn’t making it up, they begin looking for the guy. In the process of spending time together in this search, his old feelings come to the surface and she is starting to realize her feelings.

Denise Hunter definitely knows how to write compelling books that keep your attention, but this one had some problems for me. I loved the mystery aspect of the story and the plot twist at the end. However, the book had some things that bothered me. Without being spoilery- I will do my best to explain. In the book there was a divorce situation that was not addressed. There is nothing wrong with divorced characters, but in this instance the divorce was something that should have been dealt with and apologized for. The mother/daughter terrible relationship was kind of annoying. Maggie needed to get a backbone when it came to her mom. I loved the resolution of the mystery, but the reasons for it felt a little icky. Also, the whole “I am in love with brother’s wife” felt wrong- I am referring to his loving his sister-in-law even when his brother was alive. These reasons, along with the total absence of faith content kept this book from being a five start read. As I stated earlier, Denise Hunter’s writing draws the reader in and makes you keep reading. Her characters and family dynamics (outside of Maggie her mom) are spot on. I loved the summer beach town setting.

I would recommend this book to the person looking for a summer love story that is clean. I would not recommend this for a person that wants deep Christian content.
#TheSummerofYouandMe #NetGalley

I truly loved this book so much! I loved the mystery within the story and how the love story developed between Maggie and Josh. I really appreciated the found family aspect of Maggie's relationship with Josh's family. The epilogue was a beautiful ending to the story. Overall, great story of second chance love!

I love this read. I was unable to put it down once I started. It felt so realistic and relatable in areas. I love the main character and the growth throughout the book. Definitely will be reading more by Denise Hunter!