Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Millionaire Romance
Employer/Employee Relationship
Grumpy x Sunshine
Summer Romance
Small Town

This book was so cute! The connection and the romance built so naturally as both characters worked through their insecurities and trauma responses to choose each other in the end. Their banter was wonderful, and I thought they meshed so well in both their similarities and differences. Their chemistry was also intoxicating. The tension was so good right from the very start. Nice and steamy! 4/5 spice

Liam was a well-developed MMC. He was broody and hard to like at first, but as he opened up and shared more of himself, you came to understand why he was so guarded. He ended up as a very charming character who fought for the relationship.

I found Jade also hard to like at first. She's brilliant, funny, and has a big personality. The problem is that sometimes that personality was cringe. Her dialogue and thoughts sometimes came across as childish. Still, I liked her well before the end. She was determined, fighting for what she wanted, both in love and business. She was courageous, relatable, and loyal.

Beyond our main two characters, the secondary characters were also well done. Jeremy was a delight, and I loved his relationship with Leroy. The tertiary characters also felt real and relatable. The setting was gorgeous. Nantucket was breathtaking in this story was well developed and described.

All in all, this is a great summer romance and a perfect beach read!

3.5 stars. I really had to put my feminism aside for this one. I listened to this as an audiobook, which I think made a huge difference in the voice given to the fmc, Jade. A blonde haired, blue-eyed, big-chested woman from England (this is how she is repeatedly described) takes a job in Nantucket to run a book store for the summer. She wants to prove herself more than what other people see her as. She gets involved with a man who she later learns is taking over the bookshop to make into more resort hotels.
Let me start by saying, I LOVED her as a character. She was charming, endearing and funny. However, they didn't do much to steer away from her stereotyping of "blonde bimbo" and oftentimes when it switched to the mmc's pov, it felt like he also didn't see her as much of anything else but good looking. I felt like his issues that made him the grumpy part of this grumpy/sunshine duo were very childish for a man in his 30s.
This was still a fun, cheesy rom-com book that I ate up! Jade's character is what made this book as good as it was and the spice was just enough and not overdone. Would recommend!

This was a well written story with well developed characters that I just wanted a bit more from. The trope includes a bit of miscommunication in the sense that they aren't communicating at all. Not about the things that matter. The story starts off with a bang, literally - a one night stand that turns into two nights before the story really gets going. So for 6 -7 chapters there is a lot of pleasure taking place without any real connection. Understood for the storyline, but I also wasn't feeling a connection to the characters or story until 8- 10 chapters in where life beyond the one night starts to unfold. The fact that the characters don't open up easily to each other about how they are feeling individually or what they really want, leaving one character to be frustrated and the other to not trust the partner - when they could simply talk it out and work through it, left me a tad frustrated and disconnected as the reader. I enjoyed the second half of this book more than the first, it was easier to listen too and get hooked into as side characters also made their way into the story. Overall, not bad. It's a good listen, the audio is enjoyable, but when it comes down to it, I didn't fall in love with either of the two main characters which made it hard to connect with them overall.

Booked for the Summer by Kathryn Freemon

This book was overall an enjoyable listen for me, but the book itself wasn’t a favorite. Between the insta lust and immediate physical relationship it’s just felt rushed and not really believable. Liam hadn’t had a physical relationship is so long but one blonde with big you know what’s comes to town and he’s immediately standing at attention, if you know what I mean. I enjoy a little bit more of a slow burn. They tried hard to make it not be about her being a beautiful blonde but he didn’t even know her before the inner dialogue started up.

Speaking of inner dialogue, I struggled a bit with the narrators performance with Liam. He spoke American English which she performed greatly, but when he was “thinking” or spoke in his head, she was not consistent with the accents. They were off and on, often.

I felt like the author really could have put more of a scenic light on Nantucket and the bookstore itself. It all just felt really surface level. The spice level in this book was great for the spice lovers. Definitely well done in that area. I am glad all the relationships happened the way they did though. There was quite a lot of character growth which I always appreciate as well.

Thank you NetGalley for this audio experience!

Thanks HarperAudio and NetGalley for sharing this audiobook with me. I had a smashing good time. This book was Elin Hildebrand meets Bridget Jones meets Legally Blonde.

Our heroine’s name is Jade and her passion is books. She’s been hired to manage a bookstore in Nantucket. Before she’s able to start that gig, she meets our hero, Liam who is a beautiful man with a chip on his shoulder. They both learn to look inside themselves to rise to the challenge of saving a business and falling in love.

Our characters had a great sense of humor and rich backstories. However it was kind of annoying how many times Liam pulled away or assumed the worst about Jade before fully accepting her for who she was.

I would have not finished this book had it not been from #Netgalley.

It had a few things going for it: bookstore themed and Gilmore Girls-ish qualities (main male character seemed to resemble Luke, and it takes place in a small town).

If you are going to try this one, I HIGHLY recommend to physically read vs listen to audio. More details below.

Narrator: British accent. Fine for the main character and even just overall narration, but the other characters don’t have British accents and that combined with a lower gruff male tone kept taking me out of the story.

I tried to separate the story from the narrator, and even then it wasn’t something I enjoyed.

Ick: He referred to her breasts as “Beautiful bright globes”…no thanks.

Loved this one! I think the bookstore was the cutest setting. Grandma was so cute too! Liam and Jade were actually lots of fun! The tension was great and the enemies to lovers is a favorite for sure! Charming in so many ways! The narrators were amazing in this!

This was a good, light hearted summer read. I had some issues with the MMC and his general attitude, but overall it was enjoyable.

Rating: 3.5/5
Jade has travelled from England to spend her summer in Nantucket! She has taken a brief break from her boring life to travel to the Cape Cod town and run a bookshop on the beach. Jade loves books!!! And Liam, the owner of the resort next door to the shop, hates books. In fact, he is planning on purchasing the land the bookshop is on and tear down the store in hopes to convert it into luxury rentals. When Jade finally arrives, she runs into Liam, and the two decide to have a lustful one-night stand on Liam's gorgeous yacht. However, when the next day comes, Jade learns that who she thought was going to be her boss is selling her store to the resort owner......... Liam. Jade begs Liam to keep the shop open, at least until her three month contract is completed. She hopes in that time to convince him that the store is essential to the community and a good attraction for tourists.
Can Jade save the book store? Will Jade and Liam catch feelings for each other?

The plot of the story is adorable, but I wish the female main character was a little different. She came off as a traditional blonde bombshell who could get any guy she wants. It would've been more interesting if she was a bit more complex. Overall, I enjoyed listening to the book. It was a one-night stand to lovers, billionaire love story. It was a fast-paced read that would be perfect for a day at the beach.

Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook!

The premise of this book was a cute, light summer read that had really great audio! You get grumpy x sunshine, billionaire, workplace romance and even enemies to lovers in this one.

There were a few aspects of the story that I had trouble with. The insta-lust gave me the ick, especially with the mental health issues the MMC clearly had. Had those issues been worked out more throughout the book, it would have made sense, but the entire thing was very sexually driven, which I didn't love. The characters and the romance fell flat for me, not really seeming to develop at all.

Not my favourite book, but I do see why other people enjoy it.

Thank you NetGalley for the free audiobook in exchange for an honest review. The book is set on a Nantucket resort with a newly-acquired bookstore. The new manager of the bookstore, Jade, works to convince the resort manager to keep the bookstore instead of demolishing it. While I liked the premise of the book, it fell flat for me. There was so much more room for character development that didn’t quite get there.

This was a fast paced little read. At first I worried it was going to be too insta-lovey but problems (aka tension) quickly ensued. It’s perfect for something quick and summery.

Thank you Net Galley and Harper Audio for letting me have this in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute and lighthearted book that was perfect for the summertime! I really loved the narrator for this book, mostly because of her accent and the way she could do an American one so well. Overall, this was a fun read!

Jade flies across the ocean to manage a Nantucket book shop only to find out that the new owner plans to level it and build luxury accommodations. Hold on, rewind a minute. Jade flies to Nantucket to manage a bookshop and meets a very grumpy rich man. A grumpy man who hasn't noticed a woman in a while but is very intrigued by Jade. They spend time together, they hook up, then she finds out that he is the new bookshop owner who plans to tear down the bookshop she was so excited to spend a few months at. Now she, and some other townies, are on a mission to get him to change his mind about tearing down the store.

I had fun reading this one. I love a grumpy man who is less grumpy for the woman he loves.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperAudio Adult, and Kathryn Freeman for the opportunity to listen to and review this book. Mary Jane Wells did a great job at narration!

Thank you to Kathryn Freeman, HarperAudio, and NetGalley for this ALC in exchange for my honest review!

⭐️⭐️
Definitely a cute book I can see myself reading on the beach in New England. I loved the premise of Jade coming to the US for 3 months to work in a book store and learn more about what it takes to run a bookshop and sell books to the masses. This was definitely a grumpy x sunshine and I loved all the supporting characters.

This read did come up short for me for a few reasons: the first act of the book was flowing at a great pace and kept me interested but at about halfway I felt it just went stagnant. I am a fast reader/listener and tend to start and finish books in one sitting or throughout one day. I kept feeling bored with the current storyline and pausing my listening to do other things and forcing myself to go back to listening just to get it over with. I felt it was repetitive, and even though there is so much dialogue everything was so shallow. More deep specifics about Liam scattered throughout the plot would’ve been better than the truth at the very last few chapters. I don’t even think we did Jade’s own struggles justice— why was she having such trouble with careers BESIDES the comparison to her sister? I also did not like that the main characters took FOREVER to confess how they feel. God. Just talk to each other!!!!!! Overall, I don’t think I would recommend this particular book due to the reasons I’ve stated. The plot outline is solid— perhaps revising it more would’ve been helpful to cut filler/repetition and replace with deep meaningful character background. Thank you again for allowing me to review this work.

This was a cute, easy summer listen!

When Jade decides to leave her job and travel to take care of a little old bookstore she runs into a "grump billionaire" Liam. It is very much a sunshine v grump contrast. While sometimes I wanted to tell Jade to run from Liam (in life I would tell my friend to run) they seem to have great chemistry and spice!

Thank you Netgalley, Kathryn Freeman and HarperAudio Adult for this free copy of this audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

1 star

~

For three months, Jade Taylor will work as the store manager for Little Bay Book Shack in Nantucket. This is her chance to prove to herself that she can make a difference and show her family that she can be successful. However, plans change when Jade hooks up with the man who becomes her new boss only days into her job. Liam Haven, the owner of Haven resorts, has had his eye on the bookstore, hoping to tear it down and build new cottages to achieve his dreams. In a bid to save the bookstore, Jade attempts to show Liam its importance to the community and hopes to show him that there is more to life than business.

Booked for the Summer is a light summer read of new beginnings. It was quite entertaining at the start with the fmc being funny but a bit childish at times. I enjoyed learning about the reasons behind Jade’s decision to move to another country for three months to take over a bookstore. It hinted at some character development and at the fact that she was tired of being seen as the dumb blonde. I also liked the trope where the relationship went from hookup to boss/employee relationship, because I thought there would be some good tension. However, I found it lacking. Jade hates being seeing as the dumb blonde yet clearly acts that way promoting people to view her as such. There was immediate insta lust and the relationship seemed to be centered around sex. Not to mention that they spoke about loving each other when their relationship was mostly physical. The mmc was only interested in three things: money, revenge, and sex. His point of view really drove it home that he was interested in her sexually and at one point even offered her consolation sex . . . to comfort Jade after she learned about the bookstore’s future. Yeah, that’s a hard pass.

Despite my rating for the story, I enjoyed the audiobook in terms of quality and tone. The narrator did a great job at bringing the characters to life in the way they were written with Jade being bubbly and Liam being more aloof. I wasn’t bored with the audio and was kept engaged the whole time. I would definitely listen to more of their work.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the audiobook arc.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Audio for this ARC. This book was a wonderful read. It had all my favorite things which includes the beach and books! The audiobook was fantastic. I absolutely loved the main characters. They were lively. They were funny and they really made the plot of the story such an enjoyable read. I absolutely loved the writing in this book. It was heartwarming and laugh out loud, funny all at the same time. The two main characters were easy to love, and I loved the enemies to lovers trope in this book. I highly recommend this book to will continue to read more books from this Author!!

I did enjoy the story and the narrator, but the story itself became repetitive. They kept repeating the same thing to each other over and over.

I listened to the first 40 minutes or so of this book. I loved the premise: a Brit goes to Nantucket for the summer to run a bookshop, and meets the millionaire of her dreams when she mistakes the owner of a yacht as the transport to the resort next to the bookstore she's to be working at. It turns out handsome Liam is her boss, and looking to absorb the book store into his real estate conglomerate. I love a good "save the bookstore" plot, but unfortunately, the narration did not work for me. The narrative was posh British upper crust, but protagonist Jade sounds like Eliza Doolittle before Henry Higgins gives her elocution lessons, and the portrayal of a wealthy native New Englander with a drawl was not believable to someone who grew up on the North Shore in Massachusetts. I ditched this one at 3% complete.