I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Summer On Sunshine Bay by Debbie Mason Published by Forever Grand Central Publishing on May 23, 2023
Genres: Accidental Pregnancy, Contemporary, Family & Relationships / Love & Romance, Fiction, Fiction / Small Town & Rural, Women's Fiction
Pages: 369
Format: ARC, eBook, Paperback
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Welcome to Sunshine Bay, where the joys of summer last all year round.
Lila Rosetti Sinclair returns to Sunshine Bay a bundle of nerves. After being gone for years, sharing the news that she’s engaged—to a man her mother has never met—is going to be difficult to navigate. But when her fiancé David surprises her with an engagement party at Windemere, the upscale inn his parents recently purchased and that just may put her family’s restaurant, La Dolce Vita, out of business, Lila’s got a whole new set of problems.
Eva Rosetti is so ecstatic to finally have her daughter home that she pushes aside her misgivings about having to come face-to-face with Lila’s father again. That is until he sweeps into town and feelings Eva thought far behind her resurface....
With a family business to save and a wedding to plan, Eva and Lila’s reunion is more than either bargained for, but with a little luck and a whole lot of support from friends and family, it may just turn out to be the best summer of their lives.
I enjoyed this book, but it wasn’t one that I loved and will gush about. It was a good way to pass a few hours and I’m not sorry I read it but I’m not sure if this author’s style and my reading tastes mesh. ~ Sharon – Simply Love Books
I don’t know what I was expecting when I picked Summer on Sunshine Bay to read but I wasn’t expecting a family drama that led to a divorce, a break-up, and a couple of romances thrown in for good measure. At times I felt there were too many characters in this story and trying to keep them straight was a chore and every time I had to figure out who was who it took me out of the story. That said, it wasn’t a bad book; it had its moments and at times was funny and other times poignant but there were a few eye rolling moments for me as well.
Engaged and expecting a baby with a man her mom, grandmother, aunt, and cousins know nothing about, Lila Rosetti Sinclair returns to Sunshine Bay where she was raised by her mother. Arriving she is hit with the information that her fiancé’s father is owner of Windemere, a hotel and resort with a restaurant that is hurting her family’s three generations owned restaurant. On top of that her fiancé David, surprises her with a dinner at Windermere with her father and his parents, and the information that her soon to be mother in law has planned their wedding to all take place at the new resort. Right off I wasn’t happy with the fact David kept a lot of secrets from her and disregarded her feelings and with no input from her family. Not to mention that he and his mother both kowtow to his father’s every wish. They are both in Sunshine Bay because Lila’s father, James, sold his hotel business and that left them without jobs and David is there to manage the resort. Lila has not broken the news to her family about her engagement because of the Rosetti curse in which every man that marries a Rosetti woman either dies or divorces her quickly (I’ll be honest, I found this storyline a bit ridiculous and over blown.)
Throughout this story Eva, Lila’s mom, is trying to make her see that she really doesn’t want to marry David because of the curse but honestly she shouldn’t want to because he never makes Lila a priority, not once in this story. In the meantime Eva and James rekindle a friendship that becomes more despite Lila’s worry that her dad will get his heartbroken. Then there is Lila who resumes a friendship with Luke someone she knew as a child and teen, and she begins to realize that what she feels towards David is nothing like she feels around Luke. On top of that David seems to be enthralled with a waitress that left La Dolce Vida, the Rosetti’s restaurant, to work at Windemere. I’m not even getting into the drama with Lila’s grandmother, her cousins, or David’s mom Jennifer because there’s drama surrounding them as well.
I didn’t find any of these characters very likeable, well maybe James, Lila’s dad, and Luke. I found the relationship situations to be a bit much (again way too many characters with too much going on) and at times this book seemed to drag on and on.
I enjoyed this book, but it wasn’t one that I loved and will gush about. It was a good way to pass a few hours and I’m not sorry I read it but I’m not sure if this author’s style and my reading tastes mesh.