Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 322 pages
Author: Rachel Lawrence
Publisher: Quill & Flame
Release Date: June 24th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

When Alex’s idyllic past starts to slip like sand through her fingers, will one summer be enough to calm the waters of her unsettled heart and bridge the ocean between bygone days and the present?

Alexandria Henry’s childhood was nothing short of a dream—a huge extended family, three best friend cousins, and a yearly beach vacation filled with family Olympics, crab hunts, talent shows, and tiny boxes of cereal. It’s no wonder then, that at twenty-one, she’s struggling to let go of the past.

Desperate to preserve her family’s history and sort through unresolved feelings for a boy she hasn’t seen in years, she packs up for the summer to document the island she and her cousins grew up on together.

But when she runs into Jude Alford—a long lost friend and the quiet younger brother of her teenage crush—and starts recreating her childhood traditions with him, she begins to wonder if what lies ahead could be as beautiful as the memories she holds so close. Will a handful of sunny weeks, a Carolina beach, and a friend with a past he’d rather forget, be what Alex needs to make peace with the future and finally move forward? Or will she remain stuck on an island of her own fear and loneliness?

Thank you to the author for a gifted copy.

LACKED SUBSTANCE.

I was trying to explain the issue I had with this book to my husband so let me see if I can break it down here. You know how in romance books there’s usually some kind of romantic element that usually needs a bit of realistic suspension? But that makes the book feel swoony and charming? This book didn’t have those elements for me. I’m not even sure there was a true plot. The FMC ran into her childhood friend and they said I love you after one date.

There’s some cute traditions and moments between Alex and Jude. And I liked the reconnection between Alex and her cousins. And it definitely holds all of those summer vibes. The poems were a nice addition too and I liked the author’s note about how she connected to the story. The mental health moments for Jude were easy to connect to and I liked seeing those expressed emotions and conversations.

Overall audience notes:

• Contemporary Romance
• Language: none
• Romance: kisses

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph