Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 310 pages
Author: K. Sinko
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: June 20th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Melanie’s twin brother made a life-altering mistake, and now her entire world is about to change.

After years of getting straight A’s at Garrison Prep so she could have a shot at getting into Yale, Melanie’s parents announce they are moving to Haverport, a small beach town off the Connecticut coast, to give her brother Duncan “a fresh new start.”

Skeptical that anything will actually change at home, Melanie decides to spend that summer before her senior year working at the local ice cream shop, Scoops By The Sea, where she meets Calvin—tall, broody, and pretty much on a mission to make Melanie’s training absolutely miserable.

Yet while her job and the people at Scoops were meant to be a distraction from her life that was falling apart, Melanie finds them to be a lifeline in the torrential sea of terror she faces at home. And even if Calvin may seem reclusive, Melanie soon learns what it means to truly open up her heart and share the pain that torments her, especially when disaster completely shatters her life once again.

Safe Harbor is a sweet young adult romance featuring the intensity of two people falling in love for the first time, a pack of fiercely loving co-workers that feel like family, and a small town that has an obsession for festivals, fireworks, bonfires, and 32 delicious flavors of ice cream.

INCREDIBLE BOOK.

It took ONE brief scene on a video to convince me to download this. And then it took my only a few chapters to be completely hooked and emotionally invested in this story. I LOVED IT.

It’s complicated. Deep. Hard to read at times and will bring out all sorts of emotions. While occasionally frustrated with Melanie, I completely understood that she is SEVENTEEN and dealing with some really heavy stuff (check trigger warnings). I love that Calvin was the perfect love interest for her. Someone to talk to, to be there, and to calm the chaos. It was swoony and sweet and this brought out all of the quintessential summer reading vibes that I have been seeking.

I adored the found family groups at Scoops and I’m now excited to read other stories in this series. It was beautifully written, captured all of my attention and now I need everyone to go read it too.

BUT BRING TISSUES.

Overall audience notes:

• YA Contemporary Romance
• Language: a little
• Romance: make-outs
• Violence: moderate
• Trigger/Content Warnings: a sibling dealing with substance abuse/addiction (alcohol), death of a loved one

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