April 15, 2014
A Delaware beach town that's famous for being the best place to recover from a breakup embraces Summer Benson, an injured flight attendant intent on healing. After a lifetime of running from place to place and man to man, Summer thinks she may be ready to settle down with Aaron, a dreamy pilot everyone tells her is the ideal man and who seems ready to pop the question. But after a disaster forces everyone to pause, Aaron reconsiders his options--"I love you. But I don't love you enough"--and Summer is left to lick her wounds, emotional and physical. Finding her way to Black Dog Bay, she immediately connects with locals in a way she hasn't since her teen years; for the first time in her adult life, she feels ready to stay put for a while. Add in Dutch, the sexy mayor who makes her heart pound more than Aaron ever did, and Ingrid, his teenage sister, who makes her heart squeeze, and Summer may actually consider long-term plans. But her dreams for the future meet a huge obstacle when the local curmudgeon and real estate mogul takes a personal interest in her and decides to use her as a pawn in a power struggle steeped in past vendettas that puts the idyllic town at risk. Kendrick's writing is witty and captivating, and her characters are an endearing swirl of complexity--especially Summer, with her external brashness and internal subtlety. The plot whistles along, taking a few unexpected turns that make the inevitable happy ending more textured and satisfying. With snappy dialogue and a breezy tone that still manages to support emotional depth, the author keeps us turning pages and rooting for Black Dog Bay and everyone in it.
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Starred review from May 1, 2014
If Summer hadn't been swerving to avoid a turtle crossing the road, and if a Taylor Swift song hadn't been playing on her radio at the same time (causing Summer to inexplicably start crying), Summer never would have mowed through Dutch Jansen's prized rose bushes. Summer would have thought that as the mayor of Black Dog Baythe best place in America to bounce back from a bad breakupDutch would be at least a little sympathetic towards her since Summer's dream-come-true relationship with Aaron Marchand has just crashed and burned. But Summer doesn't really care that Dutch is not exactly rolling out the welcome wagon. The only reason she's in Black Dog Bay is to get over Aaron. As the small town's unique approach to healing broken hearts begins to work its magic, however, Summer finds there is one man she simply can't get out of her mind, a man who loves roses. Kendrick's impeccable sense of comic timing and flair for creating unforgettable characters make this effervescent novel a smart bet for romance readers everywhere, while the novel's deft integration of the topics of family, friendship, and community ensure it can easily attract a broader readership, as well.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)