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Friday, April 23, 2021

Book Review, Spotlight and Excerpt - Before Summer Ends by Susan Mallery


My Review

Before Summer Ends is the story of Nissa Lang, a teacher who decides to work extra jobs over summer to finance her dream trip to Italy. She even rents out her home, but then finds herself surprisingly in need of a place to stay. Her brother arranges that she can stay with his best friend Desmond Stilling. The problem? Nissa has had an unrequited crush on Desmond since high school.

I wanted to read this novel because I always enjoy Susan Mallery's books. 

This is a relaxing read, a sweet love story about two people who so clearly belong together. At first I wasn't sure about Desmond; I was put off a bit by his wealth and privilege. However, as the book went on, I came to like and admire him for his decency and kindness, and I found myself really hoping that Nissa and Desmond would work things out.

Before Summer Ends is a heartwarming story, with Nissa's wide-ranging summer jobs (doggy day care worker, florist helper, bakery worker, sign spinner), two very different families (Nissa's and Desmond's), and Nissa and Desmond working together to help her friend Marisol's family when Marisol undergoes life-saving surgery.

This would be a wonderful Hallmark movie! It's a real feel-good story. I recommend Before Summer Ends for fans of heartwarming romance. It is a light, relatively short read, perfect for a weekend or a couple of reading evenings.

Spotlight

A long, hot summer with her secret crush…

What could possibly go wrong?

Nissa Lang knows Desmond Stilling is out of her league. He’s a CEO, she’s a teacher. He’s gorgeous, she’s…not. So when her house-sitting gig falls through and Desmond offers her a place to stay for the summer, she vows not to reveal how she’s felt about him since their first—and only—kiss.

Desmond should’ve known better than to bring temptation into his house. He decided long ago that his best friend’s sister was too sweet, too good, for him. She deserves a guy who can give his heart. For her sake, he’s stayed away. But as her laughter breathes life into his lonely mansion, he’s not sure how long he’ll be able to resist.

From Harlequin Special Edition: Believe in love. Overcome obstacles. Find happiness.

Purchase Links

Harlequin | Amazon | Barnes and Noble 

 

Excerpt

    He tried to shake off those thoughts and return his attention to his work, but quickly realized that wasn’t happening. He obviously wasn’t going to get anything done until Nissa arrived and got settled. For some reason, he was more focused on that than the Asian sales report.

 

    He got up and crossed to the large window in his study. The late-June days were long and sunny, and the garden flourished. The grass was dark green, flowers provided plenty of color in the planting beds, the trees looked healthy. The gardeners did a good job, regardless of the seasons, but in the summer, their hard work paid off.

 

    He turned at the sound of the vacuum cleaner being turned on somewhere upstairs. Hilde had been in a state since he’d told her Nissa was coming to stay. There had been cleaning and washing and other tasks he couldn’t begin to imagine. The refrigerator overflowed with food and there were fresh flowers everywhere in the house.


    Her burst of happy activity made him feel guilty. His housekeeper obviously didn’t have enough to do in a day. The house was large, but there wasn’t any­one to make a mess. He rarely ate dinner at home, so she wasn’t spending much time cooking. He would guess she was bored working for him—a problem he didn’t know how to solve. If he’d stayed mar­ried to Rosemary, they would have had kids by now. That would have increased the workload. Of course if they’d stayed together, he and Rosemary would have been living in different wings of the house, barely seeing each other, except when they passed in the hallway.

 

    His phone buzzed. He pulled it out, then smiled when he read the text.

 

I’m here. Just giving you a heads-up because the house is so big, I thought you’d need an extra min­ute or five to walk to the door and I really don’t want to be kept waiting.

 

    He was still chuckling when he heard the doorbell ring a few seconds later.

 

Author Bio

No.1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery writes heartwarming, humorous novels about the relationships that define our lives – family, friendship, romance. She’s known for putting nuanced characters in emotional situations that surprise readers to laughter. Beloved by millions, her books have been translated into 28 languages. Susan lives in Washington with her husband, two cats, and a small poodle with delusions of grandeur.

Connect with Susan

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