Friday, July 3, 2015

That Chesapeake Summer

Every summer I inevitably read two authors for sure: Dorothea Benton Frank and Mariah Stewart. They are summer time authors for me, always have been, always will be.

That Chesapeake Summer (Chesapeake Diaries #9)
That Chesapeake Summer (Chesapeake Diaries, #9)
Jamie Valentine is the wildly successful author of self-help books advocating transparency in every relationship. But when her widowed mother passes away unexpectedly, Jamie discovers her own life has been based on a lie. Angry and deeply betrayed, she sets out to find the truth—which may be in a small town on the Chesapeake Bay. Cutting her most recent book tour short, Jamie books a room at the Inn at Sinclair’s Point, just outside St. Dennis.
The death of Daniel Sinclair’s father forced him to take over the family inn, and his wife’s death left him a single parent of two children, so there’s little room for anything else in his life. His lovely new guest is intriguing, though, and he’s curious about the secret she’s clearly hiding. But in the end, Jamie and Dan could discover the greatest truth of all: that the search for one thing just might lead to the find of a lifetime—if you keep your heart open.

Although this is book nine in the series, these are all stand alone. Whatever book your local book store or library has in the series, just grab it up and I promise you won't be disappointed. That Chesapeake Summer is yet another knock out hit by Mariah Stewart who makes you want to skip whatever vacation you had planned and instead travel to St. Dennis. She does such a fantastic job at writing about this sleepy little small town that you feel like you not only know everyone there already, but that you're practically a local reading the latest gossip of the area. It's so great and I always feel like I'm catching up with old friends when I pick up Mariah's latest books. 

But let's talk about the story. 

It begins with Jamie who has recently lost her mother. While trying to reconcile her mother's death and essentially being an orphan now that both parents are gone, she is dealt a shocking blow while cleaning out her mother's (and previously her father's) desk. While I can't tell you what that is, let's just say it's a pretty damning thing to find once your parents are gone. It calls into questions your entire life, which is exactly what Jamie starts doing. After some basic investigation, Jamie decides the only way to get the rest of the answers she needs is by traveling to St. Dennis to basically unearth old secrets, even if it means disrupting other people's lives for the sake of her own. So she books a room at the Inn at Sinclair's Point where she meets Daniel. Daniel has reluctantly taken over the inn after his father's death, but he's also grieving the loss of his wife while trying to navigate parenthood on his own. Jamie and Daniel don't make the best first impression on each other, but somehow it all kind of works out. 

What? It's a romance novel after all, surely you know what happens! 

I absolutely loved this and really enjoyed this as my right-before-bed evening read. I love this series (all of the books are really solid class romance novels) and it's a guaranteed good read. You really can't go wrong with Mariah Stewart, that's for sure. That Chesapeake Summer is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. You can also connect with Mariah on her website as well as Facebook

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