"Once Upon a Summer" by Andrea Boyd, Toni Shiloh, Teresa Tysinger, & Jaycee Weaver -- Book Review

About the Book

Embrace the enchantment of summer with these contemporary twists on timeless tales.

A New Beginning — Who is she? Acacia Martin raised by an impostor mom serving a prison sentence for her sins, or Jasmine Callahan abducted at birth from a family she’s yet to meet? Luckily, she has Drake to help her untangle the mess that is her life. Will he ensnare her heart in the process?

An Ever After Summer — The employees of In a Bind are terrified of Jean-Luc Thibodeaux, so Bellamy Larson hops on a plane to France to deal with the beastly client. Yet once she arrives, she's convinced he merely needs a friend. Then her heart begins to want ever after, not just one summer.

Gwen and the Three Dates — Life isn't a romantic movie, but Gwen Lochs is determined to find her leading man. When she joins a cheesy dating site, Gwen agrees to just three dates. Can Ben Smith watch his best friend and soulmate find someone else? A romantic comedy about searching for that just-right love.

Unkissable — Reality diva Charlotte Lavigne's on-camera meltdown reminds former teen-TV prince Jaime Reyes exactly why he left Hollywood ten years ago. A chance encounter leads to a bargain that transforms them both. When it’s time to face her past, will their rediscovered love be strong enough to build a future together?

Let these four sweet contemporary Christian romances take you away this summer.

My Thoughts


"A New Beginning" by Andrea Boyd: I liked this take on a modern Rapunzel story. The feelings that Cacie were experiencing seemed real and genuine. I liked Drake and his care for Cacie. The romance happened fast, but didn't really feel rushed. I liked getting the follow up with the epilogue.

 

"An Ever After Summer" by Toni Shiloh: I enjoyed reading this Beauty and the Beast retelling. I liked how Bellamy could see the tender heart of Jean-Luc inside his gruffness and worked on helping him open up again. I wished I could visit the chateau and look around the gardens and library. 

"Gwen and The Three Dates" by Teresa Tysinger: This book was very loosely based on Goldilocks and the Three Bears. With the dating app and friends to look vers troupe, it also had a little of a You've Got Mail feel, too. I liked Ben and his love for Gwen even though she was clueless and how he worked to get her to notice she had true love already. I have not read any books by Teresa Tysinger before and I look forward to reading more books by her.

"Unkissable" by Jaycee Weaver: I really wasn't sure what fairy tale this story was supposed to be based on. By the end, I decided it was the Princess and the Frog because Jaime kept calling Lottie 'princess' and his stage name meant frog. It didn't seem to have the same close ties to the fairy tale that the other stories had. There was a connection to Jaycee Weaver's story in the Once Upon a Christmas collection with Jaime's brother Derek. I liked the story and it had a great biblical faith element with the gospel presented. It was nice to see the change in Charlotte through the story.

"Once Upon a Summer" is available in paperback:

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0957J9Y7M
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published (May 17, 2021)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 396 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8502613378
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.48 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.99 x 9 inches

and in Kindle edition:

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08YQXJQT3
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 25, 2021
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 2153 KB