Summer is reluctantly back in her home town, and one of the first people she meets is Zane. She has caused problems for him and many farms in the area, so will her grand plan help them all? I liked how it is told from both points of view.

Jen’s BookNook Review

Book: Summer’s Heart
Author: Ciara Knight

First thought: Great read! A sweet romance and a good life lesson of being true to YOURSELF while finding how to fit into your family and community.

Summer escaped her fate and went to college and then built her family farm into a cooperation that is very successful. She took the company public and banked even more money, she just wished her family saw her success. Now she’s forced to take a few weeks off due to a medical issue and she has gone back home, however what she left behind is not what she just came back to.

Zane has experienced nothing but loss in life, one after another everyone he loves leaves him behind. He risked everything he had to pay for him mom’s medical treatments and she lost the battle. Now he has to lease back his own family farm. He works as the football coach, makes specialized apple butters and works his land and is barely scrapping by.

Now after a hostile takeover at Summer’s company Zane and Summer’s families farms are in danger along with the rest of the towns. This book navigates the complexity of family relationships, small town community and teamwork. Plus mix in some sparks between these two and this is a fun wholesome beginning of fall read.

Tropes you’ll find:
* Small Town
* Closed Door
* Hidden Illness
* Family Expectations

Rating : 3.5 stars

A light and fun read. Enjoyed!

- I liked Summer's attitude at first (except her irritating behavior), her trying to be independent, confident, classy woman. But eventually that energy of hers faded away.
- No complaining in case of Zane, the cute sweet boy!
- Dixie was one of those whose scenes I enjoyed the most.
- I think, some things were left forgotten in the process like, what exactly happened between Lance and Wendy, the story about Zane's ex-girlfriend (he always shared things about his mother but never about his ex). So, I'm kinda hoping to get to read it in the next book if there will be one.
- The whole thing starts from Summer and her dad but we barely got to see him speaking to her, let alone about their past.
- The revelation of the mystery, solution to the problem etc made the ending interesting. But I wished I could say the same for the whole book. Summer kept telling she would do something and all but she barely did an actual thing to solve the problem until the end. Hence, the middle part of the book was good but boring.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me a free eARC of the book in exchange of an honest review.

Such a cute, quick summer read. This book kept me invested from the very first page; I couldn't put it down. One can never go wrong with the enemies to lovers trope.

Unfortunately this book just didn't hit it for me - I didn't feel the connection between Summer and Zane. I loved the medical illness representation but struggled with the writing style.

Others will love this story but this just wasn't for me!

Thanks to NetGalley and Author Collective 20 for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

#rochellereadsit

Summer's Heart by Ciara Knight was a sweet story.
SH has that small town vibe which I love.
The characters were entertaining they kept me engaged and flipping the pages.
I thought Knight’s writing was very well done here. I never once felt bored and stayed up late finishing. The author's attention to detail brought this book to life.
A light-hearted and wonderful story.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Author Collective 20 for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Lovely short book and the love behind it all and the suspense oh had me at the edge of my seat honestly amazing

Zane x Summer gave me so much life. Zane’s heartbreaking backstory and fear of finding love again felt so real; it was really well developed. Summer’s war with herself and who she really wants to be also felt very realistic to me. I grew up in a small town and always said I wanted to move away, I did, and now that I’ve moved back, I don’t want to go anywhere else. So I really related to Summer walking that path. The epilogue had me squealing. I can’t wait to see what is next for Sweetwater Cove.

Summer's Heart is the first book in a new Sweetwater Cove Series by Ciara Knight. It is listed as an “enemies to friends” story but actually Zane Whittaker and Summer Morgan are not true enemies. There have been many misunderstandings between Summer and her family which has spilled over into the community. Zane has just gotten caught up in the situation, trying his best to hold on to his home and buy back land he has sold.

All have made mistakes, all need forgiveness, all need healing, and all need love. Summer is a woman of action so as clarity comes so does her working on solutions. Underhanded dealings along with illegal activities is thwarting any attempt that she makes. Meanwhile Zane and she become friends, then more than that but the future is so uncertain for them. You can’t help but be rooting for these two, even Daisy, the horse is pulling for them.

The big mystery of who is working against Summer combined with will the family farms be saved is completely solved in the end. No cliffhanger but a little teaser of what might could be the next book in the series. Great beginning book for this new series.

4.5 Stars
An ARC of the book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley which I voluntarily chose to read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a cute, very light on the “enemies to lovers”romance. This was a quick/entertaining small town romance with some corporate greed thrown in. The romance was very light and sweet but it left me wanting more.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
Publish Date August 31. 2023

Sadly this is a DNF at 45%. I am just not hooked onto the story to keep going. I don't feel anything between Zane and Summer. Sometimes I also lose where the story it sometimes it sounds like they are moving days without it being clear days are passing. It did sound interesting but sadly it is just not for me.

3.5/5 stars! I happen to love both small-town romances and enemy-to-lover tropes. I was excited to get a chance to read this story. I appreciated the medical disability representation in this story, as well as the mental health rep. It was handled with sensitivity and felt natural and realistic. I didn't adore the main character's chemistry but it was solid. The story had both silly and serious moments, which overall worked out. I didn't love the pacing of the story, but it was an ok read.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review