Review: Suddenly Last Summer by Sarah Morgan

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Title: Suddenly Last Summer (O'Neil Brothers #2)
Author: Sarah Morgan
Date of publication: 1 July 2014
Genre: Romance 

Author's links: Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads
Purchase Links: Amazon / B&N / iBooks

My rating: 3.5 stars


Synopsis


Fiery French chef Élise Philippe is having a seriously bad day. Not only have the opening day plans for her beloved café fallen apart, but Sean O'Neil is back in town, and looking more delectable than ever. Last summer, they shared an electrifying night together…and the memories have Élise really struggling to stick to her one-night-only rule! Her head knows that eventually Sean will be leaving, so all she can do is try to ignore her heart before she spontaneously combusts with lust. 

Being back in Vermont—even temporarily—is surgeon Sean O'Neil's worst nightmare. For Sean, returning home to the Snow Crystal Resort means being forced to confront the reasons and the guilt he feels about rejecting his family's rural lifestyle years ago. But discovering that Élise has settled in Vermont and still sets his blood racing is a very welcome distraction! Thinking he can persuade her into a replay of last summer is tempting, but remembering how good they are together is going to make walking away more difficult than he could imagine…


Review

This is the second book in the O'Neil brothers series. I loved the first one, Sleigh Bells in the Snow, (my review) which for me was the perfect Christmas read, and had high expectations about this one as well. Overall it was a nice enough romantic story which I enjoyed but it lacked the magic of Kayla and Jackson's romance in book 1. 

We saw very little of Elise and Sean (more of her than him) in the previous book so this really introduced them to the reader. She is a top chef from Paris who was working for Jackson and came with him when he returned to Snow Crystal. There she fell in love the place and with the O'Neil family. 

Sean, Jackson's twin, is a successful orthopedic surgeon in Boston who doesn't like going back home and although he loves his family deeply, their expectations of him feel like a burden. He is strong, focused on his work, determined no to make compromises and to live his life the way he wants.

On the surface, they don't have much in common except irresistible sexual chemistry and a no-relationship policy. Gradually, though, they both realize that things between them are more than a casual, no-strings-attached affair.

As can be expected, there is some drama in Elise's past and the O'Neil family interferes with Sean's life all the time, all this leading to a very HEA end. 

My main complaint is that I didn't really feel the love between the characters. They had great sexual chemistry and some good times together but their views about life and love were so different. For most part of the story neither seemed willing to change things between them. She was determined to keep their affair casual and the idea that it might be love didn't even enter his mind. 

Elise loved deeply the whole O'Neil family and I felt she cared more about them than about Sean. Her focus was too much on the other members of the family and she didn't really allow Sean into her world. She was intense, passionate, always giving her whole heart to everything she did which pretty much made their casual arrangement  doomed from the start.

Sean loved spending time with her, but for the most part of the story he had no intention of changing his way of life for her. His realization that he actually loved her came a bit out of the blue.

It's a nice romantic story, perfect for the beach. Tough it wasn't as good as book 1 for me, I'm glad I read it. Now all I have to do it wait for Christmas when Maybe This Christmas (Tyler's book) will be released.

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2 comments

  1. Lately I found myself having high expectations for a few books that in the end let me down...So I know the feeling :( But I'm pleased to see you enjoyed the book and that you're waiting for the next instalment to come out. I heard good things about the first instalment and I also read your review for it, so I know you loved it and I'm keeping my fingers well crossed for a third amazing book! :)

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    1. It's just that I really loved the first book - it was the perfect Christmas romance. This was nice but there too many little things that bothered me and distracted me from enjoying it more. I hope the holiday romance in Tyler's book will be just as good as the previous one :)

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