A summer romance becomes the best beach read. Melody Carlson’s Under a Summer Sky meets all the criteria of the romance genre. Girl crushes on boy, boy ignores, but his brother her best pal. They grow up. Now boy interested in girl, she ignores him, brother still looking out for her. Throw in a summer job in an art gallery, a Vampira-like assistant, a neglected teen, a Southern city, and you have the perfect formula.
The great thing about romances is the more they are alike, the more they are different—a dichotomy that seems unrealistic but plays true here. Nicole Anderson, an art teacher, looks forward to summer. However, her mother volunteered her to help a friend manage her art gallery while the friend takes a cruise with her husband. Included in the job—living in their estate where the bathroom outsizes Nicole’s apartment at home. The two brothers she palled around with as a teen just happen to be the sons of her mom’s friend. The gallery assistant with whom Nicole will be working resembles Vampira, with a personality to match.
Nevertheless, the summer, fraught with possibilities and with pitfalls, portends to be interesting at the least. The conflict with the assistant, the attention of the two men exasperates Nicole. However, you’ll enjoy Under a Summer Sky, exploring the city of Savannah, and cheering for Nicole all along the way. Worth the read. Four stars.
Melody Carlson has written more than two hundred! books with sales over 6.5 million! She’s received the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational category for her many books. She and her husband live in Oregon.
Revell Books, a division of Baker Publishing, gave me a copy of Under a Summer Sky, but I was in no way obligated to write a review.