A review by mycuppacoffeebooks
The Summer of You and Me by Denise Hunter

adventurous hopeful medium-paced

3.5

 

Maggie, a young widow after her husband Ethan died overseas 5 years ago, is spending the summer at her in-laws' place in his childhood town of Seabrook. They are going to commemorate the 5 year anniversary of his death by spreading his ashes at the end of summer. When she is at the fair with her daughter, she sees a man and is shocked because it's Ethan! She tried to follow him but he was lost in the crowd. She immediately calls her friend Josh, who was also Ethan's brother and the two of them set off to find this mysterious doppelganger. 

Josh has always been in love with his sister in law, ever since he was a boy, but she fell for his brother insead. He never stopped being there for her and they have always had a very close friendship. As Maggie and Josh go on this journey together, they are faced with opening old wounds and also realize that what's between them is more than friendship. 

Part mystery, part romance, this story took you on an adventure of the past, present and how these two were going to navigate a future together. The stigma of dating your brother in law, although shocking to the family at first, I thought was well handled and explained in a way that didn't diminish her love for Ethan. It was as if, even though they were brothers, there was a different kind of love for each one. 

I liked them working together to figure out this mini mystery but the big reveal at the end was a little out there, but I still liked that it preserved the integrity of the characters. 

I would have liked to see Maggie set her boundaries with her narcissistic mother sooner and fight for her own peace, instead of letting her mother dictate her feelings and emotions. 

Overall a nice closed door romance with a light mystery element that helped propel the story and characters forward. 

Huge thanks to NetGalley for sharing this book’s digital advanced review copy with me in exchange for an honest review. 

I read this book through a digital ARC fromNetGalley

Author: Denise Hunter

Genre: Romance, adult fiction, mini mystery

Troupe: Friends to Lovers