One Summer Night (At the Shore Book 1), by Caridad Pineiro
Publication: Sourcebooks Casablanca; October 3, 2017
About the book:
An offer that’s impossible to accept…
Maggie Sinclair has tried everything to save her family’s business, including mortgaging their beloved beach house on the Jersey shore. But now, she’s out of options.
The Sinclair and Pierce families have been neighbors and enemies for almost thirty years. That hasn’t stopped Owen Pierce from crushing on Maggie, and he’s determined to invest in her success. Now he has to convince her that he’s more than just trouble with a capital T…
My Review:
Caridad Pineiro’s latest romance, One Summer Night, is a bittersweet story about family, friends, forgiveness, and love. Maggie Sinclair is struggling with her family’s retail business, fears they could lose everything, and is unable to make her father understand that it’s time for changes. Owen Pierce is a successful part of his family’s business, although he has to endure his cold, unloving father. Although their families have been in a feud for decades, Maggie and Owen grew up playing together at their Jersey shore vacation homes, shared a kiss when Maggie was eighteen, and have had some sort of romantic feelings for each other for years. After reuniting at a friend’s wedding, Maggie and Owen try to be friends despite the issues between their fathers, try to explore what they may feel for each other, and try to save Maggie’s family’s retail chain.
Maggie and Owen each had likable and unlikable qualities, but I really enjoyed their story and couldn’t help but cheer them on. Both were workaholics that grew up without their mothers, raised by stubborn fathers more interested in carrying on an old feud than anything else. Somehow, despite their father, both Owen and his brother Jonathan both turned out successful, intelligent, and adorable. Maggie was hard-working and had a very close-knit group of girlfriends, but something about her made it difficult for me to truly feel invested in her character. Both her and Owen were hot and cold initially, denying feelings one minute then professing feelings another minute. However, I loved both characters when I felt like they were being their true selves. Although I must say, I was much more into Owen and his feelings throughout the entire novel – he was just so yummy!
I loved the originality of the storyline with its own special twist on a Romeo & Juliet theme. The author crafted an entertaining read that also touched on the importance of honesty and forgiveness in friendships, romantic relationships, and the world of business. She also illustrated the devasting effects of long-term anger and how many lives are affected when people cannot let go of the past. Was the best book I’ve read in a while? No, it wasn’t. However, I did enjoy it quite a bit and would easily recommend this one to fans of contemporary romance.
One thing that still baffles me… What in the world is a pork roll for breakfast?? 🙂
*Thanks to Barclay Publicity for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
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