Welcome to my stop on the Seaside Dreams Blog Tour hosted by Brook Cottage Books! Click here to follow along with the full blog tour!
Title: Seaside Dreams
Series: Seaside Summers #1
Love in Bloom #21
Author: Melissa Foster
Publication date: August 25th 2014
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: Copy for review
Purchase: Amazon | B&N | Smashwords
SEASIDE SUMMERS is the newest addition to the LOVE IN BLOOM series, featuring a group of fun, sexy, and emotional friends who gather each summer at their Cape Cod cottages. They're funny, flawed, and will have you begging to enter their circle of friends. You met them in READ, WRITE, LOVE (The Remingtons, Book 5), follow these friends on their search for forever love in the Seaside Summers series.
Bella Abbascia has returned to Seaside Cottages in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, as she does every summer. Only this year, Bella has more on her mind than sunbathing and skinny-dipping with her girlfriends. She's quit her job, put her house on the market, and sworn off relationships while she builds a new life in her favorite place on earth. That is, until good-time Bella's prank takes a bad turn and a sinfully sexy police officer appears on the scene.
Single father and police officer Caden Grant left Boston with his fourteen-year-old son, Evan, after his partner was killed in the line of duty. He hopes to find a safer life in the small resort town of Wellfleet, and when he meets Bella during a night patrol shift, he realizes he's found the one thing he'd never allowed himself to hope for - or even realized he was missing.
After fourteen years of focusing solely on his son, Caden cannot resist the intense attraction he feels toward beautiful Bella, and Bella's powerless to fight the heat of their budding romance. But starting over proves more difficult than either of them imagined, and when Evan gets mixed up with the wrong kids, Caden's loyalty is put to the test. Will he give up everything to protect his son - even Bella?
Seaside Dreams is the second book I've read by Melissa Foster, and I do think her stories tug on the heartstrings. This book is no different. I felt so many different emotions for Bella and Caden, rooting for them to make it as a couple. I wanted Bella to give him a chance!
I loved Bella and her group of friends. They reminded me a lot of my friends, and the silly pranks we used to play. It would be so awesome to spend every summer together at a cottage like the one Bella and her friends stay in. I was totally jealous of them!
Bella has quit her job, is selling her house, and has taken on a temporary job at the local high school. She was badly hurt by a man she dated who worked with her at the job she just quit. She doesn't want to date or commit to anyone - she's decided she can't trust men. And then she meets Caden, probably one of the most trustworthy guys she'll ever meet. But she can't seem to let go of her preconceived notions.
Caden is a great guy, raising his son by himself after the mother took off when their son was a newborn. He's the kind of guy you can tell will be in a relationship for the long haul through the good times and bad. But as much as I could see that, Bella didn't want to see it for herself. Of course, it's always easier looking in from the outside.
While I rooted for them to get together, I think their relationship happened too quickly - it needed more time to develop and grow in my opinion. I was kind of shocked how quickly they became physical. But they were super hot together. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series and will be reading it for sure.
My Rating:
Melissa Foster is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes contemporary romance, new adult, contemporary women's fiction, suspense, and historical fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page.
Her books have been recommended by USA Today's book blog, Hagerstown Magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. She is the founder of the World Literary Cafe and Fostering Success. When she's not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on Fostering Success. Melissa has been published in Calgary's Child Magazine, the Huffington Post, and Women Business Owners magazine.
Melissa hosts an annual Aspiring Authors contest for children and has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, D.C. Melissa lives in Maryland with her family.
Visit Melissa on social media. Melissa enjoys discussing her books with books clubs and readergroups, and welcomes an invitation to your event.
