As the summer ends, friendship begins… When single mom Joy Lee abandoned her old life to take a job at a lakeside resort, she found something that her family’s wealth and influence could never buy: peace of mind. Not easy to come by for the once-burned divorcée who keeps everyone at a distance. But when her new friend, Maris, dares her to take a chance with the drive-in’s charismatic new … charismatic new owner, everything changes for Joy and her young son.
A difficult childhood has left Maris Kennedy with definite priorities. Her job running Summer’s End, the camp store and café, comes first. Always. Nothing could ever make her risk that hard-won security–especially not her free-spirited colleague. But the more she encourages Joy to open herself up to new experiences, the more Maris begins to wonder what she, too, might be missing.
Learning how to trust will bring Joy and Maris together. And soon they form a friendship that leaves them as close as sisters–and open to love where they least expect it…in Summer’s End.
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This book gives us the story of two women, both with difficult pasts. Joy came from a privileged family who abandoned her, while Maris from one that struggled with poverty and alcoholism.
Joy and Maris have built new lives at the Summer Resort . After keeping to themselves for 6 years, they start a friendship so special that they are now “sisters of the heart”.
As the story progresses, we see them blossoming , especially as they find someone special in their lives.
Aside from the plot, it’s a story about families. Reminding us that sometimes the family that we create with close friendships, are stronger and closer than the one you are born into.
I was entrusted a copy of this book by Netgalley. The opinions expressed are solely my own.
Cooper Charm would be a wonderful place to visit and, especially, live. It, also, proves that you don’t have to related by blood to be a family. I liked that there two love stories going on at the same time. Not sure who had more issues to deal with: Royce and Joy or Maris and Daron. As usual, Ms Foster has written a story that makes you want to know more about the characters and their backstories. If you’re looking for an entertaining read, especially on vacation, this should be on your list.
Joy is a divorced, single mother of a beautiful little boy, Jack. She has worked as the recreational director for the lodge for six years and has kept to herself. Being friendly but not making friends. Royce is the new owner if the drive in next door and is ready to live his life again. He’s bought a house next to the drive in and will fix it up after he gets the drive in up and running. Joy has a meeting with Royce to hopefully continue the extra celebrations they used to do with the previous owner. With a push from Maris, who runs the store at the campground, she goes after Royce for a fling. When her mother shows up telling her that she was left something by her grandmother, Joy is a wreck. Her parents are rich and disinherited her when she was pregnant with Jack and she hasn’t heard or seen them since. Will Royce take his head out of his butt and tell Joy how he feels?
Excellent story. Jack is so precious and funny. Maris fights her feelings for Daron until Joy calls her out on them. Joy and Royce are perfect together. Steamy sex and an adorable pup. Lori’s books pulls you in from the very first page.
* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for NetGalley *
Enjoyable. I like the way the two stories are intertwined, and they’re on different schedules.
Really enjoyed this book. In this time of the covid-19 it brought a light into my world.
Great book
What an amazing fresh follow up story to Coopers charm ! This book was a wonderful heartfelt story with fantastic realistic characters that truly portray love , family & friendship throughout the book. The sense of deep caring & love always comes through with any Foster novel but this camp resort series has been such a welcome breath of fresh air in the romance category for me ! Joy & Royce AND Maris & Daron we’re delightful couples with real issues & feelings that could be easily be relatable in the real world … I didn’t want to set this aside
Once I started it ..: LOVE LOVE LOVE this book and series.. excellent!
Lori Foster is one of the best hero and heroine writers, next to Jill Shalvis. I love the alpha man that has a big heart for animals, kids, and the woman he loves. I love that we see the characters Coop, Phoenix, Baxter, and Ridley from Cooper’s Charm again. I love that the friendship of these characters is closer than those who are blood related and a true family. I was so excited when they got their HEA. Hope to see more books from this series.
Received ARC in exchange for voluntary honest review.
Very emotional! I love the rv park and the little camp store. Great characters.
Nothing makes me happier than reading books about strong woman, especially strong women who help each other. Joy and Maris develop a friendship that most women wish they could have in their lives. Foster instantly draws you in to the campground and the characters. I felt like I was part of the group as the story unfolds. Royce is a man after my own heart. You can’t help but fall for him. Its easy to see why Joy does. Great summer read!!
4 1/2 STARS!
You just can’t read a book in this series and not walk away smiling! With the follow up to her beloved feel-good romance COOPER’S CHARM from last summer, Lori Foster brings us another trip to the homey RV resort to see a few more of the family of employees find their happily ever afters. Like the original book, this one also encompasses two couples and spotlights a close-knit friendship. We saw several familiar faces as we touched base with the couples from last year and brought a new character into the fold. Really enjoying the down-home feel of this vacation spot!
Single mom Joy Lee loves the life that working at Cooper’s Charm resort has brought to her and her young son. She’s not all that big on taking chances and shaking the boat, but when her knew best friend dares her to take a chance on the attraction she is feeling for the new drive-in owner Royce Nakirk, she decides to throw caution to the wind and lives a little!
Maris Kennedy isn’t all that good at practicing what she preaches. She lives and breaths running Summer’s End, her country store/cafe at the RV park. She came from a life of having little and she never wants to let her guard down and open herself up to being in that position again, but when Joy takes her advice and takes a chance on love, she feels like she has to do the same and finally give Daron the chance he’s been wanting for awhile now!
I was hooked on this story from the beginning. It is a great follow up to Cooper’s Charm where we are back at the park. I enjoyed the relationships between Joy & Royce as well as Maris and Daron. Joy was leery of relationships and always put her son first. It was so touching to see Royce bond with her son & see her little boy grow more confident. I was also happy when Maris decided to open up and let Daron in her life. It was great to see Coop, Phoenix, Baxter & Ridley again too. This is a must read!
It’s been quite some time since I’ve read anything from this author, I read a lot of her earlier books. I wish I could say that I loved this one, but sadly it took me over a week to finish it. I personally struggled to get through a lot of parts and I found myself putting it down quite a bit. I think it was the characters. I had a hard time connecting with them. The dual plots were okay but it didn’t really blow my hair back.
I loved it!
This book is reason number 1 that I absolutely LOVE Lori Foster! Sister of Summer’s End will remind you just how important our friendships are! Maris and Joy are sisters from other mothers and reading about there friendship beginnings and how they support each other will leave you feeling good! And their love interests are steamy hunks!!! Don’t worry, there’s plenty of scorching scenes! I highly recommend you read Sisters of Summer’s End!
I received an ARC in return for my honest review.
Overall, I enjoyed this story with its blend of friendship, family and romance. Royce and Joy are such a sweet couple, and Jack, Joy’s five-year-old son, stole the show. I loved how Royce and Jack bonded, even while Royce didn’t want to get involved in a serious relationship. The theme of friendship and sisterhood is weaved throughout the book, with Joy and Maris forming a close bond. It’s a light, easy read for a lazy summer day.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader copy of this book.
I love how Lori Foster’s characters think they know the best path for their life and Lori comes in with her mighty pen and shows them the error of their ways. What wrere Joy and Royce thinking, imagining Ms. Foster would let them be together without emotions getting in the way? And Maris and Daron believing they could continue on, ignoring the chemistry that was evident to everyone but them? Not going to happen when Lori Foster is in charge of your destiny. I was so glad to have the opportunity to read this story.
I voluntarily read this story in exchange for an honest review.
This was a terrific story of friendship and love. Both Joy and Maris have worked at the RV resort for several years. Each of them has concentrated on their work, preferring to keep people at a comfortable distance. But as this season winds down, both Joy and Maris feel a little lonely. I loved the scene where they drop their walls a little bit and reach out to each other. It was great to see how easily they connected once they allowed themselves to open up. Theirs was the sort of friendship I like to see between women, one where they encourage and support each other. There were some hilarious moments between them, especially when it came to their conversations about their men. There were also some deeply emotional ones as they shared the ups and downs of their pasts and presents. One of the things I enjoyed the most was seeing them give each other the push needed to take a chance on love.
I loved Joy. She grew up as the spoiled only child of affluent parents, then she rebelled and married against their wishes. When she got pregnant and her husband deserted her, they disowned her when she refused to give up the baby and come home. I was amazed at her strength and determination as she turned her life around to make a good life for her son, Jack. He and her job are her whole life; she has no plans to enter any relationship. Then the drive-in theater next door is sold, and the new owner stirs up feelings that have been dormant for six years.
Royce was great. He purchased the drive-in as a new start to his life. He spent the last several years caring for his ill mother, and while he grieves her loss looks forward to being unencumbered. He has big plans for renovating both the theater and his house. He didn’t expect to have his plans upended by a pretty single mother and her adorable son.
The sparks flew between Royce and Joy from the start. With Maris’s encouragement, Joy took a chance on reaching out to Royce. Both of them made clear that they weren’t looking for anything permanent, but that a physical one was definitely on the table. I liked seeing that fall by the wayside very quickly. Royce won my heart very quickly when he came to the rescue of the injured stray puppy, and sealed the deal when he made the puppy part of his life. Joy was a little wary of letting Royce get too close to Jack, but he won her over with the way the two of them bonded. I loved the development of the relationship between Royce and Joy as they spent time together, both with and without Jack. Though both realized that their feelings had changed, because of their earlier agreement, they kept those feelings to themselves. When Joy’s parents reappeared in her life, Joy found herself with some decisions to make. I ached for Royce, who had some insecurities flare up, causing him to pull away. I laughed out loud at the scene where all his friends ganged up on him to tell him what an idiot he was being. Royce’s big moment at the end was great.
I ached for Joy and everything she went through with her parents. Her mother was a piece of work, and I understood why Joy had avoided them since Jack’s birth. Joy had matured quite a lot in those years, and she did a grand job of standing up to her, especially the scene that Royce got caught up in. I loved seeing how all of Joy’s friends at the resort banded together to support her when she needed it. Her parents did redeem themselves pretty well by the end, especially her father. Mom may still need a little work. The scene at the end, where they were all together at the resort was both funny and heartwarming.
I also enjoyed Maris and Daron’s part of the story. Maris’s life had been almost the opposite of Joy’s. She grew up poor with a difficult childhood, which greatly influenced how she led her life. She worked and scrimped and saved, determined that she would never have to depend on anyone again. She tends to be a tad prickly in her independence and keeps people at a distance. Joy is the first person she allows herself to get close to. One thing on her “someday” list is a relationship, but there’s one guy at the resort who isn’t content to wait. Daron is the resort handyman, a friendly, cheerful, and flirtatious guy who manages to get under Maris’s skin. When Maris pushes Joy to give Royce a chance, Joy does the same to Maris, challenging her to give Daron a chance.
Maris bugged me a little at first with her attitude toward Daron. He’s a little younger than she is, and she looks down on his more relaxed attitude and believes that he doesn’t take anything seriously. I loved his persistence and the way he would tease her. They joined forces to help Joy, and at the same time, got to know each other a little better. Maris completely redeemed herself in my eyes when she took a good look at Daron and who he really is and apologized for her judgmental attitude. I laughed out loud when Maris laid down her rules to Daron and then got all bummed when he actually followed them. The sparks flew when they finally gave in to the attraction. They still had a couple of bumps to get over, but it was fun to watch it happen.
I loved seeing these two women become sisters of the heart, and along the way, open up their hearts to love. I hope to see more stories at the resort so I can catch up on their lives. Now I need to go back and read the first book and see how Cooper and Baxter found their loves.
Once you get into the story, it draws you in.
Joy is a single mom with a past that she doesn’t want intruding on her present. Royce just wants to live for himself after caretaking for his mom for so long.
Maris wants to be that independent person who doesn’t rely on anyone, especially playboy Darin.
As the both stories go, you see the love of the RV park and the family atmosphere that carries through them all.
Another fantastic book by the amazing Lori Foster! Joy Lee and her son, Jack, have made Cooper’s Charm their home with Joy as the recreational director for the park. Maris Kennedy runs Summers End, the camp store and cafe. Both women’s pasts have shaped the women Maris and Joy have become. Both have trust issues and keep others at the periphery of their lives. Maris and Joy begin to bond over morning coffee. As their bond of friendship deepens, Maris and Joy begin to deal with their issues from the past. Maris and Joy push each other to open up to new possibilities concerning the men in their lives. Royce is the new owner of the drive-in theatre that is located new door to Cooper’s Charm. When Royce meets Joy, the attraction and chemistry between the two is instantaneous and HOT! Neither Joy and Royce want a relationship. Will Joy and Royce find they want more from each other than a fling? What happens when Joy’s parents come back into her life? Will Royce’s insecurities with his own past get in the way of his future with Joy and Jack? Daron has worked at Summer’s End for several years and is always joking and flirting with his co-workers and park attendees. Daron has wanted Maris for a long time but no matter what he does, Maris turns a cold shoulder to him. Can Daron prove to Maris that there is more to him than the image she has of him? Can Daron show Maris that his feelings for her are real? Will Maris’ insecurities about her past stand in the way of her future with Daron? The chemistry between Maris and Daron is explosive. I LOVED Sisters of Summer’s End by Lori Foster. I love the sense of family between the people who live and work at Cooper’s Charm. Joy and Maris become sisters of the heart as their friendship deepens. Royce and Daron are strong, hunky, caring men who are willing to do anything for the women they love. I would highly recommend getting Sisters of Summer’s End. Great book with fantastic characters that will make you smile and laugh out loud. Lori Foster is a MUST read author. I received an ARC of this book, and I am leaving my honest review.