An adult summer camp heats up quickly in this simmering romance from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jill Sanders.Zoey Rowlett knows putting her savings into a run-down summer camp is risky. But River Camp has sentimental value—it’s where she met her best friends and coinvestors. Their plan is to turn the Florida camp into a sexy retreat for wealthy snowbirds looking for love, and … snowbirds looking for love, and if Zoey finds love, too, that would be just fine.
Dylan Rhodes and his brothers are on a secret mission to find their father. He’s absconded with a large sum of money, and Dylan thinks he might be buzzing around this wild new summer camp. Hoping for answers, Dylan takes a job at the camp. But every time he sees Zoey, he forgets what he’s looking for.
Zoey and Dylan have a lot on their plates already, but all they want to do is devour each other. Can Dylan keep his eyes off Zoey’s bikini and stay focused? And can Zoey keep her hands off Dylan long enough to run the camp?
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Enjoyable read. This first book in the Wildflowers series introduces the 5 ladies of the Wildflowers; Summer Nights is Zoey and Dylan’s story. Look forward to more of the Wildflowers.
While this is technically Zoey and Dylan’s story, there are A LOT of people in this book. I get that this is the first book in the series, but I felt like the story was pulled in so many directions it was hard to enjoy any story line for long. Also, I understand that Dylan and his brothers have their own agenda (yet another story line), but I’m not a fan of relationships built on lies. Dylan repeatedly lies to Zoey, and she just keeps taking it. On top of all that, you’re kind of left on a cliff hanger, because nothing is resolved with Dylan’s dad, and you’ll have to read the next book (or probably the whole series) to find out what happens. I won’t be continuing this series.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.
What a fun premise! Zoey and her friends all met when they were young at summer camp and now they are pooling their money when Elle’s grandfather passes and leaves them the camp and they decide to turn it into a camp for adults. Along the way three brothers come looking for work using false names and with their own agenda. They are looking for their father who has been missing. This is a sweet and spicy read pairing Zoey and Dylan and along the way they not only team up to get the camp ready to open and then learn to trust each other. Great start to this series!
3.5stars
Summer night, as it seems, is the first book of the Wildflowers. In this one Zoey and Dylan fall in love. Zoey, together with her childhood friends open camp for adults and Dylan and his brother come to work for them. The story has so many things going on that you can’t be concentrated just on the relationship. There is a lot of family drama from both Dylan and Zoey sied, happenings in the camp, their relationship than mentioning of the other relationships. A really lot going on so the story had a little drag for me. Both Zoey and Dylan were sympathetic but I couldn’t relate to them. I loved their HEA but I can understand that the whole story doesn’t have its ending and has its cliffhanger an continues in other books.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for NetGalley
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Sarah –
This is a perfect summer read. A reinvented Florida summer camp provides a beautiful background for a story about the Wildflowers, a group of women who became lifelong best friends when they met at summer camp as children. The five Wildflowers are resilient, and this first book follows their first efforts to build a business they can all be proud of.
The first story focuses on Zoey. Zoey is the athlete, the tomboy whose difficult childhood has left her unable to trust. Adult Zoey is strong and full of grit and determination. As the oldest sister, she feels responsible for her sister and her mum. I love the way Zoey’s confidence improves as the camp starts to take shape and I love the way she makes Dylan work for her attention.
Dylan is a bit of a mystery. He and his brothers are a bit too good to be true and while we get hints about his identity and his reasons for wanting to work at a summer camp, we don’t know too much about Dylan until the end of the story. Like Zoey, I was slightly wary of Dylan, but I couldn’t help liking him. He’s gorgeous and charming and a worthy leading man.
I love the mix of humour and adventure in this story. The first campers are an interesting bunch and the Wildflowers’ responses to their unexpected activities kept making me laugh. A central mystery unfolds in this first book and I’m guessing it will continue over the series. I love the unlikely mix of women in the Wildflowers and I love the sense of enduring sisterhood they share. The romance between Zoey and Dylan is a relatively small part of the story and I really love the way this book introduces a wonderful mix of characters and relationships that I’m sure will be explored throughout the series. This is a perfect nostalgic summer holiday read and I can imagine it would be best enjoyed in a quiet place on a warm summer evening.
Ruthie –
This is the first book in a new series, and I am already looking forward to the future books being released! Introducing us to the five women from when they first meet at summer camp, then jumping to now, as they start to run the resort for adults, gives us a very intimate view of them all, but leaves plenty to be revealed organically through the story.
Whilst this book concentrates on ex-Olympic athlete, Zoey, we get some interesting insight into each of the Wildflowers as they take their roles in the camp. Zoey is immediately attracted to Dylan, one of three brothers who have joined the camp team. She and her sister did not have an easy childhood, thanks to a father who walked away and left them destitute. This has left her very skeptical about love, and not trusting of men – Dylan realises how deep that fear is, and as he starts to fall for her, he has to balance the need to be honest and open with her, and keeping his identity and reason for being at the camp secret. I think that the writing does this beautifully, and I love that he is true to himself, and commits himself to what he hopes is his future, rather than risking losing Zoey and the chance of love.
The camp residents provide us with some lovely humour, especially the Youngs . Some of the staff provide some drama, and when Zoey and Scarlett’s mother moves in and clearly has a potential suitor, we even get a hint of at least a happy for now (HFN) in the pipeline.
There is even a mystery that will need solving, and I hope as the stories move forward, we will understand how Leo ties the brothers and the Wildflowers together. There is plenty of potential for more romance at River Camp.
Mary Jo –
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars
The characters are well written but I wish the author had explored the relationships between the Wildflowers a little more. I know that this book is world-building, but I think the relationships between each of the women is just as important as the building of the camp.
We get to know Zoey, and her feelings of failure after injuring her knee and being unable to play in the Olympics. She knows that her career is over and no amount of complaining will change that. She regrets not being able to live her dream, but watching her friends is almost as good.
As the grand opening of the camp nears, they are still hiring staff, so imagine her surprise when three handsome men show up looking for work. She instinctively knows that there is more to the story, but they need help and the background check comes back clean.
Dylan is there to find out the truth about his father, where he is, and where is the money he took from the bank. Granted, it is his father’s money, but that money is used to fund the new growth for investment partnership he is the CEO of. With his father missing, it won’t be long before the board elects a new CEO.
Zoey keeps her eye on Dylan and knows that there is more he’s not telling, she bides her time. Dylan comes to realized that the Wildflowers don’t have any idea of where his father is at.
The secrets the Dylan and his brothers are harboring could wind up damaging any relationship he may have with Zoey.
Reviewers received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.
This is a great first book in a new series. The setting is fun and fresh and not over-done, and it actually makes me wish I could go to an adult summer camp for some fun.
Zoey and her Wildflower sisters’ dedication to reopening the camp that she loved as a child is a lot of fun to read. The complication that Dylan and his brothers bring when they arrive to work at the camp make for some seriously fun hijinx and even though Zoe is suspicious of Dylan from the start, she can’t help but fall for him in the end. Dylan came to the camp on a mission to expose Zoey as the reason why his dad took money from their company, but as events unfold, he starts to question if this is truly the case.
Jill Sanders is a strong writer, and she makes you feel like you are truly there experiencing the events along with the characters. This series is off to a great start with a little bit of mystery and a lot of love. The side characters, in the form of campers, Wildflower Sisters and Dylan’s brothers, add a lot to the story and make it a truly enjoyable read.
I’m really looking forward to more books in this series..
A bit of a slow start to this new series by Jill Sanders….Lot’s of secrets going on, sometimes hard to keep track of! But overall, I loved the characters, the idea of 5 friends taking over their old summer camp, and making it an adult only retreat! When Dylan and his brothers apply to work, they are a hot trio, who seem to have the biggest secret to hide. The things that go on at this camp are quite hysterical, and here the girls thought having adults would be easier!
Follow along with the characters, and all the stuff going on at the camp, I’m actually looking forward to the next book in this series! 4 stars for this one!
I tend to like Jill Sanders books and even though I can’t say that I hated this book I wont say that I loved it.. See my reason is that this group just seemed like they acted more like teenagers to me than adults. The two main characters romance was based on lies to each other, so even though they were hot for each other that was basically their relationship in a nut shell their attraction because they were lying to each other and Zoey kept forgiving Dylan and I am not a fan of lying..It just does not start of a meaningful relationship good, yes I get that he was trying to do something I get all of that but I just think that he should have fessed up sooner and I get she should have had more of a back bone anyway all of this annoyed me and didn’t let me enjoy the book as much. However I might, depending on what else is out there at the time, an read they next book in the series.
Rcvd and ARC at no cost to author..(netgalley) Voluntarily reviewed with my own thoughts and opinions
This is the first book I have read by this author and after reading Summer Nights I will certainly be checking her other books. This is a perfect Summer holiday read and a great start to the new Wildflowers Series. This series is centred around five girls who reopen the summer camp after the death of the owner and that’s where Dylan and Zoe meet, the attraction is instant and the banter witty but Zoey is not easily won over and it’s going to take some time and effort for Dylan to win her trust…. Looking forward to who’s story is next in this series
The Wildflowers are a group of five girls that met at summer camp when they were young and have remained friends ever since. This first book in this series has mystery, suspense and action, secrets, romance, and wonderful characters. Can’t wait to see what happens in the next book!
A great summer read! Very light and humorous!
Original review: https://myshelfbooks.wordpress.com/2019/07/20/summer-nights-jill-sanders/
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I finished the book almost a week ago, but my lack of freetime has kept me from writting the review. I have been replaying the book in my head to get an idea about what I want to talk about, but nothing worth mentioning comes to mind. I guess I will keep this one short and to the point. Unless I start rambling like right now… Let’s do this!!
In this story we cross paths with Zoey, a young ex-athlete who has decided to open a business with her dear friends. All of them met in a Summer Camp for privileged girls, that sadly had to close. With more hope than sense, they transformed the place into a camp for adults. That means lots of activities and personnel, so nobody should be surprised when they hired without much questioning the three young men (good looking, muscles to feed an army… you know the type) who went looking for a job. Dylan is among those three brothers. They have a mission of their own, Will secrets get in the way of love? You will have to read the book to know the answer. Clue: this book is no different from most of the books in this genre.
First thing I must say: the first chapters of the book are beyond horrible. So boring. So much useless info about everybody’s hairstyle. I couldn’t handle the group of friends at first and the book was in serious danger of getting a serious kick in its backcover. But it gets better. Actually, it gets much, much better. When the three hunkies enter the picture, the book gets a new dimension sorely needed. We are presented a plot of secrets, hidden agendas and a soft mystery being revealed little by little. That is actually the spark that keeps the book warm. But it is also that same spark that leaves the reader wanting more and with a weird aftertaste. If it was meant as a cliffhanger, it was one poorly planned. I LOVE cliffhangers, but this ending is too lazy to be considered one.
The characters are mostly OK. Noone on my good or bad side. Zoey and Dylan fit perfectly in the story we are told. Their relationship is well written, with well defined phases as I like. There is even a bit of banter, which I will always point out as something very positive to keep a light mood. The main problem is that they don’t make me feel anything. I wasn’t invested in the romance, but there is nothing wrong with it. It just lacks spice or something to make it relevant. The extended cast of the book doesn’t have too big a role to form an opinion, but I will say I don’t like that so many future books have already been started. I hope I’m not cheated from the good parts in a romance…
But the big elephant in the room during the whole book is the “What?” factor. And I don’t mean the revelation of exciting secrets. It is the whole “Let’s build a camp for adults with our zero knowledge of accounting, our meager finances and null experience“. The oldest girl in the book is 21 or 22. No more. The five of them get together and create the camp with tons of activities, famous chefs and rather big staff… while at the same time we are told they don’t have much money. I couldn’t shake how ridiculous everything sounded. I still don’t know how they are paying all of that and still get profit. As a reader I’m used to the make-believes, but I have limits…
And that is not the only time I had to deal with that limit. Is Dylan for real? I mean, he is also about 22 and 23 but it seems he has been alive for 40 or so. The author has made the guy (and his brothers) a too experienced person for his age. I’m not sure you can cramp so much journey into such young man. The cherry on top is the time when he mentions to Zoey his former longterm relationships. Yes, with an S. So, in between a crazy life where he can travel the world and also have many hours as a pilot, he was capable of enjoying several relationships that lasted long enough to be considered longterm… I guess he must be counting the time he shared a pacifier with the cute little girl in the park when he was 18-months-old, the time he kissed in the cheek the girl from his school when he was 5-years-old or even the time in highschool when he had a crush on the popular girl, but never had the courage to say something. Otherwise I do not understand how can he talk about longterm relationshipS.
It’s a nice book, but it is hindred by the fact that the characters are too young. Besides, I don’t understand why the author picked that age and then worked with them as if they were much older. It’s a bit off-puting. I know I have whined too much about that, but the plot is very enjoyable and I will read the next ones when they are available.
A very heartwarming and fun journey filled with lots of witty banter, sexy fun twists and engaging charters. Loved every emotional and exciting moment. This was a great reading experience that had me laughing and crying. The perfect summer read!
What a wonderful start to a new series. Five girls bond at a summer camp and become friends for life. They are all very different, hence they called themselves the Wildflowers. One thing that they all have in common is that at least one of their parents, should have never been a parent. The camp is owned by Elle’s grandfather and when he passes he leaves it to all of them. They decide to reinvent it into a year round camp for adults. During the following year they invest what ever funds they have plus a lot of hard work. When three gorgeous brothers show up looking for jobs, Zoey is very suspicious, but also drawn to middle brother Dylan. The brothers are undercover, looking for their father, who disappeared with funds meant for the family business. Their only clue, is Elle’s name on their fathers calendar. With cameras all over the camp, the women keep an eye on the brothers, while the brothers look for evidence of their father. They quickly become valuable employees. While Zoey and Dylan get closer to each other, they are both uncomfortable with secrets and finally spill.
If my life and visual limitations had not interfered, I would had read this book in one sitting. The narrative is written in a lightly humorous voice, but intrigue and danger also surface. The characters are very engaging. While not a cliff hanger, the books ends with the brothers’ father still AWOL.
I received a free, advanced copy of this book from NetGalley.com. This is my unbiased and voluntary review.
A quick and easy read. Not sure what to think about this story actually, there are laughable moments and maybe heartbreaking ones as well.
I liked the idea of the friends being more like sisters as well as the males characters.
I didn’t liked that he was always telling half truths or avoiding them but she was just playing cool like it didn’t matter because honestly it mattered, no matter how superficial you might be or think about a relationship, communicating and being honest all the time matters.
The older couples made me laugh more with their plans/players moves .
I’ll probably read the next books though because I’m interested to see what happens with the other characters.
Summer Nights is a great book to kick off what should be a fantastic new series from this author. With incredible primary characters in Zoey and Dylan as well as intriguing secondary characters I see some interesting stories coming our way. Zoey and her friends have decided to turn a run down summer camp into an exclusive retreat for the wealthy. Dylan and his brothers are searching high and low for their father when they get a tip that he’s been spotted at a Florida summer camp. They decide to take on jobs as handymen to help with the repairs. Now if they can just keep their minds on the reason they are there and not the beautiful women who own the camp.
Great read and definitely one I recommend.
Zoey and her Wildflower Sisters decided to re-imagine the camp that brought them together as kids. It takes a lot of money, sweat, and hard work for over a year but they’ve finally done it – an adults only retreat. Adults should be easier than kids any way right? Well… maybe not. But the campers hijinx aside, the bigger problem for Zoey is the good looking Dylan and his brothers who came to work for them. She knows the brothers are up to something, after something, but she can’t quite figure it out. None of the Wildflowers can. More distracting to Zoey is that she starts to really enjoy Dylan despite wanting to maintain suspicious.
Dylan and his brothers have one job: find their dad and where he sunk the money he took from their company. Being convinced it’s the camp and the ladies who run it responsible, they decide to split up. Dylan’s job is to get close to Zoey and her sister. The problem? The closer Dylan and Zoey get the more lines blur – where does the avoidance end? When the half-truths start feeling more like lies, who will Dylan chose – his brothers or Zoey?
Jill Sanders has kicked off this new series with a compelling romance of not quite enemies, not quite friends, to lovers and a good dose of mystery. This book has it all and the side characters (the very quirky campers along with the Wildflowers and Dylan’s brothers) really complete the story. I cannot wait to get the rest of the girls’ stories (which hopefully wrap up Dylan’s brothers as well).
This is such a great start to this series. The characters are great. Five women who have been friends since they were little girls at camp, decide to open a year-round camp for adults. After all, adults will be easier than a bunch of kids. Right? When Dylan and his brothers come to the camp looking for a job, Zoey is sure they are up to something, but they do need workers. As Dylan searches for his brother, he and Zoey become closer and he knows he can’t continue lying to her. Will she understand? Will they find their father?
Summer Nights is a great start to Jill Sanders new Wildflowers series. I enjoyed this book. Even though there were definitely secrets between Dylan and Zoey, there was strong connection between them and I love watching it grow into more. There were some laugh out loud moments throughout and some drama and upset but overall this was a very solid start to a series I look forward to reading more of.
Count on Jill Sanders to bring in a pocketful of sunshine to balance out life’s storms. Summer Nights encompasses more than romance. The heart speaks many languages and wraps the conversation up in one tiny bundle with a big message. The message: “Love makes things happen.” It helps us to endure painful secrets, heartbreaking tragedies and build unbreakable bonds that far exceed a blood connection. Dylan and Zoey are only the beginning. Can’t wait to see what’s next.