Nothing beats falling in love under the sun, with the sand beneath your feet. This gorgeous, feel-good, and heartwarming summer escape from the bestselling author of The Summer House is perfect for fans of Mary Alice Monroe, Susan Mallery and Nancy Thayer.
For Sydney Flynn, her treasured family home, Starlight Cottage, is her sanctuary. The house on the beach, surrounded by glittering turquoise … surrounded by glittering turquoise waters, is the perfect place for her fresh start, piecing her life back together after it fell apart. That’s until her knees almost buckle at the sight of Nate Henderson.
As teenagers, Sydney and Nate spent their summers whispering sweet nothings and promising “forever” to each other. Sydney never imagined that her childhood sweetheart was going to break her heart, driving away from her and Firefly Beach, never looking back.
Now, when Sydney spots him at her sister’s wedding, their eyes meeting across the rows of guests, she barely recognizes him. The down-to-earth son of a fisherman, forever in beach t-shirts and flip flops, is replaced with a successful songwriter in a designer suit, a superstar in the country music scene. Yet despite everything, his dazzling blue eyes and easy smile stir up all the feelings she thought she’d left behind.
Nate is back to make it up to Sydney, but can she forgive him for all the heartbreak he caused? And it’s not only about her – Sydney is a single mother to Robby, her whole world, and she won’t let just anyone into their lives. Can she trust that Nate has really changed?
As if worrying about Nate wasn’t enough, a new development threatens Starlight Cottage, the safe haven that saved her when she had nothing else. Can Nate and Sydney overcome their past to save Firefly Beach and the house that holds so many memories for them? Or will the town they adore, and the love they have for one another, be lost forever?
Readers absolutely love Jenny Hale:
“I fell in love with this book from the very first page… Simply beautiful and if you are a romance fan then this is one not to be missed. I loved it.” Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars
“This novel is honestly the perfect summer beach read… Positive and uplifting… I’m obsessed.” Goodreads Reviewer
“I am a HUGE fan of Jenny’s work and I love her summer books…Swoon… This book is the perfect beach read… Grab a copy and curl up with a nice cup of tea (or wine! Wine is good!) and just escape to the beauty of Firefly Beach!” Starcrossed Reviews
“Oh how I love this book, and I cannot say enough good things about it… This is the perfect book for summer… It will leave you with a humongous smile on your heart!” Kristin’s Novel Café, 5 stars
“Grab the tissues, curl up on your favourite chair, set aside a reading day and indulge… I absolutely adored this book.” Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars
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Delightful
A very good story line and book.
Boring. Jenny Hale’s stories contain too much description and not enough action.
What a great book. I loved that the family came together after a loss of a family member. Can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
Can go from one character to another from book to book.
Took a very long time to tell what you knew would be a predictable ending.
This is a sweet second-chance romance story. As always, I really enjoyed the details in the setting that Jenny Hale writes. I love the beach and the ocean breeze, so I of course enjoy stories that take place on the beach. Jenny Hale also writes wonderfully about food! I wasn’t a big fan of Sydney, but I think my annoyance with her in the first book influenced how I felt about her in this book. The story is somewhat predictable and I struggled to get into it in the beginning. Eventually, I became more interested because I really liked Nate and his persistence to explain things to Sydney. If only she had stopped and listened, her fairytale ending would have come a lot quicker. I especially enjoyed the parts of the book where the characters reminisce about their relationship when they were younger. I’m a sucker for a grand gesture and this one got me. It was over the top and not very realistic, but this is a Hallmark-type story so it works. Overall, it’s a nice clean beach read with a happily ever after ending.
3.5 stars
After reading the first in the series, I thought this one would be more my type. I much prefer Second Chance over Friends-to-More. I did, but only by a little, and I think that’s because of the change in trope.
Sydney, just like her sister, does not know how to communicate. It is frustrating to me that there is an endless amount of conversations that all end the same: without conclusion. Maybe I’m a nosy person? I personally struggle with cyclical conversations and don’t like to repeat myself. When Nathan tells Sydney repeatedly that he needs to talk to her and it’s important, she ignores him. Kudos to the patient men out there willing to stand by for years waiting for the girl to open her ears and listen.
This all to say that I need more drama through circumstances rather than a delayed tête-à-tête. I’m definitely in the minority though as other reviews will indicate. I say give it a try, especially if you love easy, breezy beach themed romances.
I really enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to the next book in the series. But first, I am going back to read the first book in the series, Summer at Firefly Beach.
I Loved the setting of the story – a family cottage on the beach in the summer and all the things that go along with it. Once I started this book I couldn’t stop. The two main characters, Sydney and Nate, first loves finding each other again. Sydney is trying to move forward with life and take care of her son and keep her Aunt Clara’s legacy going. I couldn’t wait to find out why Nate chose to leave her when they were young, and what other things (surprises) he had for Sydney.
The House on Firefly Beach would a perfect addition to Hallmark’s Summer series of movies!
I highly recommend this book to everyone who enjoys a summer beach read.
Jenny Hale is a new author to me and after reading The House on Firefly Beach I’m left wondering why she hasn’t crossed my radar before now, well that’s about to change because I really enjoyed this fun second chance romance.
Nate and Sydney had planned their life together but one day Nate packed his truck and left Firefly Beach leaving Sydney behind. Fast forward a few years and last person Sydney expects to see at her sisters wedding is Nate only now he is no longer the boy that left town now he is a superstar song writer with a supermodel on his arm. Fate works in mysterious ways and it seems fate wants to push Nate and Sydney together but will Sydney forget and forgive the past especially as it’s not just her she has to consider…..
This was my first visit to Firefly Beach but it won’t be my last, I loved the residents and their friends and I loved how this author painted such pretty pictures with her words, she made me feel like I knew this town and that it’s residents were actually friends of mine, so I guess all that’s left to say is I highly recommend this gem of a read.
What does one do when your longtime steady boyfriend–the one who gave you a plastic “engagement” ring–suddenly tells you that he’s leaving and that the relationship is over?
That’s the shock Sydney Flynn suffers when Nate Henderson suddenly packs up his truck and tells her he’s leaving their small coastal town for Nashville, to pursue a songwriting career. Sydney is shocked, because just the night before they sat on the beach and talked about their future.
Somehow, she manages to go on living despite Nate. She even gets married and has a son, but the relationship doesn’t last. Because no relationship was quite like the one she had with Nate.
Years later, Nate’s back in their small town, hinting that he wants to get back together with Sydney. But her heart is too broken, and she’s fearful that she will fall in love again, only to have him leave again. And this time there’s even more at stake, because she has a young son who is growing attached to Nate — his football coach and fishing buddy.
Then there’s Juliana, the beautiful Latina model who came to Firefly Beach with Nate. The tabloids say that the two are a couple, so Sydney is confused by Nate’s loving words and actions toward her. The spark is still there too, when they are in the room together. But that shouldn’t happen, if he and Juliiana are a couple?
This is a gentle summer read. Beautiful location, picturesque settings, a dilemma between the hero and heroine. At times it moves a bit slow, but isn’t that what a lazy beach time read is supposed to do? So keep reading, because things get very interesting between Nate and Sydney. Especially when Sydney learns that Nate is behind a scheme to buy out all the quaint beachside cottages and replace them with a public access beach and resort development. It just so happens that one of those cottages belongs to her family…
This was such a nice story. The perfect beach story! It had wonderful characters and it sounded like the perfect place to visit or live. Definitely recommend. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy
Emotional and captivating.
This book is the perfect escapist summer read. It has a little angst, some bitter-sweet moments, a big and friendly community, and a second-chance romance taking place by the turquoise waters of Firefly Beach.
Sydney Flynn is back to her family’s summer retreat, divorced and unemployed. All her goals and dreams were crushed, and she is trying to figure out how to move on.
Things get more complicated when the men that ruthlessly abandoned her years ago comes back to town. Nate Henderson is not the boy she once fell in love with anymore. He is Nate Carr now, a famous and rich songwriter who dates models and invests in real estate.
Nate is not easy to love, but he slowly grew on me. His relationship with Sidney’s son earned him some extra points in my esteem.
My heart went for Sidney. I could feel her angst and pain. The situation she was in was so impossible. I liked how the author depicted her vulnerability without making her weak.
This was an emotional and engrossing read. I’m looking forward to reading more books in this series.
Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest opinion. It was a book that was really nice to read with all that is going on in the world today.
Sydney and Nate were high school sweethearts and Sydney thought they would get married. Instead, Nate just ended the relationship and took off. Years later at her sister’s wedding, she sees Nate once again. She still loves him but the hurt she has carried with her since he left is deep. He becomes her son’s coach and spends quite a little bit of time with her son. As time goes by Sydney starts to write again and her job is helping people. You really do need to read the book to see what happens with that.
There is a lot of heart in this book and some soul searching. I am happy that I read the book and there were some things you thought might be happening and some surprises too. It had much more depth than I thought it would have.