She was the light in my dark life. The sunshine that warmed me and made me smile.
We had one summer. One perfect summer, until the day it ended.
Years later, she walked back into my life. Older. Sadder. More beautiful than ever.
How can I prove to her that summer was real?
How do I make her see the boy who loved her then, still loves her now?
How do we get back to the summer when we were us?
Linc and Sunny’s story spans ten years, the first part young love that’s torn apart by Linc’s rich but abusive father.
As Linc makes his own money he tries to undo the wrongs his father has done eventually ruining his father, after his father passes he finally returns home to finish erases the ghosts of his father he’s surprised to find Sunny is back in town. While taking care of business and trying to get Sunny to forgive the 10 years he’s been gone, Sunny tries to make sure Linc doesn’t fall down the hole his father lived.
I enjoyed watching the young love find it’s way into the adult love, finding the forgiveness and righting the wrongs.
Melanie Moreland always gives you characters that you pull for, always a hea but you’ll enjoy the trip getting there!
I loved this short story in One Hot Summer. Linc is a child whose mother passed and he is left with a very abusive and uncaring father. His father is a very ugly man. He is greedy and conniving. All he wants from Linc is his trust fund.
Sunny is a girl from the wrong side of the tracks. She is a wonderful girl in love with Linc. She works hard and takes care of her family. All Linc and Sunny wants is to love each other. But Lincs father is not having it.
This book is a story of true love and the perfect revenge. A story of a lonely young man becoming an amazing, caring and giving man, despite his rough upbringing. This is a short but sweet story, that has amazing characters and a beautiful story plot. I really enjoyed reading this book and think that you will love it too.
A truly beautiful story of overcoming even the darkest and most horrible obstacles to find love, forgiveness and happiness.
I read this one as part of an anthology and loved it. It was sweet nad fast to read. But when I love a story I always want more, so now, I got more. Not in a million os scenarios thought what their Sunny and Linc’s lives would be. After all the years they spent apart, they were different but deep down their love and the summer they spent together was there and because of those feelings they were willing to explore if there was more.
This is what I needed to know about how they got strong at the end.
If you read the anthology, you will love the aditional story. But if you didn’t, this is the opportunity to enjoy a great second chance love story.
Another amazing Melanie Moreland book. The Summer of Us has a roller coaster of emotions. Sunny is just like her name full of life that lights Linc’s life. Lincoln has not had the best of home life, ever heard the saying you never know what happens behind closed doors. Well Linc knows that having money does not equal hapiness. Due to things out of Linc’s hands he is taken away from Sunny. After many years apart Lincoln comes back to finish what he started some years back not knowing he was going to find his other half of his heart.
The Summer of Us reads exactly as it sounds. Dreamy. Melanie writes the sweetest insta-spark love stories and Linc and Sunny were each other’s first loves, first everything. They loved each other unconditionally and made it despite all the odds against them. Mainly his cruel, manipulative, and abusive father who did not approve of his relationship with a girl who didn’t posses the social skills and financial wealth he felt were important.
The parts of the book where Linc was being abused as a young boy, teen, and young adult were hard to read. But this is a positive story of survival and perseverance, and painstakingly demonstrates how one is treated as a child affects them for a lifetime.
Linc and Sunny only shared stolen moments together until, unbeknownst to his father, they were lucky enough to spend one perfect summer together working at the same camp. Due to circumstances out of their control, they were forced apart and did not reconnect for almost a decade.
Even though Linc and Sunny loved each other and shared a past when they were young, they needed to get to know one another again. Learn to trust and depend on each other as they were so used to living their lives separately. As soon as they reconnected, all of the old feelings came back and Melanie writes the swooniest of heroes. Linc was all in and let her know in no uncertain times he was in for the long haul and that he loved her today just as much as yesterday.
He grew up to be a successful, wealthy, businessman intent on doing good, a modern day Robin Hood if you will, trying to right all the wrongs done by his father all those years ago. He was thoughtful, humble, and down to earth, and very generous to everyone in need.
Sunny was an independent, hardworking pastry chef and business owner, and had such a loving beautiful heart and optimistic attitude. She was honest and real, and her heart only beat for one man. I loved how she called him out on his behavior when it was warranted, and how she made him a better man.
I think the author secretly enjoys putting her characters and readers through the wringer as there is ample angst in The Summer of Us! My goodness, there are times when I stopped breathing just to get through a passage. The good news is most romances end with a HEA, and their journey was so worth it and we were treated with the multiple epilogues into the future! It’s just getting there and reading their turbulent times that was so emotional.
I have so much empathy and admiration for both of them, and cheered for them the entire time. There is plenty of steam in The Summer of Us too as these two had no problem connecting physically. I also enjoyed the interaction of the secondary characters, especially her younger sisters and their friends Abby and Michael who got a love story of their own.
The Summer of Us is like a window into the soul. Moreland gives readers an up close and personal look into the workings of the heart. Linc and Sunny are proof that love isn’t always a beautiful dream, but with more than a little faith and determination, it can endure. Caught up in a circle of heartache beyond their control, young love never had a chance. When fate steps in, can two familiar strangers find the way back to everything they lost? A heart tugger with an unforgettable backstory and an enduring look at the power that is known to us as love.
Second chance romance is one of my favourite tropes, add in Melanie Moreland’s writing, and this was always going to be a win for me. Lincoln hasn’t had the best start in life, ruled by the iron hand of a very wealthy, yet selfish and cruel father. One thing he does have though, something his father knows nothing about, is Sunny, a wonderful light in his dark world. What they have is special, at 17, it’s precious, it’s real, it’s everything. Until it isn’t. Years later, can they get back what they once had? Wonderful writing, wonderful characters, a story I got lost in, emotional in places, a few little twists that kept me on my toes, leaving me to wonder and guess at how this story was going to play out. I received an advanced copy of this book. This is my honest review.
5 star Review The Summer of Us (Mission Cove Book 1) by Melanie Moreland
Wow, Melanie Moreland has done it again as The Summer of Us really packed a lot into it. This was a beautiful well written story that tugged on my heartstrings and pulled my emotions all over the place.
Linc and Sunny were teenager lovers but thanks to his manipulative and violent father they were torn apart and forced to separate. Fast forward 10 years and oh how the world has changed. A second chance at love story with so much feeling, love and emotion.
Both Linc and Sunny are strong characters whom I found easy to relate too and very likeable. I really fell hard and fast for both Linc and Sunny and my heart just about broke several times reading The Summer Of Us.
I was absolutely gripped in the story that Ms. Moreland wove and had a hard time putting this one down when real life got in my way. Having read previous books from Ms.Moreland I knew that the characters she wrote are strong and Linc and Sunny are a prime example of this. If ever a couple deserved to have a second chance at happiness it was these two.
One click this little gem, you won’t be disappointed.
What can I say? Well I stayed up all night to read about Linc and Sunny. I can say that. Teenagers in love until they weren’t no more. One day ten years later Linc was in for a surprise when he came across Sunny in her very own bakery in the town they grew up in. Needless to say the sparks were still there, but they had a lot to work through. They had a few rough patches, but they perservered. This was more then just a summer of them, it’s a forever of Sunny and Linc.
With an overbearing father and his future already planned out for him, Linc hides the fact that he is in love with Sunny as his father does not approve. When they both find themselves working at the same summer camp their romance blooms. But Linc’s dad is onto their secret and whisks Linc away – never to have contact with Sunny again. Will Linc be able to win her heart again after being away for ten years? Or will Summer always connect him with his hateful father and walk away for good? This story was heartbreaking. Melanie Moreland packs a punch in a wonderfully written story. Great characters, a storyline you do not want to put down and so a depth of emotion you will feel like you are on a rollercoaster. This was an awesome story.
The Summer of Us
(Mission Cove #1)
Written by: Melanie Moreland
Every time I pick up a Melanie Moreland book to read I have know she is going to test all my feels.
Melanie Moreland writes books that often push your emotional limit. She makes me smile, cry, laugh and end up feeling, well at peace with all those characters.
In The Summer of Us high school sweethearts Linc and Sunny have one of those special kinds of love. Linc and Sunny were meant to be sweethearts. In their hearts they knew that, the one thing working against them was Linc’s’ abusive father. So it is no surprise when promises and wishes have been whispered that the bad happens.
Years pass and Linc finally returns to Mission Cove where he discovers Sunny again and has all intentions of bringing her back into his life. Sometimes though times passes and maybe the past can’t be what you base a relationship on, you need to make it about the present.
As I said, I knew I would cry (and I did) I knew I would laugh (and I did) and I knew that I would feel satisfied and happy when the story was finished. What more could one ask from an author other than to enjoy and appreciate the stories she writes for us.
A modern day fairytale.
I really enjoyed this book. It’s different and so good, the way the author develops the characters, the plot and the way the story flows is phenomenal. Interesting story following the journey of two young loves who are from different economic backgrounds and have one parent doing everything in his power to stand in their ways. In the end love wins, such a beautiful memorable book.
Achingly poignant
I adored this book! A young girl and boy growing into love, in secret, and then trying to reconnect years later as the bruised adults they have become. Sounds simple, right? But in the loving hands of Melanie Moreland it is always more. So much more.
While there is a romance, I found this story more to be about forgiveness and redemption.
Linc and Sunny were teenage sweethearts that were cruelly parted by deeds of Linc’s abusive and elitist father. Years pass before Linc goes back to his home town where he meets up with Sunny. Despite his bad memories of his hometown, Linc has returned to eradicate his father’s stamp on the town. This anger towards his father is what has driven Linc to his current success. But is anger the only emotion that lives in Linc’s heart? Can he move past this or will he become like his father? An angry, embittered man.
Told primarily in Linc’s POV, you witness his emotional journey to his HEA. There is even an extended epilogue that I loved. While I liked Sunny during her teenage years, I found her to be a shadowy figure during the later years. Maybe because it is primarily Linc’s story? Prepare to have your heart wrung out as this story is chock full of angst. There are scenes of physical abuse, so those with triggers be forewarned.
I received an ARC from the author. This is my unbiased review.
“Sometimes when love appears it isn’t allowed to blossom. Sometimes life intervenes and fate has other plans. For Sunny and Linc, a decade may have passed but the raw emotions they feel for each other remain, rekindling an intense romance. THE SUMMER OF US is an unforgettable story by New York Times Bestselling Author Melanie Moreland, imbued with her signature style readers adore.” USA Today Bestselling Author Vanessa Fewings
I live for Melanie’s books but although this was a good read, it isn’t one of my favorite from Melanie.
I found a new favorite author! A few chapters in and I was hooked. Melanie Moreland’s emotive writing had me reading all night long.
Sunny and Linc’s story is heartwarming. One thing I love about it is that, instead of ending the story where they decide to get back together, it shows us what happens after they decide to try again–how they reconnect after being apart for some time.
The epilogue is swoon-worthy and goes on YEARS after the story ends. It was just too long for me, which is why I am giving this a four-star rating instead of five.
The Summer of Us is a second-chance, small town, contemporary billionaire romance written in multiple first-person POV. It’s a standalone that ends with a HEA. No cliffhanger, no cheating.
I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review.
The Summer of Us is a sweet, emotional second chance romance. I loved Linc and Sunny and was devastated with what happened to them in high school. All you want is for them to get the happily ever after they were robbed of 10 years ago. There is a lot of hurt Sunny has to get past in order for them to move forward. Linc doesn’t give though by showing they are more than a summer. Looking forward to more from Mission Cove!
Melanie Moreland has a unique writing style and she is getting better and better.
She has a way of creating these characters that are so emotional with such sincerity and truthfulness.
I loved Linc and Sunny’s love story.
They had a sad past that was what built their characters through the years.
What I really liked about the book is how Lincoln has adored Sunny and when they got back together they had to get used to one another again, because they were not teenagers anymore and time has passed.
The book is great and is a wonderful read!
Love it!
Originally released as as short story, now updated to a full length novel, this is a beautiful and heartwarming story of first loves and second chances, full to the brim of love, heartache, angst, passion, overcoming obstacles, and of course a wonderful ‘Melanie’ epilogue!
Linc and Sunny fell in love as kids, but they are from opposite sides of the track, and Linc’s horrible father won’t let them be together, punishing him terribly many times both physically and mentally. One summer is all they get to spend together before it is ripped away from them.
10 yrs later and Linc is back in his hometown, a grown man, making right all the wrongs his father did, but on the quiet. He is amazed to find Sunny back in town running her own bakery. The connection and chemistry is still there, but they have a lot to overcome if they are to be together again, neither of them are the same and there are a lot of issues to be resolved.
A lovely heartwarming read that will leave you with a smile on your face.