I recently read Sweet Summertime Wishes by Tia Marlee through BookSirens. I received this book as an ARC. The Kindle version won’t be published until September 1, but you can preorder it now. If you prefer, the paperback version can be purchased now.
Intro to the Book
This was a fun story. I felt like Reese and Daniel fit really well together. It took a while for their relationship to take off, though. For a good portion of the story, they both liked each other, but they were afraid to pursue things. The biggest obstacle seemed to be the age difference and the fact that Daniel already had a kid.
Why Wasn’t it 5 Stars?
There are two reasons why this book wasn’t quite 5 stars for me. First, I feel like their relationship took too long to take off, but then it was like they were all in. I would have preferred to see that relationship develop a little rather than the book being almost over by the time they actually start dating. Second, I felt like the age difference was overemphasized. It felt like such a huge plot point, but honestly it’s not as large of an age gap as I anticipated. They are only 10 years apart. I just felt like that age difference was overemphasized to the point that it became overkill.
I should mention that our two main characters are 24 and 34, so I do realize that 10 years at that point really does probably feel like a big gap. The way that it’s emphasized, though, I thought at first that it would turn out to be more like 15-20 years.
Was It Clean?
This is a clean book. There’s no swearing, sexual content, or violence. It’s not a Christian novel, but at points, it felt like it was going to be one. There were places where I found myself expecting the characters to start praying, but they never did.
I did read the first book in the series, His Christmas Wish, before I read this one, and I did like that one a little more, but that’s a personal preference. That one came out earlier this year, so it’s still a new novel as well. I would recommend reading both books. While I think you will get more out of the experience by reading the first book before you read this one, this one can be read on its own. It would still make sense.
