A Summer to Remember by Lisa Phillips, Andrea Christenson, Rebecca Reed, Gina Conroy, Angela Ruth Strong, Carrie Padgett, Tabitha Bouldin, and Bell Renshaw | Book Reviews

Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for A Summer to Remember by Lisa Phillips, Andrea Christenson, Rebecca Reed, Gina Conroy, Angela Ruth Strong, Carrie Padgett, Tabitha Bouldin, and Bell Renshaw, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About Bright Lights and Starry Nights

Eight summer novels across 2 volumes.
From Christian fiction’s hottest contemporary romance authors.

Title: Bright Lights
Series: A Summer to Remember #1
Authors: Lisa Phillips, Andrea Christenson, Rebecca Reed, Gina Conroy
Publisher: Two Dogs Publishing, LLC
Release Date: May 16, 2024
Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance

Finally Home – Lisa Phillips

Ashlynn Monroe knows she has a reputation as the Ice Queen, but being the police commissioner’s assistant that rep serves her just fine thank you. When her Aunt Ruby comes to visit from Last Chance County on the anniversary of Ashlynn’s mom’s death, neither realizes it’s a week that will alter both their lives in ways they never imagined.

Fire Chief Greyson Frayer followed in his father’s footsteps. Saving lives is who he is, but the burn scars he earned along the way seem to have kept him from the life he wants…until he sees a familiar face as if for the first time. Is Ashlynn the future he’s been looking for?

With a romance brewing between Russ and Ruby in the background, Adelynn and Greyson discover the future they’ve always wanted. And the chance to finally come home.

Summer at Trillium Lake – Andrea Christenson

Privileged Athena Vassos is banished to the family’s lake property near Sunset Falls, WI, to “think about” her place in the family’s multimillion dollar business. She isn’t sure what she wants with her life now that she has finished her graduate degree.

At the rustic Trillium Lake Bible Camp, Sean Campbell is overwhelmed. He was only supposed to be the deputy director, not much more than a glorified handyman, not running the whole show.

When a devastating tornado rips through the camp, Sean and Athena need to work together despite their differences.

Loving the Rodeo Queen – Rebecca Reed

Quinn Mulroney, former rodeo queen, lost it all. Now, she’s dreaming of becoming a veterinarian while caring for her daughter. She’s never forgotten the one man she called hero.

Tiago Vargas is seeking his passion, hoping to prove himself to his exacting father. When fate brings Quinn back into his life, he sees a second chance at his first love and offers her a job.

But she’s not the same woman he rescued. She carries a secret, and if Tiago discovers it, will he still be her hero, or will her hidden life destroy her last shot at happiness?

Anxious for Love – Gina Conroy

Event planner Charlee Lovelle, with a talent for creating perfect moments, except her own, is fed up with online dating games. Australian dating coach Maxwell Adams just wants to help people find love and take his business to the next level, not play the dodgy Love Doctor. Both frustrated with the superficiality of modern relationships, Charlee and Maxwell engage in an emotional game of tug-of-war as they embark on separate paths of self-discovery. In a whirlwind of humor, heart, and unexpected connection, they navigate the complexities of romance and relationships, but will they recognize the pull towards each other or will their own inner struggles keep them apart?

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop | BookBub

Title: Starry Nights
Series: A Summer to Remember #2
Authors: Angela Ruth Strong, Carrie Padgett, Tabitha Bouldin, Bell Renshaw
Publisher: Two Dogs Publishing, LLC
Release Date: June 6, 2024
Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance

Out of Play – Angela Ruth Strong

When single mom Bex Lemaire is asked to step down as her eight-year-old daughter’s soccer coach for getting too competitive, she’s hoping the new coach will let her assist. Former child star Skylar Hayes agrees to take over the team as research for his comeback role. At first, he mistakes Bex for a raving fan but eventually realizes she’s only crazy about soccer, which gives her the skills needed to train him. She’s all work, while he likes to play, but together, they just might win.

Lauren’s Second Chance – Carrie Padgett

Lauren’s Second Chance is a contemporary romance for readers who love sun, sand, and satisfying endings. Lauren and Mason were each other’s first loves, until life broke them apart. A decade later, when the opportunity arises to appear with Mason on a reality show, Lauren is conflicted. She needs this show for what it means to a project near to her heart. But can she keep that heart safe from the man who broke it once? Grab your shades and SPF 30 sunscreen to dive into a reality television dating show story where first love is also forever love.

Her Cowboy Champion – Tabitha Bouldin

It’s true that money can’t buy happiness. No one knows that better than Sage Rhett after her boyfriend steals her photography business and leaves her penniless. Heartbroken, faith shattered, she returns to Apple Creek–the last place she called home.

Maverick Pierce is used to people seeing him for the money attached to his family name. As a Pierce, he’s afforded anything that money can buy, but the one thing he wants can never be bought.

When Sage accepts a job working at the Pierce ranch, Maverick discovers he never stopped loving the fiery cowgirl who broke his heart when she left twelve years ago. If he wants to win her over, he’ll have to do more than flash a little money. This second chance, rags to riches, cowboy romance pits love against responsibility as Sage and Maverick struggle to overcome their history and trust God for a happily ever after.

Love in the Lyrics – Bell Renshaw

Liberty “Libby” Taylor has maxed out on space for her equine therapy business. The best way to gain the capital she needs in order to expand requires a bit of subterfuge, but that will also mean pulling one over on her new boss.

Singer and songwriter Harland Grey left LA for Winter, Montana in the hopes of finding peace from the demons of his not-so-distant past, but purchasing Melody Ranch may not hold the answers he’s looking for.

Thrown together, sparks fly between the two, but will the secrets kept between them finally be what tears them apart?

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon

My reviews!

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I LOVE reading! A Summer to Remember gives me 8 new novels to read! Though I’ve only read three so far, I’m diving into the fourth one now! They’re all Christian contemporary romance, and each of the three I’ve read so far share the gospel and God’s love very clearly. I love this! It’s not just like, “Oh, hi, I saw you at church last week,” and that’s the extent of Christianity in the book. No. The messages are clear and very moving, and I’m sure you will find one (or more) that resonates with you. 

I read the first two in Bright Lights and the first one in Starry Nights. As I read more, I’ll add to my review, so stay tuned!

In Finally Home by Lisa Phillips, two couples find love. The first, Ashlynn Monroe and Greyson Freyer, have “seen” each other frequently without really noticing that the other exists. The other couple are in their early 60s and have just met. I loved that Ashlynn works for the police commissioner and that the author makes a reference to Blue Bloods (though she doesn’t name the show!) because I love that show! And, I love how Ashlynn and Greyson pass by all of the time without really seeing each other, but then one day, boom, they do. God’s timing is always perfect as both couples discover. Though Ashylnn’s Aunt Ruby and Police Commissioner Russ just meet, they find joy in each other and decide to see exactly where God takes them. 

Finally Home was both heartwarming and heart wrenching. There are so many adorable, swoonworthy scenes, yet there are sad, contemplative ones too. As a mom, I felt for Greyson’s mom who will be moving out of state to be near her daughter and grandchildren because I’d want that too. However, it would be so hard to move away from my son. I cried for her and for Greyson. (I’m a crier.) 

I give this 5 stars! 

In Summer at Trillium Lake by Andrea Christenson, Athena Vassos’s dad sends her to their family’s summer home at Trillium Lake, so she can think about her role in the family’s hugely prosperous company. On her first day there, she is stranded on her family’s boat in the middle of the lake when Sean Campbell comes to her rescue. It turns out, Sean is the handyman at the Bible camp across the lake. He’s good with that job and enjoys it. But when he has to step up as camp director, he’s completely overwhelmed. Athena volunteers her help, and this sweet love story takes off from there. 

I really enjoyed the beautiful setting even though I remember being mad (as a 12 yo) when my family went to a lake instead of the ocean for vacation! It was even in Wisconsin (where this story is set)! I loved Athena’s bubbly personality and Sean’s willingness to accept her help (even though that’s really hard for guys!). We all have different strengths, and God made us that way. We’re not all math people! (Are there really math people out there? Kidding.) And we’re not all handy at fixing things. However, being opposites can be hard in a relationship (and it can be great!). Relationships are hard!  Athena and Sean definitely had some issues to work through individually and later as a couple. 

One of my favorite parts of this was when Sean had to lead devotions when the scheduled speaker got sick. This is a quote from that scene: “That’s what God does for us. He takes all our broken pieces, our lost and messed up selves, and makes us into masterpieces. His grace shines through us.” How often we forget! We’re broken, but we can’t fix ourselves. Only God can take our brokenness and insecurities and turn them into something beautiful.  

I give this one 5 stars too! 

Out of Play by Angela Ruth Strong is absolutely adorable, and I really would have loved another 100 or more pages of Bex and Skylar’s story! I don’t normally pick up romcoms with sports themes, yet I’m always pleasantly surprised by how much I love them. Yes. I loved this!

Bex is type A to the max when it comes to soccer. She made it to the pros, but she left when she got pregnant to raise her daughter, Mia, on her own. She’s been coaching Mia’s summer soccer since Mia was 4. Now Mia is 8 and is an amazing player. But Bex is sidelined for having too many red flags/cards the season before. The team will be disbanded unless someone steps in as coach. 

Skylar, Bex’s best friend’s brother-in-law, begrudgingly agrees. (Skylar is also a former child actor.) Then Skylar and Bex have a hilarious meet cute which sets the tone of this whole novel. I laughed so hard during many of their scenes, and yes, I cried during parts too. 

Bex has a lot of abandonment issues which make her fearful of relationships. Skylar has his own issues after his wife left him for someone “more famous.” Neither of them are looking for a relationship because neither want to get hurt again. The author beautifully weaves God’s love into their story. God won’t abandon us. Good times. Bad times. He’s still God. He still loves us and always will. 

Five huge stars!

I highly recommend that you get both Bright Lights and Starry Nights! You get eight well-written novels that are filled with sweet romance and inspirational themes. 

I voluntarily reviewed complimentary copies of these books. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

About the Authors

Connect with Lisa at authorlisaphillips.com to follow her on social media and sign up for email updates.

Andrea Christenson lives in a Minneapolis, MN suburb with her husband and two daughters. When she is not busy homeschooling her girls, she loves to read anything she can get her hands on. She believes that a great loaf of artistic bread can turn a meal into a masterpiece. Andrea’s prayer is to write stories revealing God’s love.

Connect with Andrea at andreachristenson.com to follow her on social media and sign up for email updates.

Rebecca Reed loves adventure. From riding race horses to sampling the world’s ice cream flavors to writing tales of identity and purpose, she sees obstacles as challenges. You might find her listening to audiobooks on her rural Indiana farm. A wife, mother, and grandmother with a huge, fruit-eating canine, her dream is to bring God glory through fiction that delights readers with compelling, flawed characters whose search for identity and purpose reveals God’s truth.

Connect with Rebecca at rebeccareedwrites.com to follow her on social media and sign up for email updates.

Born and bred in New York, Gina Conroy now lives in the Midwest where she splits her time, and sometimes her personality, as a writer, teacher, and life balance coach. Whether writing fiction or real life stories, Gina infuses faith with fun and hopes her readers take away a satisfying read that delves just beneath the surface.

Connect with Gina at ginaconroy.com to follow her on social media and sign up for email updates.

Angela Ruth Strong works as a flight attendant, survived breast cancer, and uses her own crazy life experiences as inspiration for the stories she writes. Her books have earned TOP PICK in Romantic Times, been nominated for a Christy, won the Cascade Award, and become Amazon bestsellers. She and her husband also got to play extras when her novel Finding Love in Big Sky was adapted for film. To help aspiring authors, Angela started IDAhope Writers where she lives in Idaho.

Connect with Angela at angelaruthstrong.com to follow her on social media and sign up for email updates.

Carrie Padgett has lived in every part of California, and currently writes from her office with a view of the Sierra Nevada. She thinks nuts take up room where chocolate ought to be and chips and dip should be its own food group. She and her husband have been married for far longer than most reality shows last. She has two daughters, two sons-in-law, and six grandkids who call her Grammie.

Connect with Carrie at carriepadgett.com to follow her on social media and sign up for email updates.

Tabitha Bouldin has a bachelor’s degree in creative writing/English from Southern New Hampshire University. She is a Publishers Weekly bestselling author and an avid reader. When she’s not homeschooling her kids, you’ll find her curled up with a book. Tabitha’s genre of choice is Contemporary Christian Romance which she describes as: Adventure with heart.

Connect with Tabitha at tabithabouldin.com to follow her on social media and sign up for email updates.

Bell Renshaw is a pen name for Emilie Haney. She grew up in the Pacific Northwest and has a love for the outdoors that matches her love for the written word. She turned her passion for stories toward writing at an early age, finding entertainment and adventure in made-up worlds fed by the books her parents read to her as a child. Now, she’s still getting lost in those worlds but they are of her own making.

She believes that—no matter what—love fights for what’s right.

Connect with Bell/Emilie at emiliehaney.com to follow her on social media and sign up for email updates.

Tour Giveaway

(2) winners will each win paperback copies of both Bright Lights and Starry Nights.

(4) additional winners will each win ebook copies of both Bright Lights and Starry Nights.

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight June 3, 2024 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on June 10, 2024. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only for print copies. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

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