Sunny’s Summer: (Seasons of Destiny: A Sweet and Small Town Romance Series, Book 2)

Sunny Ray drives into what is left of Paradise, California six months after a deadly, devastating fire. She expects to just interview survivors and document the history of the Camp Fire for her graduate thesis. She shares a troubled past that allows her to connect with hurting people — everyone, that is, except for Deputy Sheriff Evan Millet.  Evan is distant and angry. He resents Sunny’s intrusion and does not trust her mission. However, he also cannot ignore a slow attraction begin to grow in the shadow of despair. One never knows what they will find in the ashes of tragedy. 

Prepare for a sweet story that slowly builds, takes the reader on a twisting journey, and concludes with a satisfying finale. Amid devastation and loss, one does not expect to find romance, but it can happen. However, the story also has some drawbacks. First, not everyone is familiar with California geography and those who are not might well keep a map handy. There is much telling of the character’s thoughts, which distracted from the reading flow. Items were unclear, such as why Evan was thinking of leaving a town where he still had a job, and which planned to rebuild and recover. There were loads of repeated rehashing of conversations, which bogged down the story, conflicts were largely mistakes or misunderstanding, most of which were “too” convenient.  Lastly, Evan’s initial treatment of Sunny seemed unnecessarily harsh and made it hard to like him at first. Once he warmed up to her and learned to trust a bit, their slow romance was enjoyable to watch grow.  

Emerson Matthews