Thank you so much to St Martin's Griffin for the advance copy!

This book will be published on May 21, 2024.

This is my second book by Tarah DeWitt and after falling in love with her characters in Funny Feelings, I knew I would enjoy her other books!
Did this one hit the same way - not right away but in the second half it really took off! 
Tarah made me want to visit Spunes, OR and go to the restaurant that Fisher helped set up.

"It's been a privilege to fall in love with you, Sage."

I absolutely loved Sage!! She has been one of my favorite female characters that I have read recently. I just love her resourcefulness, her strong will and especially her relationship to those in the community. Her and her brothers crack me up and felt so believable. I also love how she took in Indy and was able to relate to her as they both lost their mother at a young age.

Fisher Lange was such a fish out of water (no pun intended) and she made him feel comfortable in the town. And I love how he came to her rescue when she was faced to face with her former long time boyfriend. It also was beautiful to see how Fisher's relationship with his niece Indy grew from the start of the book to the end. 

"Do you not like my driving?"
"No. I just prefer to keep my hands occupied."

I am not a fan of slow burns but I know that we have to have slow burns in romances. I think where I struggled is I accidentally read two slow burns in a row so I think that was part of my issue. Comparing though to the book prior to this, the relationship between Sage & Fisher was so much stronger and playful. They just seemed like they just had such fun time together and were just so attractive to each other.  They both knew each were it for them but it was too late and Fisher had to go back to his life on the East Coast. 

I love that this was a dual POV so we did get to see both sides! 

If you are looking for a chef from the city & a teacher from a small town entangled in a summer fling - check this out!