Shari Bartholomew
A wonderful start to a new series by Jennifer Bernard. Their first love, would it be their forever love? A wonderful summer seventeen years ago will set forever bonds of friendships and lost. Carly has returned to Lake Bittersweet after her father passes away only to find out her first love, Thomas is the fire chief, soon they can not deny the chemistry that they share. Soon Carley's friends show up to help support her in her father's business. Secrets will come out from their summer of seventeen years ago. This is a book that should not be missed. an emotional read with plenty of romance. Can't wait to read more in this series. Also excited to return to Lost Harbor for Trixie's story.
Anne Donaldson
By the end of this book, I had a deep need to know more about Steven Gault, so I’m really hoping future books will give us more. Jennifer Bernard has the ability to make her characters feel real, so there were several times that I desperately wanted to shake sense into Thomas! The bitterness the town aldermen show to the Blue Drake and the petty lengths they go to to sabotage the business leave a bitter taste in the mouth, but that is overshadowed by the way Carly and Thomas reconnect, and her understanding and grace. Carly herself is a joy to read, and the pact makes me think we have many more Lake Bittersweet stories ahead of us.
Penny Leidecker
I love it when Jennifer Bernard writes a new series. I’ve read many of her books and I believe she’s got another winner with this series starter. Carly and Thomas were in love, but he broke her heart, when he broke things off. Why would he do that? You’ll find out during the reading of this book. When Carly returns to Lake Bittersweet, Montana, she learns Thomas is a single father, but even more of a surprise is who he got pregnant. He got Brooke, one of her best friends, from back in the day, pregnant. Don’t start disliking him, like I did, lol. We’ll get to the where and why this happened. On top of being back in town where Thomas lives, she learns that the fire marshal has closed the Blue Drake, her late father’s club and resort. Oh, and guess who the fire marshal is. Thomas Cooper. I’m not leaving any spoilers, but I will say if you love a steamy read with wonderful characters, reconnecting with family and friends, some angst, and secrets, then you’re going to love this book. I loved that Trixie Tran from the Lost Harbor series is even in this story. Grab your copy and see what happens. I received an advance reader copy of this book and this is my voluntary and honest review.