#DFRAT Review: Slow Summer Kisses by Shannon Stacey.

Posted June 27, 2012 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Rowena’s review of Slow Summer Kisses by Shannon Stacey.

Hero: Cameron Mayfield
Heroine: Anna Frazier

Anna Frazier is used to living life at 100 mph, but being downsized out of a job in the financial industry has her permanently stalled. With nowhere to go, go, go, Anna hails a cab to her grandparents’ neglected New Hampshire camp to plan her next move. It seems like a good idea—until she realizes there’s no takeout to be had and the boy next door has grown into a sexy but surly recluse.

Cameron Mayfield knows he can kiss his peace and quiet goodbye when Hurricane Anna blows in. She was loud and bossy as a ten-year-old—and besides developing some attractive curves, she hasn’t changed. Cam’s not looking for a relationship, especially not with a woman like Anna. He nearly broke down on that road once before. So why can’t he stop thinking about her?

It’s not long before their sizzling attraction leads to smoking-hot kisses. But as the days get shorter, Anna must decide if she’s found a new road to happiness, or just taken a detour.

I have to commend Shannon Stacey on writing what felt like a full length novel in 25,000 words. Usually when I’m reading novella’s, I’m left wanting so much more from the characters, from the story but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this story. I read the entire thing in one sitting and had a smile on my face the entire time.

This story follows Anna Frazier as she settles into her grandparents camp to learn how to relax. She was recently let go from her big finance job and she’s pretty worried about losing ground on the life she had and loved. After talking to her grandparents, her grandmother worried that she was going to make herself sick so she pleaded with Anna to head over to their camp house to give herself time to relax and regroup. Anna takes her up on the offer and heads out.

Cameron Mayfield lives right next door to Anna’s grandparents, year round and he loves it that way. After losing his Dad, he was worried that he was heading down the same road and wanted to slow his life down. So he headed back to the childhood camp that he used to spend his summers at and sets up shop. Now he lives a much slower paced life and it suits him just fine. Only thing missing from his life right now is a little female companionship and the last person he wants to fill that spot is his neighbors hurricane of a granddaughter, Anna.

Anna doesn’t drive so it’s hard to function in a small town without transportation. She’s a big city kind of gal and public transportation is how she got around there but here? Not going to happen so her surly neighbor, Cam Mayfield agrees to take her shopping and drive her around town. It’s all under the guise of “just being neighborly” but Anna knows that he’s a nice guy at heart and even though he’s a pain in her ass, she needs a ride and she’s going to take him up on his offer.

The chemistry between Cam and Anna was cute and totally noticeable. I spent most of the book with a cheesy smile on my face because the interactions between both characters were just too adorable for words. When they finally sealed the deal, it had enough steam to keep me turning the pages. I loved that he was a Red Sox fan and she was a Yankee fan. I loved that she was proud to be a Yankee fan even though he despised them. I thought Stacey did a fabulous job of entertaining the socks right off of me with this story. I seriously need to read more books by her. This one was great.

It was an enjoyable summer read and I definitely recommend it. Go forth and read this book, you won’t be disappointed.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

This book is available from Carina Press. You can buy it here in e-format.