Jen’s review of Suddenly Last Summer (O’Neil Brothers #2) by Sarah Morgan
Fiery French chef Élise Philippe is having a seriously bad day. Not only have the grand opening plans for her beloved café fallen apart, but Sean O’Neil is back in town and looking more delectable than ever. Memories of the electrifying night they shared last summer leave Élise very tempted, but she knows all too well that eventually Sean will be leaving…again.
Being back in Vermont—even temporarily—is surgeon Sean O’Neil’s worst nightmare. Returning home to the Snow Crystal Resort means confronting the guilt he feels about rejecting his family’s lifestyle years ago. But discovering that Élise is still in Vermont and still sets his blood racing is a very welcome distraction! Remembering last summer and how good they were together is going to make walking away more difficult than he could imagine….
Dr. Sean O’Neil has returned to Snow Crystal, Vermont and his family’s resort to help after his grandfather’s recent health scare. The problem is, Sean can barely tolerate being in Snow Crystal. He is a highly driven and sought after surgeon, and being back in Snow Crystal just reminds him of the pressure the O’Neil family puts on him to move back and the burden (as he sees it) of the resort. One part of Snow Crystal that he doesn’t mind, though, is the resort’s chef, Elise Philippe. Sean and Elise had a one night stand the previous summer, and, of course, neither has ever forgotten that night. Unlike Sean, Elise adores Snow Crystal and sees it as a haven, not a burden. She can’t imagine leaving, and he can’t imagine staying, but as Sean spends more time at home, the two start to get closer and develop a relationship in spite of themselves.
I haven’t yet read Book 1 in the O’Neil Brothers series though it’s been in my TBR pile for a while, but I had no problem jumping into the saga with this book. It’s clear this is a family that loves each other deeply, and the resort is a major force in the family, for good and for bad. Sean is a really interesting character, too. He definitely seems more ambivalent about the family business than his brothers. He’s confident in his medical skills and proud of what it took to get them. It’s easy to see how his family, who are so tied up with the resort, could fail to understand Sam’s drive and why he wouldn’t want to return home. And it’s easy to see why that would make Sam resentful and make him stay away even more. Once he sets aside his fear and actually talks to his brother and his grandfather he learns that everything isn’t as he thought, but his earlier feelings also weren’t unreasonable.
Another thing I really like about the book is the conflict between Sean and Elise. He has good (albeit a bit myopic) reasons for staying away and for being distant from his family. Conversely, Elise has very good (and traumatic) reasons for loving Snow Crystal and the O’Neils. Both love their careers and are very, very good at them–how could they ever make something work if one won’t come home and one won’t leave home? I also loved how at first Sean sees that conflict selfishly in terms of his own love/hate relationship with Snow Crystal. It’s only once he pulls his head out if his ass long enough to really look at Elise that he realizes her problems and fears are a lot bigger than his. His relationship with Elise shows Sean that his family and the business don’t have to be a stone around his neck, and he shouldn’t take them for granted like he has always done.
The conflict seems so intractable that I guess I was a little disappointed it was resolved sort of quickly. I won’t give the details, but there wasn’t much in the way of discussion or actual logistics worked out. It felt a little too easy to me. There was also a sort of superfluous section where Elise goes to Paris and Sean follows her. Nothing much happened there. I get that it was supposed to be Elise facing her fears (and Sean attempting to help), but it just felt sort of unnecessary, like it almost could have happened anywhere. I wanted more genuine Paris!
Despite those minor flaws, I really enjoyed this book and am planning on going back to read Book 1 soon. If you enjoy contemporary romances with great dialogue, interesting characters, and a mix of humor and emotion, I think this book will appeal.
Grade: 4.25 out of 5
This book is available from Harlequin. You can purchase it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The first book, Sleigh Bells in the Snow, was one of my favorite books last year! I think you will really like it. I can’t wait to read the new one. Thanks for the review!