New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kristan Higgins is back with a hilarious and heartwarming new story about a rich girl who discovers that a little hard work may be just the thing she needs...

After her father loses the family fortune in an insider-trading scheme, single mom Parker Welles is faced with some hard decisions. First order of business: go to Gideon's Cove, Maine, to sell the only thing she now owns—a decrepit house in need of some serious flipping. When her father's wingman, James Cahill, asks to go with her, she's not thrilled...even if he is fairly gorgeous and knows his way around a toolbox.

Having to fend for herself financially for the first time in her life, Parker signs on as a florist's assistant and starts to find out who she really is. Maybe James isn't the glib lawyer she always thought he was. And maybe the house isn't the only thing that needs a little TLC.

Parker Welles has always lived the good life. She’s never had to worry about money as her father had made millions. She lives with her 5 year old son in the family home and lives off her trust fund. She is an author of a series of children’s books but has donated all of the proceeds to Save the Children.

When she finds out that her father has lost all of his money – an her and her sons trust funds – in an insider trading deal she’s shocked. She’s not sure what she’s going to do but she is strong and knows that she’ll make it through.

She is reminded that an aunt left her a home in a small town in Maine so she heads up there to flip the house and possibly then live off of the money for a while while she tries to find a job. Her son is on a 3 week trip with his father and she’s ready to rock and roll. The problem is that house she considers more a shack and the aunt was a hoarder. The house is a complete pit and she’s not sure she can fix it.

Her father’s now unemployed lawyer shows up to help her as he used to do carpentry before he became a lawyer. Parker has never cared for James Cahill as she just believes that he is her father’s lackey but she admits that she’s always been attracted to him. She also resents James a bit because her father treats him better than she treats her and like the son he never had.

James was smitten and in love with Parker from the moment he saw her. He has attended many family parties both with and without Parker’s father so he knows a lot about her. Though Parker treats him like he’s an non-entity he still doesn’t want to give up on his feelings for her.

Parker finally gives in to James and they start a “summer fling” but what happens when both of their feelings grow and then real life gets in the way?

This was a really good book made all the better by James. He was just a great guy. He was a man who knew what he wanted and wasn’t all that afraid to go after what he wanted. He would have done it earlier but Parker was always more emotionally unavailable.

The part I really didn’t care for in this book was Parker. It’s not that she was a bad person but her thinking at times really baffled me. I just didn’t get why she was so determined to push James away when he proved again and again what a great person he was. On that flip side of that I really couldn’t understand what James saw in Parker and kept coming back for. No, she wasn’t a bad person but she hadn’t ever treated him very well.

I have to say that there was one part at the end of the book that made me love James even more but if I tell you I’ll completely ruin it! Lol Just let me say that it was one of the sweetest things I’d ever read.

This was a really great story that had great characters for the most part. The secondary characters were wonderful and the citizens of the town in Maine were wonderful. I would have liked this story much, much better if I’d liked Parker more but despite that it was worth reading.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Gideon’s Cove