Summer on Mirror Lake by JoAnn Ross (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"Summertime is the best time to lose yourself in the romance of Honeymoon Harbor…

When he lands in the emergency room after collapsing at the funeral of a colleague and friend, Wall Street hotshot Gabriel Mannion initially rejects the diagnosis of an anxiety attack. But when warned that if he doesn’t change his adrenaline-fueled, workaholic lifestyle he could end up like his friend, Gabe reluctantly returns to his hometown of Honeymoon Harbor to regroup.

As he adjusts to the sight of mountains instead of skyscrapers, Gabe discovers advantages to this small Pacific Northwest town he once couldn’t wait to escape. But it’s irresistible librarian Chelsea Prescott who, along with the two foster children she’s taken under her wing, makes slowing down seem like the best prescription ever.

Over the course of their summer romance, Gabe gets a taste of the life he might have had if he’d taken a different path. But with his return to New York City looming on the horizon, he’ll have to choose between the success he’s worked tirelessly for and a ready-made family who offers a very different, richly rewarding future…if he’ll only take the risk."

My Thoughts:

Summer on Mirror Lake felt like the perfect read to start off my summer reading!  I don't read nearly enough contemporary romances or small town romances - books like this always leave me wondering why.  There is just something so comforting about them and it almost reminds me of the feeling I get with the cozy mysteries I read.  I love the small town vibe, getting to know all of the characters, and the descriptions of the town itself.  I always feel like with books like this that these towns feel like real places that I could actually go and visit which is fun in itself!  In this book, Chelsea is the head librarian in the town's library and is just focused on living up to her mentor and former head librarian's expectations.  Gabe has come back to his hometown from the summer needing a break from the stress of his job.  These two meet and the sparks fly almost instantly.  I usually don't care for romances that happen super fast but it was different with this book.  Gabe and Chelsea decide to have a summer fling rather than a committed relationship and I think that worked for me.  It felt more like a fun thing than the insta-love that I cannot seem to get behind.  My favorite part of this book though were the two young foster girls that Chelsea becomes caught up with.  There was just something about these two girls that tugged at my heartstrings.  I was almost more focused on them getting their happy ever after compared to Chelsea and Gabe.  I do say almost there because really isn't it all tied up into one thing in the end?  My one and only complaint with this book was that I had a hard time keeping track of all of the characters.  I'm thinking that this is my fault though as I didn't realize that this was the third book in a series.  Looks like I've got a few books to catch up on now!  I did finally get a hang of the who's who by midway through the book which helped.  And overall, I was satisfied by the way that things played out in the end.  It was exactly what I was hoping for which left me feeling content and happy when the book was finished.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with this book and am looking forward to reading the previous books in this series.  This book has a summer vibe to it that I couldn't help but appreciate.  I feel like this book would be the perfect binge read while spent on a hot day at the beach.  Or curled up with during a late night baseball game on a summer evening like I did!  That definitely worked as well.  I think that fans of contemporary romance and just romance in general would enjoy this book.  You don't have to read these books in order necessarily (I sure didn't) but it may help you keep track of the characters better if you do.  And books like this are just the perfect type of read for this time of year in my opinion!  Recommended!

Bottom Line:  A great summer read and romance!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher and NetGalley as part of a TLC book tour.  Thoughts are my own.