Suddenly Last Summer by Sarah Morgan

Name: Sudednly Last Summer
Author: Sarah Morgan
Format: kindle edition
Pages: 384 pages
Release date: 1st July 2014
Publisher: Harlequin

Teaser

Fiery French chef Élise Philippe is having a seriously bad day. Not only have the opening day plans for her beloved café fallen apart, but Sean O'Neil is back in town, and looking more delectable than ever. Last summer, they shared an electrifying night together…and the memories have Élise really struggling to stick to her one-night-only rule! Her head knows that eventually Sean will be leaving, so all she can do is try to ignore her heart before she spontaneously combusts with lust.

Being back in Vermont—even temporarily—is surgeon Sean O'Neil's worst nightmare. For Sean, returning home to the Snow Crystal Resort means being forced to confront the reasons and the guilt he feels about rejecting his family's rural lifestyle years ago. But discovering that Élise has settled in Vermont and still sets his blood racing is a very welcome distraction! Thinking he can persuade her into a replay of last summer is tempting, but remembering how good they are together is going to make walking away more difficult than he could imagine…


My thoughts

I kindly received Suddenly Last Summer in exchange of an honest review by the publisher via Netgalley.

I requested Suddenly Last Summer on Netgalley ages ago. After weeks of silence I was over the moon when I received the email I have been approved for the title.

Suddenly Last Summer is the second book of the O'Neil's series.  Last year in December I've read the first part calles Sleigh Bells in the Snow which I really adored. You can read my review here.

The story brings us back to Snow Crystal Resort in Vermont. A wonderful place to spend your summer or winter holiday. High Mountains, lakes and breath-taking landscape. Snow Crystal has been in the family for many generations, and it is more to the O'Neil family that just a business. It's also their home. All three of the O'Neil brothers grew up there. Jackson, Sean and Tyler. Suddenly Last Summer features the story of Sean and Élise. Élise is the chef of the Snow Crystal Restaurant. Their story began 'last summer'. Both of them agreed it's just sex, with no strings attached. Although they can't secretly stop thinking about each other since that night.

Sean is a man who has his priorities. Work comes always first. He has always known excatly what he wants, always clear about his goals. Sean is surgeon, obsessed with his work and he loves sex with no commitments. He doesn't do relationships. Élise on the other hand protects herself with everything she has to not let anybody close to her. She messed up her life through a series of bad choices and Jackson had given her a way out.

When Walter, Sean's grandfather, has a heart attack he dropped everything to rush home to his family. Sean and Walter had their arguments in their past, so Sean doesn’t get a warm welcome from his grandfather. Snow Crystal and the family is everything for Walter. He can't understand when anybody of the family doesen't want to spent every minute of their lives in Snow Crystal. That's why he is so angry with Sean. He always dreamed of being a surgeon. And he dremead of doing it in a large, busy hospital far away from the lake and forest of Snow Crytal. The potential of surgery to change and saves lives excited him in a way that living a quite life at Snow Crystal didn't. He didn't want to spent his days mending leaking roofs and mantainig trails so that tourist could curn them up again. He wanted to fix people's bones and help them to walk again. He couldn't understand why anyone born and bread in Snow Crystal would want something more. Something different.

Back at home Sean and Élise start spending more and more time together. Sean is helping Élise to open up the Cafè for the opening party in time. The chemistry and the tension between them is
electrifying. Èlise is doing her best trying to keep Sean at distance when he tries to convince her a two-night stand wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Will they overcome their fear of relationships and get involved with each other again? Will Élise open up and reveal her secrets? There is only one way to find out ...

I clearly have to say that I didn't love this book as much I loved Sleigh Bells in the Snow. I loved being back at Snow Crystal. This place is so full of traditons and families. The O'Neil's family stick together in difficult times. That's one thing I truly love about them.

When I've first read about Èlise in Sleigh Bells in the Snow, I thought she is such a fun, quirky and enjoyable character. In this book, she is  a strong, loyal, stubborn, feisty, caring character. Unfortunatly it was very difficult for me to warm up with her at all. I couldn't empathize with her, even after she told Sean all her secrets. Finally everything made sense but still she was not likeble for me, I just felt sorry for her. Luckily Sean was more likeable to me. I pretty much liked him from the start. 

I love Sarah Morgan's writing style. It's very captivating. Even as I was not Élise biggest fan, it kept me turnin the pages until the very end. I loved how she described the developement of Seans and Èlise relationship, especially when it got a bit steamy. It's fun, flirty and sexy ;)

I can't wait for the final part in the Snow Crystal trilogy. Maybe This Christmas will be out on 28th October 2014. It will focus on Tyler and his childhood friend Brenna, who is also working at Snow Crystal.