Seaside Lovers (Love in Bloom: Seaside Summers) (Love in Bloom: Seaside Summers, #7)

by Melissa Foster

[Lynn]

This is my first Seaside Summers book, but that doesn't matter because it's always so easy to fall into a new Melissa Foster novel.

Escaping to Wellfleet MA and slipping under the radar is what Parker Collins needs to do as she mourns the death of the only person she called family; Bert Stein, a photographer who helped her become an actress. She's staying in a house built for her Collins Children's Foundation; a project close to her heart. To ease her heartbreak she watches horror movies whilst drowning her sorrows with a bottle of tequila whilst munching on her usual go to emotional crutch: M&M's, surrounded by her unpacked suitcase, an empty pizza box and her beloved dog, Christmas. In a booze inflicted fog, she's shocked that the man she's been emailing for months suddenly appears in her house. He's every bit as gorgeous as she'd imagined, only right now she's intoxicated with candy stuck in her hair!

Grayson Lacroux is a designer/steelworker who has been helping actress Parker Collins with designs for her charity. They've been emailing each other for months, discussing ideas for CCF, but as time has gone by their messages have become more than just business. When he decides to go check measurements for a railing, Grayson heads for the house in Wellfleet and lets himself in, not knowing it's occupied. He's shocked to see Parker in a drunken, dishevelled state, but intuition tells him she's hurting and all he wants to do is assist and comfort her.

Parker and Grayson's relationship takes off quickly after they meet, as ten months of exchanging emails cement their need for getting to know each other on a personal level. Grayson is perfect for Parker. He's her rock, not phased by her fame and cautiously sympathetic to her need for keeping out of the spotlight...until a photo of THAT kiss in the elevator appears in US Weekly! The supporting character ensemble becomes a warming group of friends that create a family-like bond around Parker.

I love the unexpected plot twist and how a chain of events gives Parker what she's craved for. How Grayson's hunch and actions are done out of love, even though his interference wasn't viewed that way. How two people together realise that they've made mistakes but importantly come to the conclusion they are meant to be together and not apart.

I don't bother checking the blurb when I read a Melissa Foster book anymore because I know I'm going to be reading a book with well-developed protagonists, a plotline with twists and entertaining secondary characters who add so much to a story yet don't distract from the H&H. Seaside Lovers ticks all these boxes and why Melissa has become my go-to author. I'm never disappointed with anything I've read by her. Long may it continue.

***arc received courtesy of World Literary Press via Tasty Book Tours***