Review | Summer at Buttercup Beach by Holly Martin

Published by Bookouture on June 30, 2017

Summer at Buttercup Beach is the story of Rome and Freya, something I have been looking forward to reading ever since I finished Spring at Blueberry Bay back in April.

Everybody knows Freya and Rome should be together. Freya’s in love with Rome. Rome is obviously in love with Freya too. Why are they not together yet? is something I screamed, internally, with every page. They are best friends who work together, who have great chemistry together, who suspect the other one has feelings for them but still won’t do anything about it. There are lots of miscommunications and misunderstandings throughout. You could call it frustrating or you could call it Holly Martin working her magic, weaving the romance beautifully into her storytelling with sweet and sexy moments, little twists and turns and ultimately an ending that will leave you satisfied.

Rome is a really interesting character. He has been widowed since his fiancée died in a rollercoaster incident but whilst he did care for her, she wasn’t the absolute love of his life and his feelings are a bit different to what you would expect from the typical fictional representation of a widow. He feels guilty that he doesn’t remember her or miss her as much as he probably should, but he also doesn’t know whether they would have lasted as despite getting engaged, they didn’t really have many plans to start a family or settle down. I felt like his relationship with his fiancée gave his character a different edge. He was also, of course, like one of Holly’s typical characters, attractive, funny, kind, popular with other women and a sweetheart deep down. I found a lot of the things he did were quite sentimental such as his beautiful stained glass makes, and he’s definitely a character to fall in love with.

Freya has been hurt before after her ex cheated on her. She dreams of getting married and having a big family, but she feels that is an impossible dream, especially since the man she is in love with sees her as more of a work partner than a partner in marriage. Freya and Rome are best friends but Freya wants so much more. She’s jealous of the time he spends with other women and every time she’s beginning to think he may feel something for her too, something happens and she’s right back to believing they will never be together. Freya is very likeable and it’s easy to root for her straight away and will on that happy ending she is dreaming of.

After adoring the beginning of this series in Spring at Blueberry Bay, it was a real treat to return to Hope Island and meet some recurring characters and follow another dreamy love story. This one started a bit slowly but it wasn’t too long before I was completely wrapped up in the stunning seaside setting and wishing it was real. Though Holly always describes her settings beautifully, this took a slight backseat in Summer at Buttercup Beach as I loved the detail of Rome’s stained glass business even more. All his creations sounded utterly beautiful and I loved the meaning behind each piece. There was something very sentimental about the work Rome did without being overly sappy. The creativity he shares in his personal makes just made his character even more appealing.

I loved getting to catch up with Bella and Isaac again. I loved the little teasers as to what was to come in the next book in the series. I loved the laugh-out-loud moments and the sizzling romance.

Again Holly Martin has delivered another enthralling, romantic story full of humour, charm and chemistry. What more can you ask for? Eden and Dougie’s story is next up this Christmas, and I cannot wait to tuck in.