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Synopsis

Summerhill, Book 5 

Summer Welles wants the fairy tale.

The illegitimate daughter of Reginald Summerhill, the Earl of Amberlin, she listened to her mother’s stories about the Summerhill girls all her life. In her mind, Summer was part of the stories too—living in the castle, wearing fancy dresses, and falling in love with Prince Charming.

Her wish came true. Mostly. She lives in the Summerhill mansion. She has stepsisters—nice ones who don’t make her clean the chimney. She even has a magical wedding dress waiting for her special day. The only thing missing is the perfect man.

She knows exactly who he is, and she’s going to confront him at the annual Midnight Masquerade Ball. What Summer didn’t count on was mistaking a masked frog for her prince.

Once she kisses the mysterious man, he won’t go away. And he’s not sweet or charming or princely. He seems more interested in ravishing her rather than riding off into the sunset with her, and—worse—she’s tempted to let him.
Her fairy tale at stake, Summer’s faced with her own quest that neither frog nor prince can rescue her from: sacrifice her Happily Ever After, or turn her back on the one man who makes her feel alive?

Kelley’s Review

This is a love story with a twist. I adored this read. You can’t help but fall in love with Summer after everything she has been through. Summer only recently found out that she is the illegitimate child of Reginald Summerhill. She had no idea that he had another family. Because of an act of fate she is accepted into the Summerhill family and has begun to form an amazing bond with her half siblings and their mother. Now she wants a few of them have. A man who is good and kind to share the rest of her life with. She believes she has found that man and he is Ryan Huber. Ryan works in the same building as she and she has been pinning for him from afar. He gives to charity and is handsome and she can tell from his eyes that there is kindness in him. The problem is that Ryan just announced his engagement and Summer feels she might have missed her chance at true love. So she decides she is going to confront him at a masquerade ball with a kiss and that he will be swept off his feet just like the prince is in all the fairy tales she read as a child.

Jon Smith has been hired to check into Ryan. There are questions about whether or not he might me misappropriating funds. So Jon goes undercover as a favor to an old friend as a very wealthy man looking to invest some money. The last thing Jon saw coming was Summer Welles. He ran into her on an elevator and listened as she spoke to her sister about being Ryan’s fiancée. Jon thought Ryan was a very lucky man. You can only imagine the shock and awe when Summer kisses him by mistake at the masquerade ball. There is undeniable chemistry right away but there is no way that Jon is interested in a kind of relationship even if the woman makes his heart race. He has plans to retire. Besides she wants Ryan not him.

I loved how Kate wove a tale of deceiving appearances. You really can’t judge a book by its cover. This story had a fun twist that I really enjoyed. The banter between Jon and Summer had me laughing out loud. Kate does a great job with character development. Jon is a broken man who just wants to close up shop so he can disappear from it all. She brings Jon around to coming to the realization that retirement might not be what it is cracked up to be. Summer is full of life and hides behind her black suits. She wants to be noticed, but then she doesn’t. The unwanted chemistry between Jon and Summer is sizzling.

I have truly adored this series. It has this historical feel in modern times. I am so excited to see what Summerhill girl will be married off next. If you are a fan of Historical or Contemporary Romance you will love Once Upon A Dream as well as the other books in this series. It has been a favorite of mine and I am really looking forward to visiting Summerhill again soon.

About the Author

Kate has tangoed at midnight with a man in blue furry chaps, dueled with flaming swords in the desert, and strutted on bar tops across the world and back. She’s been kissed under the Eiffel Tower, had her butt pinched in Florence, and been serenaded in New Orleans. But she found Happy Ever After in San Francisco with her Magic Man.

Kate’s the bestselling author of the Laurel Heights Novels, as well as the Pillow Talk and Guardians of Destiny series. She’s been translated into several languages and is quite proud to say she’s big in Slovenia. All her books are about strong, independent women who just want love.

Most days, you can find Kate in her favorite café, working on her latest novel. Sometimes she’s wearing a tutu. She may or may not have a jeweled dagger strapped to her thigh…

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