Book Review - Summer in the City by Emma Jackson -

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Title: Summer in the City

Author: Emma Jackson

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Orion Dash

Publication Date: 8th June 2020

Rating: 5 Stars

Sometimes the one thing you're looking for is right in front of you...

Stephen is on a very personal mission to find his father as per the wishes in their mother's will. But he has no idea where to start, not that he's going to tell anyone that... When Noelle, native New Yorker, daughter of a detective and desperate for a distraction from the novel she's been struggling to write, offers to help, it feels like the perfect solution.

Except the last time she spoke to Stephen he thought they'd be seeing the New Year in together and instead she stood him up and sold him out! Stephen's big enough and been around the block enough times to understand that all is fair in love and war, isn't he? But when Stephen accepts her offer and they begin their search across the city, it soon becomes clear that the weather isn't the only thing that's heating up.

A heartwarming summer romance perfect for fans of Heidi Swain, Sarah Morgan and Holly Martin.

I really enjoyed this New York based romance.   

There was a clear chemistry between Stephen and Noelle from the first time they meet in this book.  They had met in the authors's debut novel A Mistletoe Miracle, but that book focuses as far as I can tell on their best friend and brother, so this is a standalone book.  There are plenty of references to what must have happened in that first book which probably are good reminders for anyone that had forgotten, but frustrated me slightly as I twigged I must have missed out on another good book and possibly interesting background. 

Noelle is a cosy mystery author who is having trouble with her latest book and up against a tight deadline. So she decides helping Stephen with his search for his father, may get her creative juices flowing, as it will involve some real life detecting. 

I loved seeing how they tried to track down a man who didn't really want to be found, and seeing how Noelle's impressions of Stephen change as she gets to know him. 

I also enjoyed Noelle's really large family, and seeing their dynamics play out, as she has 6 brothers and sisters! 

The book is written in the first person and we get sections from both Noelle and Stephen, often swapping mid chapter.  Which was confusing for the first couple of chapters and then you get used to it, and it really workds, as I loved getting to know their inner thoughts. 

It's just an all around lovely romance, that was a good way to escape real life for a bit, while you lose yourself in New York, and Noelle and Stephen's stories. 

Thank you to Orion and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily,