cover image All Summer Long

All Summer Long

Melody Carlson. Revell, $14.99 trade paper (320p) ISBN 978-0-8007-2358-3

Tia D’Amico, a budding chef fresh out of culinary school, longs to leave her monotonous job at her family’s restaurant in present-day Norton, Wash. She gets the chance when her aunt asks her to restore the restaurant aboard her aunt’s luxury yacht to its former glory. Tia moves to San Francisco with high hopes until she discovers that Leo Parker is to be the yacht’s newly hired captain. As a teenager, Tia secretly admired Leo while on a summer sailing trip. With Tia learning her new job and Leo involved with someone else, their romance gets off to a stuttering start. Readers will enjoy following the lovely and decent Tia as she figures out the business and struggles with secrets, loyalties, and the tug of her heart. The secondary story involving Tia’s aunt and her husband’s severe medical condition provides some breathing room from the primary love story’s march toward resolution. Tia’s faith guides her decisions, but never in an overt way. Instead, good food, renewed love, and the clear ocean make this winsome romance a perfect and inspiring summer read. (June)