Tag Archives: romance

Book Review Newsletter

Get your summer reading list ready!

I make it no secret that one of my favorite things to do in the summer is relax on the beach with a good book. It’s rejuvenating to escape reality for a little bit while I listen to the waves crash against the sand and smell the sweet salt air! I don’t know about you, but sometimes, the hardest part is finding the right book. I hope I can make that a little easier for you this summer! Starting Thursday, May 25th, I’ll be emailing a weekly newsletter featuring book reviews for some great summer reading books!

All you have to do is click the link below to sign-up!

http://www.dkhamiltonauthor.com/newslettersignup/

The Shellfish

I make it no secret that I love my hometown area, and the setting for The Other Side of Later reflects that.  The streets, the park, the businesses are based upon places that have a very special place in my heart.  The Shellfish, where Julia and Drew have their first date, is no different.  The Shellfish represents the restaurant I hope everyone has.  It’s the place you and friends head to catch up; it’s the place you and your spouse (or significant other) go for date night; it’s the place with familiar faces – even it’s not familiar names – whenever you walk in.  My Shellfish is The Anchorage Tavern.  It’s familiar and it’s one of the many places that make this area my home.  I hope you enjoy this excerpt from The Other Side of Later about The Shellfish.

The Shellfish was only a five minute drive from my house. It had been a local landmark and watering hole for generations. The building was built in the mid-1800s, and as the story goes, it transitioned from a hotel to a tavern over time, survived prohibition, and kept going strong ever since. While most restaurants along the bay became inundated with tourists during the summer months, the Shellfish almost always remained a local crowd. Summer nights saw the bar packed with not only the baby-faced 21 year olds, but also the old familiar faces of the baby-boomer era. Everybody drank; everybody danced; everybody was friends. The building itself was a spectacular site. Its four story Victorian structure with a large wrap around porch overlooking the bay was unique among the smaller shops and restaurants. Inside, I would always see the same several faces seated at their designated stools at the bar. I didn’t frequent the Shellfish enough for everyone to know my name, but it was always a familiar scene.

I hope you enjoyed the excerpt.  If you’d like to read more, please check out The Other Side of Later on Amazon.

Summer days at the beach…

Happy 4th of July!  Here at the Jersey Shore, Independence Day always signals that summer is in full swing.  The area is full of tourists – aka shoebies as us locals call them, days are warm and long, and beach days are plentiful.

The opening paragraph of Chapter 1 of The Other Side of Later always gives me a pang of nostalgia when I reread it.

Some of my favorite childhood memories are from summer days at the beach.  Squawking seagulls, rolling waves, ice cream men ringing their bells from the bulkhead, and lifeguard whistles comprised the soundtrack of my summers growing up.  It may sound rather cliché, but through the craziness of my early 20s, I always found comfort in living – and raising my son – in the same place that held so many good memories for me.  Each time I wiggled my toes in the sand, it took me back to a simpler time.

TheOtherSideofLater_summerdays

If you’re looking for another book to add to your summer reading list, check out The Other Side of Later on Amazon for only 99 cents!

Summer Reading Round-up…Part 1

It’s hard to believe it’s already the middle of June, and while I know summer doesn’t technically begin for another week, the summer season has been in full swing here at the Jersey Shore for several weeks now.  I’ve been lucky enough to take advantage of some beautiful, sunny beach days and gotten a good start on my summer reading list.

A couple weeks ago, I shared a few books that were at the top of my list to read this summer, and today, I want to share my quick reviews of them!

Summer at Rose Island by Holly Martin

My rating – 4 stars

My review:

I love it when authors revisit the same towns in several of their books. Summer at Rose Island is the third book in the White Cliff Bay series. I enjoyed not only meeting Darcy and Riley, but also revisiting characters from the first two White Cliff Bay books to see what they were up to.  It’s a sweet story with small town charm that was the perfect read for a day at the beach!

Summer at Oyster Bay by Jenny Hale

My rating – 5 stars

My review:

Summer at Oyster Bay is the perfect summer read! The small town in the Chesapeake Bay area is the perfect setting for this light-hearted, summer read!

This is the third book I’ve read by Jenny Hale, and I’m quickly becoming a big fan. She has such a way of creating dynamic relationships between characters. But the best part is the focus isn’t solely on romantic relationships, but also on ones between family members and friends, which makes all of her characters so relatable.

Make sure Summer at Oyster Bay is on your summer reading list this year!

So what’s next on my list?  I’m currently reading The One with the Engagement Party (Bridesmaids Part 1) by Erin Lawless, and then next up will be Kiss Me Forever by Barbara Freethy.  What’s on your summer reading list?  I’d love hear about what you’re reading so that I can check it out!