Melody Carlson: Under a Summer Sky

By Kelly Bridgewater

High school art teacher Nicole Anderson is looking forward to a relaxing summer in Savannah, house-sitting and managing an art gallery for a family friend. The house is luxurious in a way that only old money could make it, and the gallery promises interesting days in a gorgeous setting. Yet it isn't long before her ideal summer turns into more than she bargained for: a snooty gallery employee who's determined to force her out, a displaced adolescent roosting in the attic, and two of Nicole's close childhood friends--who also happen to be brothers--vying for her attention.

With a backdrop of a beautiful historical city, incredible architecture, and even an alleged ghost or two, combined with the opportunity for romance . . . anything can happen!

Bestselling and award-winning author Melody Carlson invites readers to spend the summer surrounded by beauty and tantalizing possibilities for the future.

From Amazon

My Thoughts:

Under a Summer Sky by Melody Carlson is a quick read with an interesting plot. From the first chapter, I was drawn into the story of Nicole as she finished up the school year as an art teacher and moved into the position of an art gallery manager. I enjoyed spending time with Nicole and watched as she took over the art gallery and tried to be a mother figure to Bernie, Alex's daughter. Alex and Ryan are the sons of the owner of the art gallery. While I haven't seen the plot done in another book, it did bring images of Jennifer Aniston working in the art gallery in The Break-up. The romance is downplayed a lot. Nicole does have two brothers trying to grab her attention, but I don't remember Nicole ever falling in love with one over the other and listening to her internal dialogue about her emotions. This wasn't a typical romance novel is that respect. I really enjoyed that to be honest. Sometimes in contemporary romances, the feelings can be up-played so the reader really understands the feelings of the characters. If you aren't a fan of deeply spiritual romance novels, but love to be swept away in a romance, than this might be the book for you. Carlson really doesn't lay on the spiritual elements. This would be a good book for fans of secular romance books. Overall, this was a quick read that I didn't mind spending a couple of hours with.

I received a complimentary copy of Under a Summer Sky by Melody Carlson from Revell Publishing, and the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

When you read a romance novel, what is an element that has to be there (besides the obvious)?