I thought this was a charming holiday read. The romance between Beck and Lila was fine. Yes, there were sparks but I was not feeling them as strongly as I would have liked to. For one; It took me a while to warm up to Lila. Yet, when it came to Beck, I had no issues. This has to do a lot with the fact that he warmed me heart with how kind and good he is with Cade. Little children are a guaranteed winner.

In fact, Cade may have stole some of the spotlighting this story. I would not get enough of him. Every time that he appeared in the story, I was smiling. Back to Lila and Beck. They kind of had an hot/cold relationship for a good portion of the story. Which did not help with me feeling the love between them.

The other characters in this story helped. They were engaging and people that I would want to hang out with. This book may be part of the Summer Island series but it has all the vibes of a nice holiday read. ( )

Good continuation of the series. It opens with a rush as Lila, who is inn-sitting for her older sister Meg, sees a bulldozer knocking down trees behind the inn. She rushes out in her pajamas and slippers determined to stop it. There she encounters Beck, real estate developer, and owner of the land. She's stunned to hear of the plans to build houses on that hill and furious over what it will mean to the inn. She's determined to stop him in his tracks. Beck, who made his first appearance in the previous book (TheOne Who Stays) has had these plans in the works for months. He's not too happy about Lila's attempts to interfere, but with the weather being bad he believes he has time to change her mind. Neither one counts on the intense attraction between them.

I liked both Lila and Beck, though Lila had her moments when she really irritated me. She came to Summer Island for two reasons. First, to give her sister Meg, who owns the inn, a chance to leave the island for a few weeks with her boyfriend. Second, she is looking for peace since losing her job when her boss took exception to her resisting his unwanted advances. Lila feels that she was a bad sister to Meg when Meg went through her medical problems years earlier and, as a result, is determined to protect the inn and the family legacy. She also struggles with the belief that she handled the situation with her boss all wrong. Though she believes herself to be a selfish person, Lila is actually a woman with a lot to give. Beck is a self-made man who is looking to find some peace of his own at the same time he brings progress to the island community. Dealing with the recent death of his father, he faces regrets over their estrangement. His way of life versus his father's drove a wedge between them that kept Beck from spending much time with his family.

I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Beck and Lila. The sparks were there from the moment they met. Despite the circumstances, Lila can't help but notice Beck as a sexy man. As much as her actions irritate him, Beck is intrigued and attracted to the woman in the PJs and slippers trying to stop a bulldozer. Lila is determined to stay angry at him, and Beck wants to win her over. There is a rollercoaster of emotions as their attraction pulls them together, but Lila's feelings about his plans cause her to push him away. I loved the scene with the Christmas tree, as Beck tries to soften her anger. Lila desperately tries to hang on to her anger, but Beck's kindness and persistence chips away at it. But when the passion that flares between them explodes, Lila is beset with guilt over "sleeping with the enemy" and pushes him away. Over the next couple of weeks, they are constantly drawn together. In spite of their differences in the matter of the trees, in everything else they are well-matched. I loved how they shared their problems with each other. It was heartwarming to see how Beck believed and supported Lila over her situation with her ex-boss and the difference it made to Lila's feelings about herself. Beck also shared his feelings about his father with Lila, and talking to her gave him the boost he needed to face his past. I ached for them both as their feelings for each other grew, but the issue of the trees remained between them. The ending was terrific as they both learned the value of compromise. Their big moment had a feeling of "The Gift of the Magi" about it.

There were a few subplots going on also. My favorite was Beck's friendship with the little boy who lived next door. Five-year-old Cade was adorable, and I loved the way he brought out the lighter side of Beck. The snowman building scene was sweet and fun. When a blizzard stranded everyone for Christmas, I loved how Beck made sure that Cade's holiday wasn't ruined. Beck also featured in a subplot with Suzanne. He was interested in her in the first book, but because she was still grieving her late husband, she resisted his interest. In this one she begins to soften toward him, leaving Beck caught between two women. Dahlia also has someone special in her life, but issues of her own prevent her from letting it progress past a certain point. I hope to see more of this relationship in the next book.

Part of this book also dealt with Lila and the situation with her boss. Her feelings about what happened and how she handled it are very realistic. I ached for her and her hurt over her friend's reaction, and her reluctance to tell her family what happened. I liked the effect her relationship with Beck had on her outlook and her decisions about the future. I would have liked to get a little more detail about the results of those decisions. ( )