REVIEW: Merritt and Her Childhood Crush by Emma St. Clair and Jenny Proctor

Merritt and Her Childhood Crush by Emma St. Clair and Jenny Proctor is a funny heartwarming book about getting a second chance at love with your childhood crush. The characters were funny, solid, and amazing. The story was cute, captivating, and entertaining. This is the story of Merritt and Hunter.

Merritt Markham’s live is in the toilet. Not only does she lose the promotion she has been working so hard to get but she finds out that her longtime boyfriend has been cheating on her. All she wants now is to get away from it all, so she packs her bags and heads for Oakley Island to help oversee the renovation of her late grandmother’s beach house. Being back on Oakly had fond memories for Merritt, it also brings her in close contact with the only guy that she has ever had a crush on, Hunter Williams. Since Hunter is the contractor working on the beach house, Merritt must confront their complicated past and her conflicted feelings about Hunter.

What I truly enjoyed the most about this book is the connection between Hunter and Merritt. They pick at each other, they banter with each other, and deep down, they are drawn to each other by feelings that neither are quite ready to through out in the universe. I loved this book from beginning to end and would highly recommend it for a funny, romantic read.

Book Info:

Publication: Published January 31, 2023 | Kindle Edition | Oakley Island Romcom #2

I said I’d never set foot on Oakley Island again. Not so long as HE lived there. But after my life implodes, I’m reconsidering EVERYTHING. Including my reasons for avoiding the first—and only—man I’ve ever loved.

I’m a high achiever. Driven. Maybe a little TOO driven.

So when my boyfriend confesses to cheating AND steals the promotion I’ve been working toward for years, I do the unthinkable for someone like me.

I break.

But the timing couldn’t be better for me to fall apart—I can escape to the idyllic Oakley Island and oversee the renovations on my late grandmother’s estate.

There’s just one tiny, massive, little problem: no one told me the contractor is the grown up version of the boy I fell in love with years ago.

He was my first love. My first kiss.

My first heartbreak.

Now, I’m faced with seeing Hunter daily. Being his boss. Forging a new dynamic that fits our adult selves.

Hunter is bigger. Bearded. Talks in grunts rather than words.

And has just as much hold on me as he ever did.

Trouble is, Hunter’s life is on Oakley. His daughter is on Oakley. And it was never my plan to stay here permanently.
Do I really want to risk having my heart broken a second time? More importantly, do I want to risk breaking his?

Merritt and Her Childhood Crush is a second chance at childhood first love romantic comedy. The Oakley Island Romcoms follow three very different sisters as they renovate the house they inherited and find love on the island along the way. The stories are standalone, but if you like continuous stories, we recommend reading them in order. Each book is closed door, with sizzling chemistry but no spice.