REVIEW: Summer State of Mind by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Summer State of Mind by Kristy Woodson Harvey: Sometimes starting over looks nothing like what you planned.

Daisy Stevens leaves everything behind after the worst day of her career, trading the intensity of the NICU for a quieter life in Cape Carolina. She’s not looking for anything permanent—just space, simplicity, and a chance to breathe again. But from the moment she arrives, things don’t stay quiet for long.

Mason Thaysden never expected to still be here. An injury pulled him away from the future he thought he’d have, leaving him in a town that feels both familiar and unfinished. When he and Daisy find themselves at the center of an abandoned baby’s story, their lives begin to shift in ways neither of them saw coming.

What starts as a temporary reset slowly turns into something deeper—connections that feel harder to walk away from, a community that pulls them in, and a situation that forces both Daisy and Mason to confront what they’ve been avoiding. But as the truth behind the baby surfaces, everything they’ve started to build is put at risk.

Summer State of Mind was a warm, character-driven romance that blends family, community, and tangled emotions into a story about finding where you belong and choosing the kind of love that’s worth it.

There’s something about the way Daisy and Mason come together through those quiet, everyday moments—the showing up, the slow lowering of their walls, the choice to stay—that pulls you into their story

Themes
🌊 Healing and starting over
👶 Care, protection, and connection
🏡 Community and belonging
💞 Emotional growth
🌱 Choosing your path

Tropes
🌤️ Grumpy x sunshine
🏠 Small-town romance
👶 Found family
💞 Slow burn
🎭 Community storylines

Summer State of Mind is a heartwarming romance about two people finding their way back to themselves. It’s about healing, second chances, and the kind of love that grows through showing up, day by day. Perfect for readers who love small-town settings, found family, and romances built on steady, meaningful moments.

Book Info:

Publication: Published: May 5th, 2026 | Gallery Books |
After the worst day in her professional life, burnt-out NICU nurse Daisy Stevens runs to Cape Carolina, North Carolina, looking for a new life—and possibly new romance. On her first day at her “simpler” job, high school baseball coach Mason Thaysden discovers an abandoned baby, sending ripples through the entire tight-knit town of Cape Carolina.

Mason is still struggling to reconcile the scars of the injury that kept him out of the big leagues, stuck in his hometown, and searching for a way out. This newcomer and the child they’ve saved together might be just the motivation he needs to stay put. Sparks fly as Mason acquaints Daisy with Cape Carolina, introducing her to his friends and family, including his batty Aunt Tilley, who is looking for relief from long-buried family secrets and her own fresh start.

But as Daisy becomes increasingly attached to this abandoned child, and begins facing her own demons in the process, a startling discovery is made that threatens to rip the entire town of Cape Carolina apart, placing Daisy, Mason, and Tilley in the center of the storm. In a novel that proves that “Kristy Woodson Harvey is (the) go-to for elevated beach reads” (People), they will each learn that with love, understanding—and a community theater production of Hello, Dolly!—sometimes life conspires to bring us just exactly where we belong.
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