REVIEW: The Love We Keep by Toni Blake

The Love We Keep: Icy steps lead to Happily Ever After – a deeply emotional and poignant finish to Toni Blake’s Summer Island series.

Suzanne Quinlan is a relative newcomer to Summer Island. She hasn’t experienced very many isolated winters there yet. Summer Island is a well-loved tourist location until winter turns the island into an isolated location with the ferry from the mainland unable to run back and forth. Many shop owners close their shops for the icy cold duration. Suzanne owns the florist shop, Petal Pushers and joins her fellow shop owners in this winter hiatus. This leaves Suzanne with plenty of time on her hands.

Zack Sheppard is a fisherman who is away from Summer Island most of the time from April to November. He returns for the winter and holes up in his apartment above his aunt’s cafe, Dahlia’s Cafe. He has spent the last six months in a funk since his breakup with Meg Sloan because he wasn’t able to make a commitment.

Present day. Suzanne and Meg have had a wee bit of a falling out. Their friendship is a little shaky. Dahlia Delany, the third friend in Suzanne’s circle, has just left the island to winter in the warmth of the south, somewhere with sunshine and sandy beaches. Then it happens. Zack decides to make a trip to the grocery store, hits a patch of ice on the steps from his second floor apartment and falls down the steps. Somehow he finds that he can’t get up so he just lays there on the cold, snowy ground. Meg Sloan steps out of her inn and sees him so she rushes over to help. Even with her help Zack can’t get up. Meg calls for help to transport him to the local doctor’s office and then calls Suzanne to meet her at the doctor’s office. The end result is the only place for Zack to recuperate with twenty-four hour oversight is Suzanne’s home. And so it begins…

The Love We Keep by Toni Blake is the third book in her Summer Island series. This story is filled with poignacy, emotional upheaval and some difficult revelations and outcomes. Toni Blake does an excellent job of telling this story with just the right amount of humor and seriousness. The two main characters, Suzanne and Zack were introduced in the previous books in the series. Getting to know them better in this book explains much about their previous actions. I love how this author had Suzanne and Zack explore their pasts and work together to move on to a better future. This book is a compelling small-town romance that will make you laugh and cry.
 

Book Info:

Publication: January 28th 2020 | HQN | Summer Island #3

Toni Blake returns with the most emotional, tender novel yet in her enchanting Summer Island series.

Suzanne Quinlan has been through a lot lately, so nothing sounds better than a peaceful winter in her cozy cottage on Summer Island. The last thing she wants is a massive lifestyle adjustment–especially when it comes in the form of an injured Zack Sheppard, who is sullen, angry and completely dependent on her.

Zack values his independence above all else. But when he falls down his icy steps, he finds himself with a serious leg injury and in need of round-the-clock care. The only person available to help is his ex’s best friend, Suzanne. It doesn’t hurt that Suzanne is far more attractive than he ever realized, but he’s never been one to settle, and he sure isn’t going to start now.

As Suzanne and Zack grow closer, they both realize they’re in this thing more deeply than they ever thought, and it’s started to cause tension in their small, close-knit community, too. Will Zack be able to commit this time, and will Suzanne be able to trust him? One thing is certain: come spring, the lives and loves of Summer Island will never be the same.