A Man For The Summer

by Ruby Laska

A medical condition has left dentist Junior Atkinson with only a few more fertile months despite her tender age of twenty-eight. Junior barely has time to digest this news when she finds hunky travel writer Griff Ross in her chair with a hell of a toothache. Could he be the baby-daddy she needs?

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Ebooks, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Fiction, Adult

164 pages, ebook

First published November 4, 2012

About the author

Ruby Laska grew up in a small midwestern town, where her passions included state fairs, Vince Gill, and the local library. A recent West Coast transplant, she lives and works in Emeryville, California. When not writing, Ruby loves to explore San Francisco’s neighborhoods, stopping in at every shoe store and searching for the perfect cup of joe.

Ruby is the author of:

BLACK GOLD (Boomtown Boys Series)
BLACK HEAT (Boomtown Boys Series)
BLACK FLAME (Boomtown Boys Series)

LARISSA LEARNS TO BREATHE (Cupid Island Series)
MANDY MAKES HER MARK (Cupid Island Series)
PLAIN JANE'S BIRTHDAY WISH (Cupid Island Series)

A MAN FOR THE SUMMER
ALONG FOR THE RIDE
HEARTBREAK, TENNESSEE
MINE 'TIL MONDAY
MOUNTAIN SONG

MISS BONNY'S BURIED TREASURE (Short Story)

Reviews

[Amy Jacobs · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Man For The Summer was offered as a free read on Amazon and I am a sucker for free reads. Sometimes the free reads are like little gems and sometimes they can be not so pretty.

The first two or so chapters had real potential. We have Griff Ross who ends up in Junior Atkinson's office for a toothache. The banter between the main and side characters was amusing, engaging and flickered with sparks. After those few chapters though, the book fizzled and never took off. I was bored and shaking my head at Junior's behavior. Not only that, but Griff comes across as gruff and stand offish at first then does a complete turnaround the next day.

The pace of the story was also an issue for me. It would move fast - like how they meet one day and sleep together the next - then it would drag out and make my finger twitch wanting to hit the button for the next page.

While this book wasn't a complete loss -- even if it was a free read -- it wasn't one I would consider memorable or wanting to read more of. One to take it as is being a book to pass some time without having high expectations.

[Mummy Cat Claire · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got this free from Amazon.
The title and book cover lead a reader to think that this book is a sweet romance with two strangers coming together over a summer. That it is not.
This book is about a young single dentist who wants to have a baby and who thinks her time is running out. She has no prospects for a relationship but her aunt encourages her to go after the latest person to enter their small town...the hero of the book.
He comes to the conclusion that she is dying and offers his services. Please *rolling eyes*
The rest of the book covers their time together and how they figure out their misunderstanding.
I read the first couple of chapters and skimmed the rest. Not an interesting read, the characters were lame and the premise of the book was lame.
I don't even remember the ending. So not worth the time to read even though the book is fairly short.
Overall, lame read.
Content: graphic sex scenes which I skimmed through because they were lame too.

[Lindsay]

Amazon freebie 3/14/13

[Rhonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the premise of this story. There were just a couple of questions left unanswered that I think were significant. Like why was Junior like she was? I didn't hear of a huge break-up that would keep her single. Why didn't any of the other guys work out? I didn't have a clue. That was huge for me. I needed some back story there.

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I quit reading at the 40% mark. In a word, this book is sloppy. The heroine's eyes went from blue to green to blue to green. Her name is Junior, but around the 28% mark she's suddenly referenced as Dorothy, then it's back to Junior. Totally annoying and not worth finishing.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining.

[Amy Visnaw · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story was rather rushed and vague at best. We had a little back story on the male lead, but nothing on the eccentric female lead to explain the why of her story. Author should also fire her editing team...did the female lead have blue eye or green? That depended on which part of which chapter you were on.

[Empress Juds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man for the Summer

Short and sweet! Love Grif’s approach a d the way Junior just got sucked into those arms of Griff!well written

[djdavis~*Sivad* · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this review and other @ The Book Wranglers
Heat- luke warm
Rating- ** 2 out of 5

Where’s the FAIL SAFE when you need it? This did not work for me.
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and I'm still wondering why it truly failed.

This lighthearted contemporary love story wasn’t a total Failure but it definitely didn’t send my heart racing. In fact, I feel a little disappointed that the title, synopsis, and the actually story didn’t quite add up.

SYNOPSIS:
Small town dentist, Junior Atkinson, enjoys her simple rural life. After attempting life in the city Junior moved back home to Missouri living in her childhood home, running her struggling dentist office, and taking up time with her family. She’s basically got everything she’s ever wanted except the one thing that keeps her up at night and her mind occupied during the day, a baby.

When she’s diagnosed with a medical condition that can leave her infertile in a matter of months, Junior’s anxiety is peaked. Desperation/depression have her looking for a willing man to help her conceive a child and then step aside. So when Griff Ross, semi famous author, comes strolling into town to do research for his next project everything seems to move on fast forward and into place.

Griff Ross has one thing on his mind; get in, get the research, and get out. He doesn’t plan for his tooth problems to change his life. When he finds himself at Junior’s door in need of assistance he can’t help but to overhear her problem and want to help, especially after she’s patched him together.

One night of passion/duty/pity changes everything for Junior and Griff. When morning comes Junior is happy that she may finally get what she’s wanted for so long while Griff is in shock when he realizes what he’s agreed to and participated in. Despite the disconnect between these two, neither can deny the chemistry they have and the possibility that just maybe there might be more between them than a temporary arrangement.

The Best Thing:
I guess the only really good thing that I could take away from this book is that it was short and sweet. It may not be as bad as I'm making it out to be but it definitely had some serious slow points and lose ends.


Worst Thing:
It took me forever to finish this book. While the characters were likable they were boring and somewhat predictable. There was room to develop them into memorable characters but it just fell short. The connection between Junior and Griff definitely got my attention in the beginning and had me wondering how it would develop but then it just stopped. The development of their relationship was so minute and so slow that I think I missed it. One second they're meeting, flirting, and engaging in their first lovemaking session, [I must have blacked out or something] because the next big event is the two of them debating if they love one another. The plot is definitely one that I've read before, but I was hoping for a few twists, something to get me excited, instead I kept waiting for some major event to take place and it never did, I’m still waiting.

[Kerr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full review can also be found on: Paein and Ms4Tune’s Book Blog

For a free eBook I was pleasantly surprised at the depth of the storyline, though the relationship moved pretty fast in hind sight and I'm a little unhappy with the outcome, but you rarely get everything you want in books.

Griff was pretty arrogant to start off with and he kind of walked himself into this situation he finds so uncomfortable and I didn't feel sorry for him at all. Plus the useless arguing he and Junior participated in was particularly annoying. Having said that Griff really grew on me. He had a serious re-assessment of his life and he grew as a person. Perhaps a little too dramatically, but I feel it was more along the lines of, he was more willing to try and things he'd previously thought were horrid and scary because he'd come to realise that he was able to deal with them far better than he'd ever thought.

Junior needed some work. She ended up being the most unbendable of the two and I found her attitude quite frustrating. Hopefully Griff can help her with that, because for all that she seems so full of life and colour, I don't really think she is. Maybe she was once but she's just lost it along the way. They are quite an odd couple now that I think about it and I'm not sure they actually spent a lot of time together, so perhaps their relationship is a little less reasonable than I first thought...

[Melissa Levine · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off whose Dorothy? I don't remember where this name was brought up but it happened. I've read lots of books with poor editing but when a name is mentioned, that's no where else in the book then, yeah...haha So many problems in this one, mostly with words missing. And to think maybe the author did it on purpose for some strange reason because it happened in the very last sentence of the story too.

I didn't think this story was too bad. Nothing exciting or anything though, so no real surprises.

A few things that caught my attention:

1. Griff doesn't want kids, Junior does. They have sex the first time with no protection. The second time around, Griff actually grabs for a condom. Honestly what's the point in their situation? They've already had sex to begin with. And it's not like Junior was forcing him to hang around to be a father. I didn't get that part.

2. I've read lots of books where the main character has issues with a parent. In this one, Griff has a problem with both, seems more to be with his Mother though. In these situations, why does the 'child' bother going to visit them or go to family events? I mean, maybe it's just me, I don't know. I know I wouldn't have bothered putting myself through their crap.

3. Why does Junior bring up Griff's good memory regarding their first night together? Griff's Mother was a bitch to her but seriously? Talking about sex?

I just don't understand all the bad reviews on this book.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laugh out Loud Funny!!! I could not stop laughing and if I told you why it would give away too much of the story.

There was:
1. Romance and it was awesome!
2. Conflict and it was hysterical. The conflict that arose was just too funny and completely unforeseeable and something I never would have been able to come up with.
3. Moments of suspense: they weren't the moments of suspense I usually go for but I was definitely on the edge of my seat.
4. Love scenes: quite a few and some of the them weren't hysterical :).
5. Strong characters: the story takes place in a small town and all of the characters were strong and brilliant. It was a beautiful story with beautiful people in it and they were awesome! All of the characters were round, even the ones that were in the background.
6. Story line that drew me in, never let me go, and had me captivated for hours.


Loved, loved, loved this story!

Only complaint: too short, would have loved an epilogue :)

[Lili · Rating 1 out of 5]

ugh!
I was so tempted to give up while I was reading this one!
Didn't like either one of the characters, the guy was a total jerk who didn't even know what he wanted and had some serious mommy issues. The"quirky" girl was exasperating, a pushover and desperate for love and a child enough to be a doormat.
The plot was pretty dumb and the characters didn't make sense sometimes... forget that, most of the time. They did, thought or said things that left me with a WTF face.
I found typos and quite a few editing mistakes... sometimes the writing went too fast and then it would draaaaag on endlessly.

Good thing it was a freebie from Amazon. Thanks for the torture!

[Alla · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice romance story about this travel writer Griff who has to go to the towns local dentist Junior, because of a cracked tooth. They have this big misunderstanding when he hears a conversation she´s having with her aunt. He thinks that she only has few months left living and will die a virgin and decides to volunteer to help her out. She thinks that he heard the real conversation about her having only few months left to be able to have a baby. The truth comes out after they sleep together, so Griff decides to stay around until he´s sure he´s not leaving until all matters are solved.
This story had it´s good parts and it was an okay way to pass time.

[Samhy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a nice book to read. Right now, I'm reading some dense books and I was looking for something light for a change. And this story between a rural dentist and an urban writer did that well.
Unlike other reviewers, I had no complaint with the pace of the story, but I'm not a big romance/Harlequin reader so I can't really compare.
One thing though, there was some typos here and there. For once, they seem to be due to mistyped words (e.g. Dottie becomes Dotty by the end of the story), not the writer's lack of spelling or grammar knowledge. How refreshing!

[Sauniell · Rating 1 out of 5]

Never thought it was possible to be angered by a book I didn't even pay for but I was. Amazon freebie & not even worth the download. I made it to the 3rd chapter before I hit my "I'm not reading this BS" moment.

There is actual sentence that reads "You've been hurt before, I know, but I want you to forget about other guys you've known, for tonight" . Mind you the 2 characters have only known each other ONE day & have never had a real conversation. Contrived, cliched....

MAN LISTEN!!!! LISTEN!!!..This is awful. Don't do it to yourself.

[Stephanie Bolen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute

The story sounded like a tourist in a small town sort of alien visiting a new planet. He was a fully fleshed character. She was more of an idea with real manic pixie dream girl energy. And I've dealt with infertility at 27 so, I know most women are absolutely devastated when told they can't have kids. The How I Met Your Mother episode of Robin finding out had more heart.

[Brenda Margriet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. Quite liked Junior and Griff - very strong, interesting characters.

I felt the whole medical condition thing was a great starting point for getting the couple together, but felt it was lost later on in the romance. They never did have a discussion about what would happen if they couldn't have a kid - which, since that was one of the main forces behind getting together, probably should have at least been discussed.

Fun, quick read.

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay, but since I'm from Missouri, I had a hard time getting past the geographical errors. I understand she did it this way for the story, but seriously couldn't she have picked a city closer to St. Louis? Poplar Bluff is so far south & then Sedalia is even further away to the west....anyway story idea was good, but just had a hard time relating & the last sentence of the book I didn't even understand what it was talking about.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Engaging, if lightweight romance between a dentist and travel writer. She's trying to get pregnant before it becomes impossible; overhearing, he thinks she's a virgin with only a few months to live. How fraught! This was fun to read without being really deep or angsty. There were some noticeable copyediting errors in this but not enough to ruin my enjoyment of the book.

[Shawna Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read - lots of funny sections. Unfortunately, I read a couple reviews with spoilers before I finished, so I was a little bummed that I knew the ending. I won't say it here, of course, and I recommend you skip the reviews. I agree with the reviews that the first few chapters of the book were exceptionally good. Great back and forth if you're into tumultuous romances.

[Gweicha Dyudee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm someone who should never work as a critic. I'm way too easy to be pleased, I hated being judged unfairly, and somehow, I always find the good little things to always stand out the most. almost. I enjoyed reading this, I got it free on Amazon. I love FREE :) so anyway, it was funny. I was laughing and crying, I dunno why. I just love how the story, period.

[Claire Sayan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This took me a while to get into. Ridiculously far fetched plot and characters that did 360s in their personalities. Loads of typos too. Having said all that I did finish the book and as it has a happy ending I suppose it was ok. The end was a bit abrupt tho. 2.5 stars.

[Jessica Zelkovich · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story had lots of potential with subplots and some developing characters that were intriguing but I think it needed more time in the oven cooking and developing more further. It was a free read so that is cool and was a mini escape so bonus.

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I seen so many five star reviews, which is what prompted me to get this book. After just reading the first five chapters, I thought this is so unrealistic and corny, and I couldn’t even finish the story.

[Kerry Richardson · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was not a great story, the plot sounded good but it really fell short. It gave the impression that folks from rural areas are dumb and a bit odd and there were several mistakes grammatically, a disappointment for sure.

[RJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was not your typical romance in that the female has freckles and named Junior. The male is rich and handsome and full of parent issues. The story was interesting. The reason for only 2 stars is there are a lot of editing issues that distracted me from the story.

[Lindsey]

Amazon (ebook) freebie 2/13/13

[Julianna · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the pregnancy tag didn't actually happen it was one of the main themes of the story. It was ok, moved a little slow though.

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Predictable, but still enjoyable for the most part. Glad it was free on Amazon.