Island Summer Love

by Amy Belding Brown

While vacationing on the Maine coast just before her marriage to Cabot Wilder, Boston's most eligible bachelor, Allison Curtis finds herself attracted to rugged Maine lobsterman Brent Connors, and begins to suspect that her upcoming wedding could be a mistake

Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Amy Belding Brown is the bestselling USA Today author of EMILY'S HOUSE, FLIGHT OF THE SPARROW and MR. EMERSON’S WIFE. A Vermonter and history nerd, she was infused at an early age with a New England outlook and values. She loves stone walls, sugar maples and old cemeteries, and her favorite hobby is nature photography. She’s never happier than when she’s reading a stack of 19th century letters or exploring old church records. She has taught composition and creative writing to college students and life-story writing to senior citizens, made quilts, raised four children, been a tour guide at Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House Museum in Concord, Massachusetts, taught pre-school, made cloth dolls, created wall hangings on a hand loom, baked homemade bread, written poetry, and painted New England landscapes. Oh, and she’s also been a pastor’s wife for 43 years.. A graduate of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, she received her MFA from Vermont College and now lives in rural Vermont with her husband, a UCC minister and spiritual director.

Reviews

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read this book in 2009.
I just re-read this book today. October 7, 2021.
The first time I read this book I was so in love with it that I wanted to read it immediately again after I finished it.
I don’t know what it is. But there is some thing about this book that I love so much.

I always go back to it and re-read it. I believe this is the third or fourth time. But, every time I read it I get more of a sense of how Brent is truly a sleaze-ball. Also how emotionally weak Allison is. She get’s so tortured by her own feelings that she can’t really function very well.

Obviously Cabot is not in love with Allison. She doesn’t notice it. But Brent realizes that Allison doesn’t love Cabot. Brent went through a similar situation previously. He wants to protect Allison from making the biggest mistake of her life. Which is, marrying someone that she truly doesn’t love. Makes sense.

But he could have “just talked” to her about it. Maybe pressed the issue more than a usual person would. But not only does he press the issue every single time they have an encounter. (Which gets extremely annoying. They really never have honest communication except for a few times.) But he torments this girl. I don’t understand how she actually falls in love with him, he tortures her every time they see one another. All because he wants to help her and then he ends up falling in love with her. Very quickly.

Now, it would be one thing if he was trying to get her to fall in love with him. Very romantic like and charming. But that is not Brent. Brent is blunt, rude, and possessive.
He makes her cry so many times. And not just cry tears. But have a full on breakdown. And every time he just says, “I’m sorry.”. It gives you sort of an indication of what their marriage will be like. He’s going to have his way no matter how she feels and in the end he will just say. “Oops, I’m sorry.” She will feel in adequate and lost on how to feel better. And then it’s all OK again.

The connection between them is obviously there. But the way the writer goes about the swooning process I felt was very detrimental to a true relationship. Overall, I still enjoy the book. There are a few things that turned me off from the relationship but it’s hard not to fall in love with the island that is described.

Near the end of the book Cabot and Martha are dancing and Brent finds Allison on the beach. And they end up running around to the school and they end up almost having sex outside but Brent feels her ring on her hand and literally stops and runs away. Throughout the entire Book, Allison has had this ring on her finger, every moment of the book he has mentioned it, he has talked about it she’s had this ring and has never taken off. But all of a sudden! When he is really getting into it. He feels her ring and then decides. Oh, I don’t want to do anything with you because you are engaged. What the heck?! She’s been engaged long before she ever even knew him. He knew that from the beginning. And now, all of a sudden it bothers him? That was the dumbest part of the book.

And lastly. The ending. I absolutely hate hate hated the ending! This entire book, Brent has wanted to be with her. They are together a lot throughout the book. But in the end of the book he only hast to be in the hospital for a few days. And she finally tells him that she’s left cabinet. And they are going to be together. Get married (way too fast for me) and finally live happily ever after. But he’s stuck in the hospital. They can’t visit each other. They can’t be together. She must to leave with his grandparents have dinner. The ending was so infuriating to me. It’s like the author just quit.

[Judith Searle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed with this novel. I chose it because I had enjoyed Flight of the Sparrow so much. However, Island Summer Love was just a pleasant chic lit romance - portions bordered on the "bodice ripper" genre.

[Sylvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

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