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A Special Summer

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Twenty-five year old Summer Jackson is young, naïve, and inexperienced when it comes to men. Her life is dedicated to her career as a hospice nurse. The last thing on her mind is a man. When she unexpectedly, literally runs into handsome, Nick Stiles she immediately attempts to keep him at a distance.  From the moment Summer entered the room Nick was completely captivated. All night he watched as she turned down would be suitors one after another. He is only too pleased when their worlds collide. Intrigue fully envelops him as Summer makes an attempt to flee his overwhelmingly, powerful presence.Determined to make Summer his, Nick goes all out on a mission of hot pursuit. The more she refuses his advances, the more unrelenting he becomes. Wearing her down, Summer’s resolve is broken. Her intention is to go out on one date and call it a day. However, after only one date she is helplessly drawn into Nick’s sensual web.Nearly after a year of dating, Nick becomes restless and ready to go back to his old ways. Summer is shattered when he abruptly walks away. As the months go by he regrets his decision and is aching to have Summer in his arms once again.When the two former lovers are finally face to face the meeting is beyond explosive. Nick is completely blindsided by Summer’s deceit as she desperately attempts to explain her version of the truth. She is forced mentally and emotionally to prepare herself for the fight of her life as Nick becomes vengeful, vowing to make her life a living hell.

246 pages, Paperback

First published November 3, 2006

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Victoria Wells

31 books18 followers

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
Profile Image for Nia Forrester.
Author 68 books965 followers
January 14, 2013
A Special Summer is my first Victoria Wells read and I enjoyed it immensely. She has a great knack for arousing emotion and believe me, this story arouses plenty of that angsty stuff that makes you want to scream one moment and weep the next.

Summer is a beautiful (though she doesn't know it), young and inexperienced young woman who encounters the wealthy, worldly and very jaded Nick Stiles at a charity function, and after some resistance, begins to date him. Summer quickly falls for Nick who-unbeknownst to her-has no intention of falling for anyone, because of a difficult family and romantic history that has left him damaged and somewhat cold. Though he treats Summer well while they were together, he has no compunction about unceremoniously ending their relationship when he decides it's time to move on, and just as Summer is about to confess her love for him.

Five months later he returns, having faced the reality that he was thinking of Summer all along and misses her. When he goes to rekindle their relationship, he finds that she has kept something monumental from him, something that will certainly change both their lives. Feeling betrayed by her failure to tell him this secret, he launches an all-out campaign to make her pay for her deceit-by-omission.

And boy does he make her pay!

Nick's reaction is so unrelentingly cruel, so angry, so incredibly vicious that I had real trouble seeing how this author could pull me back into wanting this couple to end up together. As he grew more cruel, and at times stepped over the line to becoming downright abusive, I stopped liking him altogether and began wishing him ill, wondering whether I would see a bold ending to a romance novel, like Summer walking out on him like Rhett Butler walking out on Scarlett in 'Gone with the Wind'. And I was rooting for that ending.

But somewhere along the line, Ms. Wells began to drop more and more hints about the source of Nick's pain, and the reasons for his irrational vendetta against this young woman who,against all common sense, still seemed to love him. And gradually, I began to understand though not sympathize with him. While we come to learn that Nick, despite his best efforts was repeating the mistakes of his father, and that he once had his heart and hopes dashed by a deceitful woman, I fell just short of loving him the way you want to love the male protagonist in a book.

His manhandling of Summer had been so protracted by that point, that I could scarcely forgive him. Still, given her background, the openness of her heart, her inexperience and the nature of the secret that bound them together, I understood how she might try to forgive him. And his borderline abusive behavior was later dealt with in the storyline, so I can go to sleep not wondering whether I would have told Summer to run for her life and get away from this man.

There were many sweet secondary characters - Summer's two best friends Starr and Ava, and Nick's housekeeper Joan who became close to Summer, all of whom added a dimension to the story I enjoyed. I especially liked that the author took the time to give us Joan's backstory. It made her real to me, and I could see her because of that addded detail.

And because I love this stuff, I couldn't help but notice some places where the description of the characters' emotions were particularly resonant.

Like this, when Summer reflects on her decision to become intimate with Nick despite her inexperience: "In the beginning, the tiny voice in her head warned, don't do it. After months of kisses, hugs and caresses, the tiny voice became a faint whisper, hardly audible. When she decided to . . . share his bed the voice was buried so deep, she never heard its pleas." Very nice piece of writing.

The story was best when the writing was like that, was simple and succinct, like this sentence which heralds the emotional shift in Nick from wanting to punish Summer to wondering whether he might have gone too far: "Summer was letting go, and he could feel it." There were also really clever phrases thrown in as well, the kinds of things that make you smile, like when Nick in his mind describes a woman trying to get his attention as a "cosmetically enhanced nuisance". Hah!

All in all, I enjoyed this story a great deal, and think that if you like romances where the emotional shifts are like riding a roller-coaster, and the hero makes you hate him before finally coming around, this is a book for you. The ending will be particularly satisfying if you need your HEA. All your curiosity about this couple will be satisfied. Four stars rather than five only because if Summer were my sister, I would still, at the end of the day view Nick only with reserved cordiality, at best. And I want to fall in love with my romance heroes, just like the heroine does. Still, highly recommended for an emotional read!
Profile Image for Lady Raven RAVE!.
1,824 reviews1,515 followers
October 19, 2011
Story:GOOD
Intimacy: GOOD
Enjoyment: GOOD
Kindle Length: 4606


BRIEF SUMMARY
Summer begins an exciting relationship with wealthy business owner Nick. When Nick decides to leave for Canada, he breaks things off with Summer. When Nick returns he is surprised to see Summer’s condition. With both feeling hurt and betrayed, they need to figure out their future together.

THOUGHTS
I read books 3 & 4 before I read book 1 in the Love Conquers All series. I enjoyed the book very much as I did books 3 & 4. Although I love the title for the book it should have been called don’t you trust me, the key words Nick would always ask Summer when he wanted her to do something. The book started out in the present but would periodically take us from past to present. Their first encounter I thought was so sweet as well as their night at the cabin. Summer was very shy, naïve and wore her heart on her sleeves. Nick was a mean SOB and super Alpha male in the story but sexy. I swear half the time in the story Nick was PMS-ing with his mood swings but for me it’s understandable with his history and relationship with his father and his past relationship with Veronica. Nick was very aggressive and with Summer’s shyness it worked for me. The assisting characters that I have grown to love in books 3 & 4 Kevin, Ava and Starr, was a pleasure to read as well as entertaining with their thoughts conversations and comments. This book was published in 2006 and a week ago, I discovered this series and felt I was missing out this whole time. I’m glad I came across this series; the series shows family, romance, friendship and kids.


http://www.romancenoveljunkies.com
2 reviews1 follower
March 20, 2009
I absolutely loved this book. Summer at times was very timid, however, as the story progresses she comes into her own. Although Nick isn't a very likable man initially, the author does an excellent job showing why he had issues. I loved this story because the characters weren't perfect, they had flaws just like everyday people.
Profile Image for SassyMama.
1,016 reviews4 followers
September 6, 2008
A Heart-Warming Debut

"A Special Summer" is definitely a HIGHLY charged emotional page-turner. I could NOT put it down until the very end! Mrs. Victoria Wells has crafted quite a realistic and MEMORABLE cast of characters that will take you through a range of emotions. Summer's dilemma will make you cry, while Nick's attitude will make you angry and at some point, all the characters, main and secondary, will have you LOL at their hilarious antics throughout. In order for Summer and Nick to find their HAPPILY-EVER-AFTER, they MUST first overcome several obstacles, such as; a 12 year age difference, an unplanned pregnancy, a dysfunctional father and son relationship, well-intentioned interfering mother and friends, betrayals, miscommunication, and of course MAJOR trust issues. Mrs. Wells allows you to experience each characters point of view; we witness Summer's undying love for a man that continuously puts her through HELL; as we also watch while Nick struggles to exorcise his many demons, in an effort to be a BETTER man for his son, and to FINALLY open his heart to the ONLY woman he's ever truly loved. So, despite the typos and/or grammatical errors that occur throughout this novel, I found it to be an ENTERTAINING and WORTHWHILE read. And I'm looking forward to the next installment about Starr and Kevin. Congrats on this heart-warming debut, Mrs. Wells!
Profile Image for SassyMama.
1,016 reviews4 followers
July 16, 2009
A Heart-Warming Debut

"A Special Summer" is definitely a HIGHLY charged emotional page-turner. I could NOT put it down until the very end! Mrs. Victoria Wells has crafted quite a realistic and MEMORABLE cast of characters that will take you through a range of emotions. Summer's dilemma will make you cry, while Nick's attitude will make you angry and at some point, all the characters, main and secondary, will have you LOL at their hilarious antics throughout. In order for Summer and Nick to find their HAPPILY-EVER-AFTER, they MUST first overcome several obstacles, such as; a 12 year age difference, an unplanned pregnancy, a dysfunctional father and son relationship, well-intentioned interfering mother and friends, betrayals, miscommunication, and of course MAJOR trust issues. Mrs. Wells allows you to experience each characters point of view; we witness Summer's undying love for a man that continuously puts her through HELL; as we also watch while Nick struggles to exorcise his many demons, in an effort to be a BETTER man for his son, and to FINALLY open his heart to the ONLY woman he's ever truly loved. So, despite the typos and/or grammatical errors that occur throughout this novel, I found it to be an ENTERTAINING and WORTHWHILE read. And I'm looking forward to the next installment about Starr and Kevin. Congrats on this heart-warming debut, Mrs. Wells!
Profile Image for Vondetta Carter.
836 reviews8 followers
March 18, 2017
Summer has found her love but he doesn't want a serious relationship or does he? Summer finds out she is pregnant. He was her first and only and after he asks her to TRUST him, a business deal takes him out of town for an extended time. Take this journey with Summer and her friends as she begins her journey into being a single parent.
Nick , MR CEO has a plan for his life and a longterm relationship and family are not it. After all a skank of a woman tried to pawn off her affair with another man and their child on him. He gave her everything. He would not be his father who had no time for him or his mother because he was working on "his career".
Nick found himself back in Philly and he now had one mission and that was to get Summer back. He found something in her he had never had.
The fireworks began when gets to her door and finds her 7 months pregnant. Where was the sweet innocent woman he thought he left?
This story has a lot of ups and downs but will Summer and Nick be able to find what each thought they lost? Will the baby be Nicks or another mans?
Will Summer find her voice and walk away from a piece of her past?
Great read, many have found fault with Summer, I walked in her shoes and know love makes you do crazy things...Loved this book.
Profile Image for D.lee.
203 reviews14 followers
January 28, 2012
I read several of the reviews before I purchased this book and had mixed emotions about reading it, but it had me curious. I was so curious I ordered it and I'm glad I did.
This is my take on Nick. I think Nick was afraid to trust giving his heart to someone. Not only because of the way Veronica played him, but because of his relationship with his father and the dysfunctional relationship between his parent. He didn't have good role models. He was a bully yes, but I think his bark was a lot worse than his bite. When he found himself falling for Summer and realize she had gotten under his skin, he ran.

Summer is crushed emotionally when Nick breaks off their relationship, because she doesn't see it coming. When Nick comes back and finds her pregnant, Summer believes her biggest fear is about to happen. In a fit of anger Nick threatens to take her baby from her. Summer remembers what Nick told her about how he got retribution against Veronica for her treachery. She realizes she is no match for him, if he decides follow through with his threat. I don't think Summer was weak. I actually thought she was a woman in control. She doesn't waste her time saying things in the heat of anger that she really doesn't mean. I think she followed the example set by her father, and how he deals with her mother whose personality is very similar to Nicks. Summer tries to keep the peace with Nick even though in the back her mind, there's the black cloud of his threat hanging over her head. When the time is right, she let's Nick know her feelings and fears, without putting him down and saying a whole lot of harsh hurtful words. I'm not sure I wouldn't have cussed him out, if he had called me out of my name, but she didn't.

Although Nick was 12 years older than Summer, emotionally she was more mature. When Nick had his temper tantrums she would distance herself from him, which got his attention more than screaming at him ever could.
In the end, Nick was finally able to admit what I knew from the very beginning and that is Summer was his soul-mate. I think this was a wonderful story and I can't wait for Starr and Kevin's story. Ms Wells created a compelling story about a real relationship and I say KUDOS
Profile Image for Rhea Alexis M Banks.
107 reviews59 followers
April 21, 2010
This is a story about an emotional growth experience of two people that had to learn to really trust and to trust again. One fought it every step of the way and the other one had to relearn it. This author takes us the roller-coastered, battleground journey with Summer and Nick and by the book's end you have been on an extremely emotional ride. I LOVED THIS STORY....by the end that is. But during it I found myself disgusted, angry, frustrated and tense as these character developed and blossomed. That said, this book ended up taking me on a roller coaster emotionally and at points I did not have appreciate the characteristics of the these two people but it is real and does exist and thus I appreciated it immensely. Well done Mrs. Victoria Wells, well done.

Nick is the type of man that does not believe in commitment and fights to stay that way. Summer falls in love with him early on and as the story unfolds, she has extreme choices to make based on that love and what she knows of the man. You have to appreciate where her fears came from as well as his anger....YOU DO NOT HAVE TO LIKE IT, BUT IT WAS REAL and for that this author gets kudos from me as she told it you were there in the middle of it, experiencing it. Both of these character grew in this book as they started being honest with their feelings and and fears. Because of that, this is a good book that gets you engaged while evoking a sundry of emotions in you that sometimes allows you to inflict your own emotions/fellings into the story. However, if you allow the story to unfold as told, by journey's end you will not throw it across the room again....as I did several times when I incorporated/projected my own feelings into the story. I read it last week and since that time have told others of this story and they have brought this book as well. Can't wait for her next one!!
Profile Image for Cassandra Baker-Durham.
Author 8 books44 followers
January 11, 2013
WOW what an excellent story. I love to read a book that call forth so many emotions. I experienced them all while reading Nick and Summer's story. I mean there were times, when I was so angry I could have cussed up a storm, then there were times I laughed so hard, I almost cried and then there was a time or two that I wanted to sock Nick right in the face. Nick is a serious, no nonsense type of guy that, has allowed his past hurts, frustrations and disappointments to cloud his vision of his future. Summer is the consummate good girl with a twist. This love story has it all romance and good round da way home girls and homeboys, it has enough drama to make you say... whoa... wait a minute I know these people. It is worth the money!!
Profile Image for Kim.
740 reviews81 followers
October 26, 2011
Emotions were very high in this book. I often found myself wanting to smack Nick for just being so darn mean to Summer all the time. I have to say this was one of the very few times I was rooting for the couple to not get back together because Nick was such a jerk for 90% of the nook. Summer was such a nice woman although extremely emotionally unstable. I kept saying to myself buck up girl and get a backbone. I was hoping she would get her happy ending though because she really deserved it. Overall I enjoyed the read.
Profile Image for Shonnie.
443 reviews17 followers
June 2, 2011
I really enjoyed this story. My only compliant was that the slang was antiquated and it read like a young person wrote it. But I loved the story line. The hero isn't the typical I love the heroine and can't breathe without them. That change made the story a four star rating. Plus the drama was a nice touch.
Profile Image for Ladyamelia.
121 reviews
January 25, 2014
I concur wholeheartedly with many of the reviewers: Nick was a class A jerk! Having said that, the writing is pretty good and the characters were well fleshed out.
Profile Image for Rachel.
346 reviews2 followers
April 18, 2016
This was my first book by this author. It was a quick read great for a summer read. I was becoming impatient with Nick's character and his mood swings.

2 reviews1 follower
July 2, 2016
Looovvveed!

Although a little cheesy at certain points this was an adorable book I couldn't put down! Definitely a good read!!
3 reviews
August 11, 2018
First time reading this author.

I really enjoyed this story line. Well written. Can't wait to read Ava & State's story. Once I starting reading it was hard to put it down.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews

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