Five Days in July

Door County Dreams #1

by Cecelia Conway

Can five days in July change your life?

Lenore Michaels has her doubts when everything seems to go wrong one Wednesday morning. Her car breaks down on the side of the highway, she loses her job, and she’s flat broke. She moved to scenic Door County to start a new life but it seems like she’s just proving everyone right.

She can’t make it on her own.

Luckily, Matt Song steps in to save the day. He’s the local mechanic, he’s hiring, and he’s smitten with the gorgeous woman he meets in line at the gas station.

The tall, handsome stranger makes Lenore feel like anything is possible but can he convince her that he’s worth the risk to have it all: a fresh start, a new job, and a new relationship?

Genres: Romance, Contemporary

270 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 19, 2022

About the author

Multi genre romance author, but HEA always gauranteed.

Reviews

[Megan Schmit · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome first book Cece! excited for the next one to come out!

This was a quick and easy read that kept you wanting to keep going. When I got to the end I was ready for the next book for sure!

[Sydney Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

MIND BLOWN!!!!!!!!

I love her and Matt together so much. I need more though I don't like the cliffhanger. What's with all these authors Forcing me to have a scroll filled with all my favorite book boyfriends lol! Which Matt Song is on right now lol!

[Cecelia Conway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read Part 1 of Matt and Lenore's story on July 19th!

Trigger Warnings: This book features a female sexual assault survivor and the action of the story is heavily influenced by her experiences. It also discusses mental health matters throughout the book and occasionally uses adult language.

Tropes: Small town, forced proximity, slow burn, workplace, fish out of water, girl next door, trauma and healing, learning to love, new girl in town, cinnamon roll hero

[Lydia Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: CeCe is a friend of mine so I "might" be a little biased, but I really did like this book a lot. Why? Well for starters, everything in it -- from the big things like plot, characters, and conversations, to the little things like using a computer, caring for a pet, cooking food, etc. -- was REAL. So many books (romance and otherwise) either get the little stuff wrong or concoct an unbelievable storyline or write ridiculous banter that it just sours the whole experience.

Also, this author did a great job of providing the perfect amount of detail--not too much and not too little --so that I felt like I was actually in Door County, WI. And that she had been there too at some point in her life!

The descriptions and actions of Matt, the male lead, make him one of my favorite contemporary romance heroes of all time, and the award for Best Ending of a Romance Novel goes to this book!!!

[Alysia Massart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Small town meeting at its finest.

Lenore and Matt meet and he's like her knight in shining armor. It's sweet, but there's definitely more going on. I had a feeling something had happened in the past to make her so hesistant. Things were getting a little stagnant, so I was wondering if that's it or there was going to be more to it. I don't want to spoil it but there is definitely something that happens at the end that leads to their next book in the series. This is my first book by this author and I love that she is from WI, but especially that the series is based in Door County as I live maybe 15 minutes away and go to Sturgeon Bay often. It was really cool to read about familiar roads and think of where they might have been to what I could picture.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ rounded up
This was a cute contemporary book. I really appreciated the breath and weight Cecelia Conway gave to the second wave of trauma post-SA; plus, the need to find a new place in the world that fits the new you.

This book has a HFN ending for Leonore and Matt, their story will continue in book 2 (will start that next).

🎧 Sally Barron, the audiobook narrator, did an okay job reading the book, some of the character voice choices were a bit odd but overall it was an easy listen.


Note: I was gifted a code to listen & review the audiobook by the author.

[Rochelle Magee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story, the writing in the first few chapters was hard to get through because it's written about someone with an anxious brain like mine. It's hard to be in my own head let alone someone elses, but once I made it past those first few chapters it was a quick read. Can't wait to read the next one!

[Gina Burney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than I expected!!

A slow burn due to situations in the characters lives but the gentleness and overall care through out this novel are amazing! I can’t wait to continue reading and see what else happens with these characters!

Ended with a cliff hanger but well worth it.

[Nadia Marsoli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow wow wow

I loved it from page one, got anxious at 60%, but I was aware there was a part II for them, so nothing to worry about!
I don't want to give spoilers, but I wouldn't just sit and wait, Matt!!

[Aubrey Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, small town read

Anyone who needs a short fluffy romance read will love the story between Lenore and Matt. This book has a little bit of everything from boss/employee relationship, small town, slow burn, a little trauma, and best of all Norman 🐱

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! It’s such a cute little rom com! All of the characters were so adorable! I was smiling and laughing throughout the entire book! It was the perfect lighthearted summer read! I am looking forward to continuing the series!

[Jenny C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a sweet love story and easy read. Their admiration for each other blossomed. Written in a gentle manner yet I craved a little more though, hence the 3 star rating.

[Samantha Linsenbigler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was absolutely stoked to find a book placed in Door County. I absolutely wanted to love it but struggled. It’s very much typical romance. Girl finds herself in some form of trouble, boy saves her and they fall in love. However my struggles began when she has her dramatic confession of an assault in the past. This is something that makes me shy away from books, it just feels very out of place in this book and I just don’t know why. Almost unnecessary to the overall story the writer is trying to portray. It also make a scene not to long after that’s overall very steamy and hot feel almost icky. Definitely had a hard time enjoying the spice when not to long ago this extremely shy and timid girl with some PTSD issues was spilling her guts on the worse moment of her life. I’m willing to give the next book in the series ago to see if it improves.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.