★★★★ Beachside Kisses with My Enemy by Kristin Canary, A Sweet Romantic Comedy Featuring Enemies to Lovers

*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary ARC e-copy of this book from the author. All thoughts are my own and I was not required to post a positive review. Also, this blog post includes affiliate links. You can view my affiliate disclaimer here.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Things were going fine until Blake “the Flake” Moffitt decided to show his much-too-handsome face again in Hallmark Beach.

I may have been in love with my best friend’s brother once upon a time, but that fairytale is long over. Now, he’s just another person who’s left and disappointed me. Who’s hurt my best friend, Marilee.

This time, I’m determined to protect both of us from expecting too much.

Thankfully, he’s only here for the summer.
So even though he’s our temporary housemate—did I forget to mention that?—maybe I could tolerate his presence in town. Except for one little thing…

He’s parked his food truck right next to the only full-service restaurant in town…
…and it’s the one I’m currently managing. The one that was already struggling on my watch, and now is plunging into the red.

Guess what, buddy? This means war.
Blake must be stopped, but he thwarts me at every turn. It’s bad enough we have to work together on the town’s Fourth of July festival planning committee, but then he has to go and be sweet when I least expect it—more like the guy I used to know.

So is he my enemy…or the love of my life?
Only time will tell. But time has a funny way of ticking away. And with a restaurant opening calling him back to the big city at the end of the summer, time is the one thing we don’t have on our side.

Beachside Kisses With My Enemy is Book 2 in the new Hallmark Beach small town sweet romantic comedy series, where a charming yet quirky town on the coast of California comes to life. It’s the story of restaurant manager Lucy Reynolds and her best friend’s brother, chef Blake Moffitt. This dual-POV novel is filled with all the sizzling romantic tension and swoons possible without on-page intimacy.

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MY REVIEW: ★★★★ 4/5 Stars

Sweet, cute and wholesome! If you love dreamy, coastal settings, enemies-to-lovers, second-chance-at-love and matters of the heart, you won't want to miss this new release!

HIGHLIGHTS:

Small Pacific, Beach Town
Restaurants and Food Trucks
Town Festival
Great Banter, Flirting
Clean, Sweet Romance
Gourmet Grilled Cheese

This book had a different feel than some of the others I've read by Kristin Canary, and I liked it. While it was still a sweet romance, it had a heartwarming, deeply emotional thread that made it a fulfilling read.

I loved the small town, coastal setting of Hallmark Beach and cameo appearances of previous characters in this story. Blake won me over, while Lucy took a little longer for me to warm up to. The second chance romance has deep emotional roots for the characters and it naturally takes Lucy longer to warm up to Blake, as a result of their past, making for a handful of enemies scenes. The story touches on grief, loss and abandonment but it isn't too heavy and has a hopeful, rewarding ending.

I enjoyed that this book is clean with no explicit content or language. There is a great chemistry between the main characters, a sweep-you-off-your-feet kissing scene (or two), sweet friendships, flirting, banter, emotions and overall, is a well-crafted story.

Lastly, and also noteworthy is the comedic, introductory scene when the two main characters connect for the first time (in years!) in the book.

Overall, a solid four stars and I happily recommend it to other readers who like sweet stories with multi-layered characters and a bit of grilled cheese served up with a hint of antagonism on the side.