Book Review and Giveaway: Secret Beach Boyfriend

I really love the Independence Islands series!  This is the 3rd? book of the series and I plan on reviewing most, if not all, of them.  Secret Beach Boyfriend is about Annie who works at a ticket counter for the ferry that goes around the islands.  She meets a young man whom she had met years ago when they were 5 and 7.  Remarkably, the chance encounter when they were little served as an important event in both of their lives.  Annie had an adverse view of romance and marriage based on what she experienced with her parents.  However, Rafe asked her to let him change her mind by becoming her secret beach boyfriend.  This story has several layers to it and I met several characters whose stories I want to read in the future.  Overall, this was a great addition to the series.  The only part I didn't like was (trying not to give a spoiler) that if I had learned what Annie had learned towards the end of the book, I would have been hopping mad, and she didn't seem to be that way.  Maybe it's a difference in our personalities - or maybe she's a better Christian than I.  I did like how both Annie and Rafe grew in the book.  Rafe's parents have a significant role in the story:  His mom suffers from minor OCD which causes many problems in her marriage.  It was interesting to learn about this condition.

Here are some quotes from the book:

Regarding Annie's perspective:

"I don't want Rafe to ever feel like I do.  Like I was never meant to be born because my parents shouldn't have ever married."  (This was very sad to me!)

"The world comes into focus when you twist your lens you use to view it."  (Kari Trumbo, this should be a meme if you haven't already made it into one!)

Rafe tells Annie:

"I know you're worried about this...about us.  I know you think seeing each other like this is crazy. But I won't be the one to leave you.  I won't.  I won't be like your dad.  I see your worth. And you're worth working for."

"His plan from the start had been to show her that love was real and that he wasn't going to leave her."

About the Book

Book: Secret Beach Boyfriend

Author: Kari Trumbo

Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance

Release Date: September 29, 2020

She met Rafe on the beach when she was just five and it seemed like fate tied them together. When a chance encounter returns him to the islands twenty years later, Annie finds her beach friend has grown up and now needs her help.

Damaged and scarred from a past that still hasn’t healed, Annie needs help of her own. True to character, Rafe comes up with a perfect solution, but a temporary island romance does not fit into his agenda at all.

Will an offer to be her secret boyfriend give her heart a second chance? How can it turn into something more and prove there’s power in prayer and that love can triumph over a painful past?

He was Annie’s hero long ago, but can the man he has become save her now?

Secret Beach Boyfriend is the third “Merriweather book” in a new series featuring five islands, six authors, and a boatload of happily-ever-afters.

The Independence Island Series: beach reads aren’t just for summer anymore.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Kari Trumbo is a bestselling author of Christian historical and contemporary romance novels. Her books are known for characters who feel real, settings you could move to, and faith woven between the pages. She makes her home in central Minnesota with her husband of over twenty years, two daughters, two sons, and never enough time.

 

More from Kari

Have you ever hunted for seashells on the beach?

This sweet story actually starts twenty years before the moment you open the front cover. Years before, on a solitary beach, a little boy comforts a girl he finds crying by offering to help her find seashells. He doesn’t know why she’s crying, just that he can help. Even though he knows his mother will be angry with him.

You see, Rafe (that’s the little boy) has a mother who has minor OCD and doesn’t let him go on the beach. But when Annie (that’s the little girl) is obviously heartbroken, he can’t leave her sitting there and not do anything. At that moment, a hero is born.

It’s the little things that make a hero. That moment in time when he made a choice to put Annie above his own discomfort created a past for them both, an anchor they could both look back on. It was pivotal enough for them both that they remembered it years later. Rafe, because he hid the shells and cherished the one time he got to collect them. Annie, because she was going through something no child of five should have to. His kindness was a glimmer of hope.

Fast forward twenty years and these two meet again, but don’t realize right away they are the people they’ve been thinking about on-and-off for most of their lives. Interestingly enough, that part of my story is true. I had a friend I met at a local beach when I was too young to recall names or anything else of great significance other than the feeling that it was the best day ever. She made me her best buddy for the day, and that stuck with me.

When I think of this story beyond the printed page, where Annie and Rafe live on in my mind, I have to wonder if shells will continue to be a theme in their lives.

Blog Stops

Debbie's Dusty Deliberations, October 22

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, October 22

Texas Book-aholic, October 23

Stories By Gina, October 23

Captive Dreams Window, October 23

Inklings and notions, October 24

CarpeDiem, October 24

For Him and My Family, October 25

Mypreciousbitsandmusings, October 25

Older & Smarter?, October 26

21st Century Keeper at Home, October 26

Library Lady's Kid Lit, October 26

Locks, Hooks and Books, October 27

deb's Book Review, October 27

Connect in Fiction, October 28

lakesidelivingsite, October 28

Artistic Nobody, October 29 (Guest Review from Joni Truex)

Godly Book Reviews, October 29

Ashley’s Bookshelf, October 30

Adventures of a Travelers Wife, October 30

Livin’ Lit, October 30

Because I said so -- and other adventures in Parenting, October 31

Life, love, writing, October 31

Sara Jane Jacobs, November 1

Batya's Bits, November 1

Daysong Reflections, November 2

The Meanderings of a Bookworm, November 2

Blossoms and Blessings, November 3

Where Crisis & Christ Collide, November 3

Simple Harvest Reads, November 4 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Splashes of Joy, November 4

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Kari is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/102a8/secret-beach-boyfriend-celebration-tour-giveaway