Review: VERY Original Story Line.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 14, 2014
Story Rating ~ 5 StarsHero Rating ~ 5 StarsHeroine Rating ~ 5 StarsRomance Rating ~ 4 StarsHeat Level ~ 3.5 StarsEnding ~ 5 StarsOverall Rating ~ 5 StarsThis story was like no other that I’ve read before and the originality of the story line blew me away. This story revolves around Ellie and Finn; they have known each other all their lives and were constantly in competition with each other since grade school.Ellie had to return to her home town to help her father who has Alzheimer’s. When she returns she finds out that her dad is in really bad shape and that he has been placed in Harmony Hills nursing home which is very expensive. Ellie has no other choice but to take over her father’s funeral home to help pay for his care.Finn has just recently opened his own funeral home in Harmony Hills. With Harmony Hills being such a small community he knows that two funeral homes in the same town are not going to work. He decides to buy Ellie out to ensure that his business does not fail. Needless to say she turns him down, and the competition between these two to make their funeral homes a success is on.This story was VERY entertaining and held my interest all the way through. It also grabbed me emotionally on so many levels. I laughed, I smiled and I also sobbed my heart out while reading this book.I LOVED both Ellie and Finn, they were excellent characters. The back story about these two and their families was done so well that I was truly captivated by this read.There were also some VERY STEAMY love scenes; however I would not call them erotic. They were tastefully done, nothing too kinky and added just the right amount of heat.Near the ending is where my emotions were really drawn into play. My heart was breaking along with Ellie’s and I swear I was crying every bit as hard as she was.I gave the ending 5 stars, because there was an epilogue that wrapped the story up, and Finn and Ellie are finally together.The one thing that confused me about this book was the title, Her Summer with the Marine. I didn’t feel it fit this book at all. OK, Finn was in the Marines, but the story didn’t really revolve around that at all. Was it mentioned that he was a Marine? Yes, but only in passing, and it didn’t have much to do with the overall story. This is the only thing that didn’t work for me.I highly recommend this book to all romance readers who like original story lines, with excellent characters that draw you in, and compel you to read on.