New York Sullivans Spinoff (Summer Lake - Book 1) (Volume 1)

Belle Andre once again has written a beautiful new series "Summer Lake"! A second chance for Calvin, the mayor, & Sarah, his high school love, Unhappy family issues hindered their future. Calvin was left to care for an infant sister & Sarah went to complete college & move away. With bad memories & circumstances, beyond what they could handle, time passed 10 years before they came face to face again. The second chance is very unsettling to both, forgiveness must happen for both. Add in an old carousel, Sarah's grandmother, Olive, & first love, Carlos, love finally works it way towards Calvin & Sarah. This is a very emotional story, with feelings of sadness & joy. A great new series & Bella amazes us once again! Definitely, a must read! I volunteered to read & give an honest review. 5 Stars, amazing!

Five sweet stars. I love the sweet, small town, reunion story of The Best is Yet to Come. There's real conflict, but Bella did not make it so heavy that you'll feel depressed while reading it. I appreciate that I could like and dislike Sarah at the same time. I understood her internal struggle and fears. I like that Calvin is strong yet can admit to weaknesses and mistakes. What I liked the best is feeling as if I'm part of the world that Bella is building in Summer Lake. I'm excited for this new series. It has all the elements that I love in a contemporary romance- family, friendship, community, and love. It made me smile and tear up. There's a freshness and depth to Bella's writing here. I'm looking forward to the next book.

Love, the strongest emotion, can heal or hurt. Calvin and Sarah have experienced both sides of that emotion. In the small mountain town of Summer Lake, the sense of community is strong. Family businesses are found in historic buildings on Main Street and the annual Fall Festival is a town tradition. A run down old fashioned carousel holds memories for many generations of Summer Lake residents. Yarn and knitting are both practical and symbolic elements in this beautifully written love story. Strong emotional memories, almost forgotten until a scent, sound, or sight triggers a memory. Bella Andre does an amazing job telling multiple stories spanning three generations that are intertwined in this fabulous new series. Bravo!

Fantastic spin off of the New York Sullivan's. Beautifully written second chance romance.
This is Calvan Vaughn and Sarah Barlows story from Best Friends, High School sweethearts and Lovers who thought their love would last forever to being only distant memories of what could have been.
Until Sarah comes back home trying to save her job but she has to persuade Calvin and town.
All their feelings for each other are still strong. Will they get their second chance or will history repeat it's self? As with all of Bella's books you laugh and you cry, you fall in love with all the secondary characters and root for a HEA. Highly recommend this book.
Voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book.

Sarah has returned to her home town trying to save her job. That she has spent 10 years of her life doing because she left after the love of her life told her to leave. Now she is back and she fears seeing Calvin again after all this time and him being the mayor of the town she has to go thru him to get her project appoved. Calvin has thought about Sarah for 10 years after she left him to pick up the pieces of his broken life. They may be on the opposite side of the project but when comes to there hearts can they get passed all the time there where apart ? When the decision is made for the project to go forward or against will Sarah leave again or will she stay for the right reasons this time ?

another beautiful Summer lake story, they just keep getting better and better. Exciting strong characters , romance, suspense,everything the readers needs in a book that cannot be put down until the end. A definite winner.
Calvin Vaughn and Sarah Bartow were high school sweethearts and lovers . Sarah left to follow her dreams which her father had encouraged her to do but Calvin stayed behind to look after his sister whose mother died in childbirth and their father killed himself when she was a few weeks old.

Sarah is now back in Summer lakes for a few weeks but the chemistry between her and Calvin is still too strong and he cannot let her get away again.

Sarah and Calvin were in love and inseparable high school sweethearts until the day arrived to enter the world of college. Sarah chose to head on to the big city and begin her career while Calvin stayed in his hometown to raise his new sister. Years later Sarah goes back home with her job and learns her past isn't done with her. Bella Andre is such a gifted writer and her work draws you into her stories where you can't quit reading and wishing you were there right in the middle of the story. I can't wait to read the next books in the series to see how their stories unfold. I asked to read this and in turn I would give an honest review and its here.

ARC - I voluntarily offered to review this book with no obligations and my opinions are honest!
You can't go wrong w/ a Bella Andre book.
Sarah came back to Summer Lake w/ her city girls ideas to build condos there.
Calvin is all about preserving Summer Lake.
In the beginning, they clash with their personal expectations.
As the story progress, you can see that Sarah start to remember the magic of Summer Lake.
Calvin is also healing from his past. ( the death of his mother + father )
In the end, they both healed each other.
They found their second chance.
Great storytelling
I loved the ending !

This book was beautifully emotional. Sarah and Calvin were high school sweethearts, but things ended badly ten years ago. With Sarah back in town to pitch a project to Calvin, the now mayor of Summer Lake, things will go very wrong before they are right again.
Sarah's mother and grandmother are great characters; they are both strong woman and they'll push Sarah just enough that she moves past old wounds. Calvin has raised his little sister for 10 years and buried a lot of anger up until now. With a little nudge from Olive, Sarah's grandmother, they will both get the happy ending they deserve.

Bella Andre, You did it again! An amazing new series! Summer Lake is the place to be! This book is about Sarah and Calvin. They were high school sweethearts who were truly in love. Until tragedy strikes! Calvin is left to raise his sister and Sarah goes off to college to focus on her career. Ten years later Sarah finds herself struggling to maintain her career. Her father's death has been hard on her. She returns to Summer Lake and magic starts to happen. Can Sarah and Calvin reconnect? Will they find love again? This is a must read! I voluntarily reviewed this book.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I was excited to read a new series by Bella. I enjoy second chance stories and could not wait to see how Bella would bring the relationship of Calvin and Sarah full circle, 10 years pass and they are not the same as they were back then. Their journey brings, re-examining feelings of the past and present, choices made, misunderstandings, soul searching, what is important and what do they want in life for their future. Bella takes you through the gamut of emotions with this book. But love conquers all. Another great read by Bella.

What a terrific start to this series. I loved the story of Calvin and Sarah. It is touching, thought provoking and heart warming, while being sexy and sweet at the same time. I'm always a sucker for second chance romances and this one is beautifully done.

The secondary characters make the story even more likeable. I want to visit Summer Lake, it sounds beautiful and relaxing. Can't wait to revisit everyone it in the next book.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Readers Copy of this book.

Calvin and Sarah were childhood sweethearts but tragedy changed their lives. Sarah is on the verge of loosing her job and makes one last attempt to save it. In order to save it, she has to sell her hometown on the idea of building new lake front condos. Calvin thought he was doing fine raising his sister and being the Mayor of his hometown, then Sarah comes back and old hurts and raw emotions surface. Calvin and Sarah both need to heal from the past and move forward but will they be able to.

Best friends. High school sweethearts. Passionate lovers. Once upon a time...... welcome to the present and a new beginning for Calvin & Sarah. Visiting Summer Lake is a great way to escape for a few days. I read this book while we had no electricity for 2 days. I can picture the town and the carousel in my mind. I wish I could go there for a weekend. I can't wait to read more from these characters and get to know them even better. Bella Andre is one of my favorite authors and I am always excited to read something from her.

I received a copy of the book for review purposes.
Bella Andre has started a new series and the first book doesn't include any Sullivan's as main characters. Which surprised me but didn't take away from the entertainment value of the book. This is a classic second chance romance set in small town USA. I love the feel of small towns in books - getting to see characters and hear all their stories. This one is well worth your time.

A wonderful Sullivan spinoff! It's great to see how the Sullivan series is constantly evolving. This book is about the little town that the Sullivan lake homes are. It's great to meet new characters and we briefly met Calvin, the towns mayor in an earlier read. Sarah and Calvin are match made in heaven and their connection was just too great even after ten years apart. Such a sweet read and I can't wait to see what awaits us in the Summer Lake series as well as many more Sullivan's!!

Wow, I really loved this book. The story took me through such a wide range of emotions as it revealed love, friendship and ambition, uncovered past history and showed what true Community is all about. Sarah and Calvin both had deep personal issues to overcome before they could finally find each other again and for Sarah to discover where home was. Bella, you amaze me with each book, can't wait for the next one.

A Bella Andre book never disappoints. In The Best Is Yet to Come you get two love stories, Sarah and Calvin's, and the one her grandmother tells her about her first love. Sarah & Calvin were high school sweethearts torn apart by tragedy. Ten years later they are reunited and trying to find a way back to each other despite their fears. I really enjoyed this story and I look forward to other Summer Lake romances.

Really great start to this series. A book about all kinds of relationships. Sarah and Calvin were so young when so many tragedies struck. I do wish they would have "really" communicated and not been so stubborn but ... Fast forward a few years and they are both more mature and willing to actually communicate!!! Highly recommend. I received an advanced reader copy and this is my honest review.

A long ago squabble between high school sweethearts led to a separation of 10+ years; a prefect setup for this second chance romance. Bella Andre concocted a potent reunion story for Sarah and Calvin. The author definitely didn't make it easy for these two. The difficulties that each character had to overcome strengthen the story.

An added bonus the Monday night knitting group!

Beautiful story of love, hurt, tragedy, lost and found. With today's society love is tossed aside so often for money, success, stupidity in the moment it's great to find ways to get back what was lost. Beautiful definite most read.
I was given this copy in return for an honest review.
Thank you

Besides Xalvin and Sarah, there is a secondary character here.... Summer Lake's carousel. When Sarah returns to Summer Lake for a couple of weeks, it's with an ulterior motive. She needs to sell the town on the construction of condos to be built on the site of the dilapidated town's carousel. What she doesn't bank on are the special feelings and memories of the town's people about the carousel. She also doesn't take into account the resurfacing of her feelings towards Calvin. Their relationship ended badly 10 years ago and she doesn't see any different ending this time because her need to be the over achieving big city girl hasn't changed. Or has it? A series of events sets in motion the need for Sarah to re-examine her life. A love story within this love story points her in the direction she needs to go in order to live the lufe that will fulfill and make her happy. Now she just needs Calvin to give her second chance another chance.

Ms Andre has done it again and written another great start to a new series. It never ceases to amaze me how I fell in love with all of her characters. Calvin and Sarah finally get their happy ending after so many years of separation. High school sweethearts who had hurt each other.
Sarah's mother and grandmother were such loving women - she had to end up with the love of her life. I am looking forward to this new series and recommend you enjoy the first book of this series.

Talk about complexities of emotions in a lifetime, you achieved that with your compelling storytelling. The characters were very strong and In need of each other to complete them.. The tale of her Grandmother's first love was such an exceptional and important part of this story. The carousel played a intriguing and believable part in this book, memories are so very important to everyone's lives and happiness. Truely overwhelmingly enjoyed this story.

Since her dad's death, Sarah had been struggling. Needing a place for her customer to build a condo, Sarah suggested Summer Lake her hometown. Now she had to talk the residents into accepting her plan, including the mayer her old boyfriend Calvin.
We have a bumpy ride trying to find their happy ever after. A very good story. The characters are believable.

This book had my emotions going all over the place. I felt for both people! Some people like the big city and others like the small town where everybody not only knows your name but also your thoughts....or so it seems! This book has us finding out what love and choices really matter and if love is strong enough.
Ms Andre always leaves me feel so much better at the end of the book than when I started reading her books. You hit another one out of the ballpark and another great series!!

What a wonderful book that keeps you reading and waiting to see what will happen next. I love the Sullivan's but this book m as les you smile hope hoping that love will make everything better. In th I s book you get carrying, concern for others and love. Great story.

Sarah Barstow and Calvin Vaughn grew up in Summer Lake in the Adirondacks and were so in love. Sarah went off to college and Calvin stayed in Summer Lake to help his father raise his baby sister since his mother sided in child birth. One day Sarah got an upsetting call from Calvin telling her that he walked in his home and found his father dead as he shot himself. Sarah came straight home to be with Calvin. Calvin asked her to postpone school a year to help him, but she said she couldn't. Calvin was so upset that he told her to leave and it was over.

Sarah had always been close to her father who was a senator of New York. She always did everything to make him proud of her. Her had a heart attack and died. It was ten years since she had come back for any length of time to Summer Lake. She was there now for her job to try to sell the town on building condos around the lake for her client. She was scared to see Calvin again as she was still in love with him, but knew they couldn't be together. She wasn't sure if the town, let alone Calvin would approve of the condos.

I loved that Sarah had to finally grow up and realize that some of the things she thought were true about her and her life wasn't really true. She loved her mother and grandmother very much and had a chance to grow closer. Calvin has always been loved by everyone in town and is such a great guy. He has been raising his sister for the past ten years by himself and she is such a sweetheart. Their small town sounds like such a wonderful place to live, at least I would like to live there! Bella Andre has such a wonderful way with words and telling a story that you don't want to put the book down. I can feel everything that the characters are feeling. This is such a beautiful love story. I strongly encourage you to read the book. I voluntarily read an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book.

Bella Andre has done it again, giving us a delightful story set in the quiant town,
Summer Lake.
The Best Is Yet To Come is Book 1 in the
new series Summer Lake.
It is a wonderful book. Different from the Sullivan series, still part of it. I really enjoyed reading it.
It is an emotional & touching love story.
Two people struggling to do the right thing, but still in love with each other.
Sarah & Calvin were high school sweethearts.
After a tragic incident broke them up,
life went on. Both of them feeling empty inside.
10 years later, Sarah is home for a visit in Summer Lake. When they see each other again, the anger & resentment is still there.
Will Sarah & Calvin work through their problems & have a second chance at love & a future together.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND FOR EVERYONE TO READ!!

Received ARC - loved this story! Calvin and Sarah are so real and family means so much to both. I love that all the books from Bella Andre revolve around families and families that support each other and love each other. This one is no different - love how Calvi has been there for his sister forever but fights for Sarah. There are a few writers that I make a point of reading everything they write- Bella Andre is one of them! You will love this warm, inspiring book.

This book was boring, predictable (not always a bad thing but in this case it was,) and totally blah. The heroine was a whiny self-absorbed brat and the hero was like a cardboard figure of a "Hero" with no depth. By a third of the way through I not only disliked them both but didn't care in the least what happened to them. The "plot" was pretty much non-existent and there is so much about knitting that one starts skimming very early on. I gave up at the 50% mark and jumped to the last pages just in case there was a surprise ending -- there wasn't. I wish I could get back the time I spent on this one. Seriously, give this one a miss.