Summer Love Series by Sarah Brenton

Reliable, boring Gina Carlson is living a lie. Not only is her engagement to her best friend one of convenience that will allow them to buy Happy Lake Lodge and Campground from his grandmother, but there’s also a teensy-tiny chance she might already be married after a drunken night in Vegas... moreReliable, boring Gina Carlson is living a lie. Not only is her engagement to her best friend one of convenience that will allow them to buy Happy Lake Lodge and Campground from his grandmother, but there’s also a teensy-tiny chance she might already be married after a drunken night in Vegas. She doesn’t remember that night—but waking up in a tacky honeymoon suite with a twenty-five-year-old stripper and rings on her finger doesn’t mean they actually got married, right?Benji Dwyer is sick of being a one-night-only fantasy, even if it comes with the territory of taking his clothes off on stage. The night with Gina was different. What they had was something deeper. That’s why he married her.So when circumstances (and possibly mafia lackeys) send him on the run, Benji decides to lay low at Happy Lake and see if he and Gina still spark. But Gina doesn’t remember him. Even worse—she’s engaged to someone else. So Benji proposes a deal. He’ll tell her what happened, keep their marriage secret, and give her a divorce—if he can stay for the summer.This spicy small-town rom-com is written in first person POV and comes with a twist of action, bisexual characters, and an older woman (34)-younger man (25) age gap. It’s the first of the three books in the Summer Love series and can be read as a standalone. Content notes can be found in the book and on my webpage. less

Clayton Bastien is not the kind of guy who’d ever set foot in a small-town dive bar, let alone own one, but ten million dollars in illegal poker winnings has a way of ruining a man’s life. Slinging low-carb beer and hard seltzers while quietly laundering money through the bar isn’t his ideal for laying low, but it’s only temporary. Or so he thinks, until sharp-tongued Louisa Gallo shows up, claiming the bar is hers... moreClayton Bastien is not the kind of guy who’d ever set foot in a small-town dive bar, let alone own one, but ten million dollars in illegal poker winnings has a way of ruining a man’s life. Slinging low-carb beer and hard seltzers while quietly laundering money through the bar isn’t his ideal for laying low, but it’s only temporary. Or so he thinks, until sharp-tongued Louisa Gallo shows up, claiming the bar is hers.Back from an unsuccessful attempt at tracking down the ex who emptied her bank account, Lou is stunned to find her cousin sold her bar out from under her. The maddeningly hot Clay might be willing to share, but she isn’t. Luckily, making a man miserable is free.Except Clay refuses to walk away, and those hot summer nights tempt them to explore the even hotter chemistry building between them—but can two people afraid of being burned by love find Happy Ever After, or will it go up in smoke before summer’s end? less