ARC Review: Seaside Hearts by Melissa Foster

Seaside Hearts is the second book in the Seaside Summers series by Melissa Foster which is also tied to the Love in Bloom series. These books are all tied together with interconnected characters, but each one can be read as a standalone. Melissa Foster always writes really enjoyable contemporary romance stories with different and unique characters. Her books are always a safe bet for me whenever I want a light and easy read to just sit back and enjoy. This wasn't my favorite of hers, but I did like it.

Jenna Ward has wanted Peter Lacroux for years, but whenever she gets around him she can't help how shy and quiet she gets. As much as she has wanted Peter, he has never seen her as more than a friend. But for Jenna her summers have been the best part of her year for as long as she has known him. Finally ready to move on with her life, Jenna is determined to make the most of her summer and find a guy that will notice her. But just as she starts seeing someone, Pete finally seems to see her. Pete has liked Jenna for awhile, but her shyness has kept him from making a move on her as much as his alcoholic father has. With Pete's dedication to his father, he doesn't think a relationship is possible. But Pete also isn't ready to let Jenna go, and will do whatever it takes to show her that they belong together.

I liked Pete and Jenna both. Pete was such a great guy. He was normal and kind and I loved how thoughtful he was. He had always paid attention to Jenna and knew more about her than she had ever imagined. Jenna was quirky and I loved that she dealt with her OCD issues and wasn't ashamed to be herself. She was really sweet, and she was super supportive of Pete and everything he was going through. I loved how easy these two fit together once they finally figured things out, and they were so encouraging of one another.

For me though, I felt like much of this story was about all the surrounding characters and Pete and Jenna almost seemed to get lost in the shuffle part of the time. I wanted more of those two, and all the times with their friends seemed to slow and I found myself wanting to skim to get back to those two. I also felt as though there was a bit of confusion surround Pete and Jenna's friendship before they actually got together. Pete said he didn't want to ruin their friendship as one of the reasons he never did anything about his feelings, but they didn't ever really seem to talk or interact much before. He would come over and fix things for her and they were sort of friendly when in the same place, but Jenna would barely say two words to him. I didn't see the friendship between them really start to develop until their relationship did as well. That being said, I thought that they were a great couple once they were together. They were natural and believable, and I liked them together. For me though, this one just didn't have the same emotional connection between the hero and heroine that most of Melissa Foster's other books do. I really like this series though and will definitely continue to read more from her in the future.

**ARC Provided by Tasty Book Tours**

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