Another tale in Jasper Creek, this time Grandma June’s house is nowhere in sight. Instead, this story takes place at an old summer camp that used to help at-risk youth. While it’s been out of commission for a few years, one of the people it helped in the past decided to purchase the camp and start it back up. He needs help fixing things up, more help than his three best friends can contribute.

There is a prologue taking place 10 years previous that does a good job of showing us each character very briefly. For some of them, it’s their first time at Camp Phoenix, for others they have attended for years and are now counselors. Ten years later they are all upstanding citizens hoping to help give kids the same leg up they received…and trying not to fall in love. 
 

Something that stuck out to me throughout this story is that there is never an explanation given as to how these adult people can take this time off of work. Especially since the MMC in this story is the sheriff while characters that will also have their stories told in this book are also law officers under him. Who’s minding the store??? We’ll see if it’s ever addressed in the other stories.

Bree and Flint have amazing chemistry. It’s almost funny how she has attempted to avoid Flint for the last couple of years, since establishing herself in Jasper Creek, while he is vexed as to why she is so blatant in her avoidance of him. These two both grew up around Jasper Creek and were sent to Camp Phoenix by its now-deceased owner, the previous sheriff. When Flint was a rookie cop he caught Bree shoplifting and that is her reason for keeping her distance, she’s ashamed. She doesn’t realize Flint also had some delinquency in his past and he would never judge her for trying to feed herself.

Although it can be said Bree’s upbringing was much less stable than Flint’s, there is a defining event in his past that keeps him from promising anything more than one night with her. Of course, one night turns into two turns into three, etc. Yet Flint still has blinders on as to what love is and that he is worthy of love and respect. I found their journey to be lovely and touching. ~ 4.5 stars 

When they attended camp, Lincoln and Violet did not live in the Jasper Creek area. They were both lucky enough to have people care enough to tell them about the camp and suggest they apply for scholarships. Lincoln went on to become a US Marshall while Violet is an attorney helping underprivileged kids. Violet has always had a thing for Lincoln, ever since her first summer at Camp Phoenix when she was 15 and he was a camp counselor. Violet has never wanted to “need” anyone. She knows that every time anyone shows interest in her, they want something from her, so she keeps everyone at arm’s length. So when she first sees Lincoln she decides on sight she hates him and has kept that hatred going for 10 years. Lincoln, having been older, was unaware of Violet’s hatred (crush). He cannot understand her animosity when they have to work together to revitalize a very important part of the camp.

These two are a lot of fun. Lincoln with his laidback demeanor hiding the hunter inside. Violet who just does not know how to turn down any sort of challenge, even to her detriment. When that tight leash they’ve been holding on their attraction finally snaps, the chase than ensues is sensational. I’m really glad the author lets us see the softer side of Violet without compromising her backbone of Adamantium. ~ 4 stars 

This story packs an emotional punch. Kinley is amazingly insightful, she’s always taking in everything around her. In that way, she’s much like Jackson. They don’t miss anything. Unless it has to do with themselves. Kinley has such extremely low self-esteem it’s painful to hear her inner thoughts. What I love about how she is written is that she knows when she’s spiraling. She knows when she’s letting intrusive thoughts get in the way of living her life. She’s had enough therapy to know the signs and give great advice to her friends. She just cannot seem to make the tricks she learned work for her.

It’s a bit of a surprise how tender Jackson is with Kinley, especially once he realizes the depths of her insecurities. I knew he was a good person, but didn’t know if he’d be able to muster the warm gooeyness needed. He can, but only with Kinley. These two are a beautiful thing. ~ 5 stars 
 

Clementine always attended Camp Phoenix along with all the other troubled kids, only she wasn’t in trouble or even at risk of getting in trouble. Her dad, the sheriff at the time, was the owner and ran the camp. Therefore Clementine always felt like she was on the outside looking in. The other kids didn’t trust her and, although she participated in the activities, she kept herself to the outside since she didn’t want to take anything away from those that needed help. On top of that, her mom took off when she was a baby and her dad wasn’t so great at dealing with a young girl. He was loving and tried his best, but Clementine never felt she could be her true self since it made her dad uncomfortable. Now he’s gone, she’s part of the police department with other (older) previous attendees, and she’s no closer to knowing her true self. (Side note: the running of the local sheriff’s office and these characters being away so much at the camp were finally addressed in this last story.)

Duke has always looked up to the former sheriff and knows his life would have turned out much differently without his guidance. No matter how much Duke tells himself Clementine is like a little sister to him, he knows that’s not true deep down. But he promised the sheriff he’d watch out for Clementine and doesn’t feel he’s doing that if he gives into his heart.

While there are a lot of awkward yet funny scenes with these two, they definitely have a connection. I’m happy they got together but was also annoyed by this author, yet again, reverting to making her MFC a virgin. There’s nothing wrong with a 20 or even 30-something character being a virgin, but I swear I cannot remember the last time I read a book by this author that didn’t have a virginal main character. I have to be fair and say if I hadn’t read such a large swath of this writer’s library and know how this has crept into her writing only recently, but persistently, I probably wouldn’t have been bothered by it at all. Especially since it led to some cute/comical misunderstandings. ~ 3.5 stars 

Summary: Overall, this book was full of chemistry and fun. Friendships were forged and the authors did a wonderful job of showing us those connections in the few pages they each had in their novellas. This book can absolutely be read without having to read the others in the series as they don’t tie into life at Camp Phoenix.

Overall Rating = 4.25 stars

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**