Under a Summer Sky by Melody Carlson

About the Book
High school art teacher Nicole Anderson is looking forward to a relaxing summer in Savannah, house-sitting and managing an art gallery for a family friend. The house is luxurious in a way that only old money could make it, and the gallery promises interesting days in a gorgeous setting. Yet it isn't long before her ideal summer turns into more than she bargained for: a snooty gallery employee who's determined to force her out, a displaced adolescent roosting in the attic, and two of Nicole's close childhood friends--who also happen to be brothers--vying for her attention.
With a backdrop of a beautiful historical city, incredible architecture, and even an alleged ghost or two, combined with the opportunity for romance . . . anything can happen!

Bestselling and award-winning author Melody Carlson invites readers to spend the summer surrounded by beauty and tantalizing possibilities for the future.

My Thoughts
This book took me quite awhile to get through, because honestly I just wasn't drawn into the story at all. I will start by saying that I absolutely loved the location. Savannah sounds so gorgeous and it has now made its way onto my list of places I want to visit. But besides the beautiful city it was set in, this book didn't have a lot going for it, sadly. Nicole was a decent character but she didn't have much of a backbone and was a little too nice which made her a bit of a push-over. Also she had little to no character development over the course of the book; she was basically the same from start to finish. And then there were the men. I felt like we barely got to know either of them. At the start, from what little we saw of them, neither was emerging as a clear favorite. But then suddenly Alex turned whiny and manipulative so obviously you wanted her to choose Ryan even though we never really got to know him well enough to see exactly the kind of guy he was. Bernie, Alex's daughter, was a nice enough girl, but I couldn't help feeling that she wasn't entirely necessary to the story and the time given to her could have been better spent developing the guys' characters.
Nicole spent her days working or playing tourist or being with Ryan, Alex, or Bernie. There wasn't a lot of substance to this but if you're looking for a mindless summer read this may be just up your alley!

Meet the Author
Melody Carlson has written more than 200 books (with sales around 6.5 million) for teens, women and children. That's a lot of books, but mostly she considers herself a "storyteller." Her novels range from serious issues like schizophrenia (Finding Alice) to lighter topics like house-flipping (A Mile in My Flip-Flops) but most of the inspiration behind her fiction comes right out of real life. Her young adult novels (Diary of a Teenage Girl, TrueColors etc.) appeal to teenage girls around the world. Her annual Christmas novellas become more popular each year. She's won a number of awards (including Romantic Time's Career Achievement Award, the Rita and the Gold Medallion) and some of her books have been optioned for film/TV. Carlson has two grown sons and makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and yellow Lab dog. To find out more about Melody Carlson, visit her website at http://www.melodycarlson.com/

I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for my review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.