In “The Inheritance” Chase’s grandmother leaves her beach house to Chase and a handsome stranger named Reece. The will stipulates that they have to live there together for six months before they can make a decision on what to do with the house. But soon Chase and Reece are thinking more about each other than about the house.

Ms. Braden took up the challenge of having her characters meet, get to know each other and fall in love within a short story. This is a difficult task and she handles the development of the relationship well. I wish in some instances she had done more showing instead of telling. For example, the reader is told that Chase is a nice person. I’d rather see her in action and figure that out for myself. A bit more back story may have helped as well. Chase and Reece had great chemistry and Braden’s love scenes were wonderful. This is a fun summer read.

“Summer’s Return” is a story about a reunion of friends who have secretly been in love with each other for years. Following the death of his father Parker Radcliffe has returned to Roanoke Island to oversee the sale of their beach home. Upon arrival he finds that his childhood best friend, Arianna Morgan is the real estate agent. Parker has been in love with her for years, but her care free attitude has him convinced she doesn’t have feelings for him. How can Arianna change his mind?

The characters were wonderfully defined, the tension between them was very real. Ms. Green really made this story work in short format by trimming it to the essentials. There are no other characters aside from Parker and Arianna, giving her more time to develop their personalities. They already have a shared past, a relationship. Her writing is crisp and clean. Ms. Green makes every one of her words count and the result is a beautiful, moving story.

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Mildly sensual

Reviewer: Kara Lynn Russell
July 23, 2007