Holiday in the Hamptons by Sarah Morgan

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

I always look forward to a new book from Sarah Morgan and yet again I managed to devour the whole thing in one sitting, they are just sooo addictive. Absolutely perfect when you want to lose yourself for a little while.

This is the 5th book in the author’s From Manhattan with Love series but could easily be read as a standalone as, while there are some mild spoilers for previous books, there doesn’t tend to be too much of an overlap.

This time the story follows Felicity (Fliss), sister of Daniel who was the MC in the previous book New York, Actually, who as the story begins is trying to avoid ex husband Seth. They married when they were teenagers but it was a short marriage that left them both a bit broken. Unwilling to face him when he starts working in Manhattan, Fliss flees to the Hamptons to stay with her Grandmother but her plan fails spectacularly when she bumps into him within an hour of arriving and finds he lives in the area.

Seth however has never gotten over Fliss and is determined to win her back no matter what lengths she goes to to avoid him. But with all of the history between them, can you ever really go back?

Essentially it’s a story about dealing with and learning from past mistakes and maybe trying again and I really loved it. Felicity is probably one of my favorite Sarah Morgan characters, or at least the one I can relate to the most. She’s not a gushy romantic who wants to talk about her feelings. She’d much rather bottle everything up and channel all of her energy into her work. It’s not necessarily that healthy but I loved how independent and determined she was. She’s terrified of being hurt or showing how she feels in case it’s used against her but in many way’s she’s incredibly strong and fiercely protective of her twin sister Harriet.

Seth *swoons* is probably my idea of the perfect romantic interest. I’m an animal lover and he’s a vet so I was always going to crush on him (I’ve had a crush on just about every vet I’ve met in real life). What makes him better though is that he’s just so sweet and caring *swoons again*.

The relationship between them is definitely interesting and they balance each other out nicely. There was possibly a bit less of a spark than I would have liked but there is just enough chemistry that you want them to get together.

One of the highlights of this book however was the animals. Seth is a vet and Fliss runs a dog walking business with her sister so dogs feature a lot and Morgan gives them such great characters that I wanted to rush out and get one (possibly Hero). They definitely add a lot of light relief which is occasionally needed in this story.

I also loved how Matilda, a very minor character from the first book in the series got to play a much more significant role this time around. She’s now a happily married and successful romance writer and the source of some brilliant insights into relationships (and hilariously funny at times). I would actually be quite interested in getting to read her story at some point as I think I’d enjoy it.

I did love the story in this one, I like a good second time around romance and while you know how it’ll no doubt end it’s an enjoyable ride with a bit more depth than you would expect from this type of read. There are quite a few secrets revealed throughout and some surprises that definitely keep you reading even when you should be doing something much less fun (cleaning, cooking, sleeping).

Overall, yet another great read from Morgan and now I’m looking forward to book 6 which I suspect will be Harriet’s story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. As always all views are my own.