First in the Somerset Lake series set in North Carolina is a gently romantic and practical read about Trisha Langly and her young son Petey. Needing work and with few credentials, the formerly comfortably off Trisha is now a property manager at Somerset Rental Cottages. The lies which led to her divorce still smart; her ex-husband had been embezzling money from his clients. Taking a job with board at THE SUMMER COTTAGE in the next town over will help her get away from gossip.

Vi Fletcher is a kind senior lady, recovering from a minor stroke. Having admitted that she needs help to renovate and staff the rentals, she’s hired Trisha, but her grandson, Jake, also arrives. In theory he’s here to help with repairs, but as a lawyer he’s also weighing up the odds that Vi can’t remain independent and needs to sell and live with the rest of her family in Florida. Jake has his own seaplane which makes several appearances, and I greatly enjoyed having a pilot in the story.

Sweetwater Springs is the name of an earlier series by Annie Rains, and it turns out that Trisha has moved from Sweetwater Springs, which should help her regular readers feel continuity in the new location. While there are plenty of references to attraction or tension between the two principals, a young boy is a de facto chaperone, and Trisha is a good enough mom to put her son first. Somerset Lake is a nice, friendly small town, full of bluegrass music and chatty bookstore ladies, but that won’t necessarily bring the tourism income needed to save the holiday cottages.

If you’re in need of a relaxing read about uphill battles and personal barriers to overcome, THE SUMMER COTTAGE will keep you engaged and chuckling wryly. I read it in a sitting, and I intend to revisit the series by Annie Rains. Those ladies in the book club are all single now, and it’s nice that we see life after divorce without the big drama that precedes this stage. We can also ask ourselves if we blame others unfairly for something and should give them a chance. People’s motivations are shown somewhat one-sidedly in this tale, but it’s a romance, and a few of the characters do show some personal growth.  Make the most of summer, it won’t last; but summer will come around again; this could be the moral of THE SUMMER COTTAGE.