Huckleberry Summer by Jennifer Beckstrand
My Rating: ★★★★
With one successful matchmaking scheme under her belt, Anna sets off to match a different grandson up with a young lady she thinks is perfect for him. Once she hires Lily to help her and her husband out, she busts a move and then lets the magic happen. However, Lily immediately dislikes Aden. She thinks his big dog is out of control just like Aden, who is a conservationist and has been arrested for protesting. Meanwhile, Aden thinks Lily is cute, but isn’t interested in someone who hates him and his dog. When they grow feelings for each other, their love is put to the test when Lily’s father disapproves of Aden. Besides, her dad already has a husband picked out for her, and he's safe and reliable. What is this sweet couple to do?
After reading the first book in the series, I knew I had to pick up the second installment and get started on it right away. While I loved the first book, I didn’t particularly care for the new couple we follow. I still can’t put my finger on what it is that I don’t like about Aden. He’s a conservationist who cares about saving the planet as well as animals. Like Lily, he’s sweet and honest, but there was something about him that rubbed me the wrong way. His dog sounded adorable though and I’d give him all the pats in the world.
Lily is a sweet woman who is a serial rule follower, loves to be helpful, and hangs on every word her father has to say. The drawback is that she never steps a foot out of line, and when she does, she doesn’t take responsibility. Instead of acknowledging the choices she makes, she points the finger elsewhere and goes off crying in the other direction. I saw this coming early on and it reminded me of the few people I’ve known throughout my life who always made it seem like they just happened to be there whenever they did something that led to any kind trouble. I think this is why I didn’t care for Lily. No one has time for her shenanigans when she does pull them.
That said, I loved every other character that appears in the book, including the ones we’ve seen before. I loved seeing Anna and Felty again and I loved meeting the new characters, especially Lily’s sister, Estee. I love that we got a glimpse at the next book as well and I’m really excited that Anna will be fixing up one of her granddaughters with someone.
All in all, this book had a great cast of characters and told a wonderful story. I just didn’t care for Lily and Aden, but I think that most people will. I enjoyed the story and look forward to reading the next book.
