Beachside Kisses With My Enemy by Kristin Canary: Book Review

 *Book received for consideration. All thoughts are my own.

Things were going fine until Blake “the Flake” Moffitt decided to show his much-too-handsome face again in Hallmark Beach.

I may have been in love with my best friend’s brother once upon a time, but that fairytale is long over. Now, he’s just another person who’s left and disappointed me. Who’s hurt my best friend, Marilee.

This time, I’m determined to protect both of us from expecting too much.

Thankfully, he’s only here for the summer.
So even though he’s our temporary housemate—did I forget to mention that?—maybe I could tolerate his presence in town. Except for one little thing…

He’s parked his food truck right next to the only full-service restaurant in town…
…and it’s the one I’m currently managing. The one that was already struggling on my watch, and now is plunging into the red.

Guess what, buddy? This means war.
Blake must be stopped, but he thwarts me at every turn. It’s bad enough we have to work together on the town’s Fourth of July festival planning committee, but then he has to go and be sweet when I least expect it—more like the guy I used to know.

So is he my enemy…or the love of my life?
Only time will tell. But time has a funny way of ticking away. And with a restaurant opening calling him back to the big city at the end of the summer, time is the one thing we don’t have on our side.

Perfect for fans of:
✔️enemies to lovers
✔️best friend’s brother
✔️temporary roommates
✔️forced proximity
✔️first love/crush
✔️small-town romance

Beachside Kisses With My Enemy is Book 2 in the new Hallmark Beach small town sweet romantic comedy series, where a charming yet quirky town on the coast of California comes to life. It’s the story of restaurant manager Lucy Reynolds and her best friend’s brother, chef Blake Moffitt. This dual-POV novel is filled with all the sizzling romantic tension and swoons possible without on-page intimacy.

Kristin is a thirty-something wife and boy mom who functions best on peach tea and cookie dough ice cream. She writes closed-door romantic comedies with lots of sizzle and spice but no explicit on-page content. A desert dweller, she always has her eye on the next trip to a beach somewhere—and if she can’t travel there in person, then you’d better believe she's going to write about it. Kristin is never fully satisfied with a movie, TV show, or book without a hefty dose of romance in it, and she's grateful to be living a true-life love story with her own crazy little family. Connect with her at KristinCanary.com.

Beachside Kisses With My Enemy is the second book in the Hallmark Beach series. While you'll definitely see some familiar characters from previous books, I do think this could be enjoyed as a standalone just fine as well. 

This book had me smiling and laughing out loud right from the start! Lucy's reaction when Blake makes his first appearance back in town (and more specifically her house) was absolutely priceless... and definitely set the tone for the rest of the book! I loved the banter between these two, but even more so, the chemistry! These two were so great together! I loved the glimpses we got of their history, making me root for them all that much more when we see what they have had to overcome. This was such an enjoyable read (and one you'll definitely find yourself wanting to read with a snack with all the food talk!)

Beachside Kisses With My Enemy is a closed-door romance with kisses only and no language. While the tone of the story is overall lighthearted and fun, it does mention a few harder topics-- primarily death of a parent and parental abandonment. I'd definitely recommend checking out the author's note/content warnings to decide if it's for you. 

Get your copy: https://amzn.to/3UlBThu