Book Summary: 

Summer Prescott and Parker Woods have been best friends since they were three years old. Now thirty, neither of them feels like they have a good handle on adulthood. While their friends are coupled up and thriving, they’re struggling through career crises and disastrous dates, and frequenting the same old bars and surf spots they’ve been going to for years—until, on a whim, Summer decides to hand over her love life to Parker. After all, who better to help find her soulmate than the person who knows her best?

But when the date Parker introduces her to goes from husband material to dead end in one publicly humiliating swoop, Summer is so devastated that she breaks up with both men. And she decides to embrace a fresh start away from home by entering a surf competition that’ll have her chasing waves around the world.

Parker soon realizes the troubling truth—he’s spent nearly thirty years by Summer’s side and has only just realized that he’s in love with her. Now he’s on a mission to win back not just her trust but her heart, before she slips away for good.

My Review:

I don’t know about you, but this is the story I have been waiting for. For two books now, we have seen Summer and Preston together, and while they have endlessly claimed to only be friends, their group (and us readers) have been hoping the blinders would finally come off so they would realize they were meant for each other, giving everyone the HEA they deserve. Well, the moment has arrived, and I, for one, couldn’t be happier.

I fell in love with Ellie K. Wilde’s writing when I was introduced to Only In Your Dreams, and I devoured her second book, Only Between Us, as she proved her wit, charm, and ability to heat up the pages were not a one-hit wonder. Now we are back at it again, and from the start, everything I adore about Wilde’s writing is front and center. Within the first couple of pages, I knew I wouldn’t be able to put this book down – and just like with her previous books, I was right.

Summer and Preston have been best friends ever since he stormed her pillow fort during her first day of daycare. Twenty-seven years later, they are still just as inseparable. Neighbors, coworkers, partners in crime – rarely a moment spent apart. They know everything about each other, and despite what their friends are determined to believe, it has always been and will always be platonic between them.

As their thirtieth birthdays approach, however, a new sense of urgency begins to form. Suddenly, Summer’s failed dates are no longer comical stories to share – she is ready to find her person. For Preston, living above the bar, working at the same rehab center since graduation, and being the rumored good time in town is not as appealing as it once was. After one last epic failed date, Summer hatches a plan – they know each other better than anyone, so who better to find their perfect match?

There is just one problem: Preston forgets. He lucks out at the last minute, finding a seemingly perfect candidate who checks all of Summer’s boxes. The issue is that looks can be deceiving, and what unfolds nearly destroys not only Summer but their friendship.

Iced out by his best friend of almost three decades, Preston is forced to face a reality he never considered – has what he has been searching for been in front of him the whole time? Meanwhile, unknown to him, Summer is ready to leave it all behind and break free from the whispers and disappointments life has handed her lately. Enlisting Preston’s help, she prepares to enter the Surf Up competition. Disguised as revenge, it is really her ticket to much-needed freedom.

Only Preston has no idea she is already one foot out the door.

When he discovers her real intentions, is he willing to risk it all for the one woman he never knew he always loved?

First off, my two absolute favorite things about this book: the antics between Summer and Preston during one of her dates and the moment Preston has his epiphany – both had me in tears laughing. One of the things I truly enjoy about Wilde’s writing is that the character conversations never feel over the top or forced. You genuinely feel like you are in the room with these people, naturally having the same conversations. For that reason, I truly appreciate what I will dub her ability to create “fly on the wall” moments.

As for the lust, spice, heat – however you want to label it – I do not know how Wilde does it, but by the end of her books, she always has me saying “Hot d@mn” at a particular line delivered by the MMC. The line from her first book has lived rent-free in my head, and what Parker utters to Summer now resides safely beside it. My guess is that while delivery plays a part, it is really the build-up and connection between the characters that make it so potent. Either way, the temporary face fanning and a blush that could probably be seen from space confirm that Wilde has not run out of ways to heat up the pages.

The one thing that niggled in the back of my mind – that I was not quite 100% behind – was the evolution of Parker’s character. I understand what Wilde was trying to do, but the undertone that he was changing solely for someone else rather than for himself left a bit of an “ick” factor for me. As readers, we were fully aware he was not happy with his life, and his impending thirtieth birthday only highlighted how much of a rut he was in – with his job, where he lived, and his relationships. He simply was not happy.

The realization that he was in love with Summer became the catalyst for change. But here is where I struggled – it felt like he was becoming the person she wanted, not necessarily the person he wanted to be. Not the man he knew he could be, but the one she would finally choose.

I kept asking myself: if she did not choose him – if she decided their friendship was too important and nothing ever came of it – would he still follow through? Would he still learn to cook, still open his own facility, still get his life together? Or would it all fall to the wayside if he was not chosen?

To Wilde’s credit, she shows that while Summer may have lit the fire, it was the people around Parker who kept the flame burning – whether she was in his life or not. Brooks, Noah, and River played a major role in manifesting his dream of owning his own rehab facility and helping it come to fruition, and that had nothing to do with Summer. Still, when he debated dyeing his hair, I wanted to throw my hands in the air and scream that no one should have to change who they are that much to be right for someone.

What ultimately settled that “ick” factor for me was when Summer reframed her idea of her dream person. When she finally articulated what she wanted, it aligned with who Parker has always been – just with the growth she knew he was capable of. That shift allowed us to see their influence went both ways. Summer did not just change Parker – Parker helped shape Summer into someone stronger, someone who knew her worth, her value, what she deserved, and what she would no longer settle for.

The only other thing that lingered for me was the Grant plot hole. What happened to him? He had a thing for Summer for three years. They went on one date, Parker interrupts it, and he just disappears – we never hear about him again. Did she let him down? Did he never call? Did he fall off the face of the earth? We also did not get confirmation about River and May. We were led to assume they got together, but a little confirmation of that HEA would have been appreciated.

I absolutely loved how Ellie ended the story. The multi-leap into the future allowed us to see how their relationship evolved and where they ultimately landed. It also gave us wrap-ups for characters from the first two books, putting a beautiful bow on the people we have grown to love.

I am truly going to miss this series. Sienna, Melody, Summer, Shy, Brooks, Zak, and Parker were the perfect group of friends – loving, sharing, and supporting one another the way a chosen family should. Add in Noah, and your heart could not be any fuller.

I do not know what Wilde has up her sleeve next, but she is officially a must-read author for me – and I will be right here waiting when it arrives.