Not Just Friends by Kate Hoffmann

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When Julia McKee’s friends buy the summer camp where they had all spent a decade of summers, she’s more than happy to take a week away from her bakery and help them with renovations. But on her first night sleeping in one of the cabins, she’s awoken by the boy she spent all those summers fantasizing – and writing in her diary – about.

Well, Adam Sutherland’s not such a boy anymore. He’s definitely become a man. And unbeknownst to Jules, he spent more than his fair share of time fantasizing about her when they were teens. Now that he sees the confident woman she’s become, he’s ready to explore whether they could keep the chemistry going beyond summer camp.

There were parts of this novel I really enjoyed. Jules and Adam feel very realistic, and not only do they have great chemistry as lovers but as friends, something that’s hugely important to me as a reader. They laugh together just as easily as they turn each other on.

Take this scene, for example, when Jules is trying to repair one the of the cabins.

“Sonuva bunny,” she cried again as she hit her thumb with the hammer.

“Sonuva bunny?” he said.

Julia jumped at the sound of his voice, then slowly turned to face him. “I guess I’m falling back into old habits. We weren’t allowed to swear at Camp Winnehawkee.”

“Why would you need to swear?”

“It’s the only thing I can do. My carpentry skills are almost non-existent. my fingers are all smashed.”

“Can I show you a little trick?” he asked, opening the door.

“If it involves finding a way to make my fingers stop throbbing, I’m listening.”

“Well,” he said. “First things first.” Adam grabbed her hand and brought it up to his lips, then gently kissed the tip of each finger. “Better?” he asked.

She released a tightly held breath, then shook her head. “Not quite.”

He pressed his lips to the center of her palm. “How about now?”

“That feels a little better. But the pain is kind of creeping up my arm.”

Laughing, he pulled her into his arms. “And has the pain reached your lips yet?”

On the down side, the conflict keeping them apart didn’t seem strong enough. From the start, I kept feeling like Jules was making a bigger deal out of than really suited her character or the situation, and it was easy to see how it would be resolved.

But overall, this is a fun, entertaining read.

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Have you read any of Kate Hoffmann’s books? What did you think?