The BookFest Book Award for YA - Literary & Coming of Age & YA - Social Themes (First Place) (Spring 2026)Next Generation Indie Book Award for Second Novel and Young New Adult - Fiction - 17 Years and Up (Finalist) (2025)"Get your tissues because you will need them." - Goodreads Review"What a heartbreaker this is." - Goodreads Review"A time-leaping tale told from intimate dual perspectives, this tangled love story is driven by its emotional depth and attention to character, feeling as much like a contemporary drama as romantic fiction." - SPROne summer changed everything. Ten years later, an unexpected reunion reminds them that some loves never fade.Seventeen-year-old Natalie Benson thought her summer in Monterey, California, would be a brief pause before college-a time to brace for her father's marriage to a much younger woman and recover from her own heartbreak. But the moment she met Grayson Gallagher, a charming Boston teen working in his uncle's sailing business, her life shifted in ways she never imagined.Their summer was reckless, passionate, and alive with possibility. Days spent sailing along the coast, playing baseball, and stargazing under endless skies flowed into nights of quiet intimacy on a sun-warmed rock overlooking a tide pool. Every laugh, every glance, every shared secret entwined them in a love so fierce and unforgettable it would leave them forever changed.But life-and the weight of family expectations-tore them apart. Natalie walked away, leaving the boy she loved and a summer that transformed her world. For ten years, the memory of Grayson lingered-a ghost of what could have been.Now, Natalie is starting fresh as a teacher in a town she barely knows, drawn there only by her best friend and former college roommate. When she unexpectedly encounters Grayson at his family's summer home-never realizing he had ties there, nor that her friend is a childhood connection-past emotions surge. A shocking revelation forces them to confront the depth of their shared history.As they navigate the pull of their past, Natalie and Grayson must face a future marked by an unexpected turn-one that will test the strength of their bond and the endurance of a love that has lasted since that unforgettable summer.Ideal for readers who cherish stories of second chances, enduring love, destiny, and heart-wrenching romance reminiscent of The Notebook, Me Before You, The Fault in Our Stars, P.S. I Love You, and A Walk to Remember. Read more
