I should have known that the 'romance' genre of this novel would reduce any actual story to a 'plot? What plot?' scenario, but I thought I'd give Suzanne MacPherson a chance. Needless to say, I paid a heavy price for my optimism. It took me three days to read this piddly little book because the writing was dreadful - in fact, I only managed to finish because I actually paid to clog up my Kindle with a copy.

The pretended plot sounded intriguing from the blurb - a Sookie Stackhouse knock-off living in a small Washington town is plagued by ghosts seeking her help, so when rich 'b-word' (to quote the puritanical dialogue of the 'heroine', Lila) collapses and dies from anaphylaxsis in the local supermarket, Sookie steps in to investigate. However, to mix in a complication - and a random sex scene - the rich bitch's ex-husband falls for Sookie and manages to implicate them both in his wife's death. That's it, really. The dialogue is terrible, full of 'damn' (or 'darn') and 'wow', the characters suitably two-dimensional but attractive for the intended demographic, and all capped off with a nauseating HEA. The H and h are thrown together in the most laughably contrived and tacked on bedroom scene I have ever read. I can almost imagine Suzanne MacPherson sitting there, thinking, 'Gosh durn, I'm halfway through the book and all I have is sexual tension! I need to get these two together, like, right now! I know - he can break into her house in the middle of the night to warn her that the police are watching them both, and find her naked in bed. Then, instead of lamping him with the nearest heavy implement or screaming for help, she can think, 'Huh, I am kind of desperate, being a single mom who works in a supermarket, so what the hey!' Seriously. She tells this strange man, who has just clamped his hand over her mouth to stifle her, that she's on the pill and doesn't have any diseases. After that, I sort of gave up hope.

I can't even recommend this tripe as a 'light read' or 'good, frothy fun', because I have read and enjoyed chick lit novels of that variety, and Forever Summer doesn't qualify. Bad, bad, bad. ( )

(From the book's back cover) Lucas Griffin has come to Port Gamble for one purpose: to get the Griffin family summer home out of the clutches of his evil ex-wife, Emily Ruth Griffin.

But before he can blink twice, she drops dead in the local grocery market. Now he's stuck with her ghost, and her little dog, too.

Not-So-Dearly Departed Lila Abbott has had her fill of rich summer people who crowd Port Gamble every year. Townie girls and summer boys just don't mix, and she's learned that the hard way.

But Lucas Griffin has a ghost problem that only Lila can solve, and she finds herself knee-deep in Cheez Whiz while Lucas and the deceased Emily Ruth duke it out.

Working together to clear his name and get rid of their pesky poltergeist, Lucas and Lila find themselves falling in love. Maybe this will finally be the forever summer for Lila Abbott.

(My take) I liked this book, but it was very predictable. It should have been proofread better (those little errors irritated me). It was okay, and I would recommend it to some friends who read mostly romances, but I doubt I reread it. So many things could have been developed into a better story, but it was a quick, easy read. I will read more of Suzanne MacPherson's books. ( )