About the Book

Book: Secret Beach Boyfriend

Author: Kari Trumbo

Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance

Release Date: September 29 , 2020

She met Rafe on the beach when she was just five and it seemed like fate tied them together. When a chance encounter returns him to the islands twenty years later, Annie finds her beach friend has grown up and now needs her help.

Damaged and scarred from a past that still hasn’t healed, Annie needs help of her own. True to character, Rafe comes up with a perfect solution, but a temporary island romance does not fit into his agenda at all.

Will an offer to be her secret boyfriend give her heart a second chance? How can it turn into something more and prove there’s power in prayer and that love can triumph over a painful past?

He was Annie’s hero long ago, but can the man he has become save her now?

Secret Beach Boyfriend is the third “Merriweather book” in a new series featuring five islands, six authors, and a boatload of happily-ever-afters.

The Independence Island Series: beach reads aren’t just for summer anymore.

Click here to get your copy!

My Thoughts

When I signed up to review Secret Beach Boyfriend by Kari Trumbo, I was ready for a fun romance. I’d heard about the Independence Island Series and was excited to experience it for myself. What’s not to like about several books written by different authors that all tie in together? This in itself is quite a feat.

Trumbo didn’t just write the typical boy-meets-girl romance. Annie and Rafe’s story actually started earlier, when they spent a day together on the beach as children. This had an effect on both of their lives—the girl heartbroken over her parents’ divorce, and the boy struggling with his mother’s severe OCD. It gave the novel a little twist of divine planning. I loved that the book takes place on the fictional island of Mimosa off the coast of Savannah. I would have liked to get more of that island vibe throughout the story, because it would have made the setting much stronger.

Annie struggled severely with the idea of love because of her parents’ divorce. For reasons that weren’t clear, she never saw her father again once he’d left her mother, and that played a significant role in her fear of commitment. Because of this, she didn’t date and was so sure that she’d be the object of town gossip if she did, she insisted on secrecy when she and Rafe started to connect. It seemed extreme to me. Had there actually been evidence of the town gossiping, it would come across as more realistic. This was her biggest flaw, the one she needed to overcome, yet near the end, she discovered a betrayal, that had I been her, would have had much more impact than my parents divorce, yet she accepted it like it was nothing. This felt unrealistic to me.

Rafe had his own issues, which mostly pertained to his mother’s OCD, and his dislike of island life. He is inconsistent in his actions and responses, which had me shaking my head a few times, although he is very likable.

There are other inconsistencies that factored into my review, but to reveal them would spoil the ending for those who’ve not yet read this novel. It is a fun read, and I empathized with Rafe’s mother and her severe OCD. If you love romance, you’ll enjoy this book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book for reviewing purposes, but the opinions in it are my own.

About the Author

Kari Trumbo is a bestselling author of Christian historical and contemporary romance novels. Her books are known for characters who feel real, settings you could move to, and faith woven between the pages. She makes her home in central Minnesota with her husband of over twenty years, two daughters, two sons, and never enough time.

More from Kari

Have you ever hunted for seashells on the beach?

This sweet story actually starts twenty years before the moment you open the front cover. Years before, on a solitary beach, a little boy comforts a girl he finds crying by offering to help her find seashells. He doesn’t know why she’s crying, just that he can help. Even though he knows his mother will be angry with him.

You see, Rafe (that’s the little boy) has a mother who has minor OCD and doesn’t let him go on the beach. But when Annie (that’s the little girl) is obviously heartbroken, he can’t leave her sitting there and not do anything. At that moment, a hero is born.

It’s the little things that make a hero. That moment in time when he made a choice to put Annie above his own discomfort created a past for them both, an anchor they could both look back on. It was pivotal enough for them both that they remembered it years later. Rafe, because he hid the shells and cherished the one time he got to collect them. Annie, because she was going through something no child of five should have to. His kindness was a glimmer of hope.

Fast forward twenty years and these two meet again, but don’t realize right away they are the people they’ve been thinking about on-and-off for most of their lives. Interestingly enough, that part of my story is true. I had a friend I met at a local beach when I was too young to recall names or anything else of great significance other than the feeling that it was the best day ever. She made me her best buddy for the day, and that stuck with me.

When I think of this story beyond the printed page, where Annie and Rafe live on in my mind, I have to wonder if shells will continue to be a theme in their lives.