Merritt and her Childhood Crush

Title: Merritt and her Childhood Crush

Series: Oakley Island Romcom #2

Author: Emma St. Clair & Jenny Proctor

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romcom,     

Publisher: Emma St. Clair

Source: Own

My review:

Merritt and her Childhood Crush is the second book in the Oakley Island Romcom series by Emma St. Clair and Jenny Proctor. It is best to read this series in order. I loved Eloise's story in Eloise and the Grump Next Door and could not wait to get Merritt's story.  

Merritt's story begins when she comes to Oakley Island so Eloise can go to grad school. While her life has completely imploded, she has not told her sisters. Merritt has always been independent and strong, or so it seems. She has no idea how her life is going to change by coming back to Oakley Island.

Hunter is the strong silent type. We learn very little about him in Eloise's story. It is enlightening getting his story in this book.  I feel like in this book we see it is not so much he is the strong, silent type, as he speaks when he has something to say. He is invested when it is important and matters. We see a tender side to him that is not as obvious in the first book.

Merritt and her Childhood Crush is a second-chance romance, and I was here for it. Told in dual POV, I loved her and Hunter's story. I felt what they felt, hello Cassidy, get a clue. I loved Isabelle, she is fun and precocious, but we also see her act her age. So many things to love about this one. While it is not as humorous as the first book (because Merritt's personality is so different from Eloise's), it still has its moments. I loved this story, and I am sad we have to wait for Sadie and Ben's story.

★★★★★/5

Synopsis (Goodreads): 

I said I’d never set foot on Oakley Island again. Not so long as HE lived there. But after my life implodes, I’m reconsidering EVERYTHING. Including my reasons for avoiding the first—and only—man I’ve ever loved.

I’m a high achiever. Driven. Maybe a little TOO driven.

So when my boyfriend confesses to cheating AND steals the promotion I’ve been working toward for years, I do the unthinkable for someone like me.

I break.

But the timing couldn’t be better for me to fall apart—I can escape to the idyllic Oakley Island and oversee the renovations on my late grandmother’s estate.

There’s just one tiny, massive, little problem: no one told me the contractor is the grown up version of the boy I fell in love with years ago.

He was my first love. My first kiss.

My first heartbreak.

Now, I’m faced with seeing Hunter daily. Being his boss. Forging a new dynamic that fits our adult selves.

Hunter is bigger. Bearded. Talks in grunts rather than words.

And has just as much hold on me as he ever did.

Trouble is, Hunter’s life is on Oakley. His daughter is on Oakley. And it was never my plan to stay here permanently.
Do I really want to risk having my heart broken a second time? More importantly, do I want to risk breaking his?

Merritt and Her Childhood Crush is a second chance at childhood first love romantic comedy. The Oakley Island Romcoms follow three very different sisters as they renovate the house they inherited and find love on the island along the way. The stories are standalone, but if you like continuous stories, we recommend reading them in order. Each book is closed door, with sizzling chemistry but no spice.