I received an arc of this book and have just finished it. All I can say is wow!! I absolutely love this series and this may be the best of the four. This is the story of Val Grayson (alas, the last unattached brother........aren't there some cousins or something). Val the protective quiet Grayson is always looking out for everyone else but Cameron Stahl - town boutique owner and Boston socialite) thinks it's time for someone to look after him for a change. Great characters, great story, with just the right amount of suspense and mystery to keep things exciting and interesting. I highly recommend you read this one as well as the others in this series. ( )

I liked the hero and heroine's character with him raising his siblings and her working rather than living off her trust fund but the plot moved so slow and most of the book was ruminating which I soon started skimming. DEA agent Val meets socialite Cam at a party and they have an instant attraction.
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Yum, yum, yum. Oh wait - you want to know about the BOOK?!!!? Well... "Slow Summer Burn" is the final of four books featuring the Grayson brothers. Each brother has a romance during a season - and Val, the oldest, is last in the summer. This is a $2.99 novel with 296 pages, written by Elisabeth Barrett & published by Loveswept. Set in Star Harbor, Maine (fictional) these men don't expect to find love - but find them it does!

As the sizzling Star Harbor series concludes, the fourth sexy Grayson brother, a dedicated DEA agent, shows a high-society beauty the true meaning of love.

Cameron Stahl has everything, so why does she feel like her life is incomplete? A beautiful Boston socialite and a successful entrepreneur, she’s just opened her second boutique in Star Harbor and business is booming. But one searing look from Val Grayson sends fire through her body and shows her exactly what’s missing from her life: a real man who doesn’t play games and who makes her feel like the most desired woman on earth.

DEA agent Val Grayson has always looked after his brothers. Now it’s his turn to find love—though Cam is the last sort of woman he ever dreamed he’d fall for. When courageous Cam realizes she has the insider connections to help Val take down a major drug player within Boston’s political elite, he can’t stop her from putting herself in danger. But as the drug bust of his career looms, all Val cares about is saving the woman he loves before it’s too late.

These books are "feel good" location / people-centric romances, along the lines of Bella Andre's Sullivans or Susan Mallery's Fool's Gold. There is some sex (nothing too explicit), some intrigue, and lots of love! I received a copy of "Slow Summer Burn" in exchange for an unbiased review, but ended up reading all three of the other brothers' books. However, this story is EASILY a standalone so don't feel that you have to read in order (unless you're OCD like me LOL!). Great read & highly recommend! ( )

Slow Summer Burn is the final book in the Star Harbor series where each book focuses on the lives of the four Grayson brothers, natives of Star Harbor which is a resort town outside of Boston. Unfortunately, I have only read the last two books in the series, but each of these books can stand alone.

I do, however, wish I had started at the beginning so I could have a stronger sense of the bond these bothers have with each other and the women in their lives. Also, although I didn’t realize it when I read book 3, a legend about the Siren Lorelei, pirate ship that sank off the coast of Star Harbor during the 1700s, is interwoven throughout the series as main characters find hidden keys that may open a treasure chest rumored to be buried in Star Harbor. The significance of the legend and the search for the treasure is finally revealed in Slow Summer Burn.

This is a great romantic suspense revolving around the mystery of a DEA investigation into who is responsible for financing and transportation of drugs around the area. The protagonist is Val Grayson, seasoned DEA agent, who leads a team to discover the parties involved in this illegal operation. While investigating the main suspect, Congressman Kirkland, Val finds himself falling in love with Cameron, a Bostonian blue blooded socialite who defies all Val’s initial stereotyped impressions about her.

Although the novel is a genre-blending of mystery, suspense, and romance, it leans heavily on Val and Cameron’s love story. Barrett does a great job of helping readers to connect with and relate to both of these characters by having the story told from both of their POVs. Getting their thoughts throughout the book reveals their insecurities and shows that even though are from different socio-economic classes, they have more in common than they think.

When Val and Cameron meet at a social event, the attraction between them is instantaneous, and their chemistry sizzles. At first, Val is reluctant to pursue a relationship with Cameron because of her affluent family and their prominent status in the community. He has avoided women like her in the past, but after one dance, he wants her even though deep down he thinks he could never make her happy. He is perceptive enough to see beyond her reserved nature, and her vulnerabilities bring out a possessive side of him that he’s never had before.

Cameron is a wonderful, caring woman. She is not one bit pretentious, and she gets irritated whenever Val tries to box her with his stereotypical assumptions that she will dress, think, and act a certain way based on her social status. For example, he’s shocked when she dresses in jeans for their first date. I loved watching Cameron prove to Val that she’s more than a pretty face. She’s practical, resourceful, and when she pulls out her power tools, Val knows he’s a goner.

Like Val, Cameron feels stifled by her family’s expectations and obligations as she tries to be independent and still make her mother happy. Cameron’s parents reminded me of the Victorian age where one must follow certain protocols deemed appropriate by someone of her breeding and stature. Growing up in such a repressive, stifling home has kept Cameron from fully embracing her life, with Val she can be herself. I enjoyed watching Cameron “let her down” and give her passions free reign.

Much of the story is about their personal struggles to take risks, find freedom, and discover the meaning of a real love that brings them happiness and makes them feel whole. Once it seems they may be able to overcome their differences in social class, Val’s job interferes with his desire to be close to Cameron. Her family is very close to Kirkland, the main suspect behind the drug operation that Val’s team investigates. His teammates urge him to use his connections to Val to gather evidence about the suspect, but he refuses to bring her into their mission. His fear is that if her friend is guilty and the truth is revealed, Cameron will believe he’s just been using her to get close to Kirkland.

The action and suspense increase in the latter part of the story as Val’s team searches for the mastermind behind the drug-running operation and tries to save Cameron when her life becomes endangered because of her relationship with Val. There are a few surprises along the way that kept my attention as well. This was a great read!

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review. ( )

The men from Star Harbor are back! Our story opens as Theo Grayson is accepting a prestigious award for his novels about historical local sea faring adventures. Val Grayson, the oldest brother is accompanying him. He is extremely proud of Theo's work, but it just so happens that a person he is investigating for the DEA will also be a guest at the award ceremony.
Val has an exemplary reputation as a DEA agent, but it comes at a cost to his personal life. He has none! He spends time in Boston in a neglected apartment when he needs to be near the office, but feels much more at home in Star Harbor on his houseboat.

Cameron Stahl is attending reluctantly, as a favor to her very high society parents. Cameron owns two boutiques, one in Star Harbor called Front Street Boutique the other in Boston. She loves the business she has started, much to her mother's chagrin. Cameron leaves the stifling room where the speeches are never ending, and encounters Val on a similar escape.
She knows the Grayson brothers and is friends with the wives of Seb,
Theo , and Cole . Cam and Val's chance meeting is electric, " For the briefest instant, her heart stopped before kick starting back into gear. She knew who he was, the soft spoken eldest brother in the Grayson clan."

This is an amazing story with lots of intrigue, a few dangerous moments, and an " against all odds" love story. Cameron is a high society woman, who wants to be a small town girl. Val is a by-the -book lawman, brought to his knees by this brave, caring, fascinating woman. Cole Grayson has always been my favorite brother, but getting to know the tall, silent, very protective Val has me rethinking my loyalty!

I hate to think we are finished with the Star Harbor stories, I hope Ms. Barrett has plans for more. But I do know whatever novels she has in the works will be a must read for me!

I received this novel from the editor, and NetGalley for an honest review. ( )