Olivia is a fiercely independent woman climbing the ladder of corporate finance. But when her family demands she take time off to go to her niece’s bachelorette and wedding in Nantucket, she reluctantly agrees.

On the island, she catches the eye of Connor: a handsome, cocky, playboy type—also ten years her junior. Olivia’s sisters egg her on, encouraging a summer fling, but she’s more interested in catching up on her finance reading. Except…he’s funny and sexy, and doing her ego a world of good.

Connor might come across as a playboy because he was one, eight years ago. That all stopped when he became a dad and found himself raising his daughter single-handedly. But this summer, she’s with her grandparents for a month while he’s in Nantucket, working in a restaurant with the hopes of opening his own one day. His time on the island also provides a rare opportunity: to forget the struggles of being a single dad and become the carefree guy he used to be, who very much enjoyed flirting with the opposite sex. Especially when they’re cool, classy, probably older than him, and most definitely out of his league.

As their attraction steadily grows, Connor gets Olivia to relax her tightly held control and indulge in the fling she won’t admit she needs. But too soon, the holiday is over, and they’re back home, living two very different lives. When Connor’s presented with an opportunity to see Olivia again, he leaps at it, but this time it’s different. He’s no longer a charming young playboy but a struggling single dad. A relationship, a family, is not what Olivia wants.

And yet, neither can ignore the intense chemistry that didn’t go away after the summer. Are they just a Nantucket fling… or something much more?

~Standalone Title~

This story may contain language, violence, and/or sexual situations intended for an adult 18+ audience.

Title:  A Nantucket Fling
Series:  Standalone
Author:  Kathryn Freeman
Published:  April 14, 2026
Publisher:  Avon
My Rating:  4.5 stars

A Nantucket Fling is a delightful standalone title with so much depth and emotion running through it.  Olivia has made the choice to put her career above everything else in her life.  She never intends to marry or to have children of her own.  She has her reasons for those life decisions, and if she keeps them close to the vest and tries to ignore her sisters’ interference in her nonexistent love life, well, that’s her business.  Unfortunately for Olivia, she is on summer holiday with those same sisters far away from the safety of her office building (although she does keep track of business on her phone far too much), and they are more than willing to encourage a holiday fling with the handsome, younger chef who can’t keep his eyes off of Olivia.

Connor is a young man whose lifestyle changed drastically when he had a daughter who is almost completely in his care from a young age.  That she is a well-adjusted pre-teen now is a miracle in his eyes.  Yet, for a short period of time in the summer, he travels to the USA to work for a chef who can teach him so much.  Connor’s plan (not a dream) is to open his own restaurant, to provide a solid, steady life for his daughter and himself.  Nothing can get in the way of that goal.  Yet, the attraction between Olivia and Connor defies convention, even logic, and he doesn’t want to give up on them… but he hasn’t told Olivia the entire truth, and that may come back to haunt him when that Nantucket time is over, and they are both back in the UK.

I completely enjoyed A Nantucket Fling.  There are so many layers to this story, so many issues for both Olivia and Connor to overcome, that it seems each new chapter offers them another challenge to face.  Each has to get beyond their fierce determination to stick to their life plan, to acknowledge that they do work as a couple, that they can overcome the differences between them if they are willing to take the necessary risks… and perhaps change their mindset enough to allow the other into their lives for more than a fling.  Their story is well-written, emotional, realistic, and passionate, with enough emotions to keep the reader on a bit of a rollercoaster ride.  The secondary characters, especially Olivia’s sisters, add so much to this story.  If this sounds like your kind of sort of complex romance, then you’d enjoy Olivia and Conner’s journey.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley, and I sincerely thank the author or publishing house for their trust. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

This title is available at Amazon