Recovering from cancer, Cincinnati news anchor Jessica Fox has no choice but to take a summer leave. Her boss’s proposal: for Jessica to take it easy and recharge at his late grandmother Mabel’s cottage in the Kentucky mountains.

The town of Lost and Found lives up to its name. Resistant at first, Jessica grows to appreciate the slower pace, the spectacular sunsets, the affable locals, and even Matt Cordray, the laid-back, too-friendly police chief next door. Most engaging of all is Mabel, who left behind a treasure map that leads Jessica to a collection of lost items—mementos and love letters—people have mailed to the town over the years. Jessica needs something to help pass the time, and she finds it in reuniting these precious things with the distant strangers who lost them.

Lost and in flux herself, Jessica has no idea just how connected to life this town will make her feel again or, by summer’s end, how transformative a season it will be.

~Standalone~

This is a no-spice romance, perhaps with closed-door or fade-to-black scenes. Tension and kisses might be involved.

Title:  The Summer of Lost and Found
Series:  Standalone
Author:  Toni Blake
Published:  February 17, 2026
Publisher:  Montlake
My Rating:  4.5 stars

The Summer of Lost and Found is an emotional, at times poignant, standalone romance as we follow Jessica to a very small town for an enforced (for her own good by her boss) respite from work and the challenge of surviving cancer.  For this big city, TV anchor, heading to a small cabin in an even tinier small town than she could have ever imagined is beyond culture shock… plus a bit of anger at being told she had to take even more time off away from the work that she thrives on.  At first, she’s resentful at being shoved off to this place where she has no idea how to function; then, slowly, the town and its sometimes quirky residents begin to not be so, well, foreign to Jessica.  Not to mention the friendly police chief next door, the hot and cute police chief next door… yeah, Matt gets a second look, and perhaps Jess can lower her defensive wall for just a bit.

Jessica will find purpose in this town, a way to ease up on her own self-imposed deadlines and step into a different life than before the cancer changed so much.  Maybe her boss knew what he was doing when he forced her to take a longer break, one she hadn’t realized that she really did need to move on to the next stage of her life.

The Summer of Lost and Found is one of those stories that stick with you long after the final page is turned.  It’s well-written, heartfelt, emotional, and realistic to the point where anyone reading it could (I believe) relate to Jessica’s journey in some way.  There are so many things that can upend a life that has to change midstream, and this story shows that in every emotional way possible.  I adored the town’s residents, the treasure map left behind, and Matt’s solid presence, who doesn’t play games and accepts Jessica just as she is right now.  This was my first experience with Toni Blake’s writing, and I found myself looking up her backlist to immerse myself in her work again.  If you love a story that will touch your heart in a realistic way, one that will linger and have you wondering… what if, then you’d enjoy this one.

*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