Sunflower Season

Danica Nava just released her third contemporary romance, Sunflower Season, last week. June Walker left Oklahoma a decade ago and never looked back, building a successful but solitary life in San Francisco. But fed up with corporate life, June decides to return to Oklahoma, determined to buy back her family’s farm at auction and turn it into what it once was. But June also has to face her childhood sweetheart, Noah Abbott, and it seems he never forgot about their brief engagement. Will she marry him now, or is it too late for them?

What I Liked:

• Building a happy farm! When June manages to buy her family’s farm back, she has a clear vision of restoring it to its former glory: Sunflowers, pumpkins, a petting zoo, maybe even a maze. Working a farm is hard work, to be certain, but I loved the sense of growth and nature here. I could imagine her farm so vividly, something beautiful and peaceful and full of joy.
• Enduring sense of community. June has been gone for an entire decade, ever since her grandmother died and she moved away for college. But right away, (almost) everyone welcomes her back, treating her like family and like she never left. Considering how alone and miserable she’s been, it was heartwarming to see her remake those connections and feel a part of something again.
• Second chance at love. Noah is great! He’s quite different from the men in Danica Nava’s first two novels; he’s more free-spirited, flirtatious, and outwardly charming. He’s a fun guy to root for, and I could only hope that June will let down her walls. They were once engaged… but can she get back to that level of commitment with Noah again? Most of the people in town seem to be hoping so!

What Didn’t Work for Me:

• How does June have so much money though? Enough to win a whole farm at auction?! And after coming from nothing and paying down her student loans? From a financial perspective, this part didn’t really add up for me. I guess readers need to suspend some disbelief for this one!

Final Thoughts

Sunflower Season is a sweet romance full of second chances, recovering self-esteem, and building something for the whole community. The Native American themes aren’t as prominent in this book as in Danica Nava’s previous novels, but I still enjoyed seeing Indigenous representation in romance. I can’t wait for her next novel, Bodice Ripper, due out in 2027!

Special thanks to the publicists at Penguin Random House, Berkley, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy Sunflower Season here – it’s available as a paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

Sunflower Season by Danica Nava
Audience	Adult
Genre	Contemporary Romance
Setting	Oklahoma
Number of Pages	368
Format I Read	Ebook (NetGalley ARC)
Original Publication Date	November 3, 2026
Publisher	Berkley

Official Summary

Fed up and burnt-out, a woman leaves the city to take on the challenge of owning a sunflower farm but finds that her biggest trial is facing her first love in this charming second-chance romance by USA Today bestselling author Danica Nava.

Drained by her high-pressure tech job, June Walker finds an escape in homesteading videos and the fantasy of a quieter life. When she finally hits her breaking point, she does the only reasonable thing: She quits her job and buys a crumbling sunflower farm in rural Oklahoma, where she grew up.

June thought her biggest challenge in restoring Sunshine Farm would be the rotting fences but soon comes to the crushing realization that “positive vibes” are not a business plan. Nothing, however, tests her resolve quite like running into her first love, the boy she left behind after her world imploded when she was seventeen. She’s back for a fresh start, not to unpack old heartbreaks.

Noah Abbott never left Love County. Between his family, his job with the local fire brigade, and a town that knows him inside and out, he has everything he needs—except answers. So when June Walker returns as the new owner of Sunshine Farm, Noah is determined to find out why the girl who once meant everything to him vanished without a word.

As old wounds crack open and attraction flares back to life, June and Noah are forced to reckon with their past and decide whether first love is a memory best left buried or the one thing worth replanting.