Thank you to Elle Kennedy, St. Martin’s Press, Raincoast, and NetGalley for the advance reader copy of The Summer Girl, the third story in the Avalon Bay series.
Avalon Bay is the perfect summer read! What a bittersweet goodbye to this sweet summer series. But now no matter if you are on a beach or by a lake or in a lush field The Summer Girl and the previous Avalon Bay books are your perfect summer binge-read.
College student Cassie Soul hasn’t spent an entire summer in Avalon Bay in years, not since her parents divorced and her mother spitefully whisked her away to Boston. Now that her grandmother is selling the boardwalk hotel that’s been in their family for five decades, Cassie returns to the quaint beach town to spend time with family, ring in her twenty-first birthday… and maybe find herself a summer fling.
On her first night in town, she finds the perfect candidate: Tate Bartlett, Avalon Bay’s fun-loving golden boy.
Tate, sailing instructor and lovable player, is no stranger to flings. In fact, he’s always down for a good time. But the moment he meets Cassie, he knows she’s not the girl you play games with. Cassie is gorgeous, hilarious, and, frankly, the coolest person he’s ever met. The last thing he wants to do is risk breaking her heart, and so he reluctantly puts her in the friend-zone… only to realize he made a huge mistake. Soon, his attraction to Cassie becomes impossible to ignore. He wants that fling now. Big-time.
And maybe even something more.
As Cassie and Tate walk the line between friends and lovers, they’re about to discover that their situation is the least complicated part of this equation. Because Avalon Bay is full of secrets—and their relationship might not survive when those secrets come to light.
Elle Kennedy’s next spicy and emotional romance in the blockbuster Avalon Bay series.
Check out my more detailed thoughts below…
- Characters: Cassie Soul is said summer girl in The Summer Girl. I really liked Cassie as I found her so relatable. Her parents went through a nasty divorce, she is studious, and a bit of a late bloomer. Sounds a lot like me. Cassie’s grandparents ran the local hotel and are now selling it as they are too old to keep running it. Her love interest is Tate Bartlett, who gave big golden retriever vibes and started his story in not such a great spot. He’s getting broken up with and he has a bit of a player’s reputation. Once you get to know him better though you will grow to like him, all he needs is the right girl to settle down with.
- Setting: It’s bittersweet to leave Avalon Bay. This book had so many moments with many of our fave characters from the instalments. But it did feel much more solitary so you can definitely read it without reading the other books.
- Pacing: I will admit I did struggle a bit to start off this book, I just found I was not as hooked in the beginning. When I did get fully into the story I was super engaged and read the thing quickly. I did find some plot points were not as flushed out like the games near the end didn’t even feel that necessary to the story. Plus as this was the last Avalon Bay book I would have loved an extended epilogue of some kind that featured all the characters. Now I’ll give Elle full credit she surprised me in a very specific to me way. The stepmom, dad, and half-siblings dynamic first of all. Mine is nowhere near as dramatic as this shapes out to be. But I can really relate to your parents not getting along and feeling like you struggle to open up to your family in that situation.
- Romance: This book was pretty damn steamy. My fave scene in particular may have involved our two leads looking out at each other through their bedroom windows. For the emotional aspects, Elle made me shed a tear a bit over this couple (then I had a really good cry over the family dynamics).
The Summer Girl receives four out of five stars.
You can pick up the story here.
You can follow Elle here.
Thank you again to St. Martin’s and Raincoast for the review opportunity. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!
