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robinx's review
4.0
Actual Rating: 3.5/5 stars
This book was a fun summer read! It definitely kept me entertained. Kate's sisters all had different personalities, that were distinguishable. The love interest in this book was interesting, in that he loved to cook; I hardly see that trait in male characters. The main character was enjoyable to read about as well. This book would have benefitted from being longer. It felt slightly cut short in the end. Overall The Summers is a quick read that will keep your attention throughout the entirety of the novel!
This book was a fun summer read! It definitely kept me entertained. Kate's sisters all had different personalities, that were distinguishable. The love interest in this book was interesting, in that he loved to cook; I hardly see that trait in male characters. The main character was enjoyable to read about as well. This book would have benefitted from being longer. It felt slightly cut short in the end. Overall The Summers is a quick read that will keep your attention throughout the entirety of the novel!
morganlembach's review
3.0
for anyone who absolutely adores “the summer i turned pretty” by jenny han (which happens to be one of my favorite quintessential summer reads), this book is perfect! a few of the relationships in this book felt a bit contrived, and i couldn’t quite grasp some of the dynamics because i felt that the characters hadn’t been completely fleshed out to where their actions made sense, but overall it was an enjoyable read! i liked the setting, the pacing, and the summer vibe. i do think that this would have been even better with an alternating timeline so we could understand Kate’s relationships with Ryan and Eliza a bit easier. (i honestly way prefer tsitp, but this did give a few of the same vibes, and felt very 2015-17 nostalgic ya reads-esque)
livnewman's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
kspear22's review
4.0
3.5 stars
A cute story that deals with a lot of family issues. In some instances, I think we could've used more info on things, but it's a fun, easy read nonetheless. I was worried the ending was going to leave us hanging, and was ready to rage, but it wrapped up nicely.
I enjoyed the characters a lot. Kate was a bit annoying at times, but I could understand considering she was always in her older sister's shadow. She grew on me, and by the end, I was rooting for her HEA. Ryan was cute, but seemed immature for 21 in a few scenes. Then a chapter later he'd be more like a 30 year-old man. Don't get me wrong, I loved him, but I just felt he was written inconsistently.
This is a romance, but more importantly it's about reconnecting with family and dealing with loss. Again, I kinda wanted more detail on what happened to the mother, but we never got that. Was she sick? Was it sudden? An accident? Murder? We are left in the dark, so that also was a reason I didn't rate it higher. The dad is basically non-existent in the story, which makes sense I suppose. But that actually made the loss of his wife seem more recent than three years prior. Again, just a little thing, but sometimes the little things matter most.
Overall, The Summers is a cute story. Something to read when you're in the mood to just sit back and enjoy something simple. There's no angst. Not much real drama. Just plain fun.
A cute story that deals with a lot of family issues. In some instances, I think we could've used more info on things, but it's a fun, easy read nonetheless. I was worried the ending was going to leave us hanging, and was ready to rage, but it wrapped up nicely.
I enjoyed the characters a lot. Kate was a bit annoying at times, but I could understand considering she was always in her older sister's shadow. She grew on me, and by the end, I was rooting for her HEA. Ryan was cute, but seemed immature for 21 in a few scenes. Then a chapter later he'd be more like a 30 year-old man. Don't get me wrong, I loved him, but I just felt he was written inconsistently.
This is a romance, but more importantly it's about reconnecting with family and dealing with loss. Again, I kinda wanted more detail on what happened to the mother, but we never got that. Was she sick? Was it sudden? An accident? Murder? We are left in the dark, so that also was a reason I didn't rate it higher. The dad is basically non-existent in the story, which makes sense I suppose. But that actually made the loss of his wife seem more recent than three years prior. Again, just a little thing, but sometimes the little things matter most.
Overall, The Summers is a cute story. Something to read when you're in the mood to just sit back and enjoy something simple. There's no angst. Not much real drama. Just plain fun.
kookiesandcream's review
3.0
3.5 stars. It was a little creepy how Kate and her sister stalked Ryan's ex, and it also didn't make sense that Kate was so scared of telling Eliza about Ryan when Eliza was literally getting married. Kate is an 18 year old, to be fair, so she's supposed to have some ridiculous "teenage" logic. But, I feel like a lot of what she felt about being in Eliza's shadow could've been solved with communication. There were a lot of family issues that were pretty much lingering throughout the book, such as Eliza feeling that Kate wasn't present. I never really got this impression throughout the book, so it kinda caught me off guard when Eliza mentioned it. Because of all her insecurity surrounding her sister, I had a hard time with Kate at the beginning, but I felt bad for her and she grew on me. Although I love the whole childhood-crush-finally-gets-fulfilled trope, I kinda felt like Ryan wasn't really included in the book and he was just...there. I had no problem with his character, and I liked him, it's just that I didn't really feel the chemistry between him and Kate like I was hoping to. Also, I was always wondering how the mom died and thought it would be shown through some big reveal, but then I never got to know, which irked me a little because I want all the info and details! Overall, it's still a light and easy read.
leahmichelle_13's review against another edition
4.0
When author Iva-Marie Palmer sent me a message on Twitter offering me not only the opportunity to host a giveaway for a Kindle Paperwhite and other bits and bobs, but also the opportunity to read and review her novel The Summers, I was quite pleased. It sounded like a wonderful novel, set in Cape Cod (which makes a change as it's usually the Hamptons!) and I was very excited to download the novel to my Kindle. I love Young Adult books - they very rarely fail to make me happy - they're not as angsty as New Adult (some are, I'm sure, but I like the light-hearted ones, okay?) and if I ever feel like I need a lighter read, with a bit of sweet romance, Young Adult is usually the genre I lean towards as it ticks all of those boxes, and I was very, very interested to meet Ryan Landry.
Being a British person, it's quite unfathomable to me that American's travel to somewhere each summer for two or three months - in England, we maybe go on a fortnight's holiday (or, as I live in Tenerife, I don't go on holiday at all, and because I'm in full-time employment, I get four weeks holiday a year, that I can't take all in one go) so I live for these novels that are set in these glorious communities - Nantucket, Cape Cod, The Hamptons, where you can just celebrate Summer the way you're supposed to - hang out with friends, maybe get a little job for extra money, meet a cute guy.... They're living the dream, and I'm extraordinarily jealous. The Summers is one of those glorious types of novels I love, although it's tinged with a hint of sadness as the Sommers are returning to their beach house, after three years away, after the death of their mother.
Even though the Sommers family have been away from the Cape for so long, it's still like arriving somewhere comfortable, where you know everyone. There's the Landry's next door, and Kate's had a crush on their oldest son Ryan since she can remember, desperate for him to notice her, even though he's three years older. It's that wonderfully comfy-cozy, girl-next-door and boy-next-door typical romance and it just makes me sigh and wish to be American, and to live in Cape Cod. I thought it was so great that Kate and Ryan got on like a house on fire, straight away. No awkwardness, no skirting around each other, it was great. But my favourite aspect of the novel was Kate's absolute ambition to be a writer. I really admire an 18-year-old who knows she wants to be a writer and her story ideas were awesome. I loved the idea of the lady who maps things, I would actually read that.
I wasn't so hot on Kate keeping her romance with Ryan a secret. I could understand her reticence, since her sister had him as a summer fling three years previous, but at the end of the day Eliza was getting married so it was kinda irrelevent to the story, so she should have just manned up and told her. For a dish like Ryan, why wouldn't you?! I enjoyed getting to know Kate's sisters - and if Iva-Marie felt up to it, I'm sure we could have books about all four of the Sommers sisters... I particularly liked strong-minded Tea. She knew what she wanted, and a story about her would be all kinds of awesome. The ending was perhaps my least favourite part of the novel, because it was the ultimate in frustrating endings (and I've had my share of those this year). It just ended. With no real word on what would happen next... It wasn't definitive enough, and I like my endings definitive with a full stop. Even an Epilogue would have worked for me, but not what we got, which was kinda disappointing. Overall though, it's a great little beach read, perfect for lazy summer days.This review was originally posted on Girls Love To Read
Being a British person, it's quite unfathomable to me that American's travel to somewhere each summer for two or three months - in England, we maybe go on a fortnight's holiday (or, as I live in Tenerife, I don't go on holiday at all, and because I'm in full-time employment, I get four weeks holiday a year, that I can't take all in one go) so I live for these novels that are set in these glorious communities - Nantucket, Cape Cod, The Hamptons, where you can just celebrate Summer the way you're supposed to - hang out with friends, maybe get a little job for extra money, meet a cute guy.... They're living the dream, and I'm extraordinarily jealous. The Summers is one of those glorious types of novels I love, although it's tinged with a hint of sadness as the Sommers are returning to their beach house, after three years away, after the death of their mother.
Even though the Sommers family have been away from the Cape for so long, it's still like arriving somewhere comfortable, where you know everyone. There's the Landry's next door, and Kate's had a crush on their oldest son Ryan since she can remember, desperate for him to notice her, even though he's three years older. It's that wonderfully comfy-cozy, girl-next-door and boy-next-door typical romance and it just makes me sigh and wish to be American, and to live in Cape Cod. I thought it was so great that Kate and Ryan got on like a house on fire, straight away. No awkwardness, no skirting around each other, it was great. But my favourite aspect of the novel was Kate's absolute ambition to be a writer. I really admire an 18-year-old who knows she wants to be a writer and her story ideas were awesome. I loved the idea of the lady who maps things, I would actually read that.
I wasn't so hot on Kate keeping her romance with Ryan a secret. I could understand her reticence, since her sister had him as a summer fling three years previous, but at the end of the day Eliza was getting married so it was kinda irrelevent to the story, so she should have just manned up and told her. For a dish like Ryan, why wouldn't you?! I enjoyed getting to know Kate's sisters - and if Iva-Marie felt up to it, I'm sure we could have books about all four of the Sommers sisters... I particularly liked strong-minded Tea. She knew what she wanted, and a story about her would be all kinds of awesome. The ending was perhaps my least favourite part of the novel, because it was the ultimate in frustrating endings (and I've had my share of those this year). It just ended. With no real word on what would happen next... It wasn't definitive enough, and I like my endings definitive with a full stop. Even an Epilogue would have worked for me, but not what we got, which was kinda disappointing. Overall though, it's a great little beach read, perfect for lazy summer days.This review was originally posted on Girls Love To Read