Reviews

The Summer Deal by Jill Shalvis

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saschadarlington's review against another edition

4.0

As I mentioned before, I’m going through my TBR pile and extracting the comfort food, regardless of when it’s publication date is, which is why some of the books won’t be available for a couple of month. That may help you groom your future TBR list.

So, yes, without a doubt, Jill Shalvis novels are comfort food and The Summer Deal, the fifth novel in the Wildstone series, is no exception.

read more: https://saschadarlington.me/2020/04/23/review-of-the-summer-deal-by-jill-shalvis/#.XrxIWmhKhPY

mldavisreads's review

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3.75

Adult contemporary women's fiction. The interesting thing about this story is that almost has two starring couples, though Brynn and Eli do get more page time. Brynn is coming home to Wildstone after her ex conned her and snuck off. She loves her two moms but feels a bit smothered living in her childhood room. Kinsey is chronically ill, suffering through years of transplant rejection. Connecting the two women is Eli, who went with both of them to summer camp during their formative years. Eli had a crush on Brynn and has stayed in touch with Kinsey, his best friend and roommate. When Eli runs into Brynn at a vending machine, he sees a chance for all of them to reconnect. He ends up inviting Brynn to move into a recently vacated room at the house he shares with Kinsey and his brother Max.

I enjoy stories of second chance romances and found families, and this story offered both. I also liked that Kinsey's romance with Deck was featured as well, they had a beautiful if unconventional relationship. The scenes that took place at the school where both Kinsey and Brynn worked were a nice touch, with various adults being included in the kindergarten sharing circle. This book is technically part of the Wildstone Series, but seeing as the only connection between the books is the town, it can stand on its own as well.

itsme_lori's review

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3.0

I think I prefer Shalvis' books when she focuses on just one couple rather than a whole group of people. While I loved the found family and lost sisters and rag-tag groups of characters in this one, I think her individual characters and relationships shine more when she has more time to devote to each one. And I think, for me, the books in this series just have too much going on in each one and there's never really quite enough time to really delve into each character enough for me to become emotionally connected. And then they end up being flat, one-dimensional characters that I don't really care about or feel like I really know.
For this book specifically, I think I needed more time to really understand why Brynn was so broken when except for her jerk ex and some mean kids growing up, it seemed like her life was pretty good. And for Kinsey, I think there was too much change in a very short amount of time. Between that and Brynn's acceptance of their sisterhood and Brynn and Eli's romance, so much felt rushed. There was just too much to deal with in 300ish pages.
Also, I really just wanted more of Kinsey and Deck because they were magical together whereas Brynn and Eli felt pretty bland to me.
The epilogue was a great way to the end book on such a happy note but overall, this was just ok for me.

lisastein's review against another edition

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4.0

3 1/2 stars.

Fun, fast read. Jill Shalvis never disappoints. I need to check to see what I have and haven't read in this series.

kimmypete1's review against another edition

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5.0

Jill Shalvis' Wildstone series has sucked me in from the beginning and gets better with each book. The Summer Deal has the romance I've come to expect and also the deeper dive into familial relationships. The latter is what makes The Summer Deal that much more amazing. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a good romance, but romances don't touch my feels as much as family stuff does (and there were lots of feels in this one).

The Summer Deal focuses on Brynn, Kinsey and Eli, who have known each other since their summer camp days. They have quite a bit of animosity between the two girls and there is also a big secret. I won't spoil it, but the reader learns what it is well before it comes all the way out, adding a dose of tension to the story. Eli and Kinsey are more like brother and sister than friends, and Eli is Brynn's former summertime crush. Despite all the things happening and reasons why it should work the three of them were a great "made family".

Brynn and Kinsey each get their own romance. Brynn with Eli and Kinsey with a Deck. While I loved and appreciated the story's focus on the family aspect, I wouldn't have said no to more to Deck.

There were times were Brynn and Kinsey were frustrating, especially Kinsey and her motivations for her decisions. However, I can also get why one would feel that way, and truthfully if everything were perfect that would bother me more.

In addition to the main characters we see a quite a bit of Brynn's mom's. They were amazing and awesome and supportive, all of which Brynn needed.

If you're a fan of Jill Shalvis' books, you won't be disappointed in The Summer Deal.

ijustreadthisbook's review against another edition

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2.0

Man, I'm sad! I was so excited to read this one to set the tone for my summer reads but there was no connect.

supernova7's review

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This book has an interesting premise and the characters feel real. What made me unable to finish was that I didn’t believe the pacing of the romance itself. Everything happened too fast and no one actually took the time to get to know one another, except the two female leads (non romance). I also found the dialogue to be repetitive and a bit boring. “We get it, you’re attracted to the other person!” I felt like saying that a lot. I got bored, stopped reading, read the last two pages, and feel satisfied with that.

paddlefoot55's review

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3.0

ARC received from author for an honest review

Welcome back to Wildstone, where family and friends make your life better.

There are blood family, and the family that Brynn creates is more than you expect.

I adore a second chance at romance, and I liked the relationships on the periphery of things, but I wasn't that taken with Brynn and Eli. I was more a Deck and Kinsey fan than the main characters - but that could just be me.

And a huge personality in this tale is a dog called Mini - you'll love this one.

I felt that Brynn was a hypocrite, calling everyone else on their behaviour, then doing exactly the same thing. She took to Kinsey being her sister in a heartbeat, but then ignored everything her sister said and wants. She grated on me.

I really liked Kinsey -she is what she is, and she doesn't take any crap from anyone about what they think.

It sounds like I didn't like this book, but I did, just not as much as the other Jill SHalvis books. This one was an anomoly, and I am looking forward to the next book.