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biblio_gabriella's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
When I saw the premise, I knew I had to get my hands on this ARC. 1940’s second-chance sapphic romance is totally my vibe! Unfortunately though, while there’s a lot to like about Late City Summer, the execution fell flat for me.
Emily Stanton is an ambitious, talented artist who feels stifled by the expectations of her family and her boyfriend Tommy. In 1942, the summer after her first year of college, she goes to NYC for a few months to stay with Allie, her cousin and supportive friend. There, she meets Allie’s boyfriend Art and Allie’s best friend Kate Alessi, a hardworking aspiring photographer who delights in pushing Emily’s buttons. While Emily and Kate butt heads at first, they soon start to crave each other’s company outside of the group hangouts with Allie and Art.
I did really like the main romance, even though the chemistry started to fizzle out for me by the end of the book. I thought Emily was annoying at first, but she started to grow on me as I spent more time with her. I liked Kate from there beginning — her humor, her drive, her air of mystery, her passion, and her kindness — even though some things she did were a bit overbearing. Emily and Kate are super cute with all their banter and teasing, and eventually, their deep regard for each other. At first they’re dismissive of each other’s art forms, but through each other they learn to appreciate all types of art. For these reasons, and because they’re both so ambitious, I think they make a great couple.
There are so many cute date(?) scenes in this book! From a ride on the Wonder Wheel to Kate showing Emily her favorite NYC spots to an accidental night at a gay bar, these are the kinds of scenes I came for, and for the most part, they delivered. I seriously live for sapphic historical vibes! This book also has several lovely, highly developed side characters; namely, Allie, Art, and Kate's sister Mia. Tommy, Emily's boyfriend-turned-fiance, is also three-dimensional. We can see that Emily cares for him, though she recognizes that some of the things he says and does are subtly problematic.
Unfortunately, my reading experience had some downsides which lowered my enjoyment.
My biggest issue was the writing style, which didn’t work for me at all. The prose doesn’t flow smoothly and I constantly had to reread sentences that didn’t make sense. Aside from that, there’s so much random head-hopping. The book is mostly in Emily’s POV, but there are some switches to Kate’s — most of them so jarring that I had to backtrack to figure out when we switched POVs. I also don’t know why the switches in POV were necessary. Emily’s POV alone could have sufficed, since we hardly learn anything about Kate through her perspective.
I also wasn’t a fan of the dual timeline of this book: constantly switching between 1942 and 1946, sometimes within the same chapter. In this style, we read the end of the 1942 timeline around the same time as the end of the 1946 timeline, which I found unsatisfying. I think it would have flown better if we’d started with the 1942 timeline, finished it, and then began with the 1946 timeline. As it was, I kept getting confused about which timeline we were in.
Furthermore, there’s some weird info-concealing going on, most of which makes no sense. For example, someone conceals the fact that Emily’s wedding photographer is a woman by using they/them pronouns (when Kate uses she/her). Also, Kate never mentions her sister or grandfather to Emily until she and Emily happen to run into them. This doesn’t make much sense to me because she seems close to them, even though at some points she seems dismissive of her grandpa’s store.
Lastly, the ending felt rushed, and even the epilogue was disappointing.
Overall, this book was a mixed bag for me. There were a lot of things I liked and a lot of things I disliked, so overall, I thought it was just okay.
I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Emily Stanton is an ambitious, talented artist who feels stifled by the expectations of her family and her boyfriend Tommy. In 1942, the summer after her first year of college, she goes to NYC for a few months to stay with Allie, her cousin and supportive friend. There, she meets Allie’s boyfriend Art and Allie’s best friend Kate Alessi, a hardworking aspiring photographer who delights in pushing Emily’s buttons. While Emily and Kate butt heads at first, they soon start to crave each other’s company outside of the group hangouts with Allie and Art.
I did really like the main romance, even though the chemistry started to fizzle out for me by the end of the book. I thought Emily was annoying at first, but she started to grow on me as I spent more time with her. I liked Kate from there beginning — her humor, her drive, her air of mystery, her passion, and her kindness — even though some things she did were a bit overbearing. Emily and Kate are super cute with all their banter and teasing, and eventually, their deep regard for each other. At first they’re dismissive of each other’s art forms, but through each other they learn to appreciate all types of art. For these reasons, and because they’re both so ambitious, I think they make a great couple.
There are so many cute date(?) scenes in this book! From a ride on the Wonder Wheel to Kate showing Emily her favorite NYC spots to an accidental night at a gay bar, these are the kinds of scenes I came for, and for the most part, they delivered. I seriously live for sapphic historical vibes! This book also has several lovely, highly developed side characters; namely, Allie, Art, and Kate's sister Mia. Tommy, Emily's boyfriend-turned-fiance, is also three-dimensional. We can see that Emily cares for him, though she recognizes that some of the things he says and does are subtly problematic.
Unfortunately, my reading experience had some downsides which lowered my enjoyment.
My biggest issue was the writing style, which didn’t work for me at all. The prose doesn’t flow smoothly and I constantly had to reread sentences that didn’t make sense. Aside from that, there’s so much random head-hopping. The book is mostly in Emily’s POV, but there are some switches to Kate’s — most of them so jarring that I had to backtrack to figure out when we switched POVs. I also don’t know why the switches in POV were necessary. Emily’s POV alone could have sufficed, since we hardly learn anything about Kate through her perspective.
I also wasn’t a fan of the dual timeline of this book: constantly switching between 1942 and 1946, sometimes within the same chapter. In this style, we read the end of the 1942 timeline around the same time as the end of the 1946 timeline, which I found unsatisfying. I think it would have flown better if we’d started with the 1942 timeline, finished it, and then began with the 1946 timeline. As it was, I kept getting confused about which timeline we were in.
Furthermore, there’s some weird info-concealing going on, most of which makes no sense. For example, someone conceals the fact that Emily’s wedding photographer is a woman by using they/them pronouns (when Kate uses she/her). Also, Kate never mentions her sister or grandfather to Emily until she and Emily happen to run into them. This doesn’t make much sense to me because she seems close to them, even though at some points she seems dismissive of her grandpa’s store.
Lastly, the ending felt rushed, and even the epilogue was disappointing.
Overall, this book was a mixed bag for me. There were a lot of things I liked and a lot of things I disliked, so overall, I thought it was just okay.
I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol, Homophobia, and Misogyny
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