A review by ashleyjean6
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I have complicated feelings; the main character bothered me so much! Let's just get that out there. Mainly, I think this was a cross between a light romance novel and something more, like a heavy family literary saga. And it kinda worked, but not really. The overall tone and writing skill were solid romance book; a good one with a plot and good banter. But it lacked the true depth and character development when trying to deal with the family drama (honestly complex trauma) in the other part of the book. For it to work, there was too much convenient trope plot. And the characters were fairly well developed, especially the main 3, but there wasn't a supporting cast to carry off the nuance. Anyway, yes I liked it, but also it needed to pick a genre. Or maybe I need to adjust my expectations for this author and figure out a new hybrid genre... Elevated romance, but not quite a complex contemporary literature work??! I liked it, but. 
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