A review by justmevictoria
Strawberry Summer by Melissa Brayden

4.0

When you only have the summer, you have to make every second count… 

 

The moment Courtney Carrington walked into her classroom, Margaret Beringer was hooked. Over the course of a few summers, the pair navigate first-love, a long-distance relationship, and separate dreams until, one summer, life throws a curve ball neither was expecting. It's a heartbreak that Margaret has spent the last five years trying to move on from, throwing herself into her business and the family's strawberry farm. It's exactly where she want to be, or thinks she needs to be, until Courtney wanders back into her life unexpectedly. Their connection is as strong as ever, even with the years of separation between them. But with the prospect of only the summer in each other's orbits again, it's history that Margaret is determined not to repeat. But the heart wants what the heart wants, and everything keeps pointing her back to her first love. 

 

Melissa is a raved-about sapphic romance author that I've been meaning to read for the longest time, and this first foray into her work is enough to see why everyone recommends her when talking about sweet and swoony sapphic romances! She filled this book with so much heart that leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy, while also not wanting to put the book down. 

 

Told entirely from Maggie's perspective, which is refreshing for someone who mainly reads alternating perspectives, I absolutely adored getting absorbed into the world of Tanner Peak, particularly the Beringer's strawberry farm. Courtney and Maggie had so much chemistry as they explored the world of first love and first heartbreak, and the second-chance that comes with the circling back to one another after time apart and growth. 

 

Melissa takes an interesting approach to telling Maggie & Courtney's story, with the first half of the story taking place over three summers following the characters first meeting in high school. The rest of the book then picks up five years after the final summer, where both confront each other for the first time since their mutual heartbreak. It's an interesting take when a lot of authors choose to alternate between past and present, but it worked really well to build-up Maggie and Courtney's relationship before we get back to the current time. 

 

A trigger warning for emotional parent abuse, references to previous abuse, and grief after the loss of a family member. In terms of the abuse, the mentions are minimal and handled really well on-page. When it comes to the loss of a family member, I really wasn't expecting to have Melissa throw such an emotional curveball into the story, but the impact it had on the story as a whole certainly outweighed my moment of sadness. 

 

Spend the summer lost in the strawberry fields with your first love with this must-read sapphic romance.