A review by the_clavicule_of_ac
The Summer Deal by Jill Shalvis

3.0

3.25 ⭐️

Brynn Turner & Kinsey Davis are longtime summer camp frenemies. Brynn just returned home to Wildstone, CA looking for a fresh start. Kinsey has been living with kidney failure just trying to survive one day to the next. But when Brynn’s longtime crush, Eli, offers her a room to rent in his house - where Kinsey just happens to live- things are bound to get dicey. Especially since Kinsey has a secret. She has a sister. And it’s Brynn.

Three themes are woven through this story. We have the idea that families are not one size fit all, but come in many different forms. The idea that someone can be loved despite their faults and imperfections. And last, secrets can’t keep friends. A secret always has a way of coming out. Brynn is trying to assert herself and learn who she can, and should, trust. Kinsey is trying to get over her fears and let people in. Eli is trying to love and save everyone. All of the perfectly imperfect characters in this story felt authentic, and the relationships- though rushed- felt real. I especially loved Brynn’s quirky and sweet two moms.

Each chapter starts with a journal entry from Brynn and Kinsey’s time at summer camp, which I found to be a cute way to get to know the ladies and Eli of the past.

All of the pieces of this sweet story of romance and family dynamics fell together almost too easily, with little drama, and though predictable, with an ending that felt rushed with some things in the story just forgotten, it was still a light and refreshing read.