littleredreaderhood 's review for:

Songs of Summer by Jane L. Rosen

4.25

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This is a story about finding things that are lost – or finding things you didn’t know you wanted.

 

This was a wonderful spring read, but I just know it would be a top-notch summer read – bonus points if you’re on a little island with lots of drama! This book let me indulge in my fantasy of knowing nearly every side of a story. Perspectives galore! This might not be for everyone, and I’ll admit it definitely bordered on confusing for me, but I personally think it really heightened the story. The ability to get the emotional background information from the sources as the story went along made it feel richer and more grounded. Perhaps this could’ve been done just through the perspectives of the three main women, but I appreciated the community commentary. 

 

I always appreciate a good put-on-the-spot fake dating moment, and the way this one in particular played out was very fun. I did have some hesitations surrounding the almost-cheating aspect of this situation, but I think it was handled well overall and the tension/emotional investment was strong. 

 

A NOTE: I just now, after reading this book, realized that this is not the first book set on the island! I must now go back and read the others to learn more about this little community. I hope that my lack of background knowledge didn’t negatively impact my experience or understanding. I guess it says something about my being able to completely follow along without knowing!

 

A very huge thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for sharing this e-ARC with me in exchange for my honest thoughts!