Reviews with content warning for Drug abuse - The Summer You Found Me

Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The Summer You Found Me by Elizabeth O'Roark

13 reviews

paperbacksandsnacks's review against another edition

emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I put off reading this book because I wasn’t sure about Kate’s story at all.

In honesty, her behaviour was fairly problematic for a lot of the book, and I did find her very unlikable up until the last 25% maybe. She’s a tormented character for sure, and I understand her reasonings and backstory but I don’t think it made me feel sorry for her enough to condone her actions. Don’t get me wrong, what Kate went through is brutal. I cried throughout this, and would advise checking CW’s. But things worked out in the end and whilst I was frustrated for a lot of the story and wished Kate had made some realisations sooner, I still adored it, and think honestly that was kind of the point.

I want to protect (mostly) gentle giant Beck so badly. He’s so protective (swoon) but also just so kind and loving and supportive. He encourages Kate to have fun again and if you’re a bike girly then hold onto your seats because Beck is speedy on those bends!! Plus, his 🌶️ bedroom talk? Delicious.

The chemistry between the two characters was unreal. The tension and angst it caused as the story went on was brilliant and addictively written. I sat and started to read this, and did not stop- reading it in one sitting, in just under 4 hours.

This series is so so good!

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rachel_jones03's review

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

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abidavisf's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

If I thought that The Summer I Saved You was emotional, I had no idea what was coming. The Summer You Found Me ripped my heart out. Part of me regrets reading it, purely because of the intense surge of emotions I am feeling right now, but I know that, in the long term, this book wasn’t just heartbreaking and raw, it was healing.

Kate is the bravest character I may have ever read. Her perseverance in the face of such tragedy is unbelievable. I spent so much of the last two days reading this book sobbing, with grief but also with frustration that she was met, at times, with such misunderstanding and, frankly, disrespect. It was, of course, obvious that she and Beck were meant to be together and that he understood her better than anyone, but even he was so blind to her sometimes. Case in point:

when Kate didn’t want to visit baby Jane. Of course she didn’t. To tell her she was being ridiculous and rude was disgraceful, and I won’t forgive it.

I can’t pretend to fully empathise with Kate. Our similarities are minimal. My experiences do not touch what Kate’s character went through. However, to have a character who is able to name the feelings that I struggle with was therapeutic. It made me feel seen. I’m grateful, even if my heart aches.

As with the other Summer books, I wish that we’d had a bit more of a look into the male main character’s life before the story begins. In some ways, I feel like I knew everything I needed to know about Beck from The Summer I Saved You. His epilogue gave me a look into his heart that his chapters struggled to, and I wish he’d been more open and dug down a bit more deeply to reveal some more of himself throughout the book.

I’ve mentioned it a bunch, but my heart really does hurt after reading this book. I think I’ll take a break before diving into the next book in the series but, regardless, I truly loved this story. Seeing Kate finally receive the love she deserves was so satisfying, and I hope we get glimpses of her happy and free as the series develops.

A downside of note is that, in The Summer I Saved You, Caleb took us to Hannah’s grave, where we found out her middle name is “Jane” and she was born on October 24th. That detail is different in this book (no middle name, and a different date). There were a few continuity errors that I noticed in this book, mostly with timelines, but this was the most noticeable for me. Perhaps this is only obvious to me because I finished Caleb’s book yesterday, but facts about someone as vital to the story as Hannah deserve to flow accurately from one book to the other.

If child loss is triggering for you, please approach this book with caution. I surprised myself with how much my heart hurts right now.

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libraryofsarah's review

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emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

THIS is what you call a character redemption!!!! Book 2 in this series walked so this book could run!

I’m simply wrecked by this book. My first good book cry in a while. I REALLY disliked Kate going into this and for most of this book. I was not going to be persuaded to change my mind and almost DNFd this because she was so so so so unlikeable. I’m so glad I stuck it out. What a comeback. I loved this book. And Beck and Kate together are 🔥🔥🔥

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amberrose1995's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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hjb_128's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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anovelglimpse's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I want to say I loved reading this book. You would think I did with that 5-star rating. The Summer You Found Me was a tough book to read. I knew it would be going in with Kate as the female MC. She's a recovering drug addict who walked out on her marriage and has returned from rehab because her husband has served her with divorce papers. She wants him back and is willing to go to any means to make it happen, but he's already moved on. Beck is her ex's best friend. He sees Kate as his but hasn't acted on it because of his friendship with Caleb. When Kate returns to town, he becomes her support system making lines, boundaries, and wants blur for both of them. Kate was the narrator the majority of the time and she has a mean streak that makes her unlikable 90% of the time. Being in her head is tough. While I didn't always love reading her POV, I was greatly impressed by Elizabeth O'Roark's ability to write such a character. Experiencing Kate's growth was as tortuous as it was impressive. I don't have as much to say about Beck. He was strong and steady, an easy character to love. Kate and Beck's relationship was messy, but there was something tender underneath it all. The Summer I Found You was an emotionally heavy read that will stick with me for a long time.

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