Reviews

" Everyone talks about falling in love like it’s the most miraculous, life-changing thing in the world. Something happens, they say, and you know. You look into the eyes of your beloved and see not only the person you've always dreamed you'd meet, but the you you've always secretly believed in, the you that inspires longing and delight, the you that no one else really noticed before. That's what happened when I met Kit Godden."

A lyrical, deeply vivid coming-of-age story set against a backdrop of beach houses, sea breezes and flowing wine. The setting was viscerally, making me feel the hazy hot days of summer that drag on endlessly in an intense and rich portrait.

The storytelling was immaculate — a watchful narrator, keeping an eye over this beautiful beach house and it’s beautiful residents as they plan a wedding and enjoy their summer but all the while seeing through the polished exterior of her new guests, to all the dirty secrets and hidden things our characters don’t. The invisible, quiet family member that you let your guard down around — and that includes us as the reader.

They look on curiously as they try and find their place at that limbo between teenager and adult, navigating that painful feeling of first love and realising their family isn’t all they seem to be all while trying to understand what it means to be alive.

Despite the lazy, relaxed storytelling, this was actually a deceptively quick read, making it the perfect poolside companion. The chapters were short with a steady, fast pace that spent just enough time on the details that we get to know the characters but never lingering in one moment for filler or fluff.

Perfect for fans of We Were Liars and This Summers Secrets, this book will transport you back to summer reading in no time.

elread0's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective relaxing sad 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

4.25

maisie_wilcox's review against another edition

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relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

2.5

danieizzard's review against another edition

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reflective tense slow-paced

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

1.5

i saw this book in my library’s catalogue last summer and thought about it all the time—i truly could not wait for a nice sunny week to read it outside. it’s said to be a mixture of we were liars and cmbyn but it was NOT. possibly 2023’s biggest disappointment, literally nothing happened in this book like what was the point

freesien's review against another edition

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3.0

Mein Leseexemplar habe ich vom Verlag via Netgalley erhalten.

Eine schnelle und spannende Lektüre, die mich aber trotzdem nie so ganz für sich einnehmen konnte. Ich konnte mich nie so wirklich mit dne Charkteren anfreunden, auch wenn ich es ganz spannend finde, dass wir über den Protagonisten gar nicht erfahren, wie er heißt oder welchen Geschlechts er ist. Ich habe auch gar nicht verstehen können, warum alle eigentlich so von Kit angetan waren. Das kam nicht sehr gut rüber, der Typ hat mich nur genervt.
Das Ende fand ich relativ überraschend, aber auch nicht herausragend.

amongstchaosshereads's review against another edition

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A beautifully written book - It flowed well & made for a nice & simple quick read. I read the book start to finish in a matter of hours ... I’ve seen it described as the Perfect summery beach read & I would probably agree, it definitely has that nostalgic summery vibe but sadly I really struggled to feel connected to the story & understand all the 5* raves/reviews.
Although not a bad book, I expected so much more from it after reading the plot & seeing other reviews, but for me it just felt a bit average. Maybe I’m missing something

hannahbright's review against another edition

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4.0

The ungendered, unnamed narrator gave what could have been a retelling of the somewhat tired trope of the two brothers which one will they pick and made it a more refreshing sort of coming of age story. At surface level it was a beach read, but there were so many tidbits of wisdom and philosophical musings that poke through. “I found myself at different points assigning a gender, or none at all and then questioning myself on how and why this changes my perception of events.” I had the same experience! This definitely added mystery and ambiguity and we never learned much at all about the narrator, still I chose to see him as a male.  It was simple, yet mesmerizing. I want to read it again just to see if there are things that went over my head because the ending came out of left field for me! The final few pages tidied everything up a little too fast, but other than that this is a perfect read in one sitting kind of novella!

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