A review by haleyzajac
The Summer Girl by Elle Kennedy

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

2.5

2.5 ⭐️ This was a pretty standard young twenties, summer at the beach, romance book. I didn’t feel like it blew me away, but it also wasn’t bad. I really disliked the relationship between Cassie and her mom. Which was sort of the point I guess, but it still seemed way over the top. The body shaming was ridiculous, especially considering it’s mentioned how tiny she is on numerous occasions. All the family stuff in this book was heavy. I definitely think you need a bit of drama or conflict to make a book great. This book took that expectation and overkilled it. Body shaming, emotional and verbal abuse by a parent, cheating, divorce, discussion of miscarriage, etc. It was just trying to do too much. I would have liked to see more of those giddy moments in a new relationship as you’re starting to discover each other. I think it would have helped balance the book out a bit. Would I recommend this summer read to a friend? Probably not. There are too many other great summer romance reads out there.
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