So, I didn't really know what to expect coming into this novel, however, I was blown away by a vampire story that reminded me of The Lost Boys in novel form. I like the characters, the environment, the gore, the background, basically everything about this novel. Recommended for those looking for a 'fun' and easy horror novel. Flame Press do it again!

Summer of 1986 the wind blows hot, tourists are everywhere and it seems like it's going to be a long summer for fifteen year old Rocky. His cousin, who just happens to be his best friend, has gone to England until school starts back up again. The days are pretty uneventful and long, that is until Rocky lays his eyes on November who seems like your typical all American girl. The two share an immediate connection yet there is more to her, a dark secret about her family that will change this summer forever.
You know I am not one for vampires, I have never been a big fan and with the Twilight craze a couple years ago just pushed me from the genre entirely. But with a new year is a new me which means I am going to try to read more outside my comfort zone and Glenn Rolfe’s novel “Until Summer Comes Around” did just that for me. Yes it was a love story between a very unlikely pair but it went well together without it being unhealthy and toxic like something else *cough, cough*. It made you feel like a teen again and I really loved that. Plus the killings? I dig it, that is why I wanted to read it in the first place so sweet love story with vampire murders sign me up!
Character wise I thoroughly enjoyed the main protagonist Rocky he was extremely likeable from the moment we meet him. His character growth, though it was a shortish story, went with grace along with never being a bore to read. Although I will say that despite what Glenn Rolfe was going for I found the antagonist Gabriel reminded me of those weird guys in school who thought they were vampires.You know the ones who had the fake fangs and never washed their hair, but on the other hand Gabriel does cause a lot of chaos in this book. I just couldn't take his character as seriously as I wanted or was intended. I mean when he was described by his own sister as crossing the line of wanting to be an old lore vampire, ones that go out only at night and sleeping in coffins she could relate to him being kind of a joke. I just wish he was scarier in his own right rather than just threatening his family to get away with his business.
All in all I was very satisfied with this novel and look forward to reading more by Glenn Rolfe and definitely recommend other readers to keep an eye out for his work.

I love to read thematically. And this wasn’t as counterintuitive of a choice as one might think for December 31st. This was specifically selected to take my mind from the nonfunctioning heating system and transport to somewhere warmer. Specifically summer on the beach. Though Maine might not be a personal favorite for such a destination, it certainly seems to be the state for all too many horrific tales and this is one of those. Well, technically it’s a charming nostalgia tinted boy meets girl story set in 1986 in a small beach town on coastal Maine. The boy is a local, the girl is a tourist. The boy is a regular 15 year old, obsessed with comics, cars and girls. The girl is a vampire. That’s right, a vampire. It’s a vampire story, one of my least favorite genre presets and yet…this was pretty fun. The vampire lore here (underdeveloped as it was) presents the creatures as fairly ordinary and actively trying to fit in, except for the girl’s brother who is properly orthodox about the entire thing and takes advantage of their vacation to go maniacally homicidal and blood crazy. So that eventually it’s down to his sister and her new boyfriend to stop the madness. Pretty straight forward story, really. I’ve been reading the author for a while now, mixed results, but he’s always striving to improve and I appreciate that quality. There are still some stylistic limitations, especially noticeable with characterizations, but overall the story worked. It’s probably best to think of it as an 80s pastiche of sorts, maybe like an 80s throwback movie than a narrative masterwork of young love, because it has that sort of neon charm. And such nice kids. The mad vampire brother was laughable, though, cheesy in a silly way. Some subtlety would go a long way to make him into a more menacing terror, but then again vampire genre was never really all that into subtlety in the first place. Plus the story is told from the boy’s perspective, so it’s logical for it to concentrate on his side of the experience and his perspectives. There’s a fairly serious epilogue to the story, giving things a much welcome mature finish. So yeah, not a perfect story, occasionally lacking, but overall it did succeed in delivering that slice of a forgotten time in a sunny sandy place, first love, first car, first tragedy…a proper coming of age tale, innocence demolished by real world’s ugliness. Nothing was quite as nicely done as the setting, you can hear the ocean in the pages almost. Or maybe I’m just aggressively projecting personal needs into fiction. Either way, this was pretty fun. Might hold you over until the summer comes around again. Thanks Netgalley.

I found this vampire novel to be both disappointing and uninspiring. The 1980s fairground setting was the strongest feature, giving it a nice sense of time and place, and central character, fifteen year old Rocky was engaging, but the rest was weak. Rocky meets a girl called November who is apparently visiting his town for the summer and he falls instantly in love/lust with her. However, she is a vampire and so are the rest of her family. These vampires are incredibly boring and the novel does not follow normal lore rules; they can come out in the day, live fairly normal lives and only drink human blood occasionally. Her elder brother Gabriel is the exception and is a killer. As leading 'villains' go this character was incredibly dull as he starts to kill off a few of the locals. There really was not much more to this very undemanding and fairly boring novel.

Glenn Rolfe is a recent discovery for me, my introduction to the author was the new re-release of the modern werewolf classic, Blood and Rain. Imagine my excitement when I discovered that he has joined Flametree Press, one of my favorite publishers, for his newest novel, Until Summer Comes Around.

Rocky Zukas is in a bit of a bind. His best friend and cousin Axel is going away for the summer, leaving Rocky to enjoy the season at the beautiful Old Orchard Beach by himself. Things quickly go on an upturn for Rocky as he meets a summer vacationer named November. The summer of love threatens to become the summer of blood, because something sinister has come to Old Orchard Beach, something thirsty.

Fans of Rolfe may think that they know what to expect with his latest offering, but as someone who’s been reading his whole back catalog very recently, I’m pleasantly surprised that Until Summer Comes Around has exceeded those expectations. I don’t typically mention author acknowledgements in my review, but there is one here where the author thanked Tim Waggoner for advice on outlining a story. Why is that relevant to this review? Whatever advice Waggoner shared seems to have paid off in spades because of all of the Rolfe titles I’ve read, this is far and away the tightest, most cohesive novel that Rolfe has written. Pages aren’t wasted here, everything serves the story, and there is an excellent job of building the characters and putting you smack dab in the middle of 1980’s Old Orchard Beach. I’ve been to Old Orchard Beach a few times, and Rolfe brought me right back.

The book spends the early chapters setting the scene, doing some world building and developing the characters. There’s some bloodshed early on, but as the story unfolds everything escalates and there’s some real tension leading up to the ultimately satisfying conclusion.

Until Summer Comes Around, much like Rolfe’s previous title, The Window, is a coming of age tale. I know some people found the gratuitous sex in the previous offering to be too much, I’d still recommend giving this one a try as the sex here is toned down.

After finishing Until Summer Comes Around, I’ve decided that this is easily my favorite Glenn Rolfe book. Some may disagree, they may be more nostalgic for a title such as the excellent blood and rain. Having just discovered the author recently, the nostalgia flys over my head. There’s no denying that Rolfe’s writing here is the best it’s ever been. I’d recommend this to anybody.

Glenn Rolfe and Flametree press have teamed up for a title that I’d not only rank as Rolfe’s best, but I’d also rank it amongst my other favorite Flametree Press titles.