Brynn returns to her hometown to recouperate and catch her breath and hopefully start over again. She has a panic attack and her mothers bring her to the hospital, where she runs into an old friend, Eli, from camp, ten years ago. At first she tries to pretend she doesn't remember him, then when that fails she introduces him. Then there's Kinsey, another camp acquaintance, who is the reason Eli was at the hospital. Her transplanted kidney is failing. Brynn and Eli start talking and she moves into a room in the house he's renovating, not knowing that Kinsey is there as well.

Not only does Brynn end up trusting Eli wholeheartedly, she also ends up finding other things that she'd never realized she was missing. All of them do.

You'll smile, you'll cry, you'll laugh and get angry. But in the end you'll close the book and sigh.

You may remember that late last year I finally discovered Jill Shalvis and in that short amount of time I’ve become such a huge fan. There’s a handful of authors that I can truly depend on to take me on a fun, entertaining escape and she is definitely one of them. Also, look at that cover, I mean have you ever seen a more perfect one for summer? The inside is amazing as well.

So this one is much more than just a summer romance novel. Yes, there is romance (two actually 😍🔥) but it’s also about friendship and family as well, truly a little bit of everything for everyone. It also has the author’s trademark fantastic characterization, every single person in this book feels so authentic and relatable on some level. A cute little addition that I adored was journal entries from two of the main characters back when they were frenemies at summer camp, and oh yes instead of a friends to lovers romantic relationship the two female leads have a love/hate relationship. I’m telling ya, this was such a fun one and a perfect addition to summer reading!

One of the best contemporary romances I’ve read lately. I love the dynamic of the 5 main characters. (I do hope to find out more about Max later on). Not only do you have romance but you have a fun sister spin. These characters and their relationships are so believable and you want to root so hard for them.

The Wildstone series by Jill Shalvis has been a bit hit and miss with me, but The Summer Deal was a hit. While this book did contain not one but two romances (more on that in a bit), it is more of a women’s fiction story than an out and out romance. That being said, this book was completely entertaining and I loved reading it.

As a child Brynn attended school and summer camp with Kinsey who taunted her and was basically a bully. The only saving grace was Kisney’s best friend, Eli who always seemed to be nearby to soothe Brynn’s feelings. Now adults, Brynn is faced with Kinsey as a roommate when she agrees to move into Eli’s house after returning home following a bad relationship and break-up.

Throughout this book both Brynn and Kinsey spend time examining their lives, choices, and growing which I appreciated. Eli pursues Brynn and it takes awhile for her to accept their relationship. I enjoyed watching her grow into it and admired Eli’s patience. Why this book wasn’t 5 stars? Kinsey was in a friends with benefits relationship with Deck and to be honest, Deck is one of those heroes that I love, seriously good guy to the core, and he put up with a lot from Kinsey, and I wanted more about their relationship.

Add in the fact that Kinsey found out that Brynn is her half sister yet doesn’t tell her and there’s a bit of drama that ensues.

I appreciated all the different types of relationships in this book; the long time friendships, the sibling relationship between Eli and Max, the enemies to friends to siblings relationship between Brynn and Kinsey, and the romances between the two couples. Add in Brynn’s relationship with her two moms and this was a very full story with a lot going on, but it was uplifting and wonderful.

Filled with humor and heart, The Summer Deal is a not to be missed novel.

Jill Shalvis writes relatable romances about people you want to hang out with and have in your life. I buy her books without reading the description because I know she's going to introduce me to people I like but aren't perfect, and entertain me with how her characters interact while dealing with some
major life decisions. She has never let me down as a reader.

The Summer Deal is the 5th book in the Wildstone series. It can be read as a stand alone. This story is told starts out with Brynn being left by her boyfriend with nothing. He stole almost all of her stuff and left her homeless. She returns home to her mom's. While there she has a panic attack, and they think it's a heart attack so they get her to the hospital.

Brynn runs into Eli who was her first kiss and friend at summer camp when they were younger. He offers her a room at his place. When she gets there she realizes her enemy from camp Kinsey is there as well. We then hear Kinsey's point of view, and she's having a rough time with a kidney refusal.

Kinsey is keeping a secret from Brynn. That they are half sisters. Brynn starts having feelings for Eli, and Kinsey and Brynn start being friendly to each other. Can Brynn help Kinsey with her kidney? Can Kinsey let Brynn in all her secrets. Can Brynn learn to trust in Eli after her boyfriend left her with nothing?

I really enjoyed this book.

Pure Jill Shalvis gold! I love the depth of the characters and the emotion that she brings to every page. I’ve read every book she’s ever written, and thus is in my top three. I highly recommend!

I enjoyed The Summer Deal by Jill Shalvis. The story is well written, has amazing characters and is a beautiful story. A lot is happening in this book but it is easy to keep up with. This is a great summer read. Highly recommend.

Highly entertaining, heartwarming and real journey filled with relatable and exciting charters, witty dialog, heart racing twists and emotionally thrilling turns. Was a sweetly exciting adventure from beginning to end.

4.5 star

I was pulled right into this story. The story has pain, secrets, second chances, and heartbreak.

If you have not read the below I would recommend reading those books(s) first
Lost and Found Sisters (Wildstone, #1)
The Good Luck Sister (Wildstone #1.5)
Rainy Day Friends (Wildstone #2)
The Lemon Sisters (Wildstone #3)
Almost Just Friends (Wildstone #4)

This is Brynn and Eli’s story. Brynn, Eli, and Kinsey are crazy in their own way. They are all dealing with different issues. Eli and Kinsey were always together but not in love as they have always just been friends. People sometimes thought they were more, but they were not. This story will get emotional at times and get you completely frustrated at others. Eli and Brynn have a ton of secrets between them and when they come out things will get shaken up. Can the trust they thought they had really be true trust or will this break them apart? Can they have a future with so little trust?

I loved these characters and the side characters. I felt I could connect with the characters and the story was a great read.

I highly recommend this book and can’t wait for the next story from this author.

Brynn Turner headed back home after a bad breakup. She vows that her life is going to be different and no relationships with men. Eli Thomas is a guy who surrounds himself with people who need help and wants as family. Kinsey Davis has been slowly dying because of a failing kidney. Eli is put in the middle when these two women once each other’s enemy are about to change their relationship. Three people who made deals during their time at summer camp will reunite and make each other The Summer Deal of a lifetime.

Jill Shalvis brings you back to Wildstone and into the lives of three people who are connected by The Summer Deal they made while at summer camp as children but have now become reunited as adults. When these three will have to put aside the disagreements of the past to become the friends and family that they all need. The Summer Deal is an emotional story of long-ago crushes just may turn into love, secrets that will change three lives forever and will change enemies into family. What’s next for the people of Wildstone? I look forward to finding out what Ms. Shalvis has in store for the Wildstone citizens.

This is a fun summer read! The story mainly goes around three characters, Brynn, Kinsey, and Eli. Eli is Brynn’s childhood crush and they run into each other years later when Brynn decides to move back home. Kinsey is Brynn’s childhood frenemy who is Eli’s best friend and Brynn’s half sister and Brynn doesn’t know it yet. The story goes on with them reuniting in the summer and is all about forgiveness and unconditional love. I can’t say I loved every character but I did feel the force they share and it really moved me. It’s my first book by Jill Shalvis and I had a good time reading it! Thank you, HarperCollins Publisher, for giving me the ARC!

In my early days of blogging, Jill Shalvis was one of my go to authors. Somehow I drifted away from her books (too many books - too little time syndrome) for a few years but noticed I had Rainy Day Friends on my book cart from a conference years ago. Wondering if my reading tastes had changed and if she was still a “go to author”, I picked it up to read with a little trepidation. I should not have worried – it was like coming home to a good friends and family.

Shalvis’s books are filled with love, family and connections. The characters are real and flawed but struggle to do the right thing. And there’s always an adorable pet or two!

The Summer Deal has all these things but surprised me with three POV’s. Brynn – coming home after a bad break up, moves in with her wonderful but hovering moms, Kinsey – Brynn’s childhood nemesis, prickly af, and dealing with serious health issues and one humdinger of a secret, and Eli – Kinsey’s best friend and Brynn’s childhood crush (it was very mutual).

Once Brynn is home, she realizes she can’t live in the same house as her overbearing mothers and takes up Eli’s offer to move into his place to help with rent. One problem. Kinsey lives there too.
Well, really multiple problems. Kinsey and Brynn's growing feelings for Eli. Can she trust either of them? Or her own judgement?

These three carry so much baggage – from their childhoods, with each other and the present day secrets they all keep. Secrets is not a trope I like. At all. But I think it was done really well here.
Being able to see each POV and the why of the secrets really helped me to understand where they were all coming from. It wasn’t malicious or done out of selfishness. In fact, it was born out of love and trying to keep each other safe.

I don’t want to say too much because the blurb keeps things vague so I will too but watching all three learn to open their hearts and learn to trust again was a beautiful thing.

The supporting characters were just as wonderful. Eli’s brother (hopefully he gets a book!), Kinsey’s boyfriend (if he gets his way), Brynn’s mom’s with their open hearts.

I’m SO glad I rediscovered this author and I won’t be taking a break from her again.

Frenemies, Brynn and Kinsey, may have more in common than they think. Adversaries when they were teens at summer camp, the two women are thrown back together when Brynn ends up back in town looking to put her life back together. She rents a room in Eli's house, who had a crush on her when they were teens. Kinsey is Eli's best friend for life and Brynn, although attracted to Eli, is wary of beginning a relationship with Eli knowing that Kinsey comes as part of the relationship deal.

I enjoyed the banter between Brynn and Kinsey. They have a lot of friendship chemistry. The romance between Eli and Brynn is a foregone conclusion. I wished there had been a bit more tension between the two of them. The romance between Deck and Kinsey was great, but there wasn't a lot of focus on it and I really wanted more of that dynamic.

This wasn't Shalvis' strongest book, but I still found it a fun book for an afternoon in the hammock.

Definitely a beach read! This was a intertwined book with family and two different love stories combined. Some past and present chapters with some heavy issues and HEA’s for both couples!

What did I like? This is storytelling at its finest. I no more than cracked the book when it swept me away. I’m a big fan of this author and this was so good! I love books that seem to come full circle with some amazing scenes.

Would I buy or recommend? Yep, this book screams beach read, from the cover to the final page. I did not want to put it down. Phenomenal story and five stars of entertainment!

Thoughts for the author? Congratulations on your release and I was enthralled. Amazing storytelling. Huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC to read and offer an opinion. I loved it!

The Summer Deal is a story of relationships, secrets and how one defines the word family. Brynn and Kinsey, frenemies from summer camp, find themselves back in each other’s lives as adults when they become roommates in a shared house. Brynn is afraid of opening up and Kinsey is afraid of telling Brynn that they are actually half sisters.

I loved all of the characters, and the dynamics between Brynn, Kinsey, Eli and Deck. Max kept me laughing, and I wanted to join Brynn’s family for dinner. This book is part of the Wildstone series, but is a standalone. I had not read any of the previous books in the series and didn’t feel like I was missing anything. Quick read, with great characters.


Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for the copy of The Summer Deal.

I am glad I had the opportunity to read this latest offering from Shalvis. The Summer Deal, the fifth book in the Wildstone series, turned out to be both my favourite read of the series and 2020. Shalvis created an awesome and heart-warming story, which featured a cast of lovable but sometimes irritating characters. Collectively they had suffered pain, loss and heartbreak and my heart broke for them all. Throughout the story, I kept hoping they would get the happiness they deserved.

The author treated the reader to not one but two sweet and swoon worthy romances. The romance which existed between Deck and Kinsey and the one developing between Eli and Brynne.

I had a marvelous time watching how the relationships developed between the characters. My favourite of them all was the relationships which existed between Brynne and Kinsey and Deck and Kinsey. Brynne and Kinsey had a complicated relationship. Discovering that the person you grew up disliking and bullying at camp is your half-sister would have been quite a shocker. Her fear of revealing this knowledge to Brynne had the potential to destroy their budding friendship.

Deck and Kinsey loved each other, but her medical issues had her running scared, which led her to keep pushing him away. Deck’s patient and understanding nature would be the catalyst to save their relationship.

The Summer Deal is a story about love, family, friendships and building relationships. Shalvis did an exceptional job in portraying the issues surrounding chronic illnesses and the stigma that comes with being raised in a non-traditional family. The issues raised although heavy were lightened by the humour Shalvis sprinkled throughout the story. This allowed for a few laugh out loud moments. I especially loved the scenes featuring the kindergarteners. Kids really do say the darndest things.

Conclusion/Recommendation

I found The Summer Deal to be a fantastic read and one I would highly recommend.




Conclusion/Recommendation

I found The Summer Deal to be a fantastic read and one I would highly recommend.

This was such an easy book to fall into with such an interesting cast of characters and overall story. I loved getting to know Kinsey and Brynn seeing their point of views as well as journal entry from when they once knew eachother in the past. Both of them were frieneyes and its hard to look past what they dealt with in the past. Then theres the currently situation of Kinsey's health issues and secrets shes keeping from others and Brynn not telling the whole truth of why shes really back home. I loved seeing how everything played out from the journal entry's and what was going on. I loved seeing the romance as well between Brynn and Eli and wished I could've seen more from Kinsey and her relationship. She was dealing with a lot and things must of been tough for her with her health issues, guilt and everything. This was a pretty great book I really enjoyed it.

This is the fifth book in the Wildstone Series and is a sweet story about family drama and two love stories that are very endearing.
Brynn returns to her moms’ house after a bad relationship so she can have a fresh start. After having a panic attack she runs into Eli , a childhood friend in the hospital .Eli is there to support Kinsey who is Brynn’s childhood enemy .
While trying to get some space from her moms she ends up living w Eli,Brynn,& Max and quickly falls for Eli until she finds out he was keeping Kinsey’s secret about her serious health issues and that she is Brynn’s sister .
Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for an ARC for my honest opinion .

An easy, light summer read but with enough heart that you don't immediately forget it. A cast of great characters. Themes of forgiveness, friendship and family. And a set of lovely 21st century heroes.