Full review on Goodreads. Didn’t love it but didn’t hate it. Cute enough a teen should enjoy it but had so,e unrealistic parts and could use better character and relationship development.

I've decided this is my last Kasie West book. They are very YA, which is fine, but it's just not for me anymore.

things I liked: the summer camp setting of this book was interesting to me; not only are you at a summer camp with cute boys, but your parents are around. It gave a unique twist to the typical summer camp YA trope. I also enjoyed the trajectory of the relationship between the sister, Avery and Lauren. I have a younger sister, and it felt real and relatable to me.

things I didn't love: the "drama" that drove this story felt a bit weak, and I wish we had a chance to get to know Brooks and his background a bit more.

Overall, I would recommend this book to readers that fit the YA demographic and want a quick, summer read.

I'm always in for a Kasie West book! They're swoony and summery and fun. This one doesn't let me down. It has all the characteristics of a KW: strong girl, hot dude, family complications.

It is time for summer vacation and Avery’s parents decided to go big. They booked the family for two months in a family camp where there is no cell service and no Wi-Fi. This is hard to adjust to, but Avery soon finds a distraction in an off-limits staff member. Avery feels this is the best opportunity to try new things and test the boundaries of what her parents had planned for her. Will a summer romance be in Avery’s future? What limits will Avery stretch as she explores who she is?

Sunkissed is a stand-alone young adult romance that was a pleasure to read. This was a very fun experience because romance was not the main focus. There was the coming of age theme, building friendships and sibling issues weaved together. The journey before Avery becomes more than she expects and the outcome will leave readers glad they invested the time in the book. Sunkissed is a fun escape read that will appeal to readers of all ages.

Avery young is on a summer trip with her family, after finding that her best friend and ex-boyfriend cheated on her. Avery can't face people and confront them so it is easy to avoid everything and this summer camp doesn't have an internet facility that helps. Lauren, her sister, is a social media enthusiast and every other story is her next video's idea.

Brooks and his band perform in camp and preparing for a music competition. Avery accidentally found them and let's say Brooks is a mysterious-magnet kind of guy. This summer Avery has decided to go out of her comfort box. She wants to try things that scared her. So she and brook had a deal which leads us to many things.

I like this book, it was a perfect summer read. Sweet+ cliché +a bit of cheesiness. The story focused on music, running away from past/responsibilities and insecurities. It also focused on family dynamics. I am glad parents figure were there in the book, unlike many YAs. The ending and other stuff were predictable but hey that's what happens in summer light reads.

I absolutely love Kasie West’s books and will read anything she writes. Her characters are always so sweet and relatable, and this book was no exception. Avery’s family goes to a camp for the summer where she meets Brooks, a member of the camp’s band. Avery is passionate about music, but struggles with stage freight. She decides to take a risk by singing with Brooks when his band’s lead singer has to drop out. She starts to fall for Brooks, but they aren’t allowed to be together because he’s an employee and she’s a guest. There were so many things I loved about this book; the characters, the family dynamic, the camp setting, and the forbidden romance. Sunkissed was a great summer romance, and I can’t wait for Kasie West’s next book.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Avery’s parents want to squeeze out one more memorable family vacation and the summer before Avery’s senior year seems like the best bet, so, along with filmmaking younger sister Lauren, they head off to a remote lake resort for a couple of months. Avery was hoping a recent break-up with her boyfriend was just temporary, but when she sees him kissing her best friend, going away to camp helps her repeat a pattern of running away from her disappointments.

Cute guy Brooks is in the camp band; dating guests is strictly forbidden but Avery is working at being braver and admitting what she wants so she helps Brooks with lyrics to a song he is writing for an upcoming music festival/ contest. There are plenty of obstacles conspiring to prevent Brooks and Avery from performing - not the least is Avery’s paralyzing stage fright - but though her progress is halting, Avery manages to face her feelings and overcome temptations to smooth things over to please others in multiple situations. Good character work in a pleasing rom-com, it was fun to see Lauren’s filmmaking save the day.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I’ve read a few of Kasie West’s books now and I thoroughly enjoy them. They are short, feel good stories that don’t require much thinking. You can tell with this latest release that her writing has significantly improved. The change in her writing from earlier novels to now, is glaringly obvious.

This one brought me back to my camp days (I loved camp) and just gave me overall good vibes. I found myself reminiscing on my camp experiences, picturing the camp I went too for a few years as West describes the camp in this story. I mean what girl doesn’t dream of a camp romance and here Avery is living one! Also I feel like friendships you make at camp are special, I mean you spend all summer close to this people, learning so much about one another, leaning on one another, and you can totally feel that with West’s writing and characters in this one.

I also really liked our main character Avery. She was likable, relatable, and determined. She was trying to find herself and step out of her comfort zone, and I think we can all relate to that and how scary that can be. Brooks was a great character too. There really wasn’t a single character I disliked. Kai was iffy but not totally unBEARable. (Haha get it - cause this takes place at a camp? It’s also called Bear Meadows).

I’m excited to see what West comes out with next. I highly recommend picking this up when it releases in May. It’s the perfect summer read!

I fell hard and fast for this book. The main character was very relatable and I liked the family dynamics at play with her and her sister.

I was expecting there to be some musical aspect of the book with the main character but the way it was introduced and the way it “played out” (pun intended) was great! I was immediately pulled into the relationship of the characters and I was so happy that it wasn’t angsty or unrealistic.

Also, did I mention the whole book takes place at a camping resort! How fun is that?! I have realized that I really like books that have camp or camp like settings. They are very atmospheric and I feel like I am there too.

Little bits are revealed about the characters as the plot progresses and I liked how the character development and personal growth were done.

I would definitely read more books by Kasie West. Her writing is fun and light hearted and will leave you feeling happy!

I am going to say the biggest thank you ever here to NetGalley and the publishers over at Delacorte Press for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. If you don’t know, Kasie West is an autobuy author for me. I’ve read every single Kasie West book that has come out and any time I see that she’s coming out with a new one it’s instantly in my cart. She’s a YA Contemporary/Romance author who does a great job of making characters realistic even in unrealistic settings. Sunkissed is about a girl named Avery who is being forced to attend a family summer camp with her parents and her social media loving sister. But being in the middle of nowhere with no WiFi and no cell reception sounds like the worst summer ever. Until Avery meets Brooks, a summer staffer her age who is definitely off limits. Sunkissed comes out on May 4th and is available for pre-order now.

This almost seems like a book perfectly made for me. I love Avery and her sister Lauren. Kasie West does a great job of making two sibling characters actually feel like siblings. The love and the hate and the resentment that can sometimes building between siblings was so realistic. I also really enjoyed the male main character. I feel like Brooks seems like a genuine 18 year old guy who doesn’t always know the right way forward but does his best. And his banter with Avery was so cute. The setting was also perfect for me. I am a mountain child and so reading about the characters in the woods, on the mountains, exploring and doing all the summer camp things was amazing. I can perfectly picture the camp and the surrounding lake and woods. It was done so well.

The book was solidly at a 4.5 star range up until the last 35% or so. I felt like some of the things that happened at the end of the book were a little too clean or wrapped up a little too well. I feel like life is a little more messy than what we got here and I kind of wish that some things were left without a resolution. Which is not what I normally say. Normally I don’t like open endings but when everything is tied up in a neat little bow it doesn’t feel realistic. Maybe if we had gotten a little more time with all the loose ends before it got wrapped up it would have felt less forced.

But this is a really great summer read if you’re someone who likes to read with the seasons. It’s got a summer camp, family bonding, romance, a band competition, and best friend drama. There’s something for everyone.

Sunkissed follows Avery Young, her sister, Lauren, and their parents as they embark on their last family vacation. Avery heads into the trip feeling betrayed by her best friend, Shay, and sees the summer as a way for her to try something new. She slowly starts to befriend many of the staff members at camp, including musician, Brooks, and slowly begins to understand what it means to take risks and step outside her comfort zone.

There are not many YA books out there that done feature phones or social media in some way, so the fact that there was no WiFi at camp helped add to the story. Despite staff being "off limits," Avery quickly befriends many of the younger staff, which feature frequently in her little adventures. The story was fun and slightly empowering as Avery learns what she wants throughout the book.

Thank you so much NetGalley, Random House Children’s , and Kasie West for the ARC.

I have been a Kasie West fan for years! I was so excited to read this book. I’ve been looking forward to the release for months!

This was a story really about finding who you are and what will make you happy. It is set in a summer vacation resort, and there are awesome friendships, great banter, and a swoon worthy love story.

This was a 5 Star read for me!

This story was delightful. It hit all the sweet spots of a Kasie West story but was also fresh and fun. I loved the main character, Avery and loved learning about her past and watching her as she made choices to move forward. Her family was so realistic in the way they loved and fought, and the patterns they had fallen into. I love a romance that not only develops the relationship between the main character and her love interest, but other relationships in life as the character moves through her arc and into her true self. The music element of the story was just icing on the cake for me and came off as very authentic and special. With a satisfying ending that was just the right amount of predictable and surprising, I would definitely recommend this book.

This book was received as an ARC from Random House Children's in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I loved everything about this book. This book had such a good message about your life changing right before your eyes as your world comes crumbling down. Even in the most unexpected circumstances, there is always time for self-discovery. In Avery's case, her family vacationed at camp and she developed strong feelings for one of the counselors in Brooks. Even if it is banned, Avery learned a lot from Brooks especially that there is more to life than meets the eye and she must do whatever makes her happy and not focus on others. I myself am going through a similar situation with self discovery and learning what you are in control of and deciding what really matters in life no matter how difficult the choices may seem. I know our teen book club will appreciate this book and will have some insights to share.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

Sometimes you just need a sweet teenage love story, where the worst things in life is no internet and parents who have the whole summer off work. Sweet escapism done right. Another Kasie West winner.

I have been putting off writing this review for awhile. I love Kasie West, and I was so excited about this book. Unfortunately this one just never really grabbed me. I appreciated that Avery was a shy, people pleaser who had to take a second look at some of her unconscious habits, but it just never resonated with me personally. I think this book will find its audience because of Avery, and that's good. I also wasn't a huge fan of Brooks. Something about him just rubbed me the wrong way. I also missed the giggly, flirty banter and cute, emotional scenarios that seemed to be lacking in this book. I rarely felt any chemistry between Avery and Brooks.. I haven't loved absolutely everything Kasie West has written, but I will always look forward to her next release. I really enjoy her writing. The characters and plot weren't for me this time, but it was fine. Not a bad book at all. I feel bad writing a less than glowing review for a book written in quarantine, because I'm sure that's very difficult. I wish I could rate this more than 3 stars, but this was a very 3 star read for me. Not bad, but not great.

I've read all of Kasie West books and they are such perfect summer reads. Fun, quick and cute YA contemporaries that I adore.
Sunkissed was cute and I loved how it was set in a camp. Overall it was cute and fun not my favorite Kasie West book.
It is a quick book to read on the beach or anywhere for summer.

Seventeen-year-old main character Avery Young is stuck spending her summer at a family camp with her parents and fifteen-year-old sister Lauren fresh off a massive fight with her best friend and no Wi-Fi to stay connected or make amends. Things seem even worse when Lauren is constantly filming everything for her social media channel and decides to make a documentary about the camp's house band. Avery can't seem to escape brooding guitarist and lyricist, Brooks, who thinks she is just an entitled snob. Avery is one to keep the peace instead of speaking her mind letting her sister and Brooks continue to frustrate her and make assumptions. Avery is a talented writer with dreams to be a literature professor. Will she ever be able to use her words to stand up for herself?

Kasie West's books are so popular with my middle school students and this one will not disappoint them when it comes out in May. Her latest installment gave this 40-year old some major "Dirty Dancing" vibes only with singing instead of dancing. It also brought back memories of two summers as a summer camp counselor during college. I found the characters to be very relatable and likable. I appreciated the author's note at the end describing how she put much of her younger self into the character of Avery.

This was such a fun read! I tore through this book. Perhaps because the main character was very relatable and reminded me of myself when I was younger (as the author noted in the acknowledgements as well), but really, it was just an enjoyable read to see two teenagers travel along the journey towards finding themselves a little bit more.

I love books set at summer camp! And this is a great one. Avery is on a relatable teenage journey -- trying to figure out who she is, what she is passionate about, and what she wants to pursue in life. Her parents have taken their teenage daughters to an off-the-grid family camp for two months, which stretches both sisters in different ways. Through new friendships and trials, Avery learns how to speak up for herself. I am not sure if the author intended this, but I enjoyed reading it through the lens of the Enneagram personality types. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC -- I can't wait until this book's publish date!