I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! At first I kept thinking that it read kind of young. But I reminded myself that the characters are 21 and 23, so it actually read exactly how that she bracket acts and talks. This story had depth and emotion in it, and the perfect amount of spice!

The Summer Girl was such a fun summer read. This was the best one yet in Elle Kennedy’s ‘Avalon Bay’ series. I couldn’t get enough of Cassie and her love interest in this book. This one is the perfect addition to add to your beach bag!

Another lovely and bingeable romance from Avalon Bay!

The small town setting and the frequent call backs to the previous books in the series made this book feel familiar, but I truly think that this one shines really well on its own too. Cassie and Tate were such dynamic and complex characters who handled the challenges thrown at them well. I didn’t love the third act conflict, but the plot twist that got them there was definitely unexpected. The resolution of the book was also something I thought was done really well. However, as with Good Girl Complex, I was really hoping for some more time with the characters after the resolution.

Read this book (and series!) if you like:
- small town settings
- good girl/bad boy dynamics
- close group of friends and side characters
- some spice

I’ve really enjoyed every book in the series thus far, and I’m hoping to see more in this world soon!! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4.5⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Contemporary romance📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
A cute beach read!

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Fun summer reads
Great chemistry
Adorable characters
Friends (neighbors) to lovers
Summer flings
Lighthearted reads
Dual POV
Light spice

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
Avalon Bay!
All the summer vibes

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
The conflict felt rushed and it made we angry

Absolutely loved this story. I was happy and angry and all of the emotions while reading it. I actually wanted to be able to reach into the book and strangle a particular character.

This is the third installment in the Avalon Bay series, featuring Cassie and Tate. Readers will still enjoy this as a standalone, but its fun to read it in series order, if only to catch up with the couples from the first two books in the series and see how they are doing. Cassie grew up in Avalon Bay, but has been away at college. She is home for the summer staying with her grandmother for the last time before the Beacon hotel which has been in her family for generations reopens under new ownership. She isn't planning to meet anyone in the short time she is in town for the summer, but the runs into town playboy, irresistible Tate Bartlett, and she finds herself drawn to his charm, genuine care, and friendship. What starts as a possible summer fling for Cassie and Tate ends up becoming so much more as the two spend time together and secrets are revealed. Great romance and also very humorous at times. Can't wait for the next release!

This book made me want to be besties with Cassie and Tate and live in Avalon Bay and work at the hotel for the rest of my life. It was the perfect amount of sweet, spice, and sassy and without spoiling anything, made me develop a variety of strong feelings towards each of the characters! Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

This was such a fun read! I can't wait for more by this author. I would absolutely recommend! If you are looking for a book to get you back into reading. This is it!

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Publication date: July 18, 2023

The Summer Girl is the third in the Avalon Bay series by Elle Kennedy. These do not need to be read in order (I have actually only read the 2nd and 3rd books so far) and are the spicy Rom-Com I’ve come to expect from this author.

Cassie Soul is a Summer Girl, visiting Avalon Bay for the summer. She was actually born and spent the first few years of her life growing up in Avalon Bay but her parents divorce drove her and her mom to Boston with rare visits back.

Cassie is staying with her grandmother the former owner of the Beacon Hotel in her last summer on the island. While spending time with her grandmother is her first priority, Cassie has her sights set on a summer fling. Finding the right guy to spend the summer with, no string attached.

Cassie meets Tate Bartlett almost as soon as she arrives. He’s the perfect candidate for her summer fling, good looking, a bit of a player and not into long term relationships. Their prospects look good until Tate sticks Cassie in the friend zone.

As the summer wears on, Cassie and Tate can’t deny their attraction to each other and cross the friend zone line. Vowing to ensure they keep their feelings intact and maintain their summer fling free of emotional connections. As the summer comes to an end, neither Cassie or Tate want o admit their feeling have grown into more than just a fling.

I loved Cassie and Tate’s story! This was a four star read for me. I highly recommend for any romance readers out there but be warned, there is a good amount of spice included in this one!

#NetGalley #avalonbay #thesummergirl #ellekennedy

Cassie wants a summer fling (her first) for her last summer at the beach before her family sells their home. Tate is the townie player she has chosen to meet her needs. They dance around each other for a bit as Cassie harps on her body image and mommy issues. When I was in my 20s, I might have enjoyed the story, but in my 40s I just found it superficial and immature. I could have done without all the crass body part references. I didn't find it spicy, just skanky. The characters were shallow, and what diversity was included in the story seemed introduced just to check a box. Overall, it was OK for a book to pass the time, but it didn't leave me with anything. Perhaps I'm not the right demographic.

2.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to #NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Outerbanks vibe, summery, angsty, salty, sweet.
Perfectttt beach read! This series really nails the small beach town, vacation romance vibe.

Back to Avalon Bay!!! I love this series by Elle Kennedy and hope that there are more stories in this beach town.

Cassie and Tate's story is a fun, flirty and summer love story that I l wanted to end. Cassie's relationship with her grandmother is endearing. Tate's protective nature and family loyalty is hot.Their relationship evolves through the book and they really fight for it!

I love the entire Avalon Bay crew and it was so fun to see yet another type of resident enter the crew - the "summer" people.

The beach fun and antics of the whole crew leading up to the end of summer competition made me want to be there in that beach town with them.

⭐️⭐️⭐⭐.5

𝙀𝙡𝙡𝙚 𝙆𝙚𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙙𝙮'𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝘼𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣 𝘽𝙖𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨.

This is the third book in the Avalon Bay series and it’s hands down my favorite out of the three. I did enjoy the first two books for the most part, but this one was so good!

I did a combo of the ebook and audio, I loved the narrators.

Tate and Cassie are definitely the best couple in this series. I absolutely loved their banter and chemistry. I had such a fun time seeing some of the characters from the previous two books.

While these can technically be read as standalones, I always recommend reading them in order - just because you get so much more out of it. I know many people didn’t love the first two books, but I actually enjoyed them.

Cassie was a smart and fun FMC and Tate was just an all-around enjoyable MMC. I loved their journey throughout the book, this is definitely the perfect summer romance.

There are also family dynamics and some twists I didn’t see coming. The spice wasn’t too over the top and I loved the friendships in this book.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book and would highly recommend reading it this season. I love Elle Kennedy’s writing and this whole series. The chemistry between our characters is swoony and captivating. Highly recommend picking this one up!

Thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the eARC and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review!

•𝗧𝗪/𝗖𝗪: Sexual Content, Body Shaming, Emotional Abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Panic Attacks/Disorders

I started this series backward and read book 3 first. This was completely fine as a stand-alone, and I never felt lost throughout the story. I will definitely now be reading the first two books of the series. Now, let's talk about Tate *swoon* I adored his and Cassie's relationship and I adored this book.
Cassie is in Avalon Bay for the summer visiting her grandma. While there, Cassie is determined to find a summer fling before her senior year of college, nothing serious. Her first night, she meets Tate, who happens to be housesitting at the house next door. Cassie thinks he would be the perfect candidate.
If you're in the mood for a fun summer read, this one is for you.

This is an enjoyable and primarily light summer read. I think it’s it my favorite of the Avalon Bay series so far. I loved the main characters and how they developed throughout the story. Essentially no miscommunication tropes which always drives me crazy.

It's summer break before Cassie's senior year of college, and she returns to the Bay for the summer to help her grandmother sort through the things in her house before the sale closes, and to celebrate the opening of the hotel that their family ran for years. But Cassie isn't just looking for a summer filled with family time, she's looking for a summer fling, and Tate is hot, loves sex, and has a spark -- the perfect candidate.

There were so many moments at the beginning of THE SUMMER GIRL that my chest constricted with the building tension of second-hand embarrassment. I felt like I was reading half of the pages through cracks in my fingers because it was so painful (in a great way). Cassie is inexperienced, hilarious, and babbles when she gets nervous. She's so quirky that you can't help but root for her. And you can't help but feel her desire to please her parents: to keep her narcissistic mom happy, and foster a relationship with her dad; clearly the divorce was hard on her and she's learned how to navigate it in the only way she knew how, even when it meant concealing her own feelings.

This book is the perfect beach read (however, it gets a big spicy with some graphic sex on the page, so kids running past, kicking sand in your face might kill a vibe). It's a sweet story with respectful relationships characterized by concern and affection who help make each other better.

The Summer Girl was a fun and easy beach read! The romance was really cute! It was pretty low-angst while still exploring some serious topics and difficult relationships. It gave me all the summer romance feels and it made me wish I was reading it on a beach

I have had the pleasure of reading each of the books in this series and so far they have not disappointed! Thanks to Netgalley & St. Martins Press for providing me with copies!

Summary:
College student Cassie Soul hasn’t spent an entire summer in Avalon Bay in years, not since her parents divorced and her mother spitefully whisked her away to Boston. Now that her grandmother is selling the boardwalk hotel that’s been in their family for five decades, Cassie returns to the quaint beach town to spend time with family, ring in her twenty-first birthday… and maybe find herself a summer fling.
On her first night in town, she finds the perfect candidate: Tate Bartlett, Avalon Bay’s fun-loving golden boy.
Tate, sailing instructor and lovable player, is no stranger to flings. In fact, he’s always down for a good time. But the moment he meets Cassie, he knows she’s not the girl you play games with. Cassie is gorgeous, hilarious, and, frankly, the coolest person he’s ever met. The last thing he wants to do is risk breaking her heart, and so he reluctantly puts her in the friend-zone… only to realize he made a huge mistake. Soon, his attraction to Cassie becomes impossible to ignore. He wants that fling now. Big-time.
And maybe even something more.
As Cassie and Tate walk the line between friends and lovers, they’re about to discover that their situation is the least complicated part of this equation. Because Avalon Bay is full of secrets—and their relationship might not survive when those secrets come to light.

This book is part of a series, but its one of those series where each book can also be read as a stand alone, and that is something I love!

This one was the perfect summer beach read. Elle Kennedy always has a way of creating such fun and loveable characters. There were so many heartwarming moments, banter between the characters, and overall lots of parts that just felt so real and relatable.

I think this one may have been my favorite of the series! If you are looking for some fun summer characters, check this one out for your next beach read!

a perfect beach read! I loooove friends to lovers and this was such a good read. cassie and tate were super cute. loved this one!

Back in Avalon Bay for the third installment of this series. In this book, we meet Cassie. She's visiting for the summer and is in search of the perfect summer fling to get her prepared for her senior year at college, and to help her lose her virginity. When she accidentally stumbles upon a guy getting dumped, the last thing on her mind was then pursuing that guy and having him be her fling. Tate's last idea was to get into any sort of entanglement with a girl this summer, especially the one who heard him getting dumped on the beach. It's only when Cassie and Tate find out that they are closer to each other than they realized, as in next door neighbors for the summer, do they find themselves spending more and more time with each other. Both of them know this fling is going to end in the summer, no feelings will develop, right?

I enjoyed this book! I have read the others in the Avalon Bay series, and this might be my favorite one yet. I love that we get some follow up on previous stories, without being bogged down by them. I also enjoyed the characters of Tate and Cassie. I found them both to be relatable, however somewhat younger than me personally. I did find the spice level of the book to be good, but could have honestly used a bit more. The author did a great job of creating tension between the two main characters, and I found the twist at the end to almost have my jaw on the floor. I wished that we got to explore Cassie's relationship with her mom a bit more in the end, but love the resolution that she was able to get with her father. I found those subplots to be a great addition to the book, and kept it interesting and me reading. I loved the ending of the book, and I look forward to potentially reading more Avalon Bay stories!

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.