Member Reviews
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.
To be honest I was worried going into this book. While I have loved Elle Kennedy’s work in the other series, I ended up dnfing the first book in this series. I only made it through 20% of the book before I stopped. The writing style and the characters were not working for me at all.
With this in mind I went into The Summer Girl with hope that it would be better, but worried that it would have the same issues as the first. Thankfully, I was pleasantly relieved to find The Summer Girl similar to how I remember Elle Kennedy’s writing style and character building.
I greatly enjoyed this book. I loved the slow build of the relationship between Cassie and Tate. I appreciated how they were able to be themselves with each other and how integral that was to the development of their relationship. I especially loved the character growth for both Cassie and Tate. The only thing I would change would be to see more from Tate’s POV.
I am such a sucker for Elle Kennedy's Avalon Bay series. This book follows Cassie and golden-boy Tate. Cassie is in Avalon Bay for the summer, visiting her grandma before she sells her house and moves to Boston. Moreover, the infamous Beacon Hotel has been in Cassie's family for years, and they want to wish it a final farewell. Cassie is a rising senior in college, a virgin, and really wants a summer fling. Enter Tate, townie who is a town-player, yet everyone still loves him. Tate doesn't want a fling with Cassie, because he doesn't want her to catch feelings. But eventually, he caves and is surprised to find he is the one catching feelings...
Super quick, steamy read! I loved it! Thank you Net Galley for the early copy!
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. This was a good read. I read the other two in the series and they were good as well. I think that you can read this as a standalone if you want to get into this book.
This is book 3 in the Avalon Bay Series.
This is my favorite of the series!
This follows Cassie & Tate. Cassie used to live there until her parents got divorced and her mom took her out of that town and her father didnt fight for her.
Tate lives there year around working with his dad at the boat dealership and doing odd jobs.
Cassie is back for the last summer since her grandmother is selling her house and already sold the family hotel.
Cassie decides this is the summer for a fling. but what they all got was a lot more. To a bombshell secret to maybe love?
Thank you NetGalley & St Martin's Press for the ARC and audio copy. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review
The Summer Girl is my favorite in the Avalon Bay series so far! A feel-good new adult summer romance, it’s swoony, sweet, and steamy. Cassie is in town for the summer and looking for a fling - what better option than Tate, townie and hookup king? I loved their friendship, banter, and seeing how their relationship deepened as the summer went on. I adored this read and recommend it to fans of Tessa Bailey and Carley Fortune
The Summer Girl is actually the third book in the Avalon Bay series. Having read some of Elle Kennedy’s books before I knew I was going to be for some fun characters and some steam. But not having read the others in the series I wasn’t sure about jumping right in with this latest book.
But, I should have known, it didn’t matter at all! I was instantly sucked into this cute beachside town, all the summer fun and of course Cassie and Tate and their group of friends, who I loved. The book was such a fun, quick summer read that had me longing for all the feels that come with getting wrapped up in new friends, summer crushes and being in one of your favorite places.
Knowing that books one and two are about Mackenzie and Genevieve, I cannot wait to go back and read them.
This is my first book by Elle Kennedy and I can see what the fuss is about. THE SUMMER GIRL was a fun friends-to-lovers romance. I was a little caught off-guard, though - at times it reads a almost YA (the main character is still in college) but the sex scenes are VERY steamy. I liked the family storylines and the third act twist but felt like the book was on the long side - 400 pages and 12+ hours was a lot for a romance. All that being said, it was a great read and listen while I was relaxing at the pool, and I'll probably go back and read the first two in the series.
3.5 stars.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for the copies to review.
I have loved so many of Elle Kennedy’s romances but I am sorry to report that this one didn’t do it for me. The premise was sweet and it was fun to see the summer with Cassie and Tate but there were a few too many dramatic reveals throughout - so many that I feel like we never really got to see the romantic tension between our two main characters develop very much. By the end, the relationship still felt kind of shallow for the grand gesture that happens. All in all, it was still solid beach reading material even if it wasn’t the best romance I’ve ever read!
The Summer Girl by Elle Kennedy
A million thanks to @netgalley, @stmartinspress, and badass author @ellekennedy33 for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review! The Summer Girl is available now, RUN to get your copy!
Cassie is spending her summer in Avalon Bay with her grandma, who is selling her house there and recently sold her hotel, The Beacon, so that she can spend more time with family. Whilst there, Cassie has one main goal: have a summer fling. She wants passion; a hot guy, and a fun, no strings attached summer romance. Then she stumbles upon Tate being sort of dumped at a party. They hit it off, or so she thinks. He taps the breaks, not wanting to hurt her and instead makes it his mission to wingman her to the perfect fling. But what Tate can’t fling away are his growing feelings for Cass. Will these two give it a chance or will it end in Cass-tastrophe?
Oh myyyyyyy, I was *not* prepared for the emotionssss! Sometimes character arcs get me emotionally and I shed a tear or two. And this one got me bad. I basically am Cassie. I was raised pretty naive, have self esteem issues, thought critical and borderline abusive behavior from relatives is normal. So this lightly speared me. But I absolutely loved the entire thing. Their banter is amazing and I love the way Kennedy flawlessly weaves in the characters we love from the other Avalon Bay books! I’ve never really understood the hype/idea of book boyfriends but I think I can safely say that Tate is a solid 9.5/10. I really loved this and can’t recommend enough as the ideal end of summer read!
TW: loss of pregnancy, gaslighting, emotional @bu$e, bullying, divorce
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ - 5.25/5
<b><i><u>please note that the trigger warnings and topes/themes may contain spoilers</b></i></u>
<i><u>I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. </i></u>
<b>POV:</b> 1st person, dual POV
<b>HEA:</b> yes
<b>spice:</b> several open-door spicy scenes
<b>TWs:</b> estranged family, narcissistic parent, cheating (not MCs), body shaming
<b>standalone:</b> book 3 in Avalon Bay series
<b>final thoughts</b>: rich girl looking for a summer fling meets golden retriever townie boy who insists they should just stay friends. They’re constantly drawn together from being neighbors who can see into each other’s bedrooms to being in the same friend circles that their tension finally snaps. He agrees to help her with her confidence which leads to some precarious situations and some super-hot make out and mutual touching sessions. My favorite book in the series so far even though FMC’s mum was a real piece of work.
read this book if you love
🤐 hidden truths
🏝️ forced proximity (neighbors who share bedroom windows 👀)
🧑🤝🧑 great side characters
🌍 world building
💞 friends-to-lovers
🥰 nicknames
😳 virgin FMC
🐕 golden retriever MMC
4.5🌟
This was AMAZING and so fun!! I really wasn’t the biggest fan of the first two books in this series, but this one was delightful. Cassie and Tate had such amazing chemistry and their journey was filled with so much fun, laughter and emotion. The plot twists at the end kept me on my toes and Cassie especially had so much growth ! I was so proud of her by the end of this book!!!
5/5 ⭐️
3/5 🌶️
I was a little nervous for this book as I didn’t love the last one so much, but this book was so good and everything I love about romance novels. Elle really nailed it and I couldn’t read this fast enough.
Tate and Cassie agree to do a summer fling only it turns into so much more. I loved their relationship and how kind and amazing Tate was with her. I loved their chemistry and the banter. I loved the smüt and the boyish charm he had too. I hella enjoyed Cassie being upfront and asking for exactly what she wanted.
I really thought they were so good together. They pushed each other to grow and improve and to stand up for themselves. I thoroughly enjoyed this book if you couldn’t tell LOL.
My heart broke for Cassie’s estranged relationship with her parents as I can relate to that and my heart genuinely hurt for her. But I loved how supportive Tate was and how he pushed her to stand up for herself.
Can’t recommend this book enough!
The Summer Girl is the third installment of the Avalon Bay series and easily a new favorite Summer read. Elle Kennedy truly knows how to write comfort Summer read, perfect for relaxing on the beach.
This book follows Cassie as she returns to Avalon Bay after not spending her full Summers there post her parents divorce. She is back in town for her 21st birthday and meets Tate, the town’s “golden boy.” This friends-to-lovers book is full of twists and turns as the town’s secrets come to light and I had such a great time. I quickly fell in love with Tate as his adoration for Cassie grew more and more.
Elle Kennedy never misses with her books and this is no exception! I loved this couple so much, I was genuinely giddy.
Thank you to Elle Kennedy, Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and St. Martin’s Griffin for the digital ARC of this book!
The Summer Girl is out tomorrow and can I just say that this is my favorite of the series!
.
Book 1 is miscommunication and enemies-to-lovers
Book 2 is second chance at romance
Book 3 is friends to lovers, slightly forced proximity with some body positivity and I loved Tate and Cassie.
.
Set in fictional Avalon Bay, where Cassie grew up and is visiting for the summer while staying with her grandma. Cassie attends Briar U which links to Elle’s other series (if you like hockey - check it out!). I loved that there was a connection between the two series.
.
This is the perfect beach read! This can be a standalone or if you are looking for a summer series - look no further!
.
Thank you @smpromance @stmartinspress @netgalley @ellekennedy33 for the #advancereadercopies this is an honest review - seriously go get it!
"Cassie...I would like to fling you."
Cassie should be thrilled with Tate's declaration. That's what she wanted, a summer fling, so why does it feel all wrong?
The Summer Girl, third in the Avalon Bay series, can be a standalone read but keen romantic comedy author Elle Kennedy makes you want to read the whole series.
Cassie is back in Avalon Bay after years away since her parent's divorce. Grandma Lydia, the coolest grandma ever, is selling the family boardwalk hotel and there's a big summer end event. College student Cassie feels this is the perfect summer to just have fun, maybe lose her virginity, and get started on adulthood.
When she has the most awkward meet cute with bad boy playboy Tate, he's getting dumped by his latest conquest, she thinks she's found the perfect fling partner.
What she doesn't expect is they become friends. He even becomes her wing woman to find her the perfect fling. Yeah that's not going to work for too long.
I got to read and listen to this definition of a beach read. The cute naivety performance from narrator Caitlin Elizabeth combined with the sexy deliciousness of narrator Teddy Hamilton was almost too much steam. Tate is conveniently house-sitting next door to Cassie and when they discover their bedroom windows look into each other, let's just say I don't know how the steaminess didn't fog the windows because they sure fogged my glasses and ears. The Summer Girl is a cool hot beach read.
I received a free copy of this book/audiobook from the publishers via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
One of my least favorite tropes, the virgin heroine. Despite this, the book is not bad. Cassie is determined to make the most of her final summer in Avalon Bay, including finding a summer fling. When she meets Tate, who is housesitting the place next door, she thinks she has found her man. But Tate realizes that Cassie is not the kind of girl he wants to have a fling, he likes her too much. The whole summer they dance around being together. During this time, Cassie deals with her divorced parents and Tate finds out his parents aren’t the perfect couple he thought.
What is supposed to be an easy and spicy summer fling, turns into so much more.
I was expecting the fling that turned into a relationship, but there was a good amount of family drama focus.
This book alternates between Cassie and Tate and the author does a good job in writing style to bring out the difference in personality just by the way each character acts and talks. I'm glad this book didn't feel one dimensional, since I hate it when it's easy to forget which character is talking because of them blending together. Tate comes off a bit of a playboy at the beginning and Cassie a bit naive, but I started to grow to like them by halfway through the book.
As far as the family drama went, wow did the author portray classic narcissism. I wanted to slap Cassie's mom in the face probably as much as she did. She was definitely over the top, but intentionally so.
This is a fun summer read, but be ready for some firery romance and crazy family drama all around.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC for my honest review.
This is a perfect summer read especially since you're back at Avalon Bay. Cassie is looking for a fling and she immediately runs into Tate and their chemistry is off the charts. They start off as friends and they quickly turn into something more. Their banter is super cute, spice is steamy, and there are many side characters however there are so many Cassie and Tate moments that make it so cute.
I really enjoyed how it dug a little deeper especially since Cassie had some childhood trauma and parent abandonment issues. Tate had his own issues related to Cassie which was a surprise around the 70% mark. The mental health aspect around the book was really great as well.