Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this as an ARC! I think this is my favorite out of Elle Kennedy's Avalon Bay series; the banter, the tension, the connection between characters... it's almost the perfect summer fling novel. I will say, the last 15% of this book got a little crazy, and I think could have stood to have been a bit more drawn out, but I enjoyed it regardless! I am such a sucker for an interconnected standalone, and I really think I like this one best out of the whole series so far. I felt like the characters were super relatable and I really enjoyed watching Cass and Tate's relationship develop. This is the kind of book that makes you wish it was summer so you, too, could find a little fling like this.

*Themes to be aware of in this one: narcissistic parent and child loss/abortion (BRIEFLY mentioned and not gone into detail, but still worth noting!:))

This book would be a perfect beach read. I read it during a cold winter and thoroughly enjoyed it!

Cassia (Cassandra) is a fun character with a lot of depth. She's devoted to those who are devoted to her and desires the love of her divorced parents. Her plan to have a summer fling sounds simple enough, but of course, things never go quite as planned.

Tate is a joy! I love that while he knew his way around the women in his town he was still respected and sought after. That's saying something about a guy, and how we was raised. He agrees to fling Cassie and they definitely fling!

I didn't fully understand Cassie's reasoning for never having intercourse though. That's a choice lots of people make but they usually aren't sexually active in other ways, basically every other way. She obviously had her reasons but they just weren't clear to me and I didn't get it.

The bombshell that happens was not something I was expecting at all but I also have a narcissist as a mother so I shouldn't have been surprised. Both sets of parents were more than meets the eye and I appreciate the author giving them individual stories.

The nicknames they gave each other, A+!! 😂

I loved the ending of the book and I sincerely hope the author considers writing a sequel!!

Thank you Netgalley, St Martins Press and Elle Kennedy for the ARC.

This is part three of the Avalon Bay series. I have read the first two parts, but you can totally read each part as a standalone. This has it all, romance, family drama and the right amount of spice. It is perfect if you want to binge read it on a weekend.

The Summer Girl follows Cassie's story, as she spends the summer in Avalon Bay looking for her first ever summer fling. Enter the love interest Tate. Cassie and Tate had good chemistry and angst together. Their moments together leading up to their eventual 'intimate scenes' are are good. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough, totally binge worthy.

Overall a good contemporary romance.

This book was amazing. I loved the writing, I loved the characters, I loved most things about this book. Of course, with every book there will be things that you don't like, but I will get to that soon. The Summer Girl is the third book in the Avalon Bay Series, but it's the first that I read. I don't have the first book on my shelf, but I do have the second. I was going to wait, but this book was too intriguing to me. The Summer Girl is about Cassie Soul who is visiting her old hometown, Avalon Bay, over the summer to spend time with her infamous grandma, Lydia Tanner. But at almost 21, she's still a virgin and is looking to change that. Cassie is looking for a summer fling when she meets Tate Bartlett. Tate is the most attractive man she's ever seen, so naturally she asks him to fling her. But against his feelings, he decides it will be better if they are just friends. As their friendship develops, Tate realizes he made a mistake and wants to fling Cassie. The rest of the book highlights their relationship through their summer issues. Cassie is preparing for the reopening of the Beacon and how to handle her tumultuous relationship with her family. Tate is there for her along the way, but their families are more intertwined than they realize.

Let's start with the basics. Cassie is a wonderful girl, but she is so frustrating. I understand that there is a silver lining to everything. But girl stand up for yourself please! She gets walked all over by her mother, and she always looks on the bright side. But what she doesn't realize is that it hurts her emotionally to keep it all in. Cassie is so likeable, and it's no wonder she quickly makes friends, but I want to shake her and tell her to tell her mom or really anybody how she's feeling. Tate on the other hand was surprisingly sensitive. He is the epitome of all men. He had me swooning left and right in this dual-POV novel. I could not get enough of him, and I honestly wish there was more of his POV in the book. Tate is a golden boy who definitely always has time for a hook-up. I mean, he's the definition of no strings attached. But it is so adorable how Cassie and Tate's relationship progresses. I loved watching them interact, especially the banter between their texts. I found their relationship endearing, but it was far from wholesome. They are in a summer fling after all. As usual, Elle Kennedy's ability to write spicy scenes is unmatched. She has a special ability of writing both plot developments and bedroom developments extremely well. This is the third book that I've read by her, and it did not disappoint.

The conflict in this book was a hefty one. It left me with a pain in my chest multiple times. The best way that I can describe it with no spoilers is that family dynamics are tough. To steal a point from the book, your parents have existed since before you did, obviously. But that means that they lived an entirely different life before you were born. If you don't ask what happened before you existed, you're guaranteed to not understand the full story. I love Cassie's dad. Maybe it's because I'm a daddy's girl, but it physically hurt my heart to hear that she felt replaced by her dad. Her mother is a piece of work. I actually hated her, which means Elle Kennedy did her job creating her character. There were so many instances in which I genuinely wanted to punch her in the face, but I can't punch a fictional character as much as I want to. I think the conflict in this story is somewhat realistic. My parents aren't divorced, and my family has never had this much drama. So maybe I don't understand or relate to the storyline as much. However, once I started the conflict part of the book, I couldn't put it down. It took me two days to read the book, but in total it probably took about six or seven hours for me to finish. I don't normally like a friends-to-lovers romance, but I loved this one so much. It made my heart so happy. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for access to this ARC. I really enjoyed reading this book, and I cannot recommend it enough!

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Griffin for the opportunity tor read an advanced copy of The Summer Girl!

The Summer Girl has immediately moved into one of my top 3 favorite Elle Kennedy books which is saying a lot when The Deal is one of my go to comfort reads.

I will say going into it I was a little nervous. I didn't enjoy Bad Girl Reputation as much as I did Good Girl Complex, so I had my hesitations. But this book was the perfect way to tie the Avalon Bay series together.

I loved the natural friendship and banter between Cassie and Tate. The tension built throughout the book, but we still got to see the explosion when they finally get together. I loved that they started building their relationship through a friendship, and I loved the way Cassie naturally fit in with the other Avalon Bay crew. Everything just felt so natural.

Also, everyone expects some kind of conflict in a happily ever after, and I was so surprised by the twist Tate and Cassie went through. I wasn't expecting it at all, but it fit so well and definitely added shock value.

Don't miss this one!

I was able to read this for free thanks to Net Galley, although that does not affect my opinion of the actual book. I’ll be honest and admit that it took me a second to get into this book, however as I continued to read the book, my interest grew. There’s something about Elle Kennedy and how she is able to capture a readers attention. While the ending wasn’t necessarily my favorite and there were parts I struggled to read due to it being a bit triggering to past memories, I did enjoy the book. It brought new moments of the Hartley twins, of Mackenzie and Genevieve. It allowed me to learn more about Tate, who becomes the main character, rather than someone on the sidelines, like the last two books in the series.

3.5/5 stars

When I tell you I finished this book in just a few hours!!!! Elle Kennedy executed the plot and characters beautifully. Her writing is always so eloquently put and easy to binge over lol! I love that it had romance and humor which always makes a book so much more enjoyable. Dual POV of course is always a huge plus, the chemistry & spice between Cassie and Tate is so HOT! I love that it's coming out publicly in the summer time, I highly recommend anyone to read this book, it's a perfect summer read!!

I just finished reading and I loved it!! Devoured in less than a day. Cassie is visiting her home town for the summer looking for a fling and meets playboy Tate. Neither are looking for a relationship and start a friendship. It starts pretty tame but gets spicy the longer you read. I want to go and read Elle Kennedy’s other books because it was very well written. Both characters grew throughout the story and I love a good HEA!

The beginning of this book was a little slow, but it did pick up for me eventually. This was a fun, cute summer read.

The Summer Girl by Elle Kennedy is the quintessential summer beach read. Although I may have read it in February, it has me wanting to jump on a plane to some sunshine and sand. Elle Kennedy's writing is wonderful and super easy to binge. The love story that she sets up between Cassie and Tate is refreshing but still a bit sexy. Not only did this story deal with the blossoming love between the two main characters, you got to see the development and destruction of Cassie's relationship with her mom. I thought Kennedy did an excellent job of roping in paternal relationships with the character's stories. Although this is the third book in the Avalon Bay series, it can very much be read without reading the other two stories. The only downside of this book was that the beginning felt a bit slow and long to me. This is a longer romance (400 pages) but after the half way mark, the speed did pick up. Overall, I think this will be a very popular beach read come summer.

Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC. I enjoyed The summer Girl. I am a huge Elle Kennedy fan and love her Briar U series. I enjoyed this book and found it an easy light read. Not a lot of angst which I do like but overall this would be a really good beach read. Perfect for the summer.

I wish we could give half stars. This wasn't a 4 star for me but its also better than a 3 star.

***3.5 stars!!!***

I finished this in 12 hours! omg omg omg I loveddddd so much! im living for this series and I want there to be more. I highly recommend!!!

'The Summer Girl' is the third book in the Avalon Bay series. I just read the first two books in the series this past week, and I really enjoyed them. This book could be read without having read the first two books because it does fill in some of the gaps. I would recommend reading all of the books in the series because they really set up the town of Avalon Bay, and they help to build up the world with these fun characters.

In this book, Cassie comes back to Avalon Bay, after having moved away to Boston after her parents' divorce. She is the granddaughter of Lydia, who was the owner of the Beacon Hotel (until she sold it to Mac in book #1 of the series). Cassie returns to help her grandmother pack up for her move, and she also wants to see the renovations to the Beacon Hotel, which was in her family for decades. Cassie is about to turn 21, and she is looking for a summer fling. She finds Tate Bartlett, who has appeared in the previous two books. Tate is Cassie's neighbor for the summer, and sparks fly right away! However, Tate turns her down she has asks if he can be her fling because he's afraid that she will catch feelings for him.

There's a lot of steaminess in this book, and I think it would make a great beach read! Having read it in the summer, it made me dream of warm days at the beach and enjoying the warmth of summer.

I loved the dual POV, the chemistry between Cassie and Tate, and all of the updates about Avalon Bay characters from the previous books in the series.

I would have rated the book 4 stars, but I really didn't like what lead to the 3rd act breakup.. It seemed out of place and it ruined the rest of the book for me. There was a lot of heavy family stuff already, and I think it was just another thing to add so late into the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book. I would recommend it to anyone who loves friends to lovers stories, beach town romances, and the Avalon Bay characters.

2.75/5 stars! Even though I've heard about this author a bunch this is my first book by them. It's the third in the "Avalon Bay" series, but I felt like the story was cohesive as a standalone. I didn't mind the story. I liked Cassie and Tate was a yummy main character. My problem was that the story was extremely flat. It felt like nothing new or exciting was added to the story. And the miscommunication trope was a bit strong for my tastes. Will check out another book by Elle because I've heard great things, but this one wasn't for me.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. After Bad Girl Reputation, I had no intention to continue this series. But because I was able to get my hands on an ARC (thank you St. Martin's Press) I decided I'd give it a shot. I'm SO happy I did.

This was right up there with The Deal for me. Garrett and now Tate are two of my favorite boys.

I was laughing out loud, truly enjoyed the spice (their first scene in particular, something I'd never read before), let out an audible gasp at one point, an "oh f**k", and cried twice, both sad and happy tears. I wasn't expecting ANY of that from an Avalon Bay book.

Highly recommend for those who gobbled up The Deal, and I can't stress enough, if you weren't too excited about Good Girl Complex or Bad Girl Reputation, PLEASE read this anyway. You'll be glad you did.

4.5 stars. I think this might be my favorite of the Avalon Bay series. I liked Cassie and her outlook on life in trying to find silver linings in the difficult situations she faced. That said, I was happy to see her grow throughout the book to a place where she was also able to speak her mind when she was hurt by the actions of others. I found Tate endearing in his attempts to be only a friend to Cassie. I don’t usually like the “I’ll be your wingman to help you meet someone else” storyline, but I felt like it worked here for the short amount of time it was needed. I enjoyed Cassie and Tate’s interactions together as well, both in their friendship and when it eventually became more. The friendship coming first made it feel more believable that Tate would find his opinion on relationships shifting. I was happy to see the twins and their ladies thriving too.

My one complaint is that I hated the twist. I can’t say much to explain why without spoilers. I just felt that it didn’t serve a purpose other than a shock factor—which it succeeded in that aspect. I believe the end goals still could’ve been achieved without that thrown in there.

All that said, I loved returning to Avalon Bay. I don’t know if this is the final book in the series, but if not, I’ll happily look forward to spending more time there in the future.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!! I sped through this so quickly, I couldn’t put it down. I absolutely loved Good Girl Complex & Bad Girl Reputation so I’m not surprised that I loved this one too – but I think this one may be my new fave from Elle Kennedy! Dual POV’s, friends to lovers trope & crazy chemistry had me hooked from the start!
 
Cassie’s character was so likeable. She was so relatable, kind, funny. Tate may just be my new fave book boyfriend cause WOW! He was so sweet, hard working, loves his mom & dogs. He’s perfect! I loved the spice & chemistry – it was steamy but didn’t overpower the book. There was a solid story that kept me interested the whole time & I was absolutely not expecting the twist that happened! I loved Cassie’s grandma & Tate’s parents. I looooved the appearances of Mac, Cooper, Evan & Genevieve so much! Cassie’s glow up was great & I wish I could be more like her – she’s inspired me to stand up for myself more!

This was such a wicked read & reminded me why Elle Kennedy is one of my favourite authors.

This was pretty bad, I did not enjoy this at all. This is my reaction in emojis after finishing it: 😟🤨🤭. I really truly thought that this series was getting better after Bad Girl Reputation (which I loved btw don't get me wrong) BUT THIS WAS SO CRINGE-Y AHHHHHHH. Also the body shaming just felt so out of place and tbh I would never give somebody in family another chance if they ever treated me like absolute shit, but that's just me. Lastly, this book also reinforces my idea the Elle Kennedy hates Mac and Cooper from GGC because I know she made Cooper look like absolute trash in the last book but Cassie and Tate would've been perfectly fine (and would've probs made the book around 100 pages shorter tbh) if someone just told Mac to mind her business and can it. Anyways, thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and St Martins Press for this ARC!

This book was my first Elle Kennedy book and one of my favorite reads so far this year. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Summer Girl is the 3rd book in the Avalon series. I have not read the other books in the series and I believe this could be read as a standalone book. It is told in different POV's from 2 characters, Cassie and Tate. Cassie is back in Avalon Bay for the summer and is looking for a summer fling. Tate lives in Avalon Bay year round and the two strike up a friendship. This was such a fast read for me, I couldn't put the book down.

I really loved both Cassie and Tate and was very happy how the book ended.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a page turning beach read. You won't be disappointed.

When Cassie spends the summer with her grandmother in Avalon Bay, she has high hopes of finding a fling while she is there. She soon meets Tate, and Cassie thinks she may have found the perfect candidate. Tate friend-zones Cassie, but as things progress they realize they may be more than friends after all.

This book is the third in Kennedy’s Avalon Bay series, but I definitely think that it could be read as a standalone. While I enjoyed the first two books in this series, I think that this one was the best yet. It was fun to get lost in the beach town setting again, and I enjoyed the way that the dual POVs enhanced the connection between Cassie and Tate. I hope that Kennedy continues with this series!

This book has an expected publication date of July 18, 2023 and I recommend picking it up then! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.