Enjoyed reading! This main character was much more relatable than the previous. I loved watching her grow into herself as the novel progressed

This is a perfect summer read! The beach setting and the "summer love" vibes made it a very enjoyable read. I really liked our main male character Tate. He was charming, sweet, and great with our female main character Cassie. Cassie was a bit immature for me at times but it was nice to see her mature as the book went on. The familial dynamics in this book were very interesting too. They went places I didn't expect and that kept it very interesting. As always, Elle Kennedy knows how to write a book that is the perfect balance of romance and steam. 3 stars!

Wow! This book was amazing! Cassie and Tate had me all over the place, but in a good way! The characters were all written wonderfully! I also want to say, during the beach games scene, the building sand castles competition “who brought their own cement?!” had me literally laughing out loud for a solid 2 minutes! I couldn’t stop! This was the first book I’ve read by this author and didn’t realize there were other books in the Avalon Series when I requested as an ARC but I will definitely be reading them!!

This was a fun and entertaining summer romance. I found some scenes (especially the steamy ones) to be cringey, just odd descriptions and over-the-top language, maybe it was just the male narrator. The ending was also a little disappointing. But overall, it was entertaining and i can see why this author is popular - if maybe just not for me.

Unpopular opinion: really didn’t love this book. I went into it blind, so that accounts for some of it, I suppose. My personal opinion is that this book was too vulgar in both language and steamy scene/discussion. It took away from the core of the book for me. Having never read this author before, I didn’t know it might be so.

I do appreciate the opportunity to have experienced this eARC. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley.

My lord I loved this book so freaking much.

Elle Kennedy gets better with every book in this series, and it’s no surprise that Cassie and Tate’s story is my favorite so far.

Cassie is a summer girl who is looking for a fling, and all Tate DOES is flings. But when these two collide…fireworks.

They were so sweet and hot and funny and lovable. I loved seeing Mack and Cooper and Evan and Gen again, and I loved how Tate really helped Cassie work through her family issues, and how Cassie turned Tate from a ladies man to a one woman man.

All said this was phenomenal, and I adored the audio. Can’t wait for what’s next! (Please say it’s Alana!)

4.5 rounded up to 5 -- I have a bunch of Elle Kennedy books on my TBR but this was the first one I actually read (listened to, actually). Thank you @netgalley for this ARC!

The audio: I loved Caitlin Elizabeth and Teddy Hamilton's narration! They were great at reading different voices and their inflections were perfect. Five stars for their reading. I think audiobooks are always a little more interesting than other versions, and I tend to like books a little more when they're read to me lol

The story: I really did enjoy listening to this. It was a slow burn between the two MCs, who became friends after a misunderstanding. I was sitting at my desk working when the first real 🌶️ scene hit, and safe to say it was very distracting. I loved the dual POV and the time passing over the course of a summer. And OMG I was NOT prepared for the twist toward the end. Didn't see it coming one bit. My jaw DROPPED. Highly recommend this one!

If you want a great summertime romance novel, this is one for you! Full of fun characters, a great setting, and a fantastic romance! Adored the narration on this one as well.

This was great! I was a little worried about picking up this book since I have not yet read the first two books in the Avalon Bay series but it was great as a stand-alone so there was no need to worry. Of course, I enjoyed this book so much that I feel like I need to go back and read the first two as soon as possible. I enjoyed every moment that I spent with Cassie and Tate!

Cassie and Tate were both wonderful characters and I felt that they absolutely belonged to each other. The banter between them was well done and I loved the chemistry that they shared. I liked getting to watch Cassie and Tate deal with their family issues and appreciated the way that they supported each other. I couldn’t wait to see them figure out a way to work things out.

Caitlin Elizabeth and Teddy Hamilton did a great job with this book. I thought that their voices complimented each other incredibly well. I loved the way that they were each able to bring the characters to life and add just the right amount of emotion to their reading. I couldn’t put this audiobook down once I started listening and believe that their narration took the story to the next level.

I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a wonderful romance featuring characters that were easy to fall for. I cannot wait to read the earlier books in this wonderful series.

I received a review copy of this book from St. Martin’s Griffin and Macmillan Audio.

Is this another summer beach town love affair? Yes. Did I eat this up like Sunday Brunch? Absolutely.

Elle Kennedy knows just how to write a love story to make me know exactly whats going to happen and still be so excited that its happened. I was given an ARC of the Audiobook by NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin.

I found myself shocked, blushing, giddy and laughing throughout this whole book, it's a wonderful summer read!

I really liked this story a lot! A new adult novel is Elle K’s sweet spot and she does a great job with the cinnamon rolll/playboy male characters. The chemistry between the two was spot on and I couldn’t wait to see how their relationship was going to progress.

Something about the male narrators voice was unpleasant to me at times (personal preference), but I enjoyed the other narrators a lot. I personally would prefer this on ebook.

This is the third novel in the Avalon Bay series. Cassie is visiting the bay for the summer and staying with her grandmother. She grew up here, but once her parents got divorced she moved north. Around the time Cassie left, Tate's family arrived. Tate teaches sailing lessons and helps run his family's business. He's a bit of a playboy, but also a sweet and sunshiny character.
This was a fantastic friends to lovers romance. The family drama was a bit wild, but I loved this story and the couples' romance.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audio e-arc.*

This book had a lot to live up to for me because I was so obsessed with Elle Kennedys other series. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least.

Thank you NetGalley and Elle Kennedy for the opportunity to listen to this book early. This book was so stinking cute…. And perfectly spicy🥰 I loved the summery feel of this book. I loved the voices chosen to narrate they fit the characters perfectly and brought them to life.

The way the relationship blooms between the Cas and Tate is adorable. I love how he’s a good boy/playboy. If that makes sense lol

The twist this book took was so interesting…. It definitely kept me listening and once again I’m still obsessed with Elle Kennedy.

The ending *chef’s kiss*👌🏼💋

4.25⭐
Genre ~ New Adult Romance
Series ~ Avalon Bay, #3
Others in the series ~ Good Girl Complex, Bad Girl Reputation ~ fine as a standalone, but previous book characters make appearances
Publication date ~ July 18, 2023
Page Count ~ 392
Audio length ~ 12 hours 9 minutes
Narrators ~ Caitlin Elizabeth, Teddy Hamilton
POV ~ dual 1st
Featuring ~ characters in their 20's, play boy, virgin, neighbors to lovers, friends to lovers, summer fling, minimal steamage, side character infidelity, toxic parent

Cassie & Tate
Cassie is on break and spending the summer with her grandma, Lydia. I love reading about grandmother/granddaughter relationships. They had a great bond and it makes me miss my grandma.
She's a virgin and looking for a summer fling to gain some experience. Who better than the gorgeous guy that is house sitting right next door.

Tate is known as a playboy and doesn't do relationships, so it seems like a no brainer to accept Cassie's proposition for a summer fling. But he has reservations when he gets to know her because she just doesn't seem like the fling type to him.

These two were really cute when they were together. They had great banter and chemistry, and were both so sweet. I really liked seeing Tate's emotional side and Cassie's big news at the end was perfect.

The 20 year old side characters were more mature than one of the adults. She was so mean to Cassie, and really everyone around her. Did I like the 3rd act breakup? Nah, I never do, but I can kind of see why it had to happen, but did I need the side plot that caused it? Not really.

Overall, this was good fun and my favorite of the series.

Narration notes ~ Caitlin's voice sounded perfect for her 20 year old character. I've listened to Teddy narrate many times and it doesn't appear that he's worked on his lady voice, oof.

"The Summer Girl" is the third in Elle Kennedy's 'Avalon Bay' series. For those who have already read "The Good Girl Complex" and "Bad Girl Reputation", it feels like be welcomed home to places and characters we've met before...like Tate!

In this book, we get to meet Cassie who is visiting the bay for the summer and staying with her grandmother. She grew up here, but once her parents got divorced she moved north. Around the time Cassie left, Tate's family arrived. Tate teaches sailing lessons and helps run his family's business. He's a bit of a playboy, but also a sweet and sunshiny character.

Similar to the other books in the series, the characters have difficult relationships with parents, and "The Summer Girl" twists some really complex family dynamics into the story!

A quick fun summer beach read!

📚 The Summer Girl
📝 Elle Kennedy
📌 Book 48/50 for 2023

🔔 Publishing 7.18.2023 🔔

✨ This was an audio ARC gifted to me by Macmillan Audio via NetGalley. The following review is my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions. ✨

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3)
𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗥𝗘: Romance 💕
𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗟𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗟: 🔥🔥🔥

𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 📖
This was book 3 in Elle Kennedy’s Avalon Bay series but I read it as a standalone and as my introduction to Kennedy’s work. I really enjoyed the style in which this book was written and it was a cute, quick summer read (or listen) overall. The pacing was pretty consistent but I feel like I would’ve been more invested in the plot had there been more chemistry between Tate and Cassie. The little bit of drama at the end definitely kicked it up a notch, but otherwise this was a basic, solid small-town rom com.

𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗜𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘 ⤵️
fwb to lovers 🔥, sailors ⚓️, small town drama 🫣, happy endings 🫶🏼, summertime ☀️

The third installment in the Avalon Bay series is (ALMOST) here (only one more week til pub day) and it is one of the most perfect summer New Adult reads I’ve read this year! It gives immaculately cutesy, mildly spicy, and quintessential summer vibes and follows Cassie, the grand daughter of the former owner of the decades old hotel in Avalon Bay (that has recently been bought, completely renovated and remodeled after sitting dilapidated for decades after a series of hurricanes claimed it) and all her summer escapades in Avalon Bay! And boy, does she get into some escapades! This book just squeezed in and became my favorite in the series (replacing Good Girl Complex).


And though it is the third in the series this definitely can be read as a standalone (because of the subtle and integrated catch up of characters you may want to know from the previous two books) even though I highly recommend you read all three because they’re 🔥!

This is the first one in the series that I’ve listened to via audio and it was such a great experience! It comes out around 12hrs and I was able to legibly listen at my normal 2.5x speed, so it was a super fast read and I was even able to do a bunch of mundane tasks that were made a lot more fun because I was listening to this while doing them (one of the reasons I love audiobooks!)

You’ll love this is you like:
✨Strangers to lover troupe
✨He falls hard and fast
✨Summer Fling/FWB vibes
✨Strained/Overbearing Parental Relationships

Thank you to @netgalley @macmillan.audio and @ellekennedy33 for the ALC in exchange for my honest review!

4.5 stars rounded up!

I’m so glad we got another trip to Avalon Bay because I MISSED it so much! This third installment was absolutely perfect and I ate it up so quickly. Tate and Cassie were cuuuuuute and I loved their banter a lot, then you add in that we got tons of scenes with all of the other characters we’ve grown to love in this series plus ALL the drama (I actually found the drama in this story the most believable/relatable compared to the two previous books) - this book was really just a hit.

A huge thank you goes out to NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for the advanced copy of this audiobook - I’m truly so appreciative! The Summer Girl drops July 18 so get it on your radar!

Cassie, a college senior, is spending the summer in Avalon Bay with her grandmother while figuring out what she wants to do after college. Never having been in a relationship, Cassie is hoping to find a summer fling and thinks that Tate, her very handsome and very temporary next door neighbor, would be the perfect candidate.

LOVED SO MUCH! I fell in love with all the characters in this book (minus Cassie's mom of course) and honestly didn't want this story to end. I love how she finally spoke her mind at the end and did what she needed to do to be happy. Tate was the perfect MMC and I will forever have a crush on him.

My only (somewhat of an) issue was with the female narrator when she did Tate's voice - it just sounded odd and she gave him a weird sort of southern accent that Teddy Hamilton (my favorite male narrator) didn't do when he read Tate's chapters. The weird mismatch in accents didn't sit well with me but also wasn't enough to ruin the book.

My experience with this series: I liked but didn't love Good Girl Complex (I can barely remember it though), haven't read Bad Girl Reputation and loved this one! My advice if you haven't read the others in the series: just go right to this one.

I 100% recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun summery romcom!

A great addition to the Avalon Bay series. This book dealt with some weighty subjects, but it felt lighter than the previous two books. I think a lot of that is due to both Tate and Cassie’s personalities. On another couple, these stumbling blocks would become make or break, full of self-loathing and destructive choices. But Cassie and Tate get passed them. They’re both stronger than they think they are, and are both coming from a healthier history of relationships (or flings). This was a fun listen, and the dual narration was ideal. Both narrators brought a sense of innocence and naïveté (even to Tate and his sexual history) without making them sound stupid. They reminded the listeners that these are two young people still finding their way through life.

I received a copy of this audiobook from the publisher through NetGalley.