The Summer Girl (An Avalon Bay Novel) by Elle Kennedy
(Book and Audiobook Review)
Narrated by Caitlin Elizabeth; Teddy Hamilton
Pub Date: 18 Jul 2023
ST. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio
Romance
Rating: 4.5/5

The Summer Girl is book three in the Avalon Bay Series. My e-book reading was accompanied by an audiobook. It was a great experience as both the e-book and audiobook versions kept me glued to the story. Elle Kennedy's writing is captivating and engaging. I couldn't put it down and found it immensely satisfying. Caitlin Elizabeth and Teddy Hamilton's narratives in the audiobook version truly brought the characters and stories to life, making me feel like I was experiencing the story firsthand.

Synopsis
Tate, a handsome man with a reputation, meets Cassie when she stays with her Grandma in Avalon Bay for the summer. Cassie is looking for fun and Tate is charming and mysterious. Tate becomes Cassie's summer neighbor, and she's determined to romance him without any strings attached. As Cassie and Tate spend time together, they quickly discover that their feelings for each other could become something more than just a summer fling. Tate struggles with his fear that a summer romance will ultimately hurt her. Cassie must face the reality that the attraction between them may be more than she bargained for. As they grow closer, the couple must confront an enormous secret that could tear them apart. As the stakes rise, they must make a difficult decision - whether to trust in their feelings, or let it all go without knowing what might have been.

While The Summer Girl is full of humor, it also deals with some heartbreaking topics. The characters deal with grief and trauma, showing the full range of human emotions. The plot balances out these heavy emotions with moments of joy, emphasizing the importance of resilience and hope. Although I have not read the first two books in the series, The Summer Girl works well as a standalone.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to experience this heartwarming novel. Anyone who enjoys a compelling story and quality narration will enjoy this book/audiobook.

#TheSummerGirl #ElleKennedy

DNF
I could not stand the narrator and the story felt incredibly immature for being an adult romance novel, Disappointing ;/

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

🎧Song Pairing: Summer Girl - Leighton Meester from the classic film Country Strong 😂

💭What I thought would happen:

Loved Good Girl Complex & Bad Girl Reputation, knew I had to carry on with the cool people of Avalon Bay

📖What actually happens:

Cassie has returned to Avalon Bay for another summer of sun and fun. Staying with her wealthy, dramatic grandmother and avoiding her mother as best as possible. First night at a townie party she lays her eyes on Tate, the most beautiful man she’s ever seen and may be the perfect guy for a summer fling.

🗯Thoughts:

I think this is my favourite of the series so far! I think I need to read more from this author as this is the only series I have gobbled up so far! If you have suggestions let me know!

The perfect summer book. When reading I felt the sun on the face and could smell the saltiness of the ocean instead of the actual smell of forest fire that is consuming my neck of the woods…

I loved the conflict with Cassandra and her parents, more so her mother and then the complicated relationship with her father and his new family. But most of all I ADORED Cassie’s grandmother. I want a sassy southern nana cloaked in Hermes.

Pick this one up! Pick up the whole series. You won’t be disappointed!

Thank you @macmillan.audio @smpromance @netgalley for a copy of this summer read. I have enjoyed this series and this story focuses on Cassie, who is visiting her grandmother that will be moving away from Avalon Bay. Cassie meets Tate on several encounters and their connection is undeniable. I love seeing Cassie and her relationship with her grandmother and her search for a summer fling. Tate is such a sweet heart and how he embraced Cassie into his circle of friends. The surprise really shocked me and added such an interesting element in the story. A perfect summer read.

I enjoyed the dual POV and narration which brought the story to life.

This was so cute. I continue to enjoy this series, and Elle Kennedy is quickly becoming one of my favorite romance authors. There a few scenes in this one that will stick with me. I felt so much empathy for almost every single character at the very end.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Elle Kennedy's publishers for this advanced reader's copy for an honest review.

Read if you like:
🔥 Spice
💋 Friends to Lovers
😘 Hookup to More
🏖️ Beachy Vibes
2️⃣ Dual POV
👨‍👩‍👧‍👧 Messy Family Dynamics

I thoroughly enjoyed my return to Avalon Bay and if there are more stories for this series I will definitely be reading them as well as trying to catch up on Elle Kenndy’s backlog soon!

I love the rich and pretentious mixed with the locals vibes that we get in this series were we have working class and extreme wealth side by side and seeing how those sides either come together or butt heads.

I really enjoyed Cassie and Tate’s romance and loved how they were friends first and he was helping her find a summer hookup after he had friendzoned her to them coming together and finding that hooking up with your friends can be fun. 😉

Overall, another enjoyable beachy summer romance from Elle Kennedy that I recommend if you have enjoyed the rest of the Avalon Bay Series so far.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for my ALC! I highly recommend the audio as Teddy Hamilton knocked it out of the park again with his sexy narration!

Really excited about this book. It was an Absolutely phenomenal read. High will recommend to others to pick up as soon as it is released.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. I have mixed feelings about the book. I thought the storyline and plot were decent and it did keep me reading, BUT and a big but, I felt like much of the conversations were cringy! The author did not need to be so vulgar with her descriptions. There are books where I think it works, but this one was so light, that when those conversations were thrown in, it felt gross. I also did not like all of the body shaming throughout the story. I can't even count how many times they talked about Cass's large boobs. If certain parts of this book were re-worded or omitted, I think I would have enjoyed it more.

Thank you NetGalley!
3.5 ⭐️

After reading and loving the first 2 in the series I felt like this book just wasn’t there. It was enjoyable as a quick beach read though.

It read too much like a YA for me, there was a lot of focus on losing virginity which put me off a little.

The spice, once it got to it, was decent enough.

I was confused why they chose the character they did as the protagonist but it made for an ok stand alone. I just wish there was more focus on the family drama or drama in general like first 2 books had.

really enjoyed Good Girl Complex and Bad Girl Reputation so I think I just expected this book to be a bit more like those two books, but this book came across more like a standalone book.

I thought Cassie and Tate had such great chemistry, which is why I live friends to lovers trips but Cassie’s came across a bit young where as I enjoyed Tate as a character. The difference could be in that he is working class and she has money so his family interactions and working for what he has is a bit more relatable.

I loved reading this as an audio. I always enjoy Teddy Hamilton, he does a great job voicing the characters and making it an easy smooth read.

Things about this book:
Beach read
Tourist town
Open door romance
Virgin heroine
Friend to lovers
Summer fling really enjoyed Good Girl Complex and Bad Girl Reputation so I think I just expected this book to be a bit more like those two books, but this book came across more like a standalone book.

I thought Cassie and Tate had such great chemistry, which is why I live friends to lovers trips but Cassie’s came across a bit young where as I enjoyed Tate as a character. The difference could be in that he is working class and she has money so his family interactions and working for what he has is a bit more relatable.

I loved reading this as an audio. I always enjoy Teddy Hamilton, he does a great job voicing the characters and making it an easy smooth read.

Things about this book:
Beach read
Tourist town
Open door romance
Virgin heroine
Friend to lovers
Summer fling

Really enjoyed listening to this book! Elle Kennedy never disappoints! I was lucky enough to also get an eArc of this book and ugh I loved it so much! Perfect summer vibes! The narrators did such a great job bringing the characters to life!

Thank you Netgalley, Elle Kennedy, and St Martins press for the audio arc!

Elle Kennedy never disappoints and I am just enamored by The Summer Girl. Cassie Soul is looking for a fling and finds the perfect candidate in sailing instructor and lovable player Tate, only when Tate meets Cassie, he knows she’s not one to play games with, so to protect their friendship, he says no to a fling—except their chemistry just might be too much to resist. Oh I adored going back to Avalon Bay. I think this is my favorite in this series. Cassie and Tate are just wonderful. The banter is so good and bright, the characters have so much chemistry, the steam is sexy, and it’s just wonderful. I relate so hard to Cassie’s struggles and I just loved her. She’s funny and feisty and I loved watching her find her voice. And Tate is just perfect. He’s funny and charming. Their friendship is so fun and I love the drama of this book and the balance of it. I was so hooked and just really had such fun listening to and reading this book!

4.5 Stars
I want to start by saying I didn't listen to any other books in this series before this one and honestly didn't even realize it was a series until I came to writ my review so it stands alone very well. This was a funny and sweet book about a summer fling. I loved the connection between the characters from the beginning and I really loved how they supported each other so much. The banter was perfect and not over the top and the steam level was perfect, not too hot and not to cold. Cassie was smart and funny and was confident enough to make her a fun characters even though she didn't know she was beautiful but Tate knew it and made sure to tell her. I loved how this story came together in the end and how the issues were resolved.

Teddy Hamilton & Caitlin Elizabeth were perfect for this book. They really complimented each others style and sound.

I would recommend this book to all romance lovers.

#Netgalley #TheSummerGirl

I tried to get into this book three times. I’m giving up at about 35%. I just don’t like it and can’t get into the characters.

3.5 stars

Elle Kennedy is one of my favorite go to authors. Her writing is usually on point and she gives a good storyline. Although I liked The Summer Girl, it’s definitely my least favorite in this series. It was still a cute story and a fun read, and would probably recommend it to any Elle Kennedy fan!

The narrators for the audio did a fantastic job though!

***Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review***

Rating- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- listened on audio. This is the third book in the Avalon Bay series but my least favorite of the three. The first two books I read and this one I listened on audio so I don’t know if that made a difference. The story fell flat for me compared to the first two. The book follows Cassie as she spends the summer in Avalon Bay looking for a summer fling. The characters from the first two books do appear in this book but it could be read as a stand-alone. Elle Kennedy is one of my favorite authors and despite this not being my favorite in the series, it was very well written.

This was a DNF for me. I read about 20% but the entire premise of the book was finding someone to hook up with for the summer and that's just not my vibe.

it was a fun book. I would label it as a summer read. i wanted to keep reading all the time. The main characters where super likeable. I would really want to read more from this author.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

This was a cute book! It’s the third in a series, but can be read as a stand alone. Definitely one to read on the beach! I loved Cassie and Tate’s interactions. I listened to the audiobook and the narrators were great!

5/5 stars

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy!!

Cassie Soul hasn't returned to her hometown in Avalon Bay for more than a week in years. This year, she's spending the entire summer as a final farewell to her Grandma's home and life's work, the local hotel. Cassie has her mind set on enjoying her time in Avalon Bay and finding a summer fling. Enter: Tate Bartlett. Tate is Avalon Bay's loveable player, not to mention he's super hot. When he and Cassie spark up a sudden connection, Tate realizes he can't keep his heart at bay and friendzones her. However, he quickly realizes this is a mistake and he is desperate to "fling" Cassie right. now. With oodles of chemistry and a few secrets to manage along the way, this spicy romance is sure to keep you interested.

I LOVED this book. This was my first my Elle Kennedy and I could not stop listening. This book was sooo spicy and fun to read. Tate and Cassie had such great chemistry and their banter was so fun to listen to, I found myself laughing out loud at some points! The narration was great; Cassie's voice was so cute, innocent and relatable, while Tate's was deep and sexy and slightly douchey, while being loveable all the same. This book touched heavily on the complex relationships we can have with our parents, which I thought was really well done. All in all, this was a fun and spicy romance with some deeper and more complicated dynamics underlying. Very well done! I can't wait to read more of Elle Kennedy's books!