I adored this friends-to-lovers, second-chance romance. The depiction of anxiety felt incredibly authentic, especially as someone who also experiences it. I loved the setting and watching these two rekindle their connection. The male main character was such a supportive cinnamon roll, always there for the female main character during her anxiety attacks and tough moments. Plus, the cover is absolutely gorgeous!

3.5/5

In "Summer Kind of Love", Avery books a month-long work/vacation in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, after being broken up with by the guy she thought she would marry. When she gets to where she's staying in Cape Breton, she's greeted at the front desk by none other than Logan, her childhood best friend with whom she hasn't had contact with for more than a decade.

As someone who has an anxiety disorder, I absolutely loved the representation in this book. The way Avery's anxiety and panic attacks was described was on point, it felt very realistic. I could easily relate to Avery and her struggles, her fears, and worries throughout the book.

This romance novel is filled with tension and ups and downs. However, I feel as though Avery's romance with Logan was rushed, picking up their relationship where they left it years ago like they haven't changed since they were 13. Nevertheless, I liked the ending.

Really lovely romance. Its giving childhood best friends to strangers to lovers. Both struggle mentally, with especially good anxiety representation. I really love the characters and their development really shows. I also love the way it promotes a kind of slow living over the rushed working lives we all seem to have now. It was honestly such a vibe that i managed to finish in one evening. Recommend!!

Thank you to netgalley and the author for sending me the book in exchange for an honest review

Loved this one! Great and fun read. Highly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for my ARC.

This is the first romance book I've ever read set in my beloved Cape Breton! For those who aren't aware, this is the Island in Nova Scotia where my mom is from - home of tons of beautiful Scottish/Irish/Gaelic culture including music, breathtaking scenery, and some of the friendliest people on the planet. 

I really loved the friendship component of this book - both the sweet and supportive female best friend and the reconnecting with a childhood male best friend who meant something more back then and grows into a love connection now. It's not quite a second-chance trope but the reconnecting aspect was sweet nonetheless. It didn't feel quite as angsty or passionate as I maybe expected for such a long time love story blossoming but it was cute and the anxiety representation and character growth throughout the story was well done.

I read this book in one go. It was such a cute book. If you are looking for a light read this summer, this has to be your go to. The characters were portrayed well and the storyline will keep you hooked till the end.

I was extremely thrilled to read this book which takes place in Canada . There is nothing better than a small town romance with just the right amount of spice . I loved how the author incorporated mental health and romance all in one book . Avery and Logan’s journey was not an easy one, it was sad , honest challenging , passionate but also beautiful to read. The way the author was able to normalize mental health issues was brilliantly written.

I like the book was a short read for me. I liked the book but some things in the girls monologue made be cringe a bit. Sometimes the writing was not getting to the point and was just running in circles. It was a easy read for me, but I understand it would not be a easy read for everyone as it mentions anxiety and I think it was was represented in a correct manner. Well, it’s fiction so I was like why is is soo short. Well the height in real life is not short by any means but well what can I say?🤓 I just read a lot of book and that was just not for me. Also the way he dressed was not for me. I liked their relationship though. Also her should have gave at least a reason for leaving her.

Avery & Logan


I stumbled across "Summer Kind of Love" by Charlène Boutin by chance and got stuck on the really cute cover.

I really wanted a sweet summer escape story to dream away to, but unfortunately I didn't get that with "Summer Kind of Love".

Unfortunately, I didn't warm to Avery at all. I simply couldn't understand her thoughts and actions. Unfortunately, the protagonist's anexisty also overshadowed the whole story. I really understand the situation, but here it was simply far too much for me. The story's plot was very limited by the constant carousel of thoughts and unfortunately not much really happened.

I really would have liked to get an insight into Logan's thoughts. For me, he was rather lost in the story and unfortunately, in my opinion, you didn't really get to know him.

I therefore unfortunately only give "Summer Kind of Love" 2 out of 5 stars.

Thank you the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'Summer Kind Of Love' by Charlène Boutin

WOW!!!! What can I say?!?! What an absolutely beautiful book that I fell in love with!!! I cannot wait to read more books by this extremely talented author!

This book is stunningly written with vivid descriptions setting the picture perfectly in the readers mind. The title, description and cover works perfectly with the storyline.

This book is an absolutely gorgeous escapism!! This may be the first book I have read by this fantastic author but it most certainly will not be my last and I cannot wait to get stuck into more of her books, especially the rest of the future books in this series. This is the first book in the 'Seasons Of The East Coast' series. It is an absolute rollercoaster ride of emotions filled with humour, romance, friendship, second chances, love, loss, and so much more. I was completely swept away with the storyline and loved having a holiday in the beautiful Cape Breton with Avery. I have never actually been to Canada before let alone Cape Breton but thanks to Charlène's stunning evocative writing skills it definitely felt like I was on a holiday there myself seeing the gorgeous surroundings, making friends and falling in love.
I absolutely loved each and every single moment of this beautiful read. I loved the amazing sights, adventures and the fantastic characters who I was devastated to say goodbye to as they had become like friends to me and they would make absolutely amazing best friends in reality! This book really is one of those stunning stories that you can read curled up on the sofa in front of a fire or laying on a beach getting a suntan. It doesn't matter where you read this book as Charlène will whisk you away to the beautiful Cape Breton at the turn of a page!. I was utterly glued to the pages and I could not bring myself to put it down. I was carrying this gorgeous book around every chance that I got. I adored the gorgeous ending and am just so pleased that this is just the first book in what is guaranteed to be an absolutely stunning series! I don't want to say anything else about the storyline as I don't want to give to much away as this is one of those gorgeous books that you just have to read for yourself!! I would seriously recommend this book to anyone and everyone!!! A gorgeous uplifting page turner that will warm your hearts 💝 Well done Charlène on an absolutely stunning and unputdownable success!!

Clear your schedules as this is one gorgeous and unputdownable stunner ❤️

I absolutely loved these amazing, strong characters who captivated my heart from the very first moment I met each of them, especially our main protagonist Avery who is such a friendly, relatable and amazing woman! I was completely invested in her from the moment I met her and was rooting for her throughout!. Charlène does an absolutely fantastic job creating this stunning storyline and bringing it alive to the readers. Each of the characters are relatable, strong, realistic and I became completely invested in each and every one of them. They all had their own unique personalities and I just absolutely loved getting to know them all. I felt each of their love, friendship, pain, heartbreak, happiness, sorrow and so much more. I really was rooting for Avery throughout the pages and hoping that she would find the happiness that she more than deserved. Charlène does an absolutely amazing job of bringing the story to life and the characters leap out of the pages as your turning them thanks to her amazing evocative writing skills!! It is so hard to say more about what I feel about the characters without giving anything away so I won't say anymore about them as I don't want to go into too much detail at the risk of spoiling it for other readers but Charlène really has done an amazing job at bringing each of the characters to life and I am missing them already. Well done Charlène!!!

Congratulations Charlène on an absolutely gorgeous, escapism filled with everything you could one in a page turner!!! I am looking forward to reading more of your previous and future books, especially the next book in this series. I would absolutely love to see this book turned into a movie!!! This is the exact reason I would like to welcome you to my favourite author list and here's to your next success 🥂

Overall an absolutely gorgeous book that will take on holiday to the stunning Cape Breton and warm your heart ❤️!!!

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After a horrible breakup with her longtime partner, Avery is feeling unhappy and uninspired. Knowing she has a major copywriting project to complete, she books a cabin at a resort in Nova Scotia for a month to gain inspiration and to complete the project. Ready to heal her broken heart and get to work, Avery is caught off guard when she bumps into her childhood best friend, Logan, working at the resort.

The month goes from a time of solitude and reflection to Avery being forced to face her anxieties and deal with complicated emotions from her past with Logan by her side.

I have to say, this book kind of blew me away. What I was expecting to be a typical, feel good romance turned out to be such a real look at anxiety in your late 20s. I was able to relate so much to Avery where she is in life right now and feeling the same feelings of feeling lost. Reading this story was totally validating to me, and I can't express how glad I am I read this!

This book was so beautiful, heartbreaking and raw. I loved how we got to see Avery from a perspective that isn’t always written about. This book touches on some sensitive topics but I think they were handled with care! We see her inner struggles and challenges that I could definitely relate to, as someone who also struggles with anxiety. It felt as if you were right there with her in the story!
Seeing Avery’s character grow throughout the book was absolutely beautiful. Once I started reading I couldn’t stop, I absolutely loved Avery and Logan’s story!
Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love second chance books and I love books that have anxiety rep, and this one is no exception. I absolutely love how heartbreaking, yet beautiful it was. I loved how understanding Logan was of her reasons for leaving, and the way he handled her. Not a lot of people understand all the nuances and hard parts of anxiety, but he was so kind and gentle with her in a way that wasn't patronizing and it made my heart so happy to see. I only took away a star because seeing such realistic and painful representation of sever anxiety (like I have) was a bit hard for me to get through as it reminded me a lot of my life, and I try not to think of that often, but that's nothing against the author! This is a book I would read again, but only when I make sure I'm in a good headspace for it, though I'd definitely recommend it to my friends, especially those who I know can relate.

Summer Kind of Love is a debut novel and the first book in the ‘Seasons of the East Coast’ series. It is a second chance, childhood friends to lovers romance that is both heartwarming and heartbreaking, with heavy topics, outlined in the author’s notes, but it is also full of personal growth and healing. The story balances the challenges of mental health and having healthy relationships. It is a reminder that life isn’t perfect but you aren’t alone.

I appreciated the mental health (anxiety/depression) aspect and the fact that it played a big role in the plot of the story. Mental health may be stated once or twice in a book and never brought up again, which definitely isn’t realistic. I felt like it was done in a thoughtful, sensitive way and could tell the author planned it out carefully. The story showcased realistically how mental health doesn’t only affect the person, but also the people around them, and how it has the capability of jeopardizing careers and relationships. My heart broke for Avery, the FMC, I can relate to her all too well.

There is a beautiful bench illustration on the cover and on the first page of every chapter. I think it represents how important it is to find a safe place, or person, to physically or mentally retreat to during those hard times. A peaceful place of comfort to breathe, quiet your mind, rest and heal.

I absolutely adored Sophie, the MC’s best friend. We all need a Sophie in our lives…a strong voice of reason, someone who will stop what they're doing to be by your side, talk you down from the edge and isn't afraid to give you the cold hard truth. The second book in the series will be Sophie’s story.

This is a solid debut, though, as other reviews have mentioned, it’s much heavier than the summer rom-com I initially thought it to be.

I loved this book so much I could not put it down and kept thinking about it! The story tackles anxiety which I have really badly. She has panic attacks that I don’t have often but the anxiety I can relate too. I am so happy with the ending of this story!

Such a cute second chance romance set in a small town

Loved this so much it was so cute and the characters were just 😍😍😍

I unfortunately ended up DNFing this at 67%. I’m already feeling over the second chance romance trope and am not a big fan of it to begin with. When there’s something bad that happened in the couple’s past that we don’t know about but are teased about, I’d like to find out in the first third, if not the first half of the book. It’s usually blown way out of proportion and not as bad as the protagonist makes it seem and this is of course what happened here. Except we don’t find out until two thirds into the book!! And it’s so mediocre!!! I just got super frustrated with the main female character and can’t bare to keep reading this book.

Thank you NetGalley for access to the ARC in exchange for a fair review.

This was such a light romance, but maybe a little too light for me. There wasn't a whole lot going on, and unfortunately I just wasn't able to keep my attention on this story for too long at a time, and eventually I had to just sit down and force myself to finish it. There was just nothing that grabbed me and made me love it.

The main characters just didn't have the chemistry that I love in stories like this, and it all seemed to happen so fast. Avery shows up to lodge and front desk guy is Logan > They hang out again > They get together. There wasn't really any development there and after not talking for so long, they sure fell into things pretty quickly.

Logan was a great and caring guy, who was always willing to do what he could for Avery, and always listened to her. However, I was not a fan of Avery.

Sophie was a great side character, and was always able to be straight with Avery and not beat around the bush. She understood Avery and what she needed at the time, and was quick to help her when she was self-sabotaging

The topic of mental health and panic attacks was handled well throughout the book, and did a great job with portraying these and bringing awareness to these types of struggles.

Thanks to NetGalley for access to review.

My three star rating comes from this book not being for me. I'm very much influenced by whether or not I like MCs and I just done't really care for Avery. From other reviews, it seems that the portrayal of her anxiety reads true for some readers. I simply found her exhausting and weirdly judgemental. Logan seems fine - not having his POV when it is clear he is working through his own things is something I would like to see. I do like that both characters have things they need to work through.

I do enjoy a just been dumped story so the overall plot works for me. The setting is lovely and having been to Cape Breton I highly recommend it as a vacation destination.

I found this a good read overall - it may be for you even though it wasn't for me.