Summer Girls is a dual-pov novel, following Birdie -- daughter of an influencer who, after a very public and very messy split from her boyfriend involving cheating and a crashed $200k car, goes to spend the summer with her father in Newport -- and Cass -- a Newport townie who has a rule with her best friend to never get with a summer girl. Oh yeah and her and Birdie's dad work together and they were friends as kids. Juicy!

I adored both of them with my whole heart. Starting with Birdie -- I hadn't realized how big of a role the social media influencer aspect would play and I was pleasantly surprised. I think it's an apt conversation, especially in this day and age as critique of "Mommy Bloggers" has come to an all-time high. Birdie's struggles with her whole life, all the way back to when she was potty-training as a toddler, being broadcast to the internet and her future being scripted for her. I thought this aspect was handled well and treated with care.

As for Cass, she's a lifeguard who lives year-round at the beach and is sick of seeing her friends and neighbors homes bought out from them and turned into overpriced vacation rentals, shoving those she cares about out of town. She's passionate and fiery and stands up for what she believes in. She works with her parents at a coalition to support affordable housing. Their biggest opponent, however? None other than Birdie's father, George, a real estate developer who is also her own father's best friend. I really enjoyed the discussion of how the two manage to coexist despite having wildly different views.

After being sent to Newport, George enlists Cass to keep an eye on Birdie, help her find a job, and keep her out of trouble. The two have a shared history that, despite their intial disdain for each other, eventually bubbles over into something new.

Now, while this book is great -- and 1000% up my alley -- it was not without its flaws. I do wish there was more build-up to their relationship. They hate each other at first, which I loved as I'm always down for enemies/rivals-to-lovers, but it feels like very quickly Birdie is attracted to Cass. I don't mind enemies-to-lovers having moments where they notice how attractive the other is -- that builds tension -- but it seems to very quickly jump into them both liking each other. I wish they had a few more non-hostile encounters because it just felt somewhat unrealistic. I would've liked a slightly slower burn with more build-up. I also don't think the "I had a crush on her as kids" was fully fleshed out enough either, as all we get of their past friendship is Cass thinking about how Birdie wouldn't play with her and Birdie reflecting on not being able to play to make her mom happy. However, I still fully enjoyed their relationship and was rooting for them!

As for the side characters, they were all interesting (I'll be briefer here, I swear, lol). Loved Bentley, of course, liked Six (though, strangely, felt a little bad they only mention his name once? And call him Six to his face? But I guess he said he liked it... LOL), Mitchell was a good antagonist and was at least slightly redeemed by the end in a way that felt deserved, and also enjoyed Ada but... felt like she was not the bestttt friend to Birdie? Maybe that was meant to be intentional but especially in regards to her not being 100% accepting of Birdie being bi when she came out; I thought for sure we'd come back to that, or she'd apologize, or even it'd be revealed that she was weird because she was queer too, but nope. I still liked her, obviously, but I wish either that or her storyline about also trying to please her parents had been more explored to add more depth to her character.

Despite that, I loved the story and the local/vacationer plot. I was happy with the ending and felt it resolved everything that needed to be resolved.

Overall, I am so so glad I was able to read this book early. Middle school me who devoured every summer romance she could get her hands on would have squealed over every cute moment (and let's be real, 20-year-old me was still doing the same). I'm so glad we've finally gotten to a point where sapphic stories can be cute and light and summery. Thank you to Netgalley for the arc!

4 stars!

Reading the back of the book, I wanted to LOVE this so badly. As someone who loves opposites attract and enemies to lovers, this story left something to be desired.

One of the main issues I had was the lack of build up from their mutual dislike to crushes, and I wish I’d had a smoother transition to really sink my teeth into the story. The girls also had tons of communication issues—which while true to the age group it’s geared at—their repeat arguments were cyclical and as a reader, it was frustrating to be in the same loop over and over again. Which admittedly, Cass's resentment of Birdie's privileges, coupled with Birdie's difficulty supporting herself or Cass, created a toxic element in their relationship.

I also had a hard time getting into the story due to the leaning into info dumping at the beginning of the book making it feel slow to start.

Overall 3/5

“Summer Girls” was a decent book. It had its sweet parts, but the arguing was constant and very repetitive. A ton of miscommunication and lack of empathy in some part, It made this book somewhat difficult to get involved in.

Cass and Birdie make for an interesting couple, as their lives are so vastly different with the rich/poo dynamic — which is a major source of tension and misunderstanding in the story — but yet they are connected through their fathers’ business relationship and personal friendship.

The personal growth of Birdie as she learned how to stand-up for herself to her overbearing social media obsessed mother was great especially once she figured out what was really important to her. I also liked the supporting cast, especially Bentley and Six.

Overall not a bad YA book, but not my favorite. I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

“Summer Girls” was a very enjoyable book. If you are sentimental, parts of this book will definitely tug at your heart strings. If you are a romantic, you will likely when Cass and Birdie reveal their feelings for each other, as well as Birdie's "big gesture" to win back Cass after possibly ruining things forever.

Cass and Birdie make for an interesting couple, as their lives are so vastly different — which is a major source of tension and misunderstanding in the story — but yet they are connected through their fathers’ business relationship and personal friendship and Birdie’s dad’s support for Cass’s education and professional prospects.

I liked the personal growth of Birdie as she learned how to stand-up for herself to her overbearing social media obsessed mother, and as she started to figure out what was really important to her. I also liked the supporting cast, especially Bentley and Six.

Summer Girls by Jennifer Dugan left me with some mixed feelings. I really enjoyed the sweet dynamic between Cass and Birdie once they finally got together—their banter was fun, and their soft moments were heartwarming. However, the way the rich vs. poor dynamic played out between them didn’t quite work for me.

One thing that stood out was the lack of communication. It felt like they were having the same argument over and over again, which got a little frustrating at times. That said, neither character was perfect, and they both made mistakes in their relationship, which feels realistic for a YA romance.

Despite these issues, the book was a quick and engaging read that kept me hooked enough to finish it in one sitting. It’s a fun summer read for fans of the author and a great pick for anyone looking for a light, romance-filled escape.

3.5 — this is a really cute story, definitely better than a lot of YA romances.

however, birdie and cass argued about the same thing over and over again, it started to get a little annoying and felt repetitive. i know it's their main conflict, but it felt like the story just kept going in circles

“Summer Girls” is the perfect summer romance. This book is heartfelt, genuine, and in general a nice read. The story is set in a beach town, and it explores the dynamics between locals and tourists. Birdies character growth was pretty well done, it felt a like a very drastic change but overall wasn’t rushed. I liked seeing her journey throughout the book, and how it impacted her relationship with Cass. Cass went through less character growth, but I still liked the way her character developed. Overall this book is cute and is making me miss the summertime!

3.97 ★ — very sweet and butterfly-inducing. possibly one of my favorite ya romances, maybe romances in general, actually. fun characters, fuzziest romance scenes, a plot i was truly invested in.

there were two things i didn't like, however. the first being the absolute lack of communication. it felt they were arguing about the same things every chapter, with birdie constantly relapsing into her townie-hate vocabulary and ruining things. which isn't to say cass wasn't also picking a fight repeatedly, but i think she was usually right, so i'm ignoring that. but seriously, it was almost every chapter.

the second thing i didn't like was that the narrative, maybe subconsciously, i don't know, seems to target rich girls more than rich boys. the constant use of "rich bitch" for the girls vs calling the one rich male birdie's "horrible ex" quite literally in the same sentence was... interesting. subtle misogyny always annoys me, even if it's not that deep, i guess.

anyway, i still really loved this, because lesbianism makes me overlook just about anything, but i can't give it four stars.

I was hooked from the moment I started reading. The book grabs you quickly establishing who the characters are and you get to see them growth as they get out of their comfort zones. It was a beautiful journey that I’ll take with the characters every time I read the book.

The side characters were well written as well which elevates the story but they never take over and never overshadow the main characters. Sometimes the main characters are so well done that I start to want their story more than the one I’m reading but that wasn’t the case here.

This will definitely be a fun summer read for fans of the author and should find new fans as well.

The only complaint I have with this book is that it kept me up way too late, because I COULDN’T STOP READING. I loved this story so much. The two main characters were so sweet together, and I loved how you could see through the cracks even when they were “enemies.” The rescue scene (that’s all I’ll say) was so sweet, it had me swooning. Neither character was perfect and they both made mistakes when it came to their relationship, which makes sense for a YA book. I also liked that because there wasn’t a “bad guy” in their drama.

I also really enjoyed the side characters in the book. They were multi-dimensional and there were things to like and dislike about most of them (except maybe Birdie’s mom, she kind of just sucked).

This is a great summer read that I would recommend to anyone looking for a sweet YA book about two girls from different worlds.

This one has given me some mixed feelings. I enjoyed the sweet nature of the relationship between Cass and Birdie after they got together. I liked their banter and how soft they were with one another. However, I wasn't a big fan of the way the rich vs poor dynamic was handled between them.

Understandably, financial differences can be a huge factor in a relationship, but I thought the way they both treated their economic situation wasn't great. It felt at times that it strained their relationship unnecessarily just to force things back to how they were originally with Birdie as a spoiled rich girl and Cass as someone who despies people with money. They spent a large amount of time fighting about little comments one another made, and Cass accused Birdie so often of wrongdoing to the point it almost felt she was making up reasons to hate Birdie for her money despite being her girlfriend.

Birdie spends most of the book unable to stand up for herself or Cass, and Cass spends the majority of the book hating the fact that Birdie's family has money and she's ready to point it out at a moment's notice. These issues made their sweet dynamic sometimes feel off and a bit toxic.

As well, I thought their getting together was a bit rushed. They spent a little time hating one another so strongly and then almost out of nowhere they suddenly find each other "cute" and have crushes on each other. The lack of development there made it a bit difficult to stay invested at times.

Overall however, this book is meant for YA readers and I think it is definitely a good fit for that age group. I can see how the feelings of unfairness, and being forced to do what your parents want would be relatable to those readers, as well as the volatile and quickly changing nature of relationships at that age. Despite the faults, this book has a lot of cute moments, and if you don't mind insta-love or some angst/tension between your main couple I think this book could be a fun summer read. 3.3/5 stars.

Another awesome book by Jennifer Dugan! This book was the adorable summery vibes I was looking for (in the dead of winter). I felt the book was well paced (although slightly slow at the start) and also dynamic all the way through. Like always, I loved the characters and their interactions (both the banter and their relationship). I enjoyed the character growth throughout the story as well. This was a quick and engaging read that kept me hooked enough to read in one sitting. Would recommend for a fun summer read with sarcastic banter, sapphic love and touches on the impact of different economic classes within relationships.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to check this book out early in exchange for an honest review!

AGGGHHHHH I CANT TAKE IT THIS WAS SO CUTE!!!!

even with a rocky start at the beggening of the book I was able to enjoy the second half.

A sapphic outer banks! Even if the plot is no surprise, there is enough substance to the book to. make it standout and keep you interested.