This is a book I grabbed on #NetGalley in exchange for a review. I consumed this book on my Kindle.

This book was not for me right from the first page. The first couple of chapters read like a murder/sexual assault type vibe. Boys making bets about who was going to "get with" the girl first. Yuck!!!

As the book progressed, things did not get better for the main characters. the plot was all just over the top and not something I enjoyed. This is a YA romance, and I have definitely read ones that had more to the characters and relationship than this book. The ambitions of Kassie were great and factored into the plot, but not enough to counteract the "romance" part.

What I did enjoy was the Post Aransas backdrop to the story. I have been to Port Aransas a few times with my kids on high school band trips. One of the best Texas beach towns, in my opinion. The author really brings that part to life for the reader.

Overall, the book was okay. My rating 3 stars.

First off, this turned out to not be for me, and I DNFed at a little over 20% into it.

I was attracted by the book's cover and the setting - a 70s surfing town. I was expecting a light, youthful romance between two young adults, wrapped in by the 70s setting and surfing and the sea vibes. And it was all there to some extent.

However. I couldn't get past how everything seemed to be so much about sex (and not just between the main characters) and how hot certain characters were. Sure, the main characters supposedly shared some other interests, but for as far as I read, it seemed rather shallow and more for show than actual, impactful parts of the characters. The main female character felt particularly...just objectified? And, I think, the fact that we get her POV also more likely made it worse. There's a scene at a restaurant where she eats...or doesn't eat the food in a way...it was rather porny, but in an icky way.

There was also an odd way of shifting between character POVs, no new chapter or paragraph break, almost omniscient. But I think it wasn't the biggest issue, and I would've gotten used to it, if it wasn't for the other issues. Though, just language or word choice wise, the writing felt kind of childish at some points...I'm not sure how to describe it, but it reminded me of children's books I think - just the sentence/paragraph structure and reuse of certain words...I don't know, I'm trying to pinpoint it.

Anyhow, that's that. I think, I might've been able to enjoy this or at least finish it, if it wasn't for the overt focus on sex, lust, and sexualization that pushed everything else off to the side. The seeming vibe of the place and decade was there, and the writing was alright, despite the issues I mentioned.

Arc supplied from NetGalley for a fair and honest review


This was the perfect summer college romance.
I really loved the relationship between Kassie and Connor and I really liked the setting of the book and the pacing.

This is giving "Icebreaker" but if it was summery and no hockey