Review: The Summer Deal – Jill Shalvis

*I received a free copy of The Summer Deal from William Morrow Paperbacks via ARC Publisher. This has in no way influenced my voluntary review, which is honest and unbiased *

Brynn's life is in shambles, and she doesn't know what to do about it. A chance encounter with her childhood crush Eli just might change everything. However, Eli is still close with Kinsey, the girl who made summer camp a horrific experience for Brynn, and she's not sure she has it in her to deal with more of the past right now.
The cast of character in The Summer Deal is so well rounded, and the themes of regret and forgiveness are very strong. Brynn needs to figure out what she wants to do to move forward, and if that's even possible before she has completely dealt with her past.

The Summer Deal is a beautifully written romance where regret is one of the themes, and forgiveness is another one.

The Summer Deal showed me once more why I’m such a fan of Shalvis’ writing! The characters made the story here, and the way they all had their difficulties to deal with made them very realistic. From the outside, other people’s lives can seem so simple and put together, but once we get a peek behind the scenes, we realize that’s not the case at all.

Brynn had a good childhood in many ways, however, she had hidden certain things from her mothers in order to protect them. Never letting them know how difficult camp was, or how some kids teased her because she had two moms and no dad in sight. Of course, her moms had understood some of that back in the day, but they had never really talked about it.

The Summer Deal is about second chances. But it’s also really about how to deal with past deception, and how to make peace with ourself and others to move forward more easily. I especially found the relationship between Brynn and Kinsey to be very interesting because they were both coming from a place of hurt. Also, because Kinsey was keeping a big secret from Brynn, trying to find the best way to share it, that brought a sense of urgency to parts of the novel.

If you enjoy stories where the characters drive the story, and where the relationships are a big part of the main plot, The Summer Deal is definitely the book for you. On top of that Shalvis’ writing just keeps getting better, and it’s always a treat to read her stories.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• 2020 New Release Challenge

About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.

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