That is, until she meets Gavin, the camp’s sailing instructor, who turns her expectations upside down. Gavin may have gotten the job just for his abs. Or that smile. Or the way he fills Sam’s free time with thrilling encounters—swimming under a cascade of stars, whispering secrets over s’mores, embarking on one (very precarious) canoe ride after dark.
It’s absurd. After all, Sam loves Eli. But one totally absurd, completely off-the-wall summer may be just what Sam needs. And maybe, just maybe, it will teach her something about what she really wants. (Pub Date: May 19, 2020)
Not exactly a romance but there's still one. You do get a big yearn to work at a summer camp, be warned.
But seriously, this book is basically about a summer affair, if cheating bothers you, do not read. Also be warned this is part of a series. I didn't read the first book (I didn't even know this was a second book...), so believe me when I say they can be read as a standalone.
3.5.
I found it interesting to read a YA about a freshman in college, but also consider that her actions are that of a freshman in college; this book won't be appropriate for younger teenagers. But older teenagers that aren't in colleges yet can still relate, seeing that it takes place in a summer camp, not in a campus I do like this choice, because it always seems that once you're in college stories about you become NA. Of course, there are some YA's with characters this age but they're very rare or worse, they behave as if they're still in high school or less. So this was my first big surprise.
The second surprise is that this isn't innocent at all, but it doesn't relate to age. This story is about Sam, who wants to be a teacher and carries a bit of a trauma from her experience in a summer camp many years before. One day, she's invited to go back to work at the same place and she accepts because it'll be a good experience, her boyfriend will spend the summer having fun in Europe without her, and to face those same traumas. There, she meets Gavin, who also has his girlfriend in Europe. The two are undeniably attracted to each other and maybe they're not strong enough to hold on. In other words, this story will talk about cheating, and although Sam is not happy her boyfriend is away, the guy didn't really do anything wrong to deserve it. What should she do?
I caught some reviews condemning this read because it seemed pro-cheating. I can't defend it, and I don't think it was that firmly against it. And even though I'm not that bothered in general with this plot line, the fact Sam had no excuses except that Gavin was hot really made me irk a little. Concomitantly, I think it's something that does happen, especially when you're not in a perfect relationship. I do applause the author for being able to build a great setting for the reader to be torn: Eli didn't do anything wrong, but does that mean Sam has to be crucified for a mistake? We're talking about more mature teenagers and how they too can very easily be in her shoes. Isn't it nice to see a more realistic development? Not all boyfriends are abusive, sometimes you're just attracted to someone else. I won't spoil you, but the ending was simply perfect too. Thus, if you're okay with reading a whole book on the development of an affair, do it.
There were some other great aspects about this story. To be honest, the "romance" if you can call it wasn't even that good. I couldn't get into Gavin, I just understood he was very sexy and his personality wasn't that bad, but it did stink here and there. What was really, really good here were the descriptions of life in a camp. I've never done it, I'm definitely not outdoorsy enough to seriously consider one, but after some pages, I was dying to go back in time and sign up for one.
And Sarah Mlynowski is an author I've admired for many years, no matter the target public she has in a book, I know it'll have a different taste from the others, just enough for us to enjoy but not so much it'd take getting used to it.
There are also children here, many, many cute children! I loved the scenes with them, even though there were a lot of names to learn. They were probably why the scenes about the camp were so amusing.
This got too long already and I feel there's a lot I wanted to mention as well. I'll just say I really liked the conclusion. If there's a fault was that I wanted to read more about it.
There are issues in this read, but the pluses were enough to get a round-up. Also, I can't wait for Mlynowski's next release!
Honest review based on an ARC provided by Edelweiss. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
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