I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Having grown up attending summer camp and spending many summers working at summer camp during college and beyond, I love reading books set at summer camps. That Summer Feeling is set at Camp Carl Cove, which two former camper twin brothers bought and reopened for an adult week-long session. Garland, recently divorced, attends with her sister, although they are surprised to learn they won’t be staying in the same cabin or on the same color war team - but that’s ok because it’s camp! But Mason, the man Garland briefly crossed paths with at the airport during her honeymoon, happens to be at camp, too. And Garland has had a premonition that he will be in her life. It’s a good thing she is rooming with his sister, Stevie…
The book depicts an insta-love relationship, which I usually find hard to believe, and I especially struggled to get behind this one as it is a queer awakening for the character. While I do think that summer camp has the ability to help someone figure themself out, to me, this mix of tropes was a bit too much. However, if you’re a fan of either/both, this read could be right up your alley.
In all honesty, I had to look up a Hannah Montana reference on YouTube, but it definitely added to my enjoyment of this read 🤣 So if you're a HM fan, you might enjoy checking this one out. I have no clue why I didn't read it sooner!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

It was such a great romance and setting. The characters were awkward but it was a sweet exploration of comphet and how it feels to date someone who is outgoing when you think you're not

Starts with a magical vision, continues with an adult summer camp (where do I sign up?). Sweet second chance romance.

Turns out you're never too old for a summer camp romance. Or a change of heart. When a divorced woman attends a sleepaway camp for adults only, she reconnects with a man from her past--only to catch feelings for his sister instead.

This made me nostalgic for my summer camp days to many years ago. Such fond memories and the perfect setting for this one. Honestly, I don’t read a lot of LGBTQ romances, not sure why, but this one does such a great job of showcasing that Garland and Stevie have the sweetest romance.

I’ve read a few diverse books lately that constantly remind me that they are diverse by constantly telling me throughout the book instead of me just experiencing their life. This one sat back and had the romance play out and I was so rooting for the couple to jump from friends to more.

I giggled with the characters and pined to be at camp with them.

A lot of people loved this one but for me it fell short of expectations. I thought it leaned too heavily on the trip of insta-love at the expense of a well-developed love story. While the premise holds promise, the narrative rushes into a romantic connection between the MCs, leaving little room for genuine emotional depth or connection.

I loved the thought of adult summer camp so I really was excited to pick this up. While some readers may appreciate the immediate romantic tension, those seeking a more nuanced and well-crafted love story may find it lacking. A more gradual and thoughtful exploration of the characters' emotions could have elevated this book from a fleeting romance to a more enduring and resonant love story.

This was such a beautiful story, filled with wonderful characters and second chances. I felt very hopeful while reading this book and the ending made my heart sing. My only regret is reading this during winter and not summer, but it definitely made my feel like it was summer with how much my heart melted!

"That Summer Feeling" offers a delightful sapphic love story set in an adult summer camp, weaving themes of sisterhood and chosen family. Garland's journey, post-divorce, brings a mix of humor and heart, with laugh-out-loud moments. While the camp setting is fun, the story might resonate more with a younger audience despite its adult context. The tale beautifully explores love's unexpected paths amid the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains, making it a charming summer read.

This book was pretty cute but I never really felt connected to any of the characters. I did like the summer camp setting but there was a bit too much whimsy for me to really enjoy this one fully! Nice cast of characters though, and fun vibes. 3.5 rounded up.

🌈Queer rep: bi/pan woman, FF main relationship. Gay male side characters, trans woman side character, nonbinary side character.

Unfortunately, I fell very middle of the road on this book. On one hand, I was able to flow through the narration relatively painlessly as far as readability--but I just didn't connect with the characters as much as I'd hoped I would have. I'm definitely interested in more from this author, but for now I'm leaving this with three stars and a bit of disappointment. Thank you for the ARC!

This was possible one of my favorite reads of this year. An adult summer camp sets the stage for this adorable beach read that packs just the right amount of angst and love. Not only that, but its queer! Which that in itself makes it top tier. I've never been one for the found family trope, but this is the second one this year that I have fallen in love with. Garland doesn't go to this camp to find love, but to find herself. After recently going through a divorce from her husband, she is just trying to figure out just in fact who she is. Thats when Stevie steps in. The two bond and become friends all while Garland is falling in love with her. This gave me all those wonderful butterflies in the stomach moments and the heart skipping. It hit all the right spots.

https://lesbrary.com/that-summer-feeling-by-bridget-morrissey/

That Summer Feeling delivers exactly that. A beach read set at an adult summer camp, this read is low angst and very wholesome. The beginning of the book starts out with a bit of chaos: a flashback to the past, a bit of family history to set the stage, and a frantic rush through the airport to catch a flight—not to mention a vision (there’s a light helping of woo in the beginning, but the book doesn’t involve much magical realism). But the pace slows considerably after the prologue, as the rest of the book spans the course of only seven days.

Our main character Garland requires a bit of patience—she’s 32 years old with zero sense of self identity, though the thing she’s got going for her is the awareness of that flaw. It’s one of the reasons she’s at this camp. Garland is licking her wounds from a recent divorce (to a man; this a toaster oven situation) but is also sort of letting the divorce define her in the same way that the relationship defined her. She was Married—now she’s Divorced. And she might just be done with romance, unless of course her fella decides to take her back. She’s hoping this summer camp will lead to a new start.

On paper, Garland is the sort of character that should really annoy me. She might really annoy you. But I found her to be so obtuse about her own feelings that it was actually kind of hilarious. When she meets Stevie, her roommate at camp, she’s immediately fascinated by her, and the two form a “camp alliance.” Despite enjoying her new friend’s company more than is typical of a platonic relationship, Garland takes a while to come around to realizing her queerness. It’s not for a lack of having queer friends or exposure to the idea of sexuality being fluid, she’s just been so caught up in a heteronormative idea of things like marriage as a measure of success she’s never paused to consider her sexuality.

Vague spoilers: Once she realizes her feelings for Stevie are romantic, it opens the floodgates for her Big Moment of Self Realization. For those who hate the instalove trope, you’ll likely not love Insta I Just Figured My Shit Out either, so you’ve been warned! It does make for a refreshing third act when our main character, in a situation where a main character usually does something monumentally stupid, instead shows her growth as a person. It’s tough to pull off that kind of low angst read yet still maintain tension through the end of the book, but That Summer Feeling gets it right.

There are also some solid themes of found family, not needing others to define your worth, and the difficulty developing adult friendships. With the addition of tropes that keep things light and help make this a pretty fluffy book overall, this is perfect for a relaxing day at camp.

that summer feeling by Bridget Morrissey hits all those feelings of summer camp, marshmallows, campfires, finding love during the summer, and finding your home. I adored this so much; it reminded me of my childhood. I was a camper kid. This rekindled my spark for how much joy camping and making new friends can bring, plus it's queer, which makes it even better. That Summer Feeling is out everywhere now, buy, request at your library, or borrow from a friend. This is one you'll want to add to your Tbr

- Found Family
- Friends to Lovers
- Summer Camp Romance
- Queer Romance

I was gifted a copy by Berkley Romance but since have purchased two copies of my own. All thoughts are my own.

I am a camp person, I am a person still figuring out myself, and I always love a good story and all those things came together to make this such a wonderful book. I really enjoyed reading it and I found that I was caught up in everything that was happening throughout the story.

THAT SUMMER FEELING was such a nostalgic nod to being at Summer Camp, but in this case it’s for a recently divorced woman who goes to Adult Summer Camp.

🎧I read the ebook with the audiobook and loved the narration and tone. This felt like the perfect summer read!

WHAT TO EXPECT
-sapphic love story
-found family
-self discovery

*many thanks to Berkley and PRH Audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

Oops, I did it again, I fell for a pretty cover and instantly regretted it. I loved the sound of it, the camp setting and the queer romance, but it was not executed well at all. The characters fell flat, lacked development, and were forgettable. The side characters were just there, like props. They were so one dimensional. I'm sorry, but the instalove in this one was one of the most extreme I've read. I just couldn't vibe with Garland and Stevie's relationship. There was no development, not even a spark. I felt the author was constantly telling me rather than showing me. I swear I was confused reading this. I kept thinking it was YA because of the way the story was written and how childish the characters were. It felt more like a YA romance, especially with how extreme the instalove was. The other thing that really bothered me was the way Garland's sexuality was portrayed. Her being queer literally happened over night without any prior mention of her even feeling that way. This made me angry not only because of the way it happened, but also because she kept expressing how much she wanted her husband back and that she wasn't going to be with anyone romantically. Yet she is in love with someone by the 3rd/4th day of camp. Ugh, this was so disappointing. I still can't wrap my head around why I didn't DNF it. I'm more upset by that anything. I wouldn't recommend this one.

Sapphic rom-com set in an adults only summer camp, I had very high expectations! Morrissey exceeded every single one of them! The story was practically perfect!

✨ Review ✨ That Summer Feeling by Bridget Morrissey

Read this if you like:
⭕️ queer found family stories
⭕️ adult sleepaway camp
⭕️ pushing your comfort zone

This book follows Garland to Camp Carl Cove, a sleepaway camp for adults, after a failed marriage, a year living with her sister Dara (who also comes to camp), and an encounter with the new camp owners while working as a rideshare driver.

In a chance encounter in the airport on a way to her honeymoon earlier in the book, Garland bumped into a man who returned something she dropped, and in that instant, she had a vision of her as part of her family. She's shocked when she realizes Mason is at the camp with her along with two of his brothers, and his sister Stevie, Garland's roommate.

The book is one of love and self-discovery and pushing one's boundaries. There are nighttime dances, camp competitions and scavenger hunts, swims and hikes, and all the things we love (or love to hate) about camps.

This was a fun, lovely read full of found family and celebration of queerness. Definitely would make for a fabulous summer read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: queer romance
Setting: adult summer camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains
Reminds me of: queer adult version of the parent trap
Pub Date: out now!

Thanks to Berkley, PRHAudio, and #netgalley for advanced copies of this book!

That Summer Feeling by Bridget Morrissey is a sapphic adult romance novel that tells the story of Garland, a recently divorced woman in her early 30s. When she decides to attend an adult summer camp with her sister, she has a chance encounter with a man from her past—while rooming with his charming, outdoorsy, ray of sunshine sister Stevie.

Was this novel a little—okay, a lot—cheesy? Sure. But did I have a good time with it from start to finish? Also yeah.

People who were camp kids, or, like me, who wanted to be camp kids but never got the opportunity, will find a lot to love about this book. It captures the magic of how quickly bonds form when tucked away in nature with only your fellow campers for company. This book was laugh out loud funny at points; I was honk-snorting until I cried at several scenes. There’s also a loveable, well-developed cast of secondary characters that add to the overall texture and charm of the book. Garland’s character journey in particular as someone coming into her queerness later in life was very relatable, especially as a queer woman, and her journey will resonate a lot with some readers.

The romance between Garland and Stevie is incredibly gentle with a touch of magic, which is perfect if you’re looking for a sweet escapist fantasy. In reality, it’s incredibly insta-love, and I couldn’t quite suspend my disbelief at some of the events of the novel given that they knew each other for a grand total of six days. It’s also pretty much closed door, which happens a great deal in sapphic romances and is not my personal cup of tea.

Overall, if the idea of a funny, bright, sweet summer camp romance appeals to you and you don’t mind the insta-love setup, That Summer Feeling will take you on a vibrant journey and leave you a little lighter of heart.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an advance review copy. All opinions are my own.