This was a fine summer romance story, but a bit too insta-lovey for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-copy.

Disappointingly, I DNF’d this book at 45%. I normally don’t mind the insta-love trope, but it was even too excessive here for me. There was not enough in the story to make me think these two characters liked each other to the extent the author wanted me to. I thought the writing was great and easily readable, but Garland was a bit insufferable and the relationships just weren’t interesting. I’m sad since I loved the author’s last two books!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is precisely what I needed to read right now. I’ve been craving something deeply earnest and cloyingly romantic, and this absolutely delivers on both counts. The characters are lively, the plot is fun, the conflict is relatively inconsequential, and the romance is sweet and satisfying (wink wink). If you’re looking for something dramatic and high-stakes, this is not the book for you; but if you need a little pick-me-up to evoke those childhood summer memories of wonder, magic, and love, then I can’t recommend That Summer Feeling enough.

This was a fun idea - a group of adults return to a summer camp for a week and rediscover the magic of being carefree. Full of found queer family, new love, sexual awakenings, the bonds of sisterhood and follows a recently divorced woman who discovers her bisexuality later in life and falls in love with her camp roomie.

I thought this book was a perfect combination of The comeback summer by Ali Brady and the YA book, Imogen, obviously by Becky Albertalli and highly recommend it for anyone who loved the 90s classic movie, Indian summer. Other good queer summer reads include Sizzle reel, Wild things or Happy place. Good on audio narrated by Jeremy Carlisle Parker.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and @prhaudio for complimentary digital copies in exchange for my honest review!

✨Is this book a marshmallow?? because IT’S SO SOFT and I want S’MORE✨

I’ve wanted to be a summer camper since I read Percy Jackson, and That Summer Feeling absolutely rekindled my desire. It was such a lazy river romance—in the best way possible. The vibes lived up to the title and I think this will be a yearly reread from now on; the thought of reading this by a campfire or while floating on a lake brings me peace.

That Summer Feeling had me nostalgic for experiences I’ve never had. It was just a really nice time. I really felt Garland’s initial hate for weirdly competitive camp sports SO HARD. I was like yes!! give them nothing!! It’s what I’d have done. Also doing the Hoedown Throwdown at a summer camp is now a top-ten bucket list item.

The romance was very soft and gentle. Garland and Stevie went from strangers to roommates to friends to lovers in the span of just a week, yet I was completely convinced of their love and compatibility. They really talked to each other, so there wasn’t really a third act breakup. They had struggles throughout the book but always came out of them stronger.

While I really enjoyed the book as a whole, I definitely cared more about the characters than the plot. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVED the summer camp setting, but I think the plot still needed a little charge. I hesitate to say it lacked urgency (since the span of the book happens very quickly), but I do think the ending was overly easy for the characters? We never really saw their relationship get truly tested. But I also love a low angst moment, so I see both sides.

Much like the camp itself, That Summer Feeling really felt like a safe space. It’s meant to be read outside with the birds chirping and cicadas buzzing. I definitely recommend adding this to beach read TBRs!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 🌶️*/5

*The one scene was fade to black with minimal detail before the fade.

First off, I need everyone to look in awe of this beautiful and incredible cover. Besides that, the story was a bit weaker than what I hoped for. The characters were a bit immature and I couldn't get behind the insta-love. It took me a bit to swallow it down and really try to look around it to find some semblance of enjoyment in the story. Overall, the story didn't blow me away - it just wasn't for me.

If you went to summer camp as a kid, this book will definitely bring you back. And if you didn't, I guarantee you will be googling 'adult summer camps' at some point while you're reading. The setting is definitely the standout in this book. That's not to say the characters aren't holding their own, but it's quite a large cast, so there are definitely a few that fall a little short. Our narrator, Garland, is so well fleshed out that it makes her love interest, Stevie, feel very flat in comparison. We keep hearing how she's like the sun, she's bright, she's a bottle rocket, but it felt like a lot of 'tell' and very little 'show' to me.

Some of the inner dialogue of this book was just too flowery for me. Every thought Garland had was a revelation and while I fully appreciate that this is a coming-out story, the insta-love and mind-blowing big thoughts all the time felt like a little too much toward the end. But if you don't might suspending your disbelief that 2 people can fall so deep in love in 5 days that they would follow each other anywhere, than this will be a very enjoyable summer read.

First of all... this cover is so beautiful!! This was my first Bridget Morrissey and I had such a good time reading this! The "falling for the sister" trope is EVERYTHING! So funny, hot, and romantic!!

When I read the premise of That Summer Feeling by Bridget Morrissey, the concept excited me. I wanted to love this book. A book about a sapphic romance at a summer camp for adults sounded like it was written specifically for my tastes... It wasn’t.

Garland, a recently divorced third-something, looking to start fresh and live out her summer camp dreams of her childhood. But Garland isn’t like most women, she believes in fate. At the camp, Garland runs into a man, who she randomly met at the airport when she was heading off to her honeymoon and when they met, Garland felt like she could see their future together. But instead of developing feelings for this man, Garland has a crush on his sister, Stevie. 

The implicit promise of this novel is capturing the concept of “that summer feeling.” The inexplicable feeling of running around bare-foot in your parents’ backyard. Holding hands on the dock at camp. Kissing a girl for the first time under a tree. It’s driving with the windows down as Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift plays loudly. It’s a feeling that is often impossible to recreate and capture as an adult. The book seeks to have the characters catch this feeling and have the readers feel this emotion as well. That Summer Feeling fails to do this. 

For a book identified as “adult” and a lot of the characters are canonically in their thirties, the characters read late teens to mid-twenties. The conversations and language feel stilted. I love the idea of giving characters in their thirties a spotlight. I love allowing people to find love past twenty-five, but That Summer Feeling doesn’t do that. Simply put, they don’t seem like realistic thirty-year-olds.

The characters are flat, and I mean all the characters. For example, the Nook brothers, as I refer to them (Tim & Tommy are their real names in the book just like Animal Crossing LOL), felt like caricatures with no real development. Also, Garland spent too much time thinking about the past and future rather than the present. I cannot tell you one thing about her character besides the fact that she was married, divorced, had a sister, and a bumper sticker that read “honk if you’re divorced!” I struggled to understand who she was for those reasons. The rest of the characters just felt like they were there to fill up empty space. Perhaps this is the challenge of writing a standalone book that takes place at a summer camp.

Let’s talk romance…. If I had realised this book was “instant-love,” I probably wouldn’t have requested it. The pacing of Garland and Stevie’s relationship was way too fast. As someone who loved summer camp, I understand that a single day can feel like a week (I believe this is actually something the book did well); but the rollercoaster instant speed Stevie and Garland fell in love felt too unrealistic even for summer camp. The book made one self-aware comment about “U-Hauling” (IYKYK), but a one-off comment wasn’t enough for me to suspend my disbelief.

Again, I think the book’s main issue, besides the instant love, was its scope. The book didn’t explore any plotline with depth. Because of this lack of depth and character development, I didn’t find myself falling in love with the characters. I also struggled to keep reading this book at times. It just felt way too unrealistic and the characters often read as 16-21 to me. The concept was good, but the execution was lacking. I wouldn’t recommend this book. It was “meh.”

Thank you to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. This book will be out on May 30th, 2023.

Thank you so much for an advanced copy of That Summer Feeling! This book was like a breath of fresh air!

First off, I loved the adult sleep away camp setting. How cool is that! I don't know if anyone else remembers the old movie Indian Summer, but it totally gave me Indian Summer vibes...except make it sapphic! The sleep away camp setting was about more than just getting away, though; it gave the main character a chance to hit reset and discover her true self. And, not only discover her true self but also embrace it! It was really well done, I thought.

Second, I could not get enough of the tension and spark between the two main characters in this book. I could bottle that connection and carry it around with me! It was that good. Sexuality is such sensitive, personal topic, and I really feel like the author handled this story with care and consideration for her audience. To me, that's what makes this story so good! As a straight woman, I still identified with these characters and their struggles, and I think those struggles will fine an audience in any reader.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Thank you to Berkley Romance for an advanced copy!

Rating: 4⭐️

I really enjoyed this book. Insta-love isn't always my favorite but something about the way this one was written made it feel a little more realistic. I loved Garland as a character, I could relate to her in so many ways. her relationships with the people at camp were so beautiful. I loved reading about her finding herself. Stevie was a fantastic love interest. The way she was willing to sacrifice what she wanted if it wasn't what Garland wanted was very charming. I adored the adult summer camp vibes, it makes me want to go to one. This is a beautiful story of queer love and found family.

I DNFd this book about 1/3 into it. The instalove wasn’t working for me and I also just didn’t like the writing style. I’m sure someone else would like the book, it just wasn’t for me.

If you're into Just Pop It In The Microwave Insta-Love, this is for you!

I...am not into insta-love. The characters literally meet and do a Kdrama-style fall to the floor atop one another, and my eyebrows were in the clouds. Sometimes I can do frothy, fluffy, cheesy; I watch tons of dramas, after all. But moments like this face-to-face tumble hit better for me with characters who already knew each other, who have rapport, some chemistry and will-they won't‐they tension.

And I think the author's style is simply not for me, but I found dialogue either cringeworthy or immature, or both. I didn't feel immersed in the setting or summertime vibes. And these adults took fun games way too seriously, as if they were getting graded in P.E.

I'm sure this was more my tastes than the book, which was offered to me rather than me requesting it, but I didn't enjoy it much. Three stars.

I liked this in the beginning, but lost interest at about half-way through. I always love a summer camp setting, but I thought it was stupid how serious they were about what was supposed to be fun games.

That Summer Feeling is a fun sapphic romance. Garland and Stevie were likable and had great chemistry. Overall I enjoyed it! It made me want to go back to adult summer camp (let’s go A-Camp!), and I had a good time with the story but felt it started a little slowly to earn that last star. A four-star read!

Thanks to Berkley Publishing Group for an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Do you ever dream about those days at summer camp as a child and long to go back? This book hits you with all those feels and more.. This book follows Garland on her adventure to an adults-only summer camp, something she never got to experience as a child. It is a quick, heartfelt read filled with memories of summer camp and finding yourself. I loved it.

I realllyyyyyyyy wanted to like this book, but I think Bridget Morrissey's writing style just isn't for me.

The story wanted very badly to be deep but felt very-surface level, which ultimately led to a lot of cringe-worthy moments. The premise is interesting, but I wanted to DNF at several points because the actual writing was so underbaked.

Unfortunately, this was 2 stars for me.

This is my second book by the author and her writing style is not for me. I am happy to see more LGBTQ romance.

I’m not typically an insta-love fan, but "That Summer Feeling" by Bridget Morrissey gets a pass because sometimes, being sapphic is just like that. This whirlwind of a book was a fun nostalgia trip to my own summer camp years (at an all girls sleepaway, no less), and the romantic leads had some of the most fun banter of all time. I also enjoyed the pacing of this book - the synopsis had me concerned it was going to drag out the brother plot and it would be an endgame switcharoo, but I worried for nothing. This book reveled in queer joy and nostalgia for the times in your life when you could be anyone you wanted. I will be recommending to many people, first among whom are the fellow people I went to camp with who also later came out as queer.

There's not a lot of adult books that capture that summer romance common in YA books, but this is exactly what That Summer Feeling aims to do. Even going so far as to have the location be a summer camp.

Despite the lush setting though, it fails to have 'that summer feeling'. The characters are shallow and underdeveloped. Often side characters will clearly be sinple props to co tinue the plot. This is especially true for the protagonists' exes, who try to restart relationships with as mucb rationale as they had in ending the relationshops in the first place. Really the entire cast of characters were unlikeable. Because of this, witty banter, common in romance novels, comes across not as cute, awkward bumbling but rather as eye-rollingly cringey.

Sadly, despite the nostalgic premise and the cool cover art, this is not a book I would recommend.