I absolutely adored Jessica Pennington’s debut Love Songs & Other Lies and I was so excited about having the chance to read her sophomore novel, When Summer Ends, early! I’ve been having the hardest time writing this review because I honestly loved When Summer Ends so much and don’t know how to put my thoughts into words. Anyway, I’m saying all of that because this review has turned into more of a love letter.

Olivia has everything figured out, but that all changes when her aunt announces that she got a new job in Arizona and that Liv will have to move before her senior year begins. All of a sudden everything else changes—her summer internship falls apart and her long-term boyfriend doesn’t see the point in continuing their relationship since she’s moving away. With no other summer job options, Liv turns to the River Depot where all the tourists hang out…and where the school’s golden boy, Aiden, works. Aiden’s the star pitcher of their high school baseball team. That is until an eye disease messes with his vision causing him to lose the playoff game and then quit the team on the last day of school. With a summer free of baseball, Aiden is excited about working on his art portfolio and at his family’s rental business.

Liv and Aiden’s POVs were fantastic! Both of their voices and struggles felt so realistic. It was so easy to get inside their heads and relate to them. I really liked how they knew of each other since they went to school together but never knew each other before this summer job. It was so fun seeing Olivia try new things with Aiden as he pushed her outside of her comfort zone. Also, I really loved how Aiden was this all-star athlete, but also that he is talented artist too! Yay for multiple interests! Yay for loving both sports and art!

The small-town setting and River Depot added the perfect backdrop to Liv and Aiden’s budding relationship. I loved all of the fun activities they did—the whole book just screams summer with all of the canoeing, exploring, late nights, and bonfires! Like Olivia, I’m not a huge outdoors person (although I was when I was little), but I would hike a sand dune any day if that meant I got to meet a guy like Aiden.

Another big part in the book was watching Liv slowly reconnect with her mother, who has been absent most of her life. The way their relationship progresses felt so natural and I really liked that they found something small (drinking tea in the morning) to bond over and how that helped jumpstart their living together. I’m glad that everything wasn’t 100% okay between them at the end because Olivia’s hurt feelings are valid, but I’m glad they are trying to move forward and mend their relationship.

Overall, you are going to want to add When Summer Ends to your summer reading list this year! Sarah Dessen and Morgan Matson better make room for a new YA summer romance queen!

Review:
4.75 Stars

I’m so ready for summer and all of the endless possibilities. This book gave me all of the warm fuzzies and almost made me wish that I was back in high school. When Summer Ends is a light-hearted book about learning how to take chances in life and to embrace the little things that life can throw at you.

I can relate to both Olivia and Aiden which is always a plus when reading a contemporary book. Oliva is one of those people who likes to have every detail planned out and hates when things cause her plan to get off track. She basically has her life mapped out after high school and is very determined to make it happen. Aiden, on the other hand, has these expectations to live up too because of his baseball abilities. Let it be known that I do not play sports, but I understand the pressure of being the best and always worrying about messing up.

When I got a little way into the story, I had to put my phone down because so many of the little details reflect my life. I understand the struggles of living in a small town and making sure everything is perfect because gossip can spread like wildfire. Then when I learned that Aiden and his baseball team were playing for their third baseball championship, I literally said “No flipping way” because when I was a senior in high school last year, my school’s team was in this same position, and I’m telling you, I felt the pressure for the team, so I could only imagine how they felt. Then I got to the part where the monkey wrench was thrown into Oliva’s summer plans and had to find the alternative job and let me tell you, my heart went out for her. I live about 20 minutes from this huge lake, and I’ve never been canoeing in it, nor have I been camping or hiking, but I have gone fishing (so I have that much going for me!).

I think I like this book so much because it wasn’t a sad love story where the girl breaks up with her boyfriend and spends 200 pages wallowing in a self-made pity party or living life in this fog. Also, it’s not a story when the person is suddenly lost and has to go on this great trip to discover himself, but it’s a story about learning to take what life gives you and make the best out of it. After Oliva’s break-up with her boyfriend in the beginning and Aiden giving up baseball for reasons, you’ll have to find out about, they both take some time to deal with it, and then they learned how to use that difficult situation to grow into better people.

Honestly, if I was Oliva and my boyfriend called it off, and my summer job was ripped away from me, and then I found out I would have to start senior year in a different state, I don’t think I would have handled it nearly as well as she did. I have to applaud her for keep moving forward and finding a job outdoors during the hot summer because tbh I would die.

Throughout this story, relationships are built and even worked on (which is always a good thing!). Olivia learns that life is more than plans and having every little detail go as plan, and Aiden learns who he is without baseball.

I highly recommend that you go out and preorder this book because it is not only a fun read, but it’ll teach you to appreciate the little things and not to worry as much when things don’t go as plan. This is the perfect book to read when you just need some time to relax because even though there are some serious things like having an absent parent and certain health issues, it really has an upbeat tone.

Playlist:
Change My Mind by One Direction
If It Means a Lot to You by A Day to Remember
Honey Bee by Blake Shelton
Same Mistakes by One Direction
Kiss Me Kiss Me by 5 Seconds of Summer
More by Hunter Hayes
Nothing Holding Me Back by Shawn Mendes
Something Just Like This by The Chainsmokers
I Mean You by Hunter Hayes
Worry by The Vamps
Everything about You by One Direction
When Did You Stop Loving Me by Hunter Hayes
Same to You by The Vamps
Amen by Hunter Hayes
The Middle by Zedd and Maren Morris
*note that these songs are in no particular order*

And I’m just going to leave this here if you need another reason:

“He walks past me and bends down to get the next section of the tent. I reach out to smack his back as he walks by, but he moves and I hit his butt.”


Trust me there are more LOL moments like this, but I thought y’all would get a kick out this.

When summer ends by Jessica Pennington

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for an E- Arc in exchange for an honest review.
4⭐️ (May contain spoilers)

Love, family, forgiveness, breathtakingly adorable!

From the very beginning I was hooked, we get introduced to Olivia; who may seem to have a perfect life until you step back and look more closely. Perfect boyfriend, yes. Perfect supporting aunt, yes. Perfect supporting mother? No. For as long as Olivia can remember her mother hasn’t truly been around, until her aunt gets offered a job in Arizona thousands of miles away from beautiful Michigan.

Olivia’s perfect summer before senior year has started off completely wrong, her aunts job offer; which means Olivia will be moving right before senior year, her perfect baseball playing boyfriend breaking up with her on the first day of summer because he doesn’t think a long distance relationship will work and her mother just surprisingly showing back up one day.

Aiden, legally blind in on eye has just quit the baseball team after years of being the golden star pitcher. When his entire future is gone as quickly as it came, he throws himself into his art and also working at his fathers business for the first time ever. Little did he know working at the business would turn out to be one of the best summers yet and that all changed for him when Olivia gets a summer job at the River Depot; who did not expect that she could be possibly falling in love over the summer.

I was smiling almost the whole book, it’s written so adorably that the entirety of the story is perfect. I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants to be taken into a story of summer love, family forgiveness.

When Summer Ends is a lovely sweet romance about to almost seniors. Aiden and Olivia know each other for years, because Olivia's boyfriend is a part of the same baseball team as Austin. Each struggling with their own problems they decide the live the summer by chance.

I loved this book. It was sweet and I loved Aiden and Olivia. The writing was also very good. This was my first Jessica Peddington book but after this one it certainly won't be my last.

The Quick Cut: A teen girl who's moving at the end of the summer and a boy who is secretly blind in one eye find their summers suddenly intertwined. Emotions get chaotic when their feelings get real.

A Real Review:
Thank you to Tor Teen for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When you're a teenager, every emotion feels heightened. Like a rollercoaster - everything goes over like a life and death situation, especially when it comes to futures and relationships. It's with this perspective that this book follows the story of Olivia and Aiden.

Olivia had the perfect life: A wonderful aunt, supportive boyfriend, and a great best friend. Too bad it all falls apart when her aunt gets a new job in Arizona - meaning Olivia will be leaving Michigan and her entire life behind. As if that's not bad enough, her boyfriend decides the distance is too much and breaks up on the spot. Aiden is the golden boy pitcher of the baseball team...until he quits. What no one knows is that he's technically blind in one eye and can't see a thing. His entire future, gone in the blink and now he has to reinvent himself with art. These two lives gone off course and over a summer working together at River Depot, they collide in an unexpected way.

This is a very cute, summer read that for the most part had me smiling. Although there were a few slow spots that had me putting this book down, it was typically a well paced read that felt like the perfect summer sun soak. Olivia and Aiden do more than fill some gap in one another's summers: they remind each other what life is about and how to take risks. The relationship there feels real and when it gets hard, it represents real struggles that I could see in real life.

Between Lake Michigan and ArtPrize, this book absolutely represents Michigan. I went to college in Grand Rapids, so reading those sections had me grinning from my own memories it triggered.

Finally, I enjoyed the way they treated Aiden's vision. His blindness is only a piece of the story, but the way he hides his condition from friends and tries to reinvent himself is genuine. The struggle and the eventual opening up about it? So worth the build-up.

With a cute summer story and plenty of feels, this story will have you smiling in the end.

My rating: 4 out of 5

I really loved this story. It was a cute summer story with some heavy topics explored throughout. I felt some of it deep in my soul... there are a few themes I've struggled with in my own life, such as abandonment by a parent as well as the vision issues, so that was a bit hard for me. I think it made me love it even more, though. Pennington explored those topics very well and I can't wait to see what she writes next!

I absolutely loved this book! Jessica Pennington is a new favorite contemporary author for me after I read her debut in 2018 and she joined us for a live chat in TBR and Beyond on Facebook.

Like her debut, I felt like the characters felt very real and you could really connect to them. I buddy read When Summer Ends with a few people during the middle of February and found myself never wanting to stop reading because I really wanted to know what would happen next. Like the characters, the miscommunication and conflict at the end of the story felt so real and raw. It really reminded me that when your a teenager, every little problem does feel like your whole world is falling apart.

One of my favorite things about this book, as well as her debut, is that you get both of the main character's points of view. It really helps round out the story more in my opinion and I love to see this in novels.

Definitely can't wait to reread this soon and read more from Jessica Pennington in the future!

You might have noticed I'm on a YA contemporary romance kick, and there is definitely a reason for it. There's also no end in sight, so get used to it! When I got the opportunity to review this book, I was pretty stoked because it seemed like such a cute read perfect for the upcoming summer season. It did not disappoint.

I've been really enjoying teen romance books that do the dual point of view with the two partners, so I enjoyed getting to see Olivia and Aiden's different parts. I really felt for Aiden, and I felt like I really understood him. There's a line in this ARC where he talks about feeling like he can't really say he's an artist because no one has seen his work yet. It definitely screams of imposter syndrome, and oh boy as an aspiring writer who is trying to get published, I SO understand this.

Olivia's life is a little complicated, and it's kind of a huge conflict in the book because she knows when summer ends she is going to have to move across country. It kind of ends her relationship with Zander, but he straight up sucks, so I was fine with that. My heart wrenched for Aiden when he finds out that she is moving.

The miscommunication and the conflict at the end of the novel felt so real and raw, and just reminded me of what it is like to be a teen. Pennington really reminded me that when you are young every little problem can really feel like your life is coming apart at the seams.

I'm such a sucker for young love and stories about two people coming together for the first time. I really enjoyed this one, and even though I haven't read Pennington's first book, I think I'm going to have to check it out after having read this one.

*I received a review copy of the egalley from the publisher via netgalley. This in no ways affects my review.

I received a copy of this from MacMillan/Tor-Forge and Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
I really enjoyed this. The romance was honest and sweet. Both main character had issues to work through and found happiness in each other. It wasn’t overall dramatic but it wasn’t silly. I thought it was a very nice balance and a sweet HEA. I wish it were a little longer and some of the things were not shipped over. It moved a little fast at times

Pennington shows her strength as a writer in her sophomore novel, When Summer Ends. Her characters have depth that endears them to the read from the very beginning, and watching their growth as pages fly by is a treat.

In When Summer Ends, we meet Olivia and Aiden. Olivia is happy playing by the rules and content to keep everything in her life just as it is. But, when some major changes shake things up, she will have to decide how to move forward.

Aiden is struggling to move forward as well, and he's determined to do it on his own. He's got a plan in place and everyone else needs to just leave him be, thank you very much.

When Aiden and Olivia end up working together for the summer, they find that life may not work out according to their plans. And that the universe has a way of putting people in your way just when you need them. The question is, will Aiden and Olivia lower their guards long enough to let someone knew in?

I really enjoyed this book! It was definitely your typical YA contemporary and honestly I think I would have given 5 stars if I had read it in summer but something about the baseball aspect and the possible moving aspect made me just love this novel! gave me Windfall and Lucky in Love vibes.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I used to live in Michigan by Lake Erie, so the Michigan summer aspect of this gave me all of the memories from the summers I had growing up. One of the misgivings I had with this book was that I did have to put it down for a bit because I wasn't quite in the mood for this book yet and it wasn't the right time to read it yet so I had to find something else to read. It wasn't anything to do with the author or the way the book was written, but that is mostly why it's a four star rating instead of a five star rating.

A four star rating is still really good to me though! Thank you Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to read this book. It was enjoyable once I got into it finally. I definitely would recommend reading this in the summer, or even in the winter if you need to get warm somehow during those cold blizzards.

A review will be up on Goodreads and my blog soon. It might be tomorrow or in March. (I won't have internet connection next week at all.)

This is an engaging story with two adorable young people, each facing their own challenges. Aiden is just an awesome hero, not at all the stereotypical star pitcher, as the author gradually shows us. Olivia is a great heroine, too.
The slow build up of their relationship feels authentic and their HEA is well deserved.
I would have liked to have seen a more thoroughly explanation about Aiden’s vision problem; after finishing the book, I’m not even sure about the precise diagnosis.

This was a sweet little read that I actually did enjoy! The premise sounded nice, but I'm always a little skeptical of uncorrected arc's in the hopes there won't be a lot of mistakes to take me out of the story. While I did notice some errors (mostly missing words, etc) I was still able to keep with the story and to stay involved with it!

I liked the little bit of a twist with our male MC and his vision problems. It added a new dimension and kept it from being just a jock meets girl story, which is always sort of bland and boring once you've read a couple of them. It kept things fresh, and I really liked that! I thought the characters were all likable and easy to relate to on some level, and their struggles were fairly true to life.

All in all not bad, and a definite recommend for those who like this sort of YA genre!

When Summer Ends is a young adult contemporary romance novel written by Jessica Pennington, set to be released on April 9, 2019. I received a digital ARC through NetGalley and the publisher, Tor Forge – McMillan, in exchange for an honest review. This review is spoiler-free.

I requested this book because I love reading swooning romance, whether it’s a YA or adult contemporary (or fantasy) novel. While I’m not familiar with the author, the cute cover and description won me over, and I read this book in 48 hours because—yes!—it was that good.

The story starts with a series of events that pushes the characters out of their comfort zones. Seventeen-year-old Aiden, the all-star pitcher and golden boy, is forced to quit baseball because he is losing his vision. As for Olivia, she loses her dream internship along with her long-time boyfriend within a few days, and as if it was not enough, her mother also resurfaces after years of disappearance. Their lives are broken beyond repair, and they need to adjust their plan. Instead of baseball camp or an amazing internship, they both end up working at the same place for the summer. As the protagonists spend time together, they challenge each other, discover more about themselves, and develop an unlikely friendship/love.

I loved how the characters complemented each other; as the reader, I ended up rooting for them pretty fast. They deal with their issues in their own way, and I liked how they tried to make the best of their situation despite everything. They were inspiring. Even though the characters dealt with life-changing issues, the story was still light-hearted thanks to the discoveries and adventures they had with each other.

I highly recommend this book to all fans of Kasie West or Sarah Dessen. You will laugh, swoon, and cry with the characters. This is a great read!

This book had SO much potential for me. I wanted to love it. I was excited to dive into it! However, unfortunately, it fell flat for me.

I think my problem was in the pacing. The premise itself hooked me before I even started, but I felt like there was a lot of "wasted time" early in the story that could have been cut out to move things along. I did a lot of skimming hoping that at some point I would get hooked into the fascinating (and swoony) storyline I knew was coming, but I lost patience before that ever happened.

There was a lot of promise here. I did like the characters. I felt like Ellis could have added a lot of comic relief to a storyline that might have otherwise been heavy and dramatic. I think that the inevitable relationship between Aiden and Olivia could have been the perfect sort of sweet/swoony romance I go crazy for. It was all the "extra" that kept me from connecting to these characters and ultimately, by 35% - I was not invested enough to continue.

*I received this book from the author for an honest review*

Olivia has it rough growing up, she is abandoned by her mother and lives with her grandma for a while. After a short time, Olivia’s aunt then let’s her move in and up until the summer before her senior year, it seems her happy go lucky life comes crashing down.

Her mother comes back to town unexpectedly, her aunt gets a job in another state, she didn’t get the internship she wanted and to top it all off she breaks up with her boyfriend.

She gets a job working at a local tourist attraction where her ex boyfriends friend, Aiden is the owners son. After working some shifts together they realize they have things in common and get along fairly well.

One thing leads to another and they start to develop feelings for each other.

To find out how this leads to a happily ever after, you must read the book!

*I WAS PROVIDED AN e-ARC IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW. THIS DOES NOT AFFECT MY OPINION*

Now, I know y'all know just how much I adore Jess's debut Love Songs and Other Lies. Jess has a writing style that traps you once you start reading with it—it's light, airy while still keeping some things serious, and fun.

This book had me on the edge of my seat. After every page I turned, I was eager to see what came next. 

When Summer Ends, while not being directly related to LSAOL, is centered in the same town. It has that summer vibe (obv.), and it's absolutely perfect for people who are—like me—currently despising winter.

Our female main character—Olivia—has a too safe life. What I mean by that, is that she is living every day by the book. She stays within boundaries, and she doesn't actively voice what she thinks; this is especially true around her boyfriend Zander. Their dates are the normal "let's go to the movies" ordeal, but she doesn't even get to choose what she wants to see. And when Zander goes fishing, he never asks or offers her to come.

Now, faced with the threat of moving halfway across the country with her aunt, Olivia is left single and hurt. However, this changes when her friend tells her to live her summer through chance—a simple coin-flip to decide on whether or not to do something.

"Lake Lights—That magazine is dead to me. I gathered all of our old copies and burned them in the fire pit when I got back from what was supposed to be my orientation. How's that for excitement, Emma?"

Olivia has an almost sarcastic side to her that I love and relate to. Especially in this quote, I love how petty she got. She's got the personality of a real-life teenager, and I appreciate that a lot.

Aiden, our male main character, is giving up. He's giving up baseball, and he's giving in to working at his family's business—the Riverton Depot. This all is due to his suffering vision; though, he is technically not blind. From what we know about him, he's never had a serious girlfriend, and he's very into art.

This novel was fast-paced, alluring, and romantic all in one. However, I did have a few minor problems with it. I was left with a few unanswered questions that I felt were necessary to be answered during the book. It almost felt like—though we had two main characters—the story was more centered around Olivia.

For one, I want to know whatever happened with what Aiden was to do with his art? It was made apparent more than once in the book that he was serious about his new hobby, yet it was never actually fulfilled or talked about much after the falling action.

Other than that, I absolutely loved this book. The characters developed better than expected, the plot was a little crooked at the end, but ultimately straightened out, and the story itself was enjoyable. For that, I rate it 4 stars.

If you were iffy about this book before, I'd still highly suggest you give it a try. Jessica Pennington has the whole contemporary romance genre on a leash, and I look forward to what she's bringing out next.

E-ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley
Synopsis:

Aiden Emerson is an all-star pitcher and the all-around golden boy of Riverton or at least he was before he quit the team the last day of junior year without any explanation. How could he tell people he’s losing his vision at seventeen?

Straight-laced Olivia thought she had life all figured out. But when her dream internship falls apart, her estranged mother comes back into her life, and her long-time boyfriend ghosts her right before summer break, she’s starting to think fate has a weird sense of humor.

Each struggling to find a new direction, Aiden and Olivia decide to live summer by chance. Every fleeting adventure and stolen kiss is as fragile as a coin flip in this heartfelt journey to love and self-discovery from the author of Love Songs & Other Lies.

Review:

I was given the opportunity by the author and NetGalley to read and review When Summer Ends. Normally, I do not read a lot of contemporary books but reading the synopsis I thought and was hoping that I would like it. Honestly, I thought I wasn’t going to like the book but I was pleasantly surprised that I really enjoy it and I adored this book. The writing style of the book is really good, it flows nicely and having two point of views in the book was nice and I was able to understand what was going on with Olivia and Aiden thoughts throughout the book.

I love Olivia and Aiden, their friendship/turn into relationship was nice to see developing in the story. The way their relationship developed and seeing them having a lot of fun for summer, reminded me of when I was younger and enjoying the summer. Summer was a perfect setting for telling Olivia and Aiden story. After reaching the end of the book, I really want to read more about them and I would love to see a continuity of their story in another book. I wish we would have more of Olivia’s best friend Emma, she was a lot of fun and really persuade Olivia to think and live her summer outside of her normal box. The other person, I enjoyed in the book was Ellis, I felt like he would be an interesting character and I would like have known more about him.

Overall, I love this book and I gave it 5/5 stars. I have never read any of Jessica’s other books and now I am looking at reading her other books.

A sweet romantic summer read about Aiden and Olivia, both facing heartache for different reasons, and find each other. Such a lovely little summer romance read it left me wishing I was hanging out at the river and enjoying the warm sunshine while falling in love. The descriptions of art were amazing and I really enjoyed this ya romance! Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.