Thank you so much to Macmillan-Tor and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I tried really really hard to like this book. It sounded like the perfect summer read with some parental problems and health problems thrown in to the mix. But it honestly fell short for me. I couldn’t get into the story and honestly questioned a couple of times why I was still reading it.

Olivia’s mom has never really been in the picture so she’s lived with her Aunt since she was young. Her boyfriend’s family has always filled that void for her until they break up and she finds out she doesn’t get to work at the job she’s been waiting for all year. After getting a different job at the River Depot she finds out her ex-boyfriend’s best friend Aiden also works there. Aiden has just quit the baseball team due to his ailing eye sight and is at a loss since baseball has been in his life forever. Once the two of them start working together they realize how much they enjoy spending time together but what will happen when summer ends?

I understood the whole plot and storyline of this book but I still didn’t enjoy it that much. It felt like every time there was a problem in the book it was immediately solved and then you moved onto another problem, which was immediately solved as well. There was no drama to it and honestly at times I forgot what this whole book was about because it felt like it was a lot longer than it needed to be.

I also wasn’t a fan of any of the characters. It seemed like the two main characters came together only because one was hurting from a breakup and the other was freaking out about their health. I wish I could have enjoyed this book but it just wasn’t doing it for me.

‘When Summer Ends’ was really refreshing to read a YA novel that wasn’t ‘angst, angst, angst, angst’! I found this to be a really cruisey, fun and relaxing read, one perfect to read in the summer! Unfortunately, at the moment in NZ it’s autumn, so I didn’t get to experience that myself. It was really nice to read about how Aiden and Olivia work through their relationship over the summer, and the difficulties they face, the main one being whether or not their relationship will outlive the summer season. It wasn’t my typical summer romance cliche, which was refreshing.

I only have two points in this novel where I felt it fell short. One was the problem building, as I felt that there was a lot of build up to an issue but the issue itself was resolved really quickly. It put me off a bit, but I found it easy to get over because it wasn’t a deal breaker for me. The second was that I felt the epilogue should have included Olivia’s perspective as well. It was great to see how Aiden had progressed and what was happening with him, but since the whole book was told from both perspectives, I wish the epilogue has as well. From another aspect though, I’m choosing to look at it rather like a John Green novel, as he also likes to let the reader imagine what the characters did after the book ends. I like to imagine that they go on living, but their story has finished. 

This novel is cute and fluffy which I really like, and let me just put it here with you guys as my witnesses that Aiden is amazing! Now, if you’re someone who thinks ahead into a book rather like me (a curse from my English classes in junior high), then you can probably predict in a general sense how the book will end, but this book is just so cute that I don’t care! 

I recommend this to all my readers who. Just. Want. Fluff. It is so cute!

I DNF'd at 25%. The book was incredibly slow moving and wasn't holding my interest at all. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

When Summer Ends by Jessica Pennington is a cute young adult romance.   Olivia's boyfriend dumps her right before summer break, plus she didn't get her dream internship, and her estranged mother is back.  Aiden the all star pitcher on the high school, abruptly quit, and is hiding the fact that he is losing his vision.  I love this genre, there is something so innocent about first loves.   I love the quirky people and situations in this book, and watching the characters grow.  I found this book to be a quick read, and recommend it to all readers who enjoy a sweet romance.  

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and the publisher.  Thank you.

Come check out my blog at https://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/ and see my When Summer Ends Playlist and enter the Giveaway!

Olivia finally got what she wanted, to date her best friend and be part of the family she has always loved. But when her aunt tells her that they are going to move at the end of the summer, her boyfriend breaks up with her and her dream job falls through, Olivia has no idea what to do. Aiden thought his life was figured out too, that was until a few months ago when he discovered that he was loosing his eye sight. Quitting the baseball team at the end of the season without telling why has made him a pariah, but Aiden figures now is the perfect time to figure out himself and what else he loves. When Aiden and Olivia are forced to work together, fate and chance may take them down a completely new path. 

Jessica's debut book, Love Songs and Other Lies is one of my favorite books I read last year, full of angst, turmoil and heart, and overall Jessica really set the bar high with my expectations of what would come next. I follow Jessica on social media and I would read occasionally about her struggles writing her second book and I can honestly say after reading this story that there is no struggle that transferred into the pages. When Summer Ends was exactly what I wanted it to be, basically a breath of fresh air that I could not stop wanting more of. I have read multiple YA contemporaries recently that claimed to be cute summer romances that fell flat for many reasons, but this was just about perfect (for me, and I am sure everyone else looking for the cutest summer read.). 

I love character driven stories, where you connect and root for the people on the pages regardless of the plot or world. When Summer Ends is the perfect example of a character driven book, with alternating POV from both Aiden and Olivia. Let me just take a minute to gush about Aiden- he really was adorable. He was sweet, kind, driven, artistic, cute and the best boyfriend he could be, even when he was unaware of his romantic entanglements. But not only was he great boyfriend potential, but he was the best kind of friend Olivia needed. He had some big personal issues going on but really never took it out on others and made the best of every situation. It made sense why Olivia unknowingly fell for him, I was half in love with right from the start. I buddy read this with my good friend Sarah at The Clever Reader and we kept texting randomly back and forth throughout the book about how much we loved Aiden, so be aware you might suffer from a crush here. Olivia was more closed off when the story started, heart broken in every way and just trying to get by. I love how she threw out her strict rules and regulations to live the summer by chance. She took a big chance and it turned out wonderfully and I am glad I got to experience that with her. 

In case you were uncertain, I loved this book. It was full of humor, personal growth, great friendships, the best characters and some super swoony stolen moments. I highly recommend you pick up this book and get ready to jump into summer...and love.

I enjoyed this book so much! I read it as a buddy read with my sweet friend Katherine over at Smada Book Smack, make sure to check out her post tomorrow, and I think it made the experience even more fun! Both of us loved LS&OL and were so excited to read this one together!

Olivia is so adorable! From her first day working at River Depot in those awkward khaki shorts to her paddling her canoe down the river for the first time. She’s smart, quirky, and the perfect female lead for this fun and fluffy YA Contemporary. She’s forced to spend time with her mother who hasn’t been around much since she was younger and now has to work at the only job open this summer, River Depot. Little did she know she’d find love not only for a boy she’d never thought she’d get to know, but for the outdoors as well. This book made me so antsy for summer hiking and kayaking weather! I loved Olivia’s character throughout the entire book!

Aiden, sweet and adorable, Aiden. He is one of my new favorite YA Contemporary love interests. He is going through one of the biggest changes he’s ever had to face, has given up the thing he loves the most, and is now trying to navigate summer with the help of his friends at River Depot, and Olivia, the girl who’s boyfriend is the start catcher of the baseball team he’s been forced to give up. As Aiden tries to figure out how he’s going to get into the toughest art class senior year he finds himself falling for Olivia. The one thing he doesn’t know is that she’s kept a huge secret from him and now that summer is coming to an end neither of them know if they’ll make it.

When Summer Ends is an adorable book. It was a sweet story with characters that had to face realistic life challenges. I am a sucker for a good sappy love story, but I like things to be sprinkled with some reality. Aiden has to face to reality of changing eye sight that may ruin his all start baseball future. Olivia faces the possibility of moving and the possibility of rebuilding a broken relationship with her mom who has been a very small part of her life. Olivia starts off summer learning that she will be moving by the end, her mother is coming to visit, and her long time boyfriend and best friend has called it quiets on their relationship. Having nothing else left to lose and deciding its time to try a different approach to live Olivia decides to take more chances and let fate take a bit more control. Many coin flips help Olivia and Aiden make choices on different summer adventures.

Pennington strung together a cute story that had me laughing, frustrated, and emotional, with a good dose of sappy happiness.

An enjoyable quick read that will keep you entertained. This book is one that can be digested in a oner and is perfect for when you need a quick romance fix. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an eARC.

I love me a good summer romance. There's a reason Sarah Dessen is of my favorite authors—she's the queen of the summer romance! There are few things you can screw up when it comes to summer themed books, especially ones that take place in small tourist towns. Despite having all the potential in the world, When Summer Ends fell very flat.

The potential! This could have been a really sweet and thought provoking novel but it just didn't measure up. The author set up too many plot lines and then never followed through. I was left with so many questions. I felt like nothing happened.

Olivia is a planner who has her entire life planned out, but that all goes awry in the span of a few days—she loses her summer internship, flaky mother is back in town, and her boyfriend (and childhood best friend) dumps her before leaving for the summer. Olivia also finds out that she'll be moving at the end of the summer unless she finds someone who will take her in. She ends up working at a local store, helping with the boat rentals.

Our male protagonist Aiden is the town baseball star, except that he just quit the team and no one knows why. Aiden started losing his vision in one eye and after crashing his car, he comes to terms with leaving behind a career in baseball and turning back to his love of art. As he searches to find himself, he works at the store that his dad owns, which happens to be the same place where we find Olivia. I really loved the character of Aiden, and I feel like he saved the book for me.

What really bothered me about this book was all the unfinished business left untouched. After being dumped by the supposed "love of her life," Olivia barely mentions her ex until the last quarter of the novel. Her mother returns after years of being in and out of Olivia's life and they never so much as sit and have dinner together. This plot line could have been a really interesting to be explored but it was just left hanging.

I also think there wasn't enough flow through the chapters—they were very much segmented. this also added to the issues with time. One chapter, Olivia says she has eight weeks left before she leaves. The very next chapter, she's leaving in four weeks! There needed to be more grounding.

In all I liked the characters and what the author set out to do with the novel, but I don't think it was executed properly—too many ideas in the basket.

I was sent an e-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

***4 ‘Surprisingly Nice’ Stars***

This was a ‘surprisingly’ sweet, quick and ultimately fun character driven read that totally hooked me from page one and made it very hard for me to put to the side because I really wanted to see how things would end up for Aiden and Olivia, not only with their relationship, but to see who they’d become at the end of the summer.

Aiden and Olivia. It was hard not to like these two. Both are really good kids who fate, fickle biyatch that she is, has decided to toss a couple of curve balls at and now have to figure out new paths to follow which ends up leading them to each other. I thoroughly enjoyed watching as their relationship evolved throughout the story and how it helped them to gain more insight on who they wanted to be as individuals. Their bantering was all kinds of fun and sweet and I just really liked how well they flowed together throughout the story. Of course things aren’t smooth sailing for these two, from outside interference to their own decisions on how to deal with things, but, in the end, I really liked how everything worked out for them.

This is my first read by the author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was sweet, funny and quite low on angst, which was a welcome change of pace. While this is YA, it does lean towards the more mature end of the spectrum, but not so much that they had crossed the line into NA side of the coin too much. The supporting cast of characters were all well written, from the adults to the teenagers, but my favs were Ellis and Emma hands down. So, if you enjoy YA and are looking for something that isn’t super angsty, then this will be the read for you.

Olivia thinks that she has her life all figured out until her boyfriend ghost’s her, her summer internship falls through, and her guardian gets a new job that means they’ll be moving across country for her senior year. When she gets a job at the local outdoor company she gets to know Aidan, the golden boy pitcher on her high school team who quit suddenly at season’s end. They become unlikely friends who help each other learn to find a new brand of happiness, a happiness that includes each other.

Olivia has definitely hit a rough spot! She has imagined her future as part of her boyfriends family as a kind of replacement for what she’s lacked in her own life. She was abandoned by her mother and that fear of being alone makes her forgive a lot of things in her boyfriend that she might not have forgiven otherwise. When she and Aidan start their friendship they have so much in common. Although Aidan has a great family life, his own life is changing drastically due to his failing vision. He find solace in his art, and she finds solace in her writing. They have that creativity in common, and together they challenge each other, which is a big contrast to the safe relationship Olivia had previously. Their relationship felt real and was one I could easily buy into.

Aidan was a great YA hero. He was slightly tragic with his failing eyesight but was a truly wonderful guy. You really wanted Olivia to get over that old boyfriend and give Aidan a chance to win her over. Jessica Pennington’s style of writing is so comfortable and easy to read. While this story didn’t give me any extreme emotions I did really enjoy reading it and would recommend it to anyone who’s a fan of YA contemporary novels and wants a great book to read for the summer.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a free copy of this ARC through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest.

This went from being a summer of woe to a summer of OH for both Olivia and Aiden, and I really enjoyed having the opportunity to accompany them on this journey as they embraced their new beginnings.

• Pro: Pennington did a great job crafting these characters, because the empathy flowed instantly from me for both Aiden and Olivia. Both were dealing with some big changes, and I was glad they had each other for support. I did think the stakes were a little higher for Aiden, but I also thought he was less resistant to embracing the changes too. Olivia did come around, slowly but surely, and I was really happy with the growth she experienced. 

• Pro: Aiden's art adventure was fabulous! First, we got to attend ArtPrize, but we also were treated to Aiden's grand-scale artistic endeavors, and it was all really wonderful! 

• Pro: I have never been to Michigan, but Pennington definitely painted an amazing picture for me. I was sort of glad Aiden and Olivia worked outdoors, because I had a great time exploring the lake, river, and beaches with them. 

• Pro: The romance was so sweet, and I was shipping these two right away. I just loved them together, and Pennington really had me feeling those first romantic stirrings right along with them. I had my fingers and toes crossed for these two, because they were such a great pairing. 

• Pro: Part of Olivia's growth was with respect to her relationship with her mother. This was a complicated mother-daughter dynamic, and I liked the way Pennington let it play out. 

• Pro: The ending made me really happy. Pennington knows the way to my heart, when she not only gives me a jump-ahead ending, but a good one at that. 

Overall:  This was a such a wonderful and enjoyable story about friendship, family, love, embracing change, and taking chances, and I adored every second of it.

After having read Jessica Pennington’s debut, Love Songs and Other Lies I was pretty anxious for her sophomore novel to come out. As soon as I read the description I knew it was a book for me. It had summer and romance and baseball and taking chances. It seemed like something I would pick up even if I wasn’t familiar with the author. Let me tell you, Jessica didn’t disappoint! When Summer Ends was the perfect sophomore novel and I had such a great experience reading it.

When Summer Ends is about Olivia and Aiden, two high-school students in the summer before their senior year. Olivia has always played everything safe. She wants to go to the safe college and she had a safe boyfriend (well now ex-boyfriend) and made the safe/easy decisions. Enter Aiden, the star baseball player that has quit the team because of vision problems. When these two spend an unlikely summer together it becomes nothing they expected. Both on new paths they decide to live summer by chance which could lead them to something else unexpected...each other.

What I loved the most about this book was the chemistry between Olivia and Aiden. They were so cute together right from the start when they really didn't know each other and were so skeptical. I loved how they got to know each other and started to form their own opinions on one another away from Olivia's ex-boyfriend and Aiden's ex-teammate. These two took fate and chance and made a summer out of it and it was so fun to watch. They were both going through so much yet they managed to enjoy each other and learn from one another.

I really enjoyed reading Jessica Pennington's sophomore book. It was a really cute story with a lot of heart and a lot of fate. I recommend you pick this one up this summer and enjoy Olivia and Aiden like I did!

When Summer Ends is a great summer beach read! I read this book practically in one sitting and loved it. It was a really sweet romance, but it also had a good story and plot too.

Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

If you’re looking for something simple, light, generic and without drama this is it for you. It’s a short read and pretty straight forward. Sadly I had a hard time feeling connected with the main characters and it felt somewhat boring.  The book was somepose to span over 3 months and it felt like a week, it was very fast paced with nothing actually happening. . There felt like there was no chemistry between the main characters. I almost didn’t finish this but kept reading since it was so short.

When Summer Ends is such a fun YA contemporary that will be the perfect summer read! It follows two characters Olivia and Aiden as they experience a summer different than they originally planned.This was such a cute story, and super quick to get through as well. As I was reading I got some Morgan Matson vibes because of the summer setting and the characterization. One thing I loved about the novel is that it's set at a lake with lots of summer activities. It was super fun to read about and picture the water and the hiking. "Being outside makes me think, but it also helps me forget. It tricks me, with its colors and textures and sounds, into forgetting everything that I'm missing."Even though overall the book was light and summery, both Olivia and Aiden are going through some major changes. Olivia is having to move right before her senior year, she breaks up with her long term boyfriend, and her mother is trying to come back into her life. Aiden is slowly losing his sight, and had to quit the baseball team ,which was a huge part of his life for so long. I liked that both characters were able to lean on each other and help with the changes, but they weren't dependent on one another.Since Olivia is experiencing so many changes over the summer, she decides to embrace it and start taking more chances. She decides the best way to do this is by flipping coins when she has the opportunity to do something she normally wouldn't. I thought this would be a cute thing, and it was, but it didn't come up as often as I thought it would and I would have enjoyed seeing this more often in the story."No-strings is so not my style. It's my antithesis. I am basically one giant ball of strings and exposed nerves."One critique I have is that even though Aiden is going blind, it didn't feature as much in the story as I thought it would. Also, it's something that is reversible, so even though he's experiencing this huge change, it doesn't have as much weight since he's going to get better and he knows it.Overall I think this is a fun book to read, especially by the pool or at the beach this summer!

When Summer Ends by Jessica Pennington is the perfect YA contemporary to kick off your spring reading. The Michigan beach town setting is the perfect backdrop for this sweet coming of age story. Also, the strong theme of family makes this book a really enjoyable read.

❀ BEACH TOWN SETTING

Jessica Pennington seems to have a knack for writing stories that feature settings that are perfect for a summer romance. The characters work at a popular tourist spot in Michigan, and it is really enjoyable to read about their boating and camping adventures. It definitely sets the stage for some romantic drama.

This coming of age story is told from the perspectives of Olivia and her boyfriend, Aiden. Olivia is a perfectly flawed character and it is quite relatable reading about her struggles. She has to make some tough choices as well as come to grips that some things in life are not within our control. I really love how much Olivia’s character grows in When Summer Ends.

❀ STRONG FAMILY THEME

Books that feature families are always my favourites. However the family theme in this story is not in the traditional sense. It is so refreshing to read about a family that is comprised of a girl and her aunt. Also, Olivia’s relationship with her mother is another interesting layer to the plot.

Fans of the YA contemporary genre will love this new novel from Jessica Pennington. When Summer Ends has the perfect setting for a summer beach romance, interesting characters, and a wonderful family theme. Definitely one to add to your beach bag this year.

This was definitely one of my absolute favorite reads of the year! It was a perfect read when you want to feel good. It was cute, and had a lot of summery feels. It was written from two point of views, Olivia, and Aiden. Jessica did a great job getting differing perspectives. This book just totally touched my heart. It was a perfect pick-me-up. I recommend it to everyone who could use good a book hug!

When Summer Ends is a story about living summer by chance and falling in love. As soon as I read the synopsis I fell in love with the idea of letting fate decide for you. It really made me want to read the book even more, mostly because I don’t think I have read a book like this one before! I was excited to meet Aiden and Olivia (the MC’s of this story) to know about their lives and the roles they played in the story as well.


This story is about Olivia & Aiden. They both struggled with difficult, personal things. Zander, Olivia’s best friend broke up with her and her mother is back in her life after being absent for a very long time & Olivia is finding it difficult to be around her. And Aiden is struggling with his sight and is now trying to discover who he is without having baseball in his life, which used to be something he loved.

One of the things I liked as soon as I started to read the book was the fact that there are two POV’s! I LOVE when a book has multiple POV’s, it helps me to understand the story and the characters in a better way. Plus, I just love to know what they are thinking and planning to do before the other characters know!

I enjoyed the fact that, while both characters were struggling with things on their own, they were a better version of themselves when they were around each other. They helped themselves without even realizing it and eventually, fell in love ❤️

There were some pretty amazing characters like Ellis and Emma! Ellis made me laugh so many times, he is incredible and I just love the fact that he and Aiden are cousins and best friends! It was fun to read about them and also about the pranks he made. He is a character that I definitely won’t be forgetting any time soon, I loved his personality! And Emma (Olivia’s best friend) was an amazing character too! She was a very good friend to Olivia and made her and I laugh a lot!

There was a lot of art! After reading the book I found myself wanting to draw, even tough I’m not very good at it😆

While there were things that I enjoyed about the story, there were other things that I didn’t. One of them is that I think things happened too fast between Aiden and Olivia, maybe it’s just me, but I would have liked for them to take things slowly. However I did enjoy the moments they spent being together! 

I would have liked to read more about Olivia’s relationship with her mother. While it’s clear her mother made a mistake in the past, she came back and was trying to mend things with her even when it wasn’t very clear at the beginning. I enjoyed to read when they went out together, it was fun, but still, I would have like to read more about what happened in those years they didn’t see each other. 

Emma, as I mentioned before, is an amazing character! But there were only a few times when she and Olivia hang out together. There was also a certain scene that just didn’t work for me and made me feel less enthusiastic about the book which made me feel sad. I didn’t keep reading the same way, I wasn’t eager to know what would happen next. 

While there were things that I didn’t enjoy I think this was a quick read about friendship, love and finding yourself along the way. Olivia and Aiden are a cute couple and I’m glad how things turned out for them at the end.

I really enjoyed this book.I liked how Jessica books focused on different forms of art and I loved how this book focused on art and also finding new passions in life and also focused on kids dealing with so many changes in their life. I really loved the duel POV in this novel and was equally invested in both storylines. I also really liked the romance as well. I really had a hard time putting this book done and really enjoyed it. This book was such a fun read and can't wait to read more by this author in the future.