Quick fun summer read. Marlon had always wanted Ray but her friends also made fun of him & thought he wasn't good enough. One secret night together was amazing. Then the tables are turned when Marlon has to work under Ray for a summer. He is going to make her pay. She just wants him to like her but he has something else in mind. I really enjoyed this story. It was fast paced & fun.

Summer Heat is a quick, fun summer read. At just under 200 pages and told in dual POV, this enemies to lovers book ends in a cliff hanger that will make you beg for the second book.
Summer Heat follows Ray and Marlon at a summer drama camp held for high schoolers. Ray knows Marlon from childhood and they have a lot of unfinished business between them.
I really enjoyed this book and devoured the first and second in one sitting.

Book Review- Summer Heat by Rachel Van Dyken

I love this author and have read different books. I was excited to read this book. Both of the main characters in this book are so stubborn. Neither refuses to trust the other. Ugh! Grow up!
I kept shaking my head at Marlon who was letting his hurt and hate blind him to life was really like for Ray. Of course, Ray hid behind her walls refusing to let anyone in.
They danced around each other driving each other crazy. You read as they are slowly coming together and then Boom! It falls apart. I think I actually growled when the ending scene happened! Stupid Boys!!!
So, it leaves the reader hanging, waiting for the fall-out. I can’t wait to see how Ray reacts and what Marlon does. I give this first part of the series a 4 out of 5.

This is the first installment in a series that will prove to be a favorite! In Summer Heat, you meet Marlo and Ray, enemies since forever, thrown together as staff in a summer drama camp. True enemies they are not-just warring should be loves. His rage at her maltreatment of him in high school boils over but the love he has for her takes control. He sees her as a favored princess but in reality her life was hell.
I cannot wait for the next installment!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

New adult fiction, with a revenge plot, and theatre camp proved to be the perfect combination for me in this book by Rachel Van Dyken. She had me hooked from the prologue and my only complaint is that it was too short. I am beyond excited to read more of the books in this series.

The characters in this book are easy to fall in love with and that is only helped by the fact that you get the perspective of both Marlon and Ray. You are able to see Marlon's struggle when it comes to Ray and Ray's sensitive side that she doesn't show to the world. It's a classic tale of the popular girl and the nerdy guy with many twists along the way.

This book was received as an ARC from Social Butterfly PR in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I knew from the moment I saw this book was available to preview, I knew it was going to be a sizzler but I never expected this amount of intensity. This book was life a teen movie experience you will never forget. The passion that was shared from Miss Princess and the average lawn boy reminded me a lot of Princess Bride between Princess Buttercup and Wesley the Farmboy (i.e. As You Wish) but more intense except instead of finding love, he is out for revenge against her all because her friends humiliated him and made a fool out of him that was unknown to her and completely crushed him. As he was transformed into the "wanted" camp counselor, there is no escape for the princess and is the question love or justice. From page to page, cover to cover, I could not stop reading this book and I know it will do very well on our shelves.

We will consider adding this title to our Romance collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars!

This book has sat on my to-read list for way too long, yet when I started it, I could not put it down. Seriously, I read the book in one sitting and just bought the next book in the series. The only thing I disliked was that it seemed like the book skipped a little from one encounter between Marlo and Ray.

SP is what Marlon called her, spoiled princess. Little did he know that inside the spoiled princess was really a lonely and heartbroken girl. This is a story of a hate/love affair between Marlon and Ray. I have never read a Rachel Van Dyken book I didn't fall in love with and this was no different. I had to read the next two books in the series right away. My heart broke for Ray, but at the same time, I hated how Marlon was treated and could totally understand his feelings toward Ray. This was a 4.5 star read for me

I requested and was granted a copy of this book from Netgalley based on a suggestion from a friend. I went in with decently high hopes since the ratings seem to be pretty high. Unfortunately, I was sorely disappointed.

Really, the only thing I liked about this book was the premise. I liked the whole setting of the summer camp mixed with the hate to love trope. Of course, after reading it, I also liked the fact that it was short, because I can't say I enjoyed my time reading it.

Let me say I DO understand the use of sentence fragments in books within reason and when they are warranted. However, this book used them in an effort to make both of the main characters sound edgy, cool, and tough, and I didn't like it at all. It wasn't working. Plus the number of them was overkill to say the least.

Additionally, every time the book tried to describe a scene, like a dance scene for instance, the logistics of how it was written just made no sense at all. It was literally impossible to picture any moves the characters were doing because of this, so that was another reason it was hard to get invested.

Overall, while I applaud every author's efforts in writing, I just don't think this one is for me.

This was a quick, fun summer read!

Ray seemed like your typical rich girl who wanted nothing more than to be part of the in crowd. After spending a night with the boy who mowed her family’s lawn for years, she heartlessly shuts him out and allows her “friends” to shame him.

Years later, she runs into Marlon again at Hollywood’s most exclusive summer camp, and it’s clear he hasn’t forgotten that night either...or how she treated him after. Now is his chance for payback, but time had changed both of them. While Ray may seem like the spoiled princess he thought he once knew, it’s clear to see she harboring a lot of pain too. But will this change his plans to make her suffer the way she had made hurt him before?

I really enjoyed this book, but at times it felt a bit rushed. Ray and Marlon’s interactions had their emotions flip flopping so quickly, it sometimes didn’t come across as realistic, but I do realize this is fiction. I also love cliffhangers and I already knew this book was part of a series, but it did end a bit abruptly. Either way, I’m excited to see where the story goes and already can’t wait to read the next book.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2911964442

*I received an Arc in exchange for an honest review.*
I typically adore Rachel Van Dyken’s books. 2nd chance romance is usually good for me too.
But both of these characters felt a little flat. I could not find a way to connect to any of them and the story felt more like YA than new adult. I also hate a book that ends right in the middle of a story with no preparation.
Unfortunately, this one was not for me but I will continue to read her other books.

Sweet and short summery read. Quite enjoyed it especially that it was short but I would give it a 3 star

This book was ok, but it felt rushed and the story ended just when the good stuff started to happen.

If you are in the mood for a quick summer read without deep storylines or emotions, this is the book for you. Marlon and Ray have always had a contentious relationship full of distrust and betrayal. When they both show up as counselors at summer camp, all the hurt from four years ago in high school boils to the top. This is book one in a three book series.

I'm a sucker for a good ol' enemies-to-lovers trope, and this story sounded right up my alley. I love the setting. It's a perfect summer read that puts me right into the heat of things (literally). I love the characters and how personable they are, as well as the passion in the writing when talking about music and dance.

My only complaint is the sudden cliff hanger, but it makes me want to go get the second book so -- mission accomplished?

A fun, quick read!

Summer Heat is the first in a series of three books by Rachel Van Dyken. Marlon and Ray have known each other since they were six years old. They were best friends and did everything together until they didn’t. She was the foster son of her nanny/housekeeper. He calmed her spoiled princess. They both have a passion for drama. When one gets a scholarship for school, the other is riddled in anger and disappointment. Both feel they were most deserving. They go their separate ways and meet again at a drama camp for spoiled rich high schoolers. What started as as way to serve just desserts led to revelations.

Ray and Marlon were both trying to find their way. Their history is revealed, their feelings are unpacked, and their futures are at stake. These characters were well-written! While I prefer to have a resolution to a story completed in one book, this book’s ending is much like life... waiting to see what happens in the next book is kind of like the natural progression of relationships—-we don’t go from first meet to happily ever ever in the span of one story. Life has many chapters and volumes.

I have read the rest of this series to find out the ending. It must be read in order—Summer Heat, Summer Seduction, and Summer Nights. .

RVD, why are you doing this to me?!? A Cliffhanger!!! I don't think she had ever been so cruel. She does make it up with this delicious read, though. She is the Ultimate Momma when it comes to knowing how to bring two characters together to get the most sexual tension and chemistry possible from any situation she writes them in. It's no different with these frenemies, Marlon and Ray. It sizzles off then in this summer "must read". Let's just hope we don't have to wait too long at this cliff 'cause I need the next book, like ASAP.

*** I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.**

3.5 stars.

Oh dear...that ending...I'm wincing on behalf of both of them.

So this is my fifteenth book by the author, I think, and I've enjoyed all of them. This one was on the shorter side in length and a quick easy ready, but that didn't mean it didn't make me want the characters to get together and have their HAE.

Of course, though, it's a trilogy and I'll have to go and buy book 2 and 3 to see how Marlo and Ray get over that little revelation that's just been spilled in that shower stall.

One thing I will say, Rachel knows how to write male characters POV's. Most of the books I read tend to be in female POV's but Rachel always seems to write both and sometimes it's really great to see how the male characters are feeling in romances and I always tend to fall for them, too.

So, as mentioned before, I will definitely be off to Amazon in a little while to see about purchasing the rest of the Cruel Summer trilogy so I can finish this series after that intriguing start.

This book was hot. I really loved it and def need to pick up where it left off in book 2. 4 solid stars.

I had to download the books in the series immediately because I wanna read what happens next.
Will post my full review on my blog pages when I’m finished reading.