I truly loved this book and the raw honestly of Marlo and Ray (maybe not always with each other but from the author's perspective). Summer Heat was engaging, had unique characters, was romantic, and certainly sexy. I'm not sure if I would call it a second-chance romance, an enemies-to-lovers romance, or a mix of both. But however you classify it, the writing was good and the characters seemed so real that I felt that I could reach out and touch them.

The only reason at all I am giving it four stars instead of five, it the enormous cliffhanger at the end. It is rare that I read a book that ends in a cliffhanger and I especially hate it when I didn't know about it before starting. Nevertheless, I found myself dying for books 2 and 3. Which led me to the discovery that they were only available on iBooks (an expensive considering how short they were), which was another enormous frustration because I never use it. As a matter of fact, the card I had on file with iBooks expired in 2017, so I then had to back out of everything and update my billing, blah, blah. But all of my personal angst aside, I loved this one and also loved books 2 & 3!

My only gripe on this book is that it ends on SUCH a cliffhanger! I actually gasped out loud and said “boooooooo!” Hahaha. Anyway this is great. It’s very sexy and the writing is top notch. Now I need to read the sequel to see what happens! Thank you to netgalley for the ARC!

An iBooks exclusive trilogy, and book 1, Summer Heat, is currently free. Maybe it’s alway free, I’m not sure, but it’s an excellent way to make sure you buy the additional books, and buy them you must, because let’s face it, the author pulls you in with her excellent writing, her addictive storyline, and two characters you just want to lock in a room until they finally realise how truly good for each other they are. Enemies to lovers to..... I'm guessing enemies again after that whopping cliffhanger. I love everything about this book (yep, except for that cliffie), the whole summer camp thing, the dirty dancing vibes (yep, it’s one of my favourite movies), Ray and Marlon have such great chemistry, the sexual tension is just screaming to be released. I loved it.

Three stars for a well-paced story, palpable chemistry between the two main characters., and unobtrusive flashbacks that flowed well with the story. My qualms: petty behavior from the main characters made them less likable and a cliffhanger that just cut the story off. Cliffhangers work best when you feel like you got a full story, and then there's more coming, not when the story abruptly ends with no sense of completion of fulfilment.

Thank s to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow really really like this!! But !! It's only a lead in to a series which I was like ok ok that's fine! BUT!! It's an ibooks exclusives series?!!!! Wth?? I definitely think that should have been explained! I don't have iBooks so this definitely stinks for me!! This book was a lot like the movie dirty dancing which I loved so if you have ibooks you're going to love this! Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for sharing this book with me!

WOW WOW WOW!!

I found this book randomly browsing on netgalley (thanks for the fantastic read btw), and I had NO idea I would be hooked in so quickly.

I LOVED how this author wrote. Her books were short enough for a quick read but left you on CLIFF HANGER AFTER CLIFF HANGER *rude*. So I have finished the series in less than a day. Yes, it IS that good.

If you are a sucker for a fun, cheesy, romantic, sexual tension filled book, look no further. I loved the characters. Most of all, I loved the camp, and the countless references to Dirty Dancing. Also, love that Bad Zombies were mentioned WHO KNEW RV LOVED SOME ROCK?

Anyways, this book was suuuuuper steamy, so I advise readers to be 18+ for this bad boy. It was fantastic, and the sexual scenes and tension kept me on edge the entire time. The cliff hangers made me stay up until the wee hours of the morning needing more. I was obsessed and I will be reading more from this author. Go read!

Rating: 5/5

Summer Heat by Rachel Van Dyken is book One in the Cruel Summer series. This is the story of Ray and Marlon. Ray is thought of as a 'Princess' and Marlon was the boy that mowed her lawn, a foster kid and one that the other kids picked on. They were never really friends, although both thought the other one was attractive. Ray did go along with the other kids sometimes to stay cool and which did cause Marlon to be hurt. Now years later Marlon is totally different and they find themselves together again. Sparks fly again and love it tempted but something happens pulling them apart due to their past.
I am such a fan of Ms. Van Dyken and this book you won't be able to put down! It takes you through some roller coaster rides of emotions! I cannot wait for the next installment of this story!!