I really enjoyed this book! Thank you for letting me read this!! I'll be telling some of my friends about it so they can read it as well!

***Got an ARC for an honest review***
This was a quick read featuring my favorite trope: enemies to lovers. I enjoyed the camp setting and I really liked the heroine who was very well-written, vulnerable, and heart-breaking in her loneliness.
The problem to me personally was the hero. While he improved in the second half I was disturbed by him in the first part. I just couldn't get over how this supposedly adult man was obsessed with a girl who treated him badly in high school and then abused their imbalance of power to take his anger out on her. And his plan for ultimate revenge was beyond creepy, not to mention horribly misogynistic, whether he gave it up before going through with it or not. He eventually thawed towards her and had some genuinely sweet scenes, but I couldn't get fully on board with him and kept thinking that Ray deserved so much better. Not to mention he constantly smirks, like literally on every second page. I wanted to wipe that stupid smirk off his stupid imaginary face I actually growled at the page.
All this plus the fact that there was a major cliffhanger at the end which wasn't mentioned in the description (I am a romance reader! You can't just spring a lack of HEA on me without warning!) made me subtract two stars.

Growing up in the shadow of Ray and her rich kid friends, Marlon only ever wanted to escape his circumstances and make something of himself. Until Ray derailed that for him, too. Four years later, Ray isn't the popular kid anymore, and her money isn't going to get her special treatment at Summer Heat, Camp to the Stars... especially if Marlon has anything to say about it...

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Summer Heat was the intriguing introduction to the three part Cruel Summer series. Marlon and Ray were once nemeses, by position and then by behavior. And now that they are older and wiser, they have left their pasts behind them... or have they?

Ray is a rich girl who never wants for anything in life... except for a real friendship or parents who actually cared for her. I really liked Ray's deeply wounded soul and I hope for great things for her character development throughout this series.

Marlo grew up as the kid of the "help" to Ray's family. Making ends meet by mowing lawns and working hard, his life couldn't have been any more opposite than the girl he loved to loathe. Marlo seems like a good guy who has moved on with his life and is working hard to create success for himself. But when Ray shows up at camp, all of his dedication may be threatened by the long held grudge that he holds against her.

I enjoyed this story, although it took quite a long time to get to the "good stuff," there was a steamy scene at the end and also a fantastic cliffhanger! I liked Marlo and Ray's dynamic and I would love to see where this story will go with the next two installments, Summer Seduction and then Summer Nights.

I received a complimentary copy of this book for my honest and unbiased review.

ARC Generously Provided by Publisher

Summer Heat is first book in the Cruel Summer Trilogy by Rachel Van Dyken, and it definitely fits it's title. This is a enemies-to-lovers with so much passion they aren't able to hide it.

Ray and Marlon are so opposite of each other they are like night and day. Ray has money and looks and popularity while Marlon was a nerdy foster kid who was tormented by the popular kids. Of course in this setting it wouldn't be anything if one of them didn't love the other one from afar. She loved him in secret and from afar because she was too much of a coward in my opinion, to stand up to his tormentors, who were indeed her friends.

Fast forward four years and Marlon is happy, no longer the nerdy kid who mows peoples lawns, he's successful and the director of a camp where Ray is part of his employees. He has plans to make Ray's summer miserable. He doesn't expect to see her vulnerabilities. Despite Ray's flaws, she is endearing and determined individual, that is a perfect match for the man she secretly loved. I loved the two when they'd have verbal sparring matches. So much chemistry and attraction poured from them despite their unresolved past.

This book will hook from the start and keep you entertained till the very end. I expect no less from RVD.

This was one hot summer read.
I couldn't put it down until I finished it. The characters and plot was so well written. Highly recommend.

Easy summer reading !
If you're looking for easy breezy, it's too hot for deep storylines, super hot plots then this is the book for you.
Short and sweet, the chemistry between these characters is great !
Thanks to netgalley for the ARC #netgalley #summerhea

Very good romance about the unrequited love and the stupidity of young people

I liked this book a lot. Though there was a lot of angst and both the H and the h were full of the angst. It seems they had feelings for each other ever since they were young when Marlon was the foster kid of her maid and the skinny kid who mowed the lawn. While Ray was the popular rich girl with the good looking boyfriend who was a jerk and treated Marlon like crap. Ray would stare out her window at him while he mowed the lawn and he would refer to her as “Spoiled Princess”.

Though there was that one night when they both had too much to drink and spent the night in her room. But the next day she was back to acting like she didn’t know him. She got the Drama scholarship he wanted and he had to work to get to college.

Fast forward 4 years and Marlon is the director of the hottest summer Drama camp in the country and Ray is working there as well. He is determined to get revenge and make her life miserable. But he starts to see that things may not be exactly as he had always thought. Ray, on the other hand, doesn’t even recognize Marlo at first. He is no longer the lanky kid she remembers but a hot gorgeous guy with killer abs and he can sometimes even be nice when he tries.

Though just when things get really good and you start to wonder what really happened back when they were kids and what will happen next? There is a huge cliffhanger. The next books are only available on iBooks right now, but I gotta find out.

I have to admit that it's been a while since I've picked up a book from this author. Not because I wasn't interested, I've been super busy reviewing other books, I never really had the time. Well....this one came up as "Read Now" on NetGalley, so I figured....hey, why not. Glad I picked it up.

Marlon is what you'd describe as the class nerd. He's not only the guy that kids cheat off of, he's skinny and mows the lawn of one of the most beautiful and popular girl in the school. He has one dream, to earn a scholarship and leave his step-mom and his current life behind. But fate has other plans. Fate has laughed in his face, again, because he didn't earn that scholarship. It went to that beautiful girl who sits on her princess thrown. Great, just great. 

Ray is considered the popular girl who has it all. The twenty-two bedroom house and all the money in the world. Sure. That's the perception at least. No one really knows that her parents aren't exactly "parents". That the only way for her to go to school for Drama is to earn a scholarship. Too bad she had to crush Marlon's dreams in the process. It's nothing personal. But it didn't help the tension that already exists between them. Especially after that one night. That one night that will forever mean more than anyone would ever know, including Marlo. 

The tension between these two is beyond hot. Obviously. Especially when four years apart and a lot of growing up changes not only the physical aspect of someone, but the internal as well. But is the past too much to overcome in order to move forward?

Fair warning...this is an Apple Books exclusive. Not that big of a deal, but I know that some don't read through iBooks. Also, be prepared for one hell of a cliffhanger. Yes, it's one of those series. So buckle up, it's definitely a ride.

Holy moly this is sooo good!!!! Ray a rich girl with the perfect life. So it seems. Marlo the boy his own parents didn’t want but was adopted by a loving family!!! Marlo and Ray started out as friends but when high school reputations and wanting to have friends no matter what kind you got they grew apart. But both wanting each other but hating each other all the same. Then having one drunken night in the mix. So when they are in college and Marlo is director and the camp Ray is working at can they get over the hate? Or will revenge win? Book given to me by author on netgalley.

I really liked this one. I was disappointed in it having a cliffhanger and now I have to buy the next book. I still would though because its a really interesting book. I loved it.

So, this is kind of a hard thing for me to do. I don't really like Apple as a company and this book has been published for their iBooks section first. Exclusively. Meaning, us die-hard fans couldn't get our hands on Summer Heat or the others books in the Cruel Summer series. I remember how upset I was over that. It's either Google or Apple these days. Talk about communism. Anyway... That's not the topic here. I'm glad that these days, all Rachel van Dyken books are available on all platforms. So when Summer Heat was up for grabs on NetGalley I one-clicked without giving it a second thought.

And now the second hard part: Since this was originally a story publishes for Apple, I couldn't get the same vibe I usually do when reading Rachel van Dyken's books. And that's not fair to her nor her story, I know that. But I think some of her readers can relate. At first, this didn't feel like her writing at all, then I wondered if the idea for the story had been developed by her only or was a meeting with Apple involved? I was going paranoid, seriously. And then I decided to turn my brain off and just enjoy the story. Because even though I struggled with the first chapter - I had to get into the story first - I loved the idea and how it's a camp story, but not a young adult camp story, but new adult. And there's so much heat and sexyness involved. And second chances, which I usually hate, but of course it's Rachel van Dyken's talent that makes me change my mind about that. Gosh, I love that woman so much.

There's also some Hollywood glitter involved here, talking about dancing and acting and achieving dreams. I liked that very much, to see that characters actually have to work hard in order to get something, making the reader believe in themselves, too. Good job on that!

Back to my fear about working with Apple - you know, the moment I realised this was a typical Rachel book was when there was her humor written on the pages. It's quite unique and something every of her readers is looking forward to when starting a book by her. She's just so funny and I often wonder if these scenes just pop into her head or if she has to plot it out. It's a talent, really. I think that's when my doubts finally started disappearing fully - when I recognized her writing, her sense of humor, just her in every one of the pages of the story, her special mark.

I'm not even talking about the story, I realise. Well, I'm sorry. I think the blurb gives everything away and all I can say is you better read this book! Especially if you're looking for a quick summer read and might be interested in reading a series. I can't wait to devour book two and three, also if it will probably take me some time to finally get them off my to-be-read pile. There's definitely more tears than usual, but I believed Ray for her crying and I believed Marlon to be the perfect guy, as Rachel van Dyken creates them every single day.

For four years I watched my friends make fun of him.For four years I hated myself for wanting him, but even more for the way I treated him. And then I had him.For one night, we put all labels away and I spent the best night of my life in his arms.When I started reading I couldn't put it down. Rachel Van Dyken is magnifysent and amazing writer.I cannot wait to read more of there books.Keep up the great work.You should definitely read this book.Can't wait for the next book.

I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

Rachel Van Dyken is always an author that I enjoy, and that was the case for this novel. The reader could tell that Ray and Marlo were feeling tension with one another. They said it was anger, but what's the saying? 'There's a fine line between hate and love?'

I feel for both characters for different reasons. Marlo because of his high school days of getting bullied and seeing the one person he loves treat him like shit. Ray because all she wanted was love and acceptance growing up and the only person who gave that to her is the person she failed the most.

The majority of this book is both characters reminiscing about their feelings toward the other one, and then that ending?! I instantly went to Amazon to find the next book but stuck out, so now I'm left wanting more because that was a total cliffhanger!

I very much enjoyed this book and will be on the look out for the other two novels!

Summer Heat by Rachel Van Dyken is a quick read with well-defined characters and a good story. Marlon and Ray are more than their stereotypes and their relationship has been complex since they first met. Now they're working at the same acting camp and the power between them has shifted from Ray to Marlon.

Both Ray and Marlon have to deal with the ghosts of their previous interactions and their current lust and attraction making for a good read. Sexy, interesting and quick to read I enjoyed Summer Heat.

Summer Heat by Rachel Van Dyken

A fabulous start to the Summer Heat trilogy! It does end on a cliffhanger so be warned (I didnt think it was too major though!).
An enjoyable book that I couldn't put down. I loved Ray and Marlo's characters and they had great chemistry even if they disliked each other!
Jackson made me laugh out loud! He was witty but serious when he had to be. Looking forward to reading more on him too!
Overall a great book and I hope you enjoy it too.

Summer Heat by Rachel Van Dyken is an enemies to lovers new adult romance. Ray was the poor little rich girl dealing with loneliness . Marlon lived on Ray's family estate and maintained the grounds. Now, the tables have turned. Marlon is the director of the presigous acting camp and Ray is his employee. This is the first installment in the Cruel Summer Series. I think is great start to this series. Thanks Social Butterfly PR, Rachel Van Dyken and NetGalley for the ebook of this title.

The thing with RVD books is there's always a lot of adolescent snarky commentary coming from the characters. I find myself needing to take a breather from her books because the way she writes is always so similar -- and because her stories are dual POV -- I feel like it's non-stop clauses. Kind of like firing a machine gun of bullets. It's a rat-a-tat rhythm:

I wished for him to stay there.
I found my soul in that moment.
Tethered to his.
Like I knew it had always been.

But back to that adolescent tone of people making asinine jabs and waving middle fingers at each other. I always think, what professional adult would still be behaving this way (like in her Red Card or Liars, Inc. series)? In this story with the characters being drama camp counselors, it works. And the choice of blending a frenemies to lovers with Dirty Dancing? It's a brilliant match.

I just recently discovered Rachel Van Dyken's Consequence series and was excited to read this book. It seems this book will come in a 3-part series, as this was a short novella that ends on a cliff hanger.

There's lots of angst and sexual tension between Ray and Marlon after they're reunited after a few years. Marlon has dubbed Ray as "SP" for spoiled princess but there's more to her story. Marlon hasn't had it easy in life despite where he is now, he wasn't always sought after. I'm loving the characters and the direction of where the story is going, I'm kind of pissed I have to wait to find out!

Summer heat is the perfect title and RVD has brought the heat with this book! Swearing, sex, alcohol are mentioned in this book. Plus it makes me want to watch "Dirty Dancing"

The dislike and desire from both main characters was beautifully written. I liked the way the story was going, but I didn't like the sudden cliffhanger. I'll still most likely read the rest of the series.

Ray is the rich princess and Marlon is the foster kid who are enemies. They grew up together. Ray was the popular IT girl and Marlon was the nerdy kid. Marlon crushes on Ray. Ray being the IT girl causes her actions to hurt Marlon. Years later at camp the meet each other again. Marlon the camp lead and Ray wanting to leave the past of being the IT girl behind. She needs this and Marlon does what he can to make it miserable. The chemistry between the two is off the charts. The ending is brutal but it is a cliffhanger and luckily I have read the next book! Love how Rachel's stories come together and can't wait for all her next books!