Thank you, Wattpad Books and Net Galley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Emma Lane wasn’t looking forward to spending the summer with her mother, but she had some hope that maybe they could start repairing their relationship. When Emma’s mother drops her off at Camp Mapplewood, the place where Emma’s PTSD started, all hope for repairing the relationship is gone. Emma decides that she’s going to do everything she can to get kicked out of camp, but slowly she starts to build friendships, learning new things about herself, and deciding that Camp Mapplewood isn’t that bad after all.

This book took me a little while to get into, but once I did, I thought it was a cute summer read. My favourite thing about this book was the Black siblings and their mother. Camp Mapplewood is operated by Mr. Black, and every year he gets as many family members as possible to help him run it. Walter and Vivian Black are both camp counsellors, Gwen is a camper, and his wife runs the kitchen. I loved the relationship between the Black siblings, and I love that they welcomed Emma into their group. I thought that Mrs. Black was an incredibly nice woman, and I loved seeing her teach Emma how to cook.

It took me a while to warm up to Emma because she had some immature moments in the beginning. The reason for her immaturity was because she wanted to get kicked out of camp, but I wasn’t a fan of reading about it. Once she dropped the idea of getting kicked out, I started to like her a lot more, and I loved how her character developed throughout the book. I liked the anxiety and depression rep in this book, and I thought it was handled well. I also like that the Black siblings knew that something was going on and that they took steps to try to help Emma feel more comfortable with everything.

I loved the relationship between Emma and Vivian, and I thought they made a cute pair. I liked the build-up to their relationship, and I thought it was nice that they became friends first. I also thought it was cute that Gwen and Walter were so supportive of them getting together, and that they kind of helped push them together.

I enjoyed the ending of this book, and I thought what Emma did was super brave. I don’t want to say too much, but I wanted to clap for her because I thought she was awesome.

One thing that I didn’t like about this book was the bullying. There’s a character in this book who is a bully, and she does quite a few terrible things. This character goes out of her way to make Emma and Gwen feel uncomfortable, all in an attempt to reach her own goals. This girl steals, blackmails, lies, and gives non-consensual physical contact. I didn’t like that there was a mean girl clique going on, and it made me uncomfortable at times when reading. I also generally don’t like it when girls hate other girls, so I wasn’t a fan of this part of the storyline.

Another thing that I want to mention is that Emma’s mother is homophobic, does not accept that Emma is a lesbian, and does not take Emma’s mental health seriously. She asks Emma a few times if she has a boyfriend or makes comments about how she’ll have a boyfriend soon. She also doesn’t care that Camp Mapplewood is the place where Emma’s PTSD started and sends her there anyway because she has better things planned for her summer. Overall, Emma’s mother is a terrible person, and she clearly doesn’t care about Emma.

Overall, I thought that this was a cute summer read. I liked the friendship between Emma and the Black family, and I liked the relationship between Emma and Vivian. It did have some moments that I didn’t like, but overall it was an enjoyable read.

The story is so wholesome and very cute. I really enjoyed the banter between characters. Part of the story was somewhat repetitive, but overall I really enjoyed it!

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Night Owls and Summer Skies

Author: Rebecca Sullivan

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 1/5 (because I can’t rate it 0/5)

Diversity: Lesbian main character and side characters, but not well done

Recommended For...: I can’t recommend this, it’s extremely problematic

Publication Date: June 30, 2020

Genre: YA Contemporary

Recommended Age: can’t recommend, dnf-ed

Publisher: Wattpad Books

Pages: 288

Synopsis: You have to step off the trail to find your path....

When her mother unceremoniously dumps her at Camp Mapplewood for the summer, Emma Lane’s hopes of repairing their fractured relationship are gone with the wind. Now she’s stuck in the wilderness facing her worst fears. Trees? Terrifying. Spiders? Even worse. And don’t even get Emma started on how she feels about camp activities. But Emma’s got a plan, and she will do anything in her power to get kicked out of camp, from sleeping in to playing practical jokes on her fellow campers. Yet when Emma draws the attention of her illusive and attractive camp counselor Vivian Black, she has to come to terms with the fact that how her summer starts isn’t necessarily how it might end. Will Vivian be the key to unlocking Emma’s fears once and for all?

Review: I had to DNF this read at 40% in. The book wasn’t for me at all. The book’s main character is really unlikeable. She calls herself gay instead of lesbian (which is ok, but it kind of gives off the vibe that being a lesbian isn’t good), she had anxiety and depression but doesn’t show the reader these issues and it isn’t wrote in the story well, and the whole relationship between Emma (our main character) and Vivian really upsets me. Vivian is older than Emma and there’s a power difference with Vivian being a counselor, and then Vivian does some things like kissing Emma and allowing Emma to sleep in her sleeping bag. Honestly, this is akin to professor/student relationships and shouldn’t be tolerated either. I don’t like the “bully is actually interested in the main character” trope because it sets a precedent that violence in a relationship in any form is ok and that’s not ok. Lauren didn’t have anything wrong with her per se but she is a bully and she sexually harasses Emma and Vivian and it’s not a good thing and doesn’t deserve good ending. I think it would have been better if Lauren was given some therapy or was shown to have remorse in the book but it doesn’t come off that way and doesn’t happen. Aside from these problematic issues, the book is also not well written and has some extremely harmful elements to it for people who identify as LGBT+.

Verdict: Not recommending.

Sorry, this one really missed the mark for me.

The Good
– The colour palette on the cover is SO GOOD
– The telling off near the end is decent

The Bad
– Age difference is discomforting
– Power imbalance is discomforting
– Plotting somehow manages to be both messy and simplistic
– Bratty characters
– Set-up requires some serious mental gymnastics

Night Owls and Summer Skies has an okay concept but suffers from bad characters, plotting, prose—bad everything. 

Story—★☆☆☆☆
As per her custody agreement, Emma must spend summers with her estranged mother. Emma's mother is self-involved, flaky and distracted, so Emma doesn't plan for a good time. Things take a turn for the worse when five seconds after arriving, her mother ditches her at Camp Mapplewood (yes really) to go on a cruise—the same camp which left her with PTSD. (Yes really.) Emma devises plan after plan to get kicked out of camp, but gorgeous camp counselor Vivian keeps forgiving Emma and hiding her messes.

First: the goddamn mental gymnastics necessary to accept the set-up. Emma's PTSD is from... being stuck in a tree for a night? That's the root of her trauma and a part of her depression? Really? In nearly eighteen years, the worst things to happen to Emma are a divorce and being stuck in a tree? Okay, sure, whatever. What's difficult to wrap my head around is that Emma detests Camp Mapplewood so much but goes through such a roundabout way of leaving through being kicked out. She can call her dad at any time: not only does she steal her cell phone back, but the people running the camp are stupidly, ridiculously, unrealistically nice. All she would have to say is, "Sir, my father won't know where I am if anything happens, could you call this number and update him?" But she doesn't, because she doesn't want to "bug" her equally stupidly, ridiculously, unrealistically nice dad. Which is such a feeble excuse, I mean, what did Emma think would happen once she got kicked out and her mother—now on the other side of the world—can't pick her up? They'll call the next available legal guardian.

When I read the blurb about a camper falling for a counselor, I guess I assumed the best. As in, maybe Vivian was seventeen and a new counsellor and Emma was sixteen and old for a camper. Not Vivian as a whole ass adult. The situation is super sketchy. Not only is Vivian "in charge" of Emma, but often manipulates things behind her back to keep her at camp.

Most of the book was empty fluff. Lots of hanging out, Emma and other characters having flat or forced interactions, or romantic scenes with a lot of telling over showing—Emma and Vivian felt forced.

There were also some odd discrepancies—Camp Mapplewood was both a great camp people wanted to be at and desperately trying to stay afloat.

One part I did enjoy was near the ending, when Emma finally tells her mom off. That was almost enjoyable.

Characters—★☆☆☆☆
I think the characters were the worst part of the book, since Night Owls and Summer Skies might've stood a chance if Sullivan sold us on Emma's mom. Or if any characters had a personality besides "bratty." Or if, you know, Emma was believable as a human being.

Emma was unlikeable. Her constant whining or complaining eroded any sympathy for her early on and the fact that her apparent trauma was so comparatively silly to some things other YA protagonists have gone through. She might have worked out if Sullivan had toned down her brattiness and worked on making her emotional troubles seem more believable, but alas, that is not the case.

Vivian was rude, cruel, grounded—and definitely more mature than Emma, in a way. I mean, no one in Night Owls and Summer Skies was actually mature in a human way, but compared to Emma and the other kids in the Beaver cabin who often sounded like tweens when they bickered, there was a noticeable difference. Honestly, the thing I don't understand about Vivian is how she fell for Emma. Setting aside the short timeframe and the fact that Emma is a miserable brat most of the time—how do you go into a job where you're in the mindset that you're an authority figure to these kids and manage to romance one of them? How are you looking at a sweaty, social inept minor and thinking about dating her? How can you fail to go less than six weeks without falling in love with a seventeen-year-old?

Also, the fact that no one was like, "Hey, that's weird. Maybe stop?"

Most of the other characters were one-note and cringey: either bratty, forcedly quirky, or unrealistically good-natured. No one was believable, likeable or interesting. There was a lot of silly "lol random" sort of behaviour and I found myself setting the book down and walking away every five minutes, unable to tolerate the nonsense.

Writing Style—★★☆☆☆
Night Owls and Summer Skies is written in first person, past tense from Emma's point of view.

Sullivan's writing style is sloppy, chaotic and dull. She struggles to set a tone, struggles to convey emotions or emotional scenes effectively, struggles to tell the story in anything approaching a competent way. Night Owls and Summer Skies reads like Sullivan haphazardly banged it out and then never glanced at it again.

Themes and Representation—★★☆☆☆
Things that are cool: a pansexual character; Emma working through her trauma; Emma finding something she loves.

Things that aren't cool: the pansexual character falling in love with a minor; Emma working through her trauma through a combination of a girlfriend and being forced into a traumatic situation again; "I don't like the word lesbian." Honestly, common sense says this would hurt Emma more than help her.

Overall—★★☆☆☆

Recommended For...
People who want that summer camp romance so badly they'll overlook a lot of bad writing and questionable elements.

This story is from Wattpad (I've discovered that there is a second part and I am very excited). I really liked that it is located in a summer camp and above all, that it is a romantic novel, but also of overcoming fears and letting go of relatives who do not contribute anything. Yes, it is true that these topics do not go as deep, but it ends up being a very entertaining and fun novel and especially with very good dialogues.
I've really enjoyed Vivian and Emma's conversations, they really have made these characters more real and I couldn't stop falling in love with them.
If it is true that Vivian is called as Pansexual, having a lot of negative charge for the trans, bi, gender fluid and non-binary community. So that's why I lowered the score from four stars to three.
Removing that, which bothered me a lot, the topics of anxiety, depression, bullying, phobias, homophobia, that this book touches, I think they are very important and that they are important but not being the main thread. Because this book is still "a book of lesbians in a summer camp" (I am the only one who call the book like that).
I really recommend this book and I encourage you to give it a chance. The author writes very well and outlines the main characters with pleasure.

I don't have much to say about this book actually, just that it desperately needs rounds and rounds of revision.

The characters were very inconsistent. There were multiple times where they would do something and I'd think "hm, that sounds like it's OOC" but I wouldn't have any evidence to back it up either way. IT felt like they were all just plot devices: MC unwillingly goes to a summer camp, a girl she likes makes her stay there, she makes a (female) friend because otherwise it'd be too obvious that all the female side characters in this book except her mother in law get slutshamed at some point. Times like these you can REALLY tell this came out of Wattpad.

The relationship also came out of nowhere, tbh, but this stems from the same lack of character depth that I mentioned before. These characters can't stand each other and in the next chapter they're kissing, which, okay I can get behing angst and I usually even prefer it, but this just wasn't it. They suddenly loved each other. Maybe the MC's inner monologue was not enough? It felt like she was hiding stuff from us.

Lauren was also such an unnecessary subplot. If you're gonna deal with sexual assault do it properly and with respect. If you're going to squeeze stalking into your book, do so with respect. Not this flat, soap opera-like subplot that was just an excuse to treat yet another girl badly.

I really enjoyed this one! It was a cute, fun read. I adored the characters and the banter, and the summer camp setting was so much fun! It had great rep for mental health as well!

(Link to my Goodreads review is below!!)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3412943101

This just missed the mark a but for me. I liked the writing okay. The characters were a bit flat. There is so much potential with this story line but this just wasn't it. What turned me off to the book is the multiple toxic people/relationships that go unchecked and brushed off as normal. Emma's mother is a narcissist. There are multiple scenarios where Lauren is teetering on sexual assault yet it is brushed out. Almost did not finish.

This made my heart melt.
I can't even describe how much I ship Emma and Vivian. Their characters are perfect, their dynamic is perfect. They fit into each other's lives perfectly. They were literally made for each other. Something this sweet should be sickening, but all I wanted to do was reach into the book and squeeze them together. I was a little taken aback by the promises of forever at the end, but it wasn't entirely rushed. They have had a wildly intense camp experience.
Let's talk supporting characters. The Black family is adorable, and despite Emma's apparent prickliness, they warm up to her and all but initiate her as one of them. Emma's father is a good contrast with her mother, because one neglecting, homophobic parent is more than enough. The rest of the Beavers are your average teen girls. Lauren's character demands no sympathy with her twisted ways of achieving her goals, as well as her misguided idea of consent. Jessie doesn't redeem herself either, but her spinelessness was evident from day one.
Overall, it's a great debut (and an impressive feat for a 22 year old author?!) Fluffy, light-hearted teen fiction hasn't been my thing in a while, but I definitely have no regrets with this book.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I liked the idea of this story. A summer ya romance about two girls finding each other, but also with troubles past that they together can sort out. But no, this was just a hot mess of nothing of interest.

First off, the main character is such a bad written character. It said that she has PTSD, which I can't for the life of me find that rep in the book. The person in charge of the camp at some point force our main character out in the wilderness, even though it is their her PTSD started. No one of the characters had any personality at all, I often mixed them together and struggled to find some kind of motive for the story to move forward.

And the mother? What the actual F? She just drops her daughter who suffers from PTSD because of that place back there to go on a fucking honeymoon? I got so angry. And then no one is thinking about calling our main characters dad? Who is supportive? It doesn't make sense what so ever.

No, I do not recommend this book. I did not like this book at all.

absolutely loved this book, the lgbt romance had me hooked from the beginning with the almost dreamy language used and diverse set of character. i wish i could read it all over again !

DNF'D at 35%
This wasn't awful it was just predictable and boring. I feel like a lot of teenage reads are similar to this and it was nothing new

I really, really wanted to like this one. It just...fell flat. The writing, the characters, the dialogue, the plot...I really adored the premise itself - girl going to summer camp! Sapphic romance!!!! - is something I want to see more of, definitely; I just wish it was done a little better.

Emma's mother is pretty universally Terrible and despite that, I do appreciate how Emma is still very much Very Gay. We need more of that positivity. I especially appreciate that the story isn't necessarily an "OMG I think I am a homosexual" quintessential queer romance. It's a refreshing take.

However, the set up of what could have been a cute love story feels choppy and uncoordinated. I dunno. It just really didn't feel like there was a narrative arc. There isn't anything inherently problematic that I could see. I just felt like a lot of the elements that could have been very emotionally compelling we're kind of glossed over and despite its LGBTQ rep, this story relies heavily on YA romance tropes and not in a good way.

I really enjoyed this book which is funny cause I myself have never been to a summer camp. This is so atmospheric that I could quite literally hear the birds while I read it. I absolutely adored Emma and her very dry witty sense of humor. Intelligent characters are my favorite and she is one of those that is almost too smart for her good.

The sapphic romance was incredibly played out, I really enjoyed getting to see the development of them from reluctant allies to sorta friends to full blown into each other. I also really liked that consent was talked about very seriously in this book because it's a very important message especially for everyone but especially young adults.

I really liked the ending because it left enough loose ends to keep you guessing but it also wrapped things up in a way that felt satisfying.

dnf'd @ 25%

I tried to finish Night Owls and Summer Skies to be able to provide as truthful, well-thought out review, but I just couldn't. The overall premise is cute. Emma, our protagonist, is sent to Camp Maplewood for the summer and there she meets, and falls for, her camp consoler, Vivian. The concept is there but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.

The writing isn't polished. There are grammar mistakes everywhere and I had to reread some parts because they just didn't make any sense. The dialogues are stiff and exceptionally juvenile. The author also repeats herself. On pg 29 Gwen tells Emma that her uncle is the camp nurse, then again on pg 41.

My biggest issue, however, is the characters. Most (read: all but 3) are written to provide conflict. They have no development, no motivations, no stories of their own. They're just there to highlight how much our protagonist's life sucks. I read a little under 100 pages and most of my notes read "of course" because, one again, someone said or did something to Emma. The entire plot also relies on the fact that her mom is a bitch.

Emma isn't a likeable character. She's a brat. Her motivations are unclear. She wants to get kicked out of camp, so she ignores the rules and antagonizes those around her but when she's finally reprimanded for her actions her response is "Today is not my day." It's asking a lot to have your reader follow a protagonist that is constantly whining, especially over something of her own doing.

I like this book because the main characters don't apologize for being gay. The start of the book doesn't have a big coming out scene, she (and many other characters) is just gay. And most of the people surrounding her just openly accept it and move on with their lives. Which is amazing. The fact that this needs to be praised is sad but it's awesome that there are books about LGBTQ+ and the characters don't need to explain their sexuality or partner preferences.

Moving away from that, the characters themselves are just lacking for me. As someone who went to camps a lot as a kid, the fact that no one cares that one counselor and one camper continuously go missing/are in each other personal space so often pulled me out of the story. Towards the end Emma talks about not having a counselor patrolling the grounds at night while many campers do as they please seems unlikely too. Especially considering the camp director (and father of the counselors) pulled Emma out of a tree after spending all night in the rain stuck up there! I wanted to like Gwen so much. But the way she's written to behave made me imagine her as a young child and I had to keep reminding myself that she is 17 and about to inherit the role of counselor herself. There are other characters I had problems with but other reviews talk about them a lot better than I could ever.

This book tries to give a nice summer romance and I appreciate that but I think the characters themselves are just not up to par. I wish there was more depth and motives given instead of the dialogue trying to be "cute" around courting and kissing each other on the cheek.

3.5/5 stars
I really enjoyed this book overall. I think it’s awesome to have books produced by #ownvoices and it was nice to see an attempt to portray mental illness. I love how the protagonist, at 17, is unapologetically gay even with a homophobic mother. That strength in self is inspiring.

***spoiler alert below****
**********************************

All that being said, there were a few things that I felt kind of missed the mark. I was glad to see a protagonist with PTSD, but then I felt like it was almost glazed over. Like “if you fall in love PTSD disappears”. I felt that it was a little misleading about the severity of PTSD and the extreme difficulty people have in overcoming it. It can be a lifelong journey. I also don’t love that the evil in this book is a queer cis woman. I don't think Lauren was fully fleshed out, and just felt almost too pure evil. I think enough people have experience with toxic sexual harassing men that it was almost jarring to see it in Lauren. It felt almost like combining typically petty high school jealousies with a weird crush based on toxic masculinity. Just kind of a miss for me with lauren.

But, I loved how the author took us to a serene forest environment! And portrayed camp life so well that I wished I was on the lake with the campers & counselors. Overall I enjoyed this book.

Thanks netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

This book was a sweet summer read. The main character Emma is dropped off at a summer camp by her neglectful and avoidant mother. To make matters worse, Emma is forced to stay at this camp which caused her much anxiety in the past. Throughout the novel, we follow Emma as she attempts to get kicked out of camp, develops friendships, and summer love.
Overall, I rated the book a two because the book read very choppy. The book did not seamlessly flow from scene to scene and I often found myself re-reading paragraphs. I did not particularly enjoy the main character. I think the book describes a lot of action, but we do not really get into the thoughts and feelings of the main character like I would have hoped.

I really wanted to like this book based on the premise and setting but this book was hard to get through. I did not like the main character at all and that made the book hard to read.

This ARC was provided for review, but in no way affects the following impartial and unbiased review:
•
2,5*
Pros: LGBT+ leads. Set in a summer camp, full of activities and games. Witty and fun banter. Deals with important issues like bullying, facing phobias, homophobic and disapproving parents. Wholesome and fluffy f/f relationship.
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Cons: Slow and shallow, no real plot to it. Depression is mentioned but not approached at all.