Unfortunately this wasn’t the book for me. My main issue was the characters. They felt so flat and two-dimensional, and I felt like I had no real reason to root for them. A lot of the dialogue was super cheesy, and the whole thing read like the worst Disney Channel movie.

I did appreciate the family aspect with Emma and her dad, and Emma’s sexuality was handled in a realistic way. But sadly it wasn’t enough to make me like this one.

I will keep this short.
I had hoped for a cute LGBT contemporary read. I really wanted to love this book. But sadly enough, I didn’t.
The story, but certainly the characters didn’t spark any interest in me. I was quiet bored and only kept on reading because I had to review this. I’d have DNF’d it otherwise

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced review copy of this book! I really wanted to get into it, because a queer summer camp romance is exactly the sort of thing I love in concept. Especially considering the severe lack of wlw fiction. Unfortunately, I couldn't love this as much as I wanted to. The biggest problem I had with it was that the relationship was between a camper and her counselor. The camper was 17 (turns 18 near the end of the novel) and the counselor was 19, so there wasn't a large age difference, but I personally am uncomfortable with a relationship where one person is in an authoritative position like that,

Beyond that, I didn't feel there was much chemistry between Emma and Vivian. They were sometimes cute together, but I had to trust they genuinely liked/loved each other mostly because they said so, not really because they showed it.

I did overall enjoy the writing, if I could ignore those two things. It was cute and while not a masterpiece, I'm sure it'll be enjoyed more by its target audience. I personally couldn't get very into it, but for the concept and the representation, I'm choosing to give it three stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a free review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really, really wanted to love thos book - a gay summer romance set at camp.
Sadly, almost all of the characters were eighter unlikable, flat, or both. Especially the storys antagonist lacked character depht and was just an easy way to create drama.

The main character suffers from drpression and anxiety and has several phobias. Whilst not being in heremtal health state, nothing really felt believable and more often than mot her behaviour was simply annoying.

The only part I actually did enjoy wad the authors/narrators voice throughout the story and how mostly there was a show not tell way of setting the scene and giving images of the characters.

However, that alone isn't enough to make this book something I'd recommend.


Trigger warnings
-homophobic parent
-bullying
-friend betrayal

I was given this book as an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rebecca Sullivan’s Night Owls and Summer Skies tells the story of Emma Lanes, a teenager who finds herself at Camp Mapplewood over the course of one summer after her deranged mother leaves her there, preferring to go on an honeymoon with her new husband instead of spending time with her daughter and getting to know her.

Emma has some trauma related to experiences in her youth while at camp that has significantly influenced her life and that she has been working through with the support of her dad, with whom she lives alone after her parents’ divorce.

While Emma thought she was going to spend some weeks with her mother, she finds herself being forcefully dropped off and Camp Mapplewood, where she needs to deal with her own trauma and navigate the complications that arise while she stays there.

Soon after encountering the other campers, she starts facing some tricky situations. In the meantime, she develops a connection with her counsellor, Vivian Black and finds herself becoming more and more part of a community while finding her place in the world day by day with the help of others.

The book is a lightly toned lighthearted young adult, which strongly features a FF romance and intends to reflect on themes such as PTSD, anxiety, bullying and self-identity. The intention behind the portrayal is good and the overall message comes through, despite needing the reader to exercise some suspension of disbelief at times. Some of it proved slightly two-dimensional and on the nose but I believe it was due to an age factor. Overall, it was a good reading experience that I would recommend to younger audiences, as some of the humor was personally lost on me. I imagine I would have appreciated it more if I were slightly younger but I had my fun nonetheless.

I got this book for free on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
I want to start this review by saying that I love how accepting and gay this book is, and that the romance between Emma and Vivian was super cute. I loved every moment with these two dorks. I also adored everything with the Black family, with Gwen and Walter and how cute and nice they all are! I also want to say that the last 1/3 of the book was 100% the best one!

The only reasons why this did not get 4 stars from me is that I feel like some of the plot is just too much and that the first half of the book tries to focus on everything at once. I also felt like in the beginning some of the scenes were somewhat unnecessary, and I kinda wish there had either been more conflict, more Emma/Vivian scenes or more specific Emma and Gwen friendship scenes. I also feel like the story discusses Emma's strong PTSD and anxiety, but I felt like it should have been more present, especially in the beginning when she first arrives at camp. As a fellow very anxious person I find that the anxiety drowns out so much of my thoughts, and I wish that was more clearly displayed in the story.

I really loved reading this and found the story easy to follow will definitely be a one I can re read in the future

This book intrigued me, a pretty cover, a summer romance, the great outdoors. What’s not to love? Well, unfortunately a lot more than I expected. This book wasn’t necessarily bad. It just wasn’t very good either.

Emma was problematic from the off. She flitted from being scared, depressed and anxious to being cocky, arrogant and just….kind of unlikable. I would just begin to relate to her and like her when she would do or say something that would brush me the wrong way. In fact, most, if not all of the characters, were completely not fleshed out and underdeveloped. I had soft spots for some of them, mostly Vivian, the rest of the Black family and Emma’s dad. But Emma herself seemed to be so unsure of herself, or as if the author had been unsure of how to write her.

The location was great and I loved the idea of a camp romance. I could really picture the scene and it reminded me of my few days at camp years ago! The plot was okay, predictable but mainly enjoyable to read. Once I passed the 50% mark I found it easy to pick up and more compelling. The parents of Emma were both well written for their own ways, and I actually found myself enjoying the relationship between Vivian and Emma.

Although I can see the problems with the romance, and it did make me a little angry that they were often overlooked by other characters such as Vivian’s family, I actually did like the scenes between them.

Overall, this book was…weak. It had enjoyable factors, but too much bad outweighed a possibility for it to be good. There was so much potential for it to be good, but so much was lost.

★★★
2.5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

3.5 stars, but I rounded up. I found this book really cute and enjoyable. The story is simple, but the characters of Emma, Gwen, and especially Vivian unfold beautifully. I thought the side characters, like Walter, Lauren, and Jessie were a little underdeveloped, and a few of the plot points were unnecessarily complicated. There were also a few continuity errors or areas where I thought what was happening could be a bit more clear. I thought the first person was really well done. Overall, I thought this story was sweet, and an important book about love, anxiety, and safety.

The story itself was pretty interesting and fun, but this really could use a lot more editing. The writing and dialogue didn’t feel natural and there was too much description at every moment except when things were actually happening. This book would be a lot more enjoyable with some good strong editing.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
I must have had way too high expectations. I couldn’t completely get myself into the book nor relate to any characters or their behavior. Talking about the behavior of the characters - it was mostly rude and awful.
The topics of the book might be important to be talked about more but I assume in the right way and approach rather than in a messy way.

This book wasn't for me, I felt the story was bit slow. And the characters were okay. I really wanted to like this book but well.

I really wanted to love this book, because mental health rep and a GAY SUMMER ROMANCE?? But I just couldn't get into it. I was constantly going back and forth, because I couldn't remember what was happening. The characters are very two dimensional and it's hard to tell who is talking in the dialogues. There are also quite a few inconsistencies (ex : brushed off panic attacks, for one).

What I DID appreciate :
• The well developed father / daughter relationship. Reading about such a bond is so rare and it SHOULDN'T be
• The well established sexuality of the MC

I dnfed at 39%.

I just can't stand Emma, or any other character that's not Gwen. And even she is a lot like a cartón sometimes. The characters are annoying, I understand some of them act out of pride, stubborness, or being left on a damn camp when you have a phobia to camping by your neglect Mother but this is ridículos. Emma is not just grumpy, she just hates everything around her.

And Vivían is just... Nothing special. If this had been a romance between Emma and Gwen there would have been more chemistry than between Emma and Vivían. Heck, even Emma and Lauren, I love myself a good rivals to lovers trope.

The plot is uninteresting by now, but I can deal with that if the characters were good.

3 stars

I was very intrigued by a queer camp romance and didn’t know who Emma would end up with which I found to be one of the reasons I kept reading. I love not knowing right away who the love interest is and knowing that it could be anyone. I was thrown for a loop when it wasn’t her pen pal Jesse or her camp friend Gwen, but rather the camp counselor who just happens to be her friend’s sister. I was pleasantly surprised.

What I really liked about this novel was how atmospheric it was. I loved how the author really brought the setting to life and how real it was.

What I didn’t like was how I didn’t feel as connected to the characters as I wanted to be. I wanted to love the characters as much as I loved the concept and the writing, but that department fell very flat for me. This might not be a problem for anyone else, seeing as I am a very character driven person. If I can’t connect to any character then I have trouble connecting with the novel overall. These characters, while feeling authentic, just felt like they had a lot more potential that wasn’t fleshed out as much.

I loved the setting and the campy romance of it all and I am a SUCKER for summer romances. But while this was enjoyable to me, there was a lot of potential that didn’t live up to what I expected. I feel if the characters weren’t so one dimensional and more fleshed out, then I would have rated this higher.

I kind of hate that I didn’t like this book. It looks so promising! A fun, cute, light, summer-y read. We need those! But honestly, this book read like a Disney Channel movie. And not in the funny way - in the cringey way.

I’ll start by mentioning some things I enjoyed: the feeling of summer it brought about; the fact that the main character, Emma is very secure in her sexuality and (besides a horribly homophobic and toxic mother) this isn’t made into a big deal any time it comes up; that Emma gets to stand up to said mother; I suppose the idea of this book???

Oof. I think the main problem is that I’ve read this entire book, and I still feel like I know nothing about any of the characters. They are all two-dimensional, not fleshed out, bland characters. Everyone’s personality relies on being a) sarcastic, b) nice, or c) a bully. Generally, I do consider it quite a problem if no one, including your main character, seems to go through any kind of development. Any details regarding characters’ lives and feelings were always handed to us, and we were expected to take them at face-value. Even major things like Emma’s depression and anxiety, which are mentioned a couple of times as being something that influences her life greatly at times (and understandably so!), are kept completely at a distance. At some point she mentions to her father on the phone that she’s having a bad day, and I just had the thought that I would not have gotten that at all from any of the other descriptions of what had been going on that day. The panic attacks she experiences happen, and are brushed off afterwards, not to be talked about again. Their effects or causes are left untouched upon.

Besides that, the decision-making, the way basically everyone acted, was quite ridiculous constantly. Again, Disney Channel movie vibes. No one’s actions really sense. Multiple times when characters pointed out other characters’ motivations or thought-processes I was genuinely thrown because I would just not understand how they got to those conclusions at all. I'd blame it on the fact that the characters are young but honestly? All of them are around 18. Not to say all your decisions should be logical and sensible all of a sudden, but they also shouldn't be... this. And the relationships... I don’t know, but Emma keeps saying she’s bad at making friends, and I’m inclined to agree with her, because despite saying that Gwen is her, and I quote, “soulmate”, she knows literally nothing about Gwen except that’s she’s peppy and kind. Same with Vivian, our love interest. After 300 pages I know nothing about her except that she goes to college, where she acts “differently” than she does at camp, and that she likes order. But then again, after 300 pages I know not much more about Emma, so.

I think this book had a lot of potential, and unfortunately it just didn’t live up to any of it for me.

This book was honestly a hot mess. I was super excited for this because a) beautifulllll cover and b) a gay summer romance? Hell yes!
But this book was nothing but a disappointment.
Firstly, talking about the characters - they were super two dimensional and bland. None had any goal or motive abd was just there, you know? I hated the MC and her banter just infuriated me. At one point she's supposed to be socially awkward? But then she keeps on blabbering away with the first stranger she meets? I just didn't get her. At all.
Then there was Vivian who just infuriated me even more. Her motives were unclear and the author just couldn't get the essence of a personality quite out there.
All the characters simply felt like they were fourteen year olds screaming and being too loud in camp.
The romance was alright. The author tried too hard to make it swoon-worthy and cute but I could very less see a worthy chemistry.
I loved the dad tho. He was really cool and I loved how supportive he was of his daughter. That was really positive and good to read about.
Ugh I can't even tell in words how big of a disappointment this book was. The dialogues were choppy and just felt too much like a script to make it interesting. It was just too forced, I felt.

But anyway, it's all my opinion. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me an e-copy for review.

Cute cover. Reads like a fanfic, dialogue heavy. Makes sense that it’s a Wattpad book. I wanted to feel more immersed in the camp atmosphere.

Thank you to Wattpad Books for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Why is it always the books that have important representation of typically misunderstood populations that seem to have the most offensive material?

The last time I got offended this quickly (single digits page wise), the book was about the Autism Spectrum.

This time, this story is about a lesbian girl being forced to go to a summer camp where she experienced bullying and homophobia. The father is made out to sound like someone who genuinely cares and is just following custody rules with her mother. The mom is not only offensive, but if the dad cared as much as he is meant to appear to, he would NOT have been okay with what the mom pulls. She openly refuses to accept her daughter's sexuality and truthfully, bullies her own daughter. She belittles the experiences she went through and calls it "dramatic".

Really lady? Try saying that to my face and you'll see what happens. I get that sometimes these situations happen, but it doesn't make writing it okay or appropriate.

There are so many poor choices made in rapid time that I have an extremely difficult time believing would occur. With a main character written to be as confident as she is post-assistance from mental health specialist, I highly doubt she would've stopped as quickly as she did to contact her father. Plus, I doubt that any camp worth their weight would so willfully allow someone back who had that terrible of an experience without some seriously careful handling.

I hope the publisher takes better consideration of the material before agreeing to publish in the future. This story is offensive and displays poor behavior that does not send the right message (or an okay one) on any level.

4.5 Stars

Y’all know I am a sucker when it comes to Wattpad books. I am always amazed when I get to read fully published in-print books by people who originally wrote them onto Wattpad. To get such a big audience initially is a feat, and especially knowing that quite often these books were written over a month, for NaNoWriMo, is even more incredible.

‘Night Owls and Summer Skies’ is everything that I want in a book. It’s got the Summer-Camp experience that I’ve never gotten in Australia but always not-so-secretly wished for, it’s got an F/F romance, and it’s got some amazing relationships that aren’t just the central-romantic one.

I lived for the writing, which was super easy to read, as you can expect from most top-tier Wattpad authors. I was suckered in, and even though I read this over a rather large period of time, because ya girl got swept up in Uni stuff, it was captivating and I didn’t feel lost at all.

One of my favourite tropes in YA fiction is where the protagonist goes to a camp, rehabilitation centre or something along those lines, and really works on themselves. I absolutely live for it. I think there’s something magical about being able to go somewhere new, meet new people and make new important relationships that you can really count on. Like, I want that for me. Studying abroad with lots of new people and all that stuff has been my FAV thing ever, and those experiences are something I want more of, and would recommend it for anyone to try because you learn some really important things about yourself.

Needless to say, this relatability factor and the fact that this is my not-so-secret-fantasy basically meant that this book was meant for me.