I love Elle Kennedy and this was another great read. Cassandra comes back to Avalon Bay after being away for awhile, unsure about how she feels about the Bay. But once she meets Tate her whole world turns upside down. I truly love Elle Kennedy and her books. The relationships in this book are all complicated in different ways. The relationship between Cassie and her grandmother, her mother, her father and Tate. I loved the way the relationship between her father and step-mother, Nia, developed. I also loved that we got to be back with the cast from the past two books and we got to know them even better. I don't want this series to be over!

TW: cheating, abortion

Another foray back to Avalon Bay, this time introducing us to Cassie & Tate. I've enjoyed all of Kennedy's Avalon Bay novels and The Summer Girl was another fun beach romance.

Thank you to SMP Romance for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

DNF: I think I'm probably just getting too old for this author's work, it all felt so juvenile and unnecessarily drama-filled to me. I wasn't the biggest fan of the hero and some of the dated themes that were used, so I struggled to connect. I adore this series' covers and that's probably why I keep coming back for more, but this whole series was a miss for me. Unfortunately, I ended up DNFing and I won't be rushing out to read more from Kennedy anytime soon. This one is definitely meant for younger readers, but most readers that age probably won't appreciate the vibes this story gives off either.

*Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was a fun summer beach read! I loved the premise and our team MCs, Cassie and Tate. I didn't sense the chemistry between them too much and their relationship seemed to be pretty surface level. There was a lot of banter and spice in this one!

However, I am finding that this series seems much more juvenile than the Off-Campus and Briar U series. There was a lot of talk about the size of Cassie's boobs, which was just not needed.

Welcome back to Avalon Bay!

I was so excited to receive the ARC of The Summer Girl by Elle Kennedy because I absolutely love her other books! Elle Kennedy I think you are my summer staple….keep these babies coming! 😉

👏🏼 Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
College student Cassie Soul hasn't spent an entire summer in Avalon Bay in years, not since her parents divorced and her mother spitefully whisked her away to Boston.

Now that her grandmother is selling the boardwalk hotel that's been in their family for five decades, Cassie returns to the quaint beach town to spend time with family, ring in her twenty-first birthday….. and maybe find herself a summer fling. On her first night in town, she finds the perfect candidate: Tate Bartlett, Avalon Bay's fun-loving golden boy.

Tate, sailing instructor and lovable player, is no stranger to flings. In fact, he's always down for a good time. But the moment he meets Cassie, he knows she's not the girl you play games with. The last thing he wants to do is risk breaking her heart, and so he reluctantly puts her in the friend-zone... only to realize he made a huge mistake.

As Cassie and Tate walk the line between friends and lovers, they're about to discover that their situation is the least complicated part of this equation. Because Avalon Bay is full of secrets-and their relationship might not survive when those secrets come to light.

Thoughts:
☀️ All the summer vibes
💕 Loved the characters and their interactions especially between Cassie and Tate.
🌶️ Spicy moments
🎧 Loved the audiobook. Great job Caitlin Elizabeth and Teddy Hamilton
💔 Family drama and a lot of complex/strong friendships and relationships which made the story come together.
📖 A fun, page turner that I could not put down!

The Summer Girl is Elle Kennedy’s latest installment in her Avalon Bay series. She takes a small, sleepy beach town and turns it into a hotbed of found family, steamy moments, and family intrigue. It’s a great book to read while stretched out under a beach umbrella this summer.

4.5/5 stars

Cassie used to live full time in Avalon Bay until her parents’ divorce, and has settled for short visits since. But when she returns for the entire summer before the reopening of her family’s beach hotel, she decides to make the most of her time before her senior year of college. She meets Tate, and decides a summer fling is in order. Tate doesn’t do relationships at all, though, and is afraid she’ll catch feelings. The two become friends, and as they grow closer, their attraction becomes tough to ignore. Add in some of Cassie’s family drama, and she has more on her plate than she bargained for.

Elle Kennedy writes great new adult romance with angst, humor and a bit of spice. Cassie and Tate are intensely likable characters who are fun to spend time with, both together and on their own. And, I always love a book where the characters vow not to catch feelings for each other. Cassie’s overbearing mother adds in her share of conflict, but I enjoyed the interactions with her dad and his family, and how their relationship has changed since she was a child.

The Summer Girl is the third book in the Avalon Bay series, but it easily works as a standalone. Characters from previous books do appear, and I had a blast catching up with Mac, Cooper, Gen, and Evan.

If you like Elle Kennedy’s new adult books, you’ll like this one. It has banter and quips, involved friend groups, overbearing parents and some steamy times too. I enjoyed every minute in Avalon Bay, and this entire series is a great beach read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Cassie grew up in Avalon Bay, but hasn't been back since her parent's divorce. Now her grandmother has sold their family's boardwalk hotel and the new owners have renovated it to look like it did in its glory days. Carrie had returned for the summer to celebrate its reopening, make new friends, and possibly even have a summer fling. When she meets the town's Golden boy Tate Bartlett, there's just something about his easygoing charm that draws her in. He's usually up for a fling, not wanting a serious relationship, but when Cassie asks him, he doesn't want to break her heart. He puts her in the friend zone, offering to help her find a guy, but soon regrets that decision.
This was a great beach read and a great continuation of the Avalon Bay series. I loved the laid back summer vibes, the group gathering for bonfires and drinks. It was good catching up with the previous characters in the series. Cassie and Tate were my favorite couple so far.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Summer Girl is book three of the Avalon Bay series of interconnected standalones. This is by far my favorite of the series! Cassie is back in Avalon Bay to help her grandmother pack up her home so she can go live closer to her family. While she is there she wants to have a summer fling without all the feelings. She just wants to have some fun before she starts her senior year of college. Tate is the town player but when Cassie suggests they have a “friends with benefits” fling, Tate turns her down because he doesn’t want her to catch feelings and get her heart broken. I loved everything about this book…the banter, the angst, the humor, the spice, and the friendships (and getting more of Mac, Cooper, Gen, and Evan). Tate and Cassie are couple goals! I loved the chemistry between them and the sexual tension was there from the get go! I think my favorite part of their relationship was the fun, lighthearted banter between them. It had me laughing out loud several times. However, I wasn’t prepared for the emotions in this book at all! I had to grab a tissue more than once! Overall I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend especially if you are looking for a cute and fun summer read!

Book #3 in the Avalon Bay series...

Great story!! My favorite in the Avalon Bay series. When I first got this ARC, I didn't realize it was the 3rd book in a series. I am so glad that I quickly read the other books in order to prepare for this one.

Gate... I mean... Tate is now in my top 10 for book boyfriends.

I felt all the emotions during this read. There were some intense situations/tropes that would normally turn me off from recommending a book, but this was written well. Never a dull moment.

There was a good mix of characters from the previous books, so I would recommend reading them in order.

The Summer Girl by Elle Kennedy is the third book in the Avalon Bay series.

Tate is a local boy who is laid back, loves to be on the water, and manages to stay friends with his hookups. He's not a relationship guy, and he may just be waiting for what his parents have. When he meets Cassie, he's intrigued by her wit and optimistic attitude, plus she's easy on the eyes. When they keep running into each other, it's hard to ignore his reaction to her. Turning her request down for a summer going might be the biggest mistake ever. As he tries to be a wingman, he's definitely in for a big surpise.
Cassie avoids conflict like it's her job, and she's always looking for the positive spin on things. Her goal when returning to Avalon Bay is to be one of the summer girls, and that means a summer fling. But she's not versed in the nuances and gets easily flustered. When she meets Tate, she feels he's too hot for her. But as they get to know each other, the option for a fling with him becomes a reality. With summers end looming, can they take this fling and make a relationship, or will other parties pull them apart?

I haven’t read the other two in this series, but I love Elle Kennedy and this one was good! It's a quick little spicy summertime read. I really liked the cast of characters and the angst. I recommend if you want something you can read in one sitting without too much brain power. Tate was a swoony MMC.

This might be my favorite Elle Kennedy book yet. I loved the characters and the plot and especially that the third act breakup wasn't super dumb or over played? I really enjoyed reading this and am looking forward to more in this series!

Loved this beautiful, witty, fun, passionate, and heartwarming friends to lovers romance that captured my heart and became my new favorite in this series.

Cassie Soul is back in Avalon Bay staying with her grandmother one last summer before her grandmother moves away. Cassie has decided that she wants to finally have a summer fling, here, where her friends experienced their summer flings over the years. She wants it all, the passion, the giddiness, the exhilarating love affair where you can’t keep your hands off each other. Now she only has to find a worthy candidate. So she goes to a beach party her first night to meet her best friend, and that is where she sees him!

Tate Bartlett has been living in Avalon Bay since he was in junior high. He is the fun-loving golden boy, a sailing instructor and lovable player of the bay and has just been dumped by his friend-with-benefits at a beach party. But then he turns around and sees a beautiful girl has witnessed the entire humiliating experience. But when he sees her again the next day staying next door to the Jackson’s house, where he is house-sitting he is intrigued. These two seem to keep running into each other everywhere, which just pushes the envelope for Cassie to finally ask him to have a fling with her. And his rejection is confidence-crushing.

“But that’s not to say I wasn’t attracted to you. I was. I still am.” “Really?”“Yeah.” There’s a beat. “You have no idea what you do to me.” “Show me.”

But soon, his attraction to Cassie becomes impossible to ignore. And the fling is game on. But as these two become friends with benefits they are in for a big surprise as some secrets of the bay come to light that might ruin everything? Or will they?

I Loved Cassie and Tate’s story! They were perfect together. You DO NOT want to miss this coupling. I swooned hard for Tate! He teaches her to stand up for herself, and how to be honest with people around her. But he also helps her see how beautiful she is inside and out. And the Summer Games of the bay were epic, as characters from past books in this series battle it out for the championship! Loved it!!

Thank you SMP publishing, NetGalley, and Elle Kennedy for the giving me an early copy and this is my honest review.

After all these years of reading Elle Kennedy 's books I DIDN'T SEE it coming. Under fascade of funny summer romance Elle's shattering my heart into million pieces... and I'm gladly letting her do it. The Summer Girl was that good.

Falling in love with Avalon Bay Series was so obvious for me, like breathing, this series is getting better with every next book. Of course they're no exceptions for The Summer Girl. The storytelling is addictive, thanks to Elle's writting it was so easily to slide into this world again- I couldn't put this book down. Tate and Cassie are delivering one of the best fake dating/ friends to lovers romance I've ever read. Action flows seamlessly, the steam is mixed with angst, plus let's not forget about incredibly banter. This book was really everything what I ever hoped for.

Tate is this sweet charmer I remembered from previous book. He's swoon worthy hero, and after reading so many dark romances his character is refreshing ! I adore him with all my heart. Cassie might be a little shy, but that's making her perfect for Tate. She's funny and little awkward. She reminded me a little Grace from The Mistake and I loved it !!!! She's totally my kind of girls, a little nerdy, but beautiful inside out.

The Summer Girl might be sweet and funny but , somewhere between the pages the angst is overwhelming. Unexpected events change Cassie and Tate's life in a way, they cannot deal with. That did break my heart, HOWEVER HEA healed me. It was amazing !

Elle Kennedy is one of my auto read authors! I was obsessed with the Off Campus series so this was a must read for me and it’s based in a small town in the summer, how could it be more perfect

I’ve not read the first two in the Avalon Bay series but now I need to go back and read them after reading Summer Girl! I loved Tate and Cassie and how they got connected. I caught myself laughing out loud at their dialogues and banter. The drama in this book was also so entertaining! The spice had buildable tension with a good mix between plot and spicy scenes! I would recommend this book for an easy, summer beach read!

I couldn't really connect with the characters at all and I feel like we never really get to learn much about them. Cassie's character was okay; I appreciated her character development, though she was quite frustrating in the beginning. Tate, on the other hand, wasn't a very enjoyable character for me. He objectifies Cassie for nearly the whole book and I couldn't tell why they liked each other for anything other than physical reasons. It feels like this book pretty much only talks about Cassie's chest size and the voices were extremely immature and juvenile. Also, to put in plainly, I thought that conflict at the end was entirely random and it actually ruined the book for me. I already didn't love the characters but after that ending, it messed up everything that the story was building up to and it feels like that problem was thrown in just to have a problem for the book (it also made me actually hate certain characters and there was just no fixing it for me). Unfortunately, this book isn't for me.

This is my first Elle Kennedy book and I am a fan!!! This was fun, cute, and I could really feel the connection between Tate and Cassie.
The book kept me engaged and had me at the edge of my seat with the angst.

While I have historically been a huge Elle Kennedy fan, I have really struggled to connect with the Avalon Bay series. The first two books just didn't fire up for me, and I decided that maybe this series just wasn't for me. It happens.

I don't even know why I decided to pick up The Summer Girl - the third book in the series - but holy hannah am I ever glad that I did. This book was so good! This was the Elle Kennedy I've been looking for. The chemistry between Tate and Cassie was an instant connection for me, and I adored their flirty, fun, super sexy romance. Plus - summer vibes make it the perfect beach / summer vacation read.

Also - drama. I wasn't expecting the drama and it was actually a little hard to read in a very cringey way. And by that I mean that the situation - the conflict, if you will - was cringey. There was nothing off about the storytelling or the way it fit into the story. It was a little soapy, but I was here for every minute of it and I found it crazy satisfying.

I also loved the secondary family storylines. Cassie's family struggles really resonated with me, and I loved watching her find herself and carve out healthy family relationships. I also enjoyed Tate's family dynamic - and the bumps and bruises they all took along the way. There is a lot packed into this story - but it never felt like too much.

On top of that, it made me want to revisit the first two books in the series. I enjoyed the appearances by previous couples and the dynamic between them.

In the end, The Summer Girl was a flirty, fun, deliciously dirty summer read for me and I'm so glad I gave Avalon Bay another chance. Cassie and Tate were worth every minute spent between these pages!

5/5 ⭐
3/5 🌶️

I wasn't sure exactly how I was going to feel about this book heading in... I liked the first two Avalon Bay books, but they didn't have the same magic that her Off Campus series had. However, it feels like Elle got her groove back, because this book may be my favorite of hers! I absolutely loved the storyline and these characters. Add in the fact that Teddy Hamilton voiced Tate and this audiobook was an absolute dream to listen too. He did such a fantastic job (as always) and I really loved Caitlin Elizabeth too. She wasn't my favorite at first, but she quickly grew on me and I loved these two narrators together.

I loved that Tate wasn't a true playboy, not really. He enjoyed sleeping around prior to this story, but the truth was deep down he was just looking for a love like his parents had. I think it helped that this was a friends to lovers story too, we really got to know Tate before him and Cassy dived into their fling.

Cassy's issues with her parents about broke my heart. This one had me tearing up a little at the end as Cassy finally found out how a mom is truly supposed to act. Her mother is absolutely vile in the beginning of this story and it made me want to scream. The situation with her dad and stepmom also had me breaking, she just felt so unloved and unwanted for so long. She's a strong woman to go through what she had and be as amazing as she was.

I was not expecting the third act to go the way it did. But I really enjoyed how it all came back together in the end. These two were meant to be and their relationship was so special. This story had me laughing and tearing up so often, I just loved it and now I'm officially excited to head back to Avalon Bay again soon.

I loved this storyline! I read Bad Girl Reputation last year and it was not my favourite (I still need to read Good Girl Complex), so I’m glad this one has helped me with loving Avalon Bay. The characters are still extremely young (it’s New Adult and they’re college age, with a virginity plot line), but I did get into it pretty quickly.

There was sooo much going on here - major family issues, selling family homes and businesses and spending one last hoorah on the island, learning about long-ago infidelity and that parents perhaps are real people with real feelings, too. Some are good people, some are irredeemable.

There’s a ton of character development as we go through this one - both main characters are on great personal journeys and I really enjoyed how much they grew up and learned about themselves in such a short summer. While there was drama and heartache involved, it wasn’t a tearjerker to get to the end and I appreciated the whole experience.

A definite recommendation and I of course recommend the audio version, as always! Narrated by Caitlin Elizabeth, who was a great Cassie Soul, returned to her hometown for the summer (aka The Summer Girl), and the magnificent Teddy Hamilton as Tate Bartlett, the playboy neighbour. Teddy was brilliant, as always!

I received an advance read and listen copy from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press (St. Martin's Griffin), and Macmillan Audio, and this is my honest feedback.