I really enjoyed Cassie and Tate in this story and there were some hilarious moments that had me cackling! I also loved seeing Cassie's growth as she started to stick up for herself more. I was not expecting all the family drama in this book I thought it was overall pretty interesting. I wasn't a huge fan of the third act breakup because it was majorly selfish of Gemma to ask her son to breakup with a girl he loves because his father cheated on her with the girl's mom. Like you chose to forgive your husband you don't get to take your unresolved feelings out on your son and his girlfriend

This book felt young and I completely mean that as a compliment. It’s so rare to read characters in their early twenties (20-23) that really seem their age. It was very refreshing!

I had a great time reading this one and definitely recommend it if you want to feel like you’re hanging out with your college friends and having the best summer ever…if they were all millionaires with summer houses anyway.

Listening to Taylor Swift all week was the perfect mood for this book.

Tate is the hottest guy in town (obviously), in Avalon Bay where he teaches sailing to rich vacationers. Cassie is a romantic-hearted virgin (but not done in an annoying way) looking for a summer fling. He doesn’t do relationships (of course not) but he’s complete mush for Cassie and it’s adorable. They try to be just friends because they’re neighbors and she’s only a summer girl…but that obviously doesn’t work.

They are such a sweet, romantic couple and I really loved how their relationship progressed. I was all emotional about their happy ending.

Elle Kennedy did a great job with the characters and the family relationships. I felt so much for what Cassie was going through with both of her parents. Her mom is a narcissist and her behavior was spot on.

The spice is there but not graphic. You know what they’re doing, but it’s not very descriptive. Weirdly, it felt appropriate to their age even though I’ve read extremely spicy books with the same age characters and didn’t mind at all. I guess Cassie just seemed so naive that it worked best this way.

It’s the perfect book to recommend to younger romance readers! It felt like what “new adult” books should be.

It’s part of a series but I didn’t read the others and it wasn’t needed

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a really cute YA summer romance ! It was very light, but also had some interesting themes. I liked the characters and their relationship. I liked how they communicated throughout the book. I don't think it was a favourite but it was definitely good and I think a lot of people would enjoy it!

I loved this story! Makes me want to go to the beach for a summer fling. The characters were relatable and predictable, yet not. The romance was building. Characters had conflicts, resolutions. All and all I thought this was a well written summer fling love story, it was fun and makes me want to read the rest of the Avalon Bay series!

There’s nothing better than reading a series that’s set in a beach town, in the summer, on the beach. It makes me feel like I’m right there with the characters, experiencing everything right along with them. Especially the Avalon Bay crew.

Even though the first two books are focused on the Hartley twins, we get to know their friends really well along the way. So I really enjoyed the switch from the twins, to one of their friends. Tate was adorable; I loved reading his POV and getting an inside look at his relationship with his family & his life. It took me a little while to get into Cassie’s character at first. But once the layers started to peel off and you learned more about the reason behind her quirks and her background, I ended up really liking and understanding her. It was a slower paced read, but I enjoyed it! Definitely perfect for the beach! 4 ⭐️s

Avalon Bay how I've missed you! The third book in the series did not disappoint and reminds me again just how much I enjoy reading Elle Kennedy's books.

I absolutely loved the chemistry and banter between Cassie and Tate. The sweet girl next door and the ultimate playboy, yet together it just feels right. Possible summer fling, turn friends, turn jealous wing man who actually maybe does want more than he thought he could give.

This is the perfect summer read to add to your collection, and overall just a fun little getaway.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital copy for my honest review.

And she does it again! This author doesn’t disappoint!!! I read the book before so it’s awesome to see the crossover between characters.

We meet Cassie who goes to Avalon Bay sometimes, but this summer she decides that she wants a summer fling and she finds the perfect person. He’s the biggest flirt in town, Tate, and when she tells him that she wants to fling with him, he is taken aback and decides to just be friends, he became the perfect wingman and this friends to lovers trope was perfect!!

Not only do we get HEAVY family drama, we get also some secrets revealed that can break everything up. Not only did this book give me a “coming of age” feel when it comes to Cassie, it was also so heartwarming. It’s a perfect summer read.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This was great! I was a little worried about picking up this book since I have not yet read the first two books in the Avalon Bay series but it was great as a stand-alone so there was no need to worry. Of course, I enjoyed this book so much that I feel like I need to go back and read the first two as soon as possible. I enjoyed every moment that I spent with Cassie and Tate!

Cassie and Tate were both wonderful characters and I felt that they absolutely belonged to each other. The banter between them was well done and I loved the chemistry that they shared. I liked getting to watch Cassie and Tate deal with their family issues and appreciated the way that they supported each other. I couldn’t wait to see them figure out a way to work things out.

Caitlin Elizabeth and Teddy Hamilton did a great job with this book. I thought that their voices complimented each other incredibly well. I loved the way that they were each able to bring the characters to life and add just the right amount of emotion to their reading. I couldn’t put this audiobook down once I started listening and believe that their narration took the story to the next level.

I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a wonderful romance featuring characters that were easy to fall for. I cannot wait to read the earlier books in this wonderful series.

I received a review copy of this book from St. Martin’s Griffin and Macmillan Audio.

I really liked this story a lot! A new adult novel is Elle K’s sweet spot and she does a great job with the cinnamon rolll/playboy male characters. The chemistry between the two was spot on and I couldn’t wait to see how their relationship was going to progress.

Oh how I've missed Avalon Bay <3

Elle Kennedy does it again. Another sweet and spicy little romance in a quaint little beach town with the perfect amount of romantic build up and lots of humour scattered throughout.

Cassie was super sweet, and her self esteem issues were easily forgivable once the reader was able to meet her monster of a mother. It was hard not rooting for her as a FMC. She was funny, sweet, caring, and even though she had a hard time standing up for herself it was nice watching her back bone grow in as the story progressed.

Tate on the other hand was a well known playboy but my goodness he is one of the sweetest MMC's I've ever read. His 'perfect' parents raised a great kid and it was so nice seeing him help break Cassie out of her shell and slowly break down his own walls. At one point he shed LITERAL tears while listening to Cassie share her emotional traumas. TEARS. What an angel.

Lydia Tanner is the GOAT and I would do despicable things to have her as my own grandmother, but Victoria on the other hand was a horrendous beast. I understand her purpose to the story but she was horrid to read about. Even when she went on her nice streak I just had the feeling that something bad would happen and I was not wrong. Monster.

This is one of the odd cases where the FMC and the MMC don't necessarily do anything wrong to cause their demise, and as sad as it made me I completely understood given the circumstance.

But not to worry dear readers, this has a HEA after all !

I will forever be obsessed with Kennedys ability to make me fall for characters. I don't think I've read a single book of hers where there wasn't been a smile plastered to my face. I want to live in Avalon bay even though I don't know the first thing about sailboats and I hate hot weather.

4.5 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for the early copy!
Can't wait to add this one to my shelf :)

4.25⭐
Genre ~ New Adult Romance
Series ~ Avalon Bay, #3
Others in the series ~ Good Girl Complex, Bad Girl Reputation ~ fine as a standalone, but previous book characters make appearances
Publication date ~ July 18, 2023
Page Count ~ 392
Audio length ~ 12 hours 9 minutes
Narrators ~ Caitlin Elizabeth, Teddy Hamilton
POV ~ dual 1st
Featuring ~ characters in their 20's, play boy, virgin, neighbors to lovers, friends to lovers, summer fling, minimal steamage, side character infidelity, toxic parent

Cassie & Tate
Cassie is on break and spending the summer with her grandma, Lydia. I love reading about grandmother/granddaughter relationships. They had a great bond and it makes me miss my grandma.
She's a virgin and looking for a summer fling to gain some experience. Who better than the gorgeous guy that is house sitting right next door.

Tate is known as a playboy and doesn't do relationships, so it seems like a no brainer to accept Cassie's proposition for a summer fling. But he has reservations when he gets to know her because she just doesn't seem like the fling type to him.

These two were really cute when they were together. They had great banter and chemistry, and were both so sweet. I really liked seeing Tate's emotional side and Cassie's big news at the end was perfect.

The 20 year old side characters were more mature than one of the adults. She was so mean to Cassie, and really everyone around her. Did I like the 3rd act breakup? Nah, I never do, but I can kind of see why it had to happen, but did I need the side plot that caused it? Not really.

Overall, this was good fun and my favorite of the series.

I was fortunate enough to have a kindle and an audio copy.
Narration notes ~ Caitlin's voice sounded perfect for her 20 year old character. I've listened to Teddy narrate many times and it doesn't appear that he's worked on his lady voice, oof.

So this was my first read by Elle Kennedy and now I cannot wait to read more of her books! It was a fun, summer beach read, and I loved it! Cassie goes back to Avalon Bay for the first summer in years. Her grandmother is selling the boardwalk hotel and moving to Boston to be closer to the family, so this is Cassie’s last chance to spend the summer in the Bay and have a summer fling. On her first night she meets her first fling candidate - Tate Bartlett. Tate is an adorable nice guy and all the girls love him- as soon as he meets Cassie he tries his best to friend-zone her. I really loved the main characters. Cassie has been through a lot in her life as a result of her parent's divorce and her mother's nasty tendencies. She has built up walls to protect herself from the neglect and insensitive comments, but, Tate helps her find her strength to finally stand up for herself. I also loved the relationship between Cassie and her grandmother, Cassie's relationship with her twin sisters was too cute!

I've been enjoying reading the Avalon Bay series and so was really excited to get an advanced copy of The Summer Girl from netgalley! I won't say this was my favorite book in the series but I did enjoy reading it and I loved seeing familiar characters from the previous books. Cassie is back in Avalon Bay for the summer for the first time in years. Her grandmother is selling her house and hotel which makes this Cassie's last chance to spend the summer in the area and she is hoping to find the perfect candidate for a summer fling before returning to school. She thinks she has found the perfect guy for the job, Tate Bartlett. Tate, while no stranger to no strings attached hookups realizes that Cassie is not the kind of girl to play those kinds of games with so instead agrees to be her wingman and help her find the perfect candidate for a fling. Despite his best efforts to put Cassie in the friend zone, he finds that his attraction to her is becoming difficult to ignore. Aside from the romance, this book also highlights the struggles each character has within their family dynamics and worked to make the story more interesting. Overall this was a fun read and I look forward to reading more from Elle Kennedy in the future.

💭 𝕄𝕪 𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤:

⛵ Another first author for me. Though I thought this story was really really cute, I'm not sure it was for me. Reading about people (though fictional) who were 15+ years younger than me, just didn't compute. I know this is a generational thing so no knocks on Elle for that it just had too many vulger references and language for me.

⛱️ I had always wanted to read a book out of a series on it's own so I did that here and I think this book can definitely stand on it's own. Maybe if I had read the rest of the Avalon Bay series, I would have enjoyed it more. A thought for the future.

🩴 I liked the Summer feel of this book. I definitely did have that feeling that I did want to keep picking the book up. Tate and Cassie were fun characters.

Unfortunately Summer Girl is not a book I would recommend. I was excited to read it since I had recently read The Deal by Elle Kennedy, and enjoyed it. However, I found the characters were underdeveloped and I didn't really connect with them. Even the side characters, who had their own books previously in the series, felt incredibly one dimensional and unlikable in this book. Initially the characters were not supposed to date, and I felt the reason for that was so flimsy it didn't make sense. Later, there was a lot of time dedicated to some beach competition that I just did not find engaging or care about. I did like that the main male character seemed largely unproblematic and like a good person. I would give Elle Kennedy another try but I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book.

Cute, silly, and fun. Didn’t LOVE it but I can definitely see the appeal and I know Elle Kennedy has some major fans out there! Summer Girl is consistent with the rest of the Avalon Bay series

I was enjoying the Avalon Bay series before, but WOW this one is officially my favourite, and one of my favourite reads of this year.

Cassie is back in Avalon Bay for the first summer in years. Her grandmother is selling the boardwalk hotel and moving to the city, so this is Cassie’s last chance to spend the summer in the Bay and hopefully find herself a summer fling. On her first night she meets the person fling candidate - Tate Bartlett. Tate may be no stranger to a fling, but he is a really nice guy- and the moment he meets Cassie he knows she is not the type to play games with. Although Tate tries his best to friend-zone her, Cassie is hard to ignore.

This is the type of book you can read in one sitting, and I almost did- till real life gets in the way. I adored the character in this book. Tate and Cassie have so much chemistry and their adorable banter and nicknames, just made it even more better. Although some of the language made me cringe a bit, and the word ‘fling’ was used sooo much, I still couldn’t keep myself from smiling during the whole duration of this book.

This book doesn’t only have romance, I feel the struggles with family dynamics was written really well, and I really enjoyed reading familiar characters from the other Avalon Bay books.

Overall I wish this book could have been twice as long, because I enjoyed it so much.

Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

3.5 stars
I have read every one of the Avalon Bay series and every single one of them were just average. I like small town romances and the way characters weave in and out of all the books, but the books as a whole don't impact my life in any way. They are entertaining enough to hold my attention but not enough to really hold any substantial opinion.

Okay its fun... but very silly. A bunch of very young kids (college age-ish) whose personalities are based off of boobs and how much they like boobs. Immature dialogue... it felt like they were kids trying to talk about sex the way they think grownups should talk about it. The conflict at the end of the book was ridiculous and that whole character was overdone.

There was not quite enough world building for me in this cute beach town, and the characters lacked depth. And yet.... yet... I didn't mind it overall. It was fun. What can I say?!

“The need to belong is deeply ingrained in us. I think it’s because there’s no worse feeling in the world than being on the outside looking in.”

The Summer Girl by Elle Kennedy
Pub Date: July 18th, 2023
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟(5/5)
Spice: 🌶🌶🌶(3/5)

Review:

Cassandra Turner grew up in Avalon bay until her parents messy divorce. She then moved to Boston with her narcissistic mother. But this summer she decides to spend the summer back in the bay with her grandmother and looking for a fling.

Tate Bartlett moved to Avalon bay from Georgia when he was 10. He has his crew, his summer jobs, and his hook ups all lined up for the summer. That is until Cassie catches him being broken up with at the start of summer party.

Wow. Elle Kennedy is a genius writer. This was my first Avalon bay book but now I MUST go read the other two. Without spoiling too much Cassie and Tate are the perfect fling but feels grow and it just feels so natural.

This book is an easy beach read. Would have finished it in two days if I was on the beach. Makes me want to take a trip to Avalon Bay!


If you like:
- Sailing
- Split Perspectives
- Summer Flings
- Sea (beach) Reads

QOTD: What is your favorite beach destination?

Thank you to Net Galley and
St. Martins Press for proving me with an eARC of this novel.