She was looking for a summer fling and she approached the resident hookup guy but gets friend-zoned. Unbeknownst to her, he though friends-zoning her would help keep his feelings at bay but it had the opposite effect and now he can’t imagine not spending time with her.

I really liked the growth Cassie had throughout the story especially dealing with her relationship with her parents and having the tough conversations. I don’t think she ever would have had those conversations if it wasn’t for Tate’s encouragement in her owning her own strength and feelings. Tate is so genuine in his actions and his positivity and his feelings for Cassie. I liked that they both felt the most like themselves and comfortable around each other without going through any big charades. I enjoyed the cameos of the couples from the previous two books and the antics at the beach games.


Thank you @ellekennedy33 @stmartinspress and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

I did not realize this was a series until I was about a quarter of the way through and made the connection (I totally didn't catch that and I totally should have) but the author does a really good job at catching you up, so I didn't feel like I missed anything. I loved Cassie, thought her story was perfect for a 21 year old still figuring herself out, and I thought the story itself was really really cute. What did miss for me was Tate, at least at first, and not in a really really bad way, but more of a "gosh man, get it together" kinda way, although he did end up.. well, you can read it and see for yourself.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC

i think i’d give this a 4.5 actually, i liked it way more than i was ever expecting to. i really enjoyed the different relationships and dynamics, especially between cass and nia. i loveee tate. this was a cute (and angsty) summer book, that just so happens to take place in a fictional south carolina beach town. i can never escape. looking forward to going back and reading the previous two.

thanks to NetGalley and publishers for the ARC.

Cassie is spending the summer in Avalon Bay and looking for a fling. Enter Tate, the perfect candidate. Unfortunately, he friend zones her before anything can happen and offers to be her wing man instead. The more time they spend together, their chemistry heats up and Tate starts to regret his initial decision. The friends to lovers lane may not be as easy as planned though when some family drama and secrets come to light.

Cassie was a sweetheart. Tate was just ok at first, but he grew on me. The more he stepped in to comfort Cassie and help her see how incredible she was won him some points. Although, I wish there had maybe been a bit more angst and jealousy from Tate. I wanted him to stew in his wrong decision for a little bit longer haha.

I will say, this book covered some heavy topics. Divorce, narcissistic parent, body shaming, gaslighting, and cheating to name a few. These issues were woven well into the story line. I especially connected Cassie's thoughts on her parent's divorce and the resulting emotional turmoil of one parent starting a new family and feeling left behind. For an anticipated light read, this insight into Cassie's character felt real and raw. The final drama reveal that split Cassie and Tate apart in the third act break-up screamed Bravo-esque drama to me. While it may not appeal to everyone, I was ready for some big drama to shake the story up!

I enjoyed this book while reading it, but I know it's not going to be one that sticks with me. I'd recommend the Avalon Series for anyone wanting a fun and spicy series.

This is the perfect summer beach read. Relaxing, enjoyable, and goes super quick. You don’t need to read the other books in the series to enjoy this one. I loved the chemistry between the two main characters and the family drama.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This story is the third installment in the Avalon Bay series and it did not disappoint! I thoroughly enjoyed the chemistry and banter between Cassie and Tate and the dual POV flowed effortlessly. This book captured so many elements that I crave in a great read, and although I did not care for the conflict near the end - I did enjoy that it was resolved rather quickly.

What really worked for me was the realistic aspects of divorce, betrayal, and how families move on and heal (or don’t) when they break. The relationship and feelings involved between parents, step-parents, and children who came before and after was really appreciated.

What didn’t work as well for me was that I had to keep reminding myself that we were dealing with people in their early twenties. The writing had a very high school vibe to me, but it wasn’t enough to bring down my star rating.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend. It’s a fun, quick read with great banter and some spice.

I was really sad to not have another Hartley twin to read about.. but that went away very quickly for me. Tate and Cassie have chemistry, but he becomes her wingman to help her find her summer fling.

I love how awkward Cassie is and how Tate teases her. I love their nicknames for each other. I love that they tried to put off the inevitable… and clearly lost lol. I really enjoyed this whole book!

College student Cassie Soul is back in her childhood hometown of Avalon Bay, spending one last summer with her grandmother and hoping to find herself a summer fling. Enter Tate Bartlett. He’s a local sailing instructor, lovable playboy and is allergic to commitment. However Tate friend-zones Cassie almost immediately; he thinks she’s the type to develop feeling and he has no desire for a relationship. But as their friendship grows and Cassie starts “flinging” with someone else, state realizes he may have made the biggest mistake of his life not claiming her as his own.

I love anything Elle Kennedy and The Summer Girl was no different. This was such fun love story that had me laughing out loud at points, but Elle was also able to weave in a surprisingly deep subplot surrounding Cassie’s family. Definitely recommend picking this up for a beach read this summer!

Loved the book. This is my first by this author. A great quick summer beach read, The pages just kept turning. The spice was on point, just enough, not too much. I’m sure I’ll read more by this author.

This is a rom-com, mature coming of age book. The story is of a young girl (20-21) who is spending time with her grandmother as the grandmother gets ready to move from a coastal town to Boston. This young decides to have a summer fling, however this book is about her personal growth during the summer. She learns how to come into herself by standing up for herself, actually talking and influencing how she wants her relationships to be in her life. I enjoyed the humor and warmth of this book. Thank NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to pre-read this story.

I could not love Cassie and Tate more! This story is summer reading perfection and I am now convinced I will literally read Elle Kennedy’s grocery list. Everything she writes I just fall in love with! The steam, the character connections, the side pilots, gosh I just love it all!

Go read this and and the others in the series!

I was so excited to read this book — Elle Kennedy is an auto-buy for me. I loved the first two books in this series, but this one fell a bit flat for me.

Cassie returns to Avalon Bay and is hoping to have a summer fling. She gets wrapped up in the drama of her divorced parents, her grandmother who is selling the family home, and trying to heal from childhood traumas.

Tate is the town playboy who catches Cassie’s eye. He comes from a strong family and he is just trying to live in his dad’s shadow.

I did love the development of Cassie and Tate’s friendship, but it lacked the heart wrenching depth that I am used to from Elle Kennedy. It was very slow and then VERY fast.

I did love how a lot of the plot points wrapped up together near the end, but I also think that the book could have been longer.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC uh exchange for an honest review.

Definitely predicting this to be a summer hit! It's the perfect book to sit on the beach, or your couch, and read. I loved the characters and the storyline. So good!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

unfortunately this book was def not for me. i wasn’t necessarily a fan of either character but especially tate. literally all he talked about was Cassie’s boobs and how hot she was. i’ve also never been a fan of the trope when one character decides they know what’s best for the other and that was like 50% of this book. additionally, considering how much time we built up before the sex it seemed a little bland.

i just don’t think this book was the one for me but if you’re a elle kennedy fan then i can definitely see you enjoying this book! thank you so much to Netgalley and St Martins Griffins Publishing for sending me this arc! all opinions are my own.

Omg I loved this book! I’ve been reading Elle’s books since The Dare originally came out and I love this new series.. I had to take my time with this one a bit because I related to the main character on a personal level and some of her situations were wrecking me. It was such a fun summer read and just made me wish I could run away to a small town and live the beach life for a summer

I loved being back in Avalon Bay and I really enjoyed the couple of Tate and Cassie.

Similar to the first too, it’s a perfect summer read filled with lots of steam. It also had a pretty good twist in this one too.

Where it lacked for me was that it felt a bit “preachy” at times. I think some of the points could have been integrated in a better way.

Thank you to NetGallery and St. Martin’s Griffith for this eARC!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for letting me read this ARC in exchange for a review. I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish!

What first attracted me to this story was the author, Elle Kennedy. I regret to say that I’d never read anything written by here before this book but having seen her name all over bookstagram, I was sure I’d love her books. (I’ll be diving into the rest of them shortly!)

The Summer Girl is technically the third book in the Avalon Bay series but, having never read the others in the series, I’d say it could be read as a stand-alone or as a great introduction to the main characters from the other stories within this world. I was hooked from the first chapter and felt as though the characters were relatable and so much fun to follow. The banter between Tate and Cassie was just absolute perfection. I loved that, as the reader, you could see the chemistry between the characters was so strong right from the beginning. I’m a huge fan of the friends to lovers trope and how quickly Tate jumped to push Cassie into standing up for herself in all areas of her life.

Cassie’s life away from Avalon Bay was not easy and, god, her mother is quite the narcissistic pain in Cassie’s life. Every interaction with her mother left me furious but it left me rooting for Cassie to push back. Overall, this was one of those books that sucked you right into the world and once you finish, you’ll need a little bit of time to adjust once it’s over. Good thing I’ve got two more to start to bring me back to Avalon Bay right away!!

I absolutely loved our MCs and could read three more books about what they tackle later in life. If you love a swoony romance, this is for you. I think my favorite part of this was, believe it or not, the conflict. It was believable. It made sense. I got it. I loved it and the resolutions.

Thank you to Elle Kennedy, St. Martin Press, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

What a great summer read! Not your typical summer fling story. I laughed and I cried. This was my first book from Elle Kennedy, and I can't wait to go back and read the previous books in the series.

Thank you to Elle Kennedy, St. Martin Press, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is the third book in the Avalon Bay series. Just like the other 2, this one was so good. I loved both Cassie and Tate. The way he encouraged her to stand up for herself was amazing! We all want a man that encourages us, don't we?

One thing I didn't like was the body shaming. Overall this was a good read.