During the summer time, when the sun shines (or should be shining), I like to read books that are set at the beach, that take place during that season. Sometimes, I want something sweet and nice, I want to be swept off my feet. Other times, I´m ready for a surprise…But I need to feel the breeze and the sun and taste the ice cream.
I´ve been reading quite a few books that fit the bill…So here´s my first Summer Books Loving post.
Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland
Publication Date: May 7th, 2013
For Cricket Thompson, a summer like this one will change everything. A summer spent on Nantucket with her best friend, Jules Clayton, and the indomitable Clayton family. A summer when she’ll make the almost unattainable Jay Logan hers. A summer to surpass all dreams. Some of this turns out to be true. Some of it doesn’t. When Jules and her family suffer a devastating tragedy that forces the girls apart, Jules becomes a stranger whom Cricket wonders whether she ever really knew. And instead of lying on the beach working on her caramel-colored tan, Cricket is making beds and cleaning bathrooms to support herself in paradise for the summer. But it’s the things Cricket hadn’t counted on–most of all, falling hard for someone who should be completely off-limits–that turn her dreams into an exhilarating, bittersweet reality. A beautiful future is within her grasp, and Cricket must find the grace to embrace it. If she does, her life could be the perfect shade of Nantucket blue
Book review: Thank you NetGalley and Disney Hyperion for the e-galley of this book. It´s another one of those summer books that in my view takes you a bit by surprise. Cricket isn´t your usual type of narrator because she´s not the one the tragedy happens to. At least not directly. And I found that a change from what I read in the past. She´s the best friend. But that comes to show that tragedies affect people in different manners…Cricket can also be selfish and a bit infuriating. But in my view, that also made her a well-rounded character because I didn´t disconnect with her when that happened. And I think here lays the magic of a book, when you know you want to spend the highs and the lows with a character. The romance was sweet, not totally unexpected. I saw it coming but it still made my heart beat faster. I know I´ll be picking up the next book.
This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2013
If fate sent you an email, would you answer? When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O’Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds. Then Graham finds out that Ellie’s Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media’s spotlight at all costs?
Book review: I absolutely adored The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight and wasn´t disappointed by This Is What Happy Looks Like. While reading, I found myself smiling and rooting for the main characters. That and I´ve been wanting to go to Maine ever since finishing this book. It has everything I look for when dreaming about the summer: the water, the small town, characters I would love to be friends with, and a story that holds its own, that doesn´t compromise but is still full of sweets and butterflies. Sometimes, in those type of stories, the characters become simply another version of a well versed model. Graham and Ellie feel like people. Graham has a pet pig. Ellie has dreams and quirks and her relationship with her mother just felt “real.” Everyone around them doesn´t feel “added” to the story but has part of it. Personally, Jennifer E. Smith is a must-buy author for me and one I know to turn to when I want to work on my craft.
Have you read a book that transported you to a new place recently?
Elodie Nowodazkij 
Read and loved both of these. Summery romances are the best! I’m going to review NANTUCKET BLUE on Wednesday and, like you, I thought that Cricket was very real, flaws and all.
I haven’t read NANTUCKET BLUE yet, but I recently read THIS IS WHAT HAPPY LOOKS LIKE and thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought it was a great follow up to THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT and I’m looking forward to whatever Jennifer E. Smith writes next! Glad you liked it too, Elodie!
I loved THIS IS WHAT HAPPY LOOKS LIKE. Such a fun, cute book, and I especially loved the seaside venue. I think NANTUCKET BLUE will definitely appeal to me too, and for similar reasons. This time of year I can’t get enough contemporary, probably because so many of them are set at or near the beach. Great reviews, Elodie! 🙂
ugh – my TBR pile just expanded again!! Thanks for sharing your great reviews of these books.
I really want to read both of these! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed them both. 🙂