Elle Kennedy

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. Cassie is gorgeous, hilarious, and, frankly, the coolest person he’s ever met. 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. Soon, his attraction to Cassie becomes impossible to ignore. He wants that fling now. Big-time.

And maybe even something more.

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.

(An Avalon Bay Novel, #3)

The Summer Girl

Sidney Schaffner

i had a blast! surprisingly, it was not as spicy as the first two books from the series, and the romance was not toxic, either. overall, it touches a lot of elements about family, self-confidence and i am happy that the main female character managed to find a found family within the group of the avalon bay girls. their overall interaction was wholesome ♡

lea.

Kenzi Linton

3.5/5 stars

I was able to read this for free thanks to Net Galley, although that does not affect my opinion of the actual book. I’ll be honest and admit that it took me a second to get into this book, however as I continued to read the book, my interest grew. There’s something about Elle Kennedy and how she is able to capture a readers attention. While the ending wasn’t necessarily my favorite and there were parts I struggled to read due to it being a bit triggering to past memories, I did enjoy the book. It brought new moments of the Hartley twins, of Mackenzie and Genevieve. It allowed me to learn more about Tate, who becomes the main character, rather than someone on the sidelines, like the last two books in the series.

I always enjoy books from Elle Kennedy! This was no exception, but it wasn’t better than the first books from this ‘serie’. It was cute and i liked the characters (tate was sweet, also cassie’s father and sepsiblings where great!), but other than that not much happend.

Emma Kamer

Alissa Maloney

This summer read had a great beachy bonfire feel and Cassie and Tate had a fun first meeting and they only get better. The character growth and drama are interesting. I was able to guess most of the twists but there was still one that sort of snuck by me. 😂

I'm looking forward to more Avalon Bay books!

Thank you #Netgalley for this ARC of The Summer Girl.

While I have read several books by Elle Kennedy in the past, I hadn't read one from the Avalon series, but it didn't disappoint! The overall story follows Cassie, a girl visiting her grandmother who is selling the family hotel over the summer. In her attempt to be a "normal" summer girl, she is determined to have a summer fling, and her first attempt is her next-door neighbor, Tate. Golden-boy in his own right, Tate wants to do the right thing, and he sets out to help Cassie instead on her search for passion, but soon questions if anyone but him can do the job.

At first, the plot seems fairly superficial: It's summer, and everyone is looking to hook up. While my expectations for a deep plot were not high, Elle Kennedy somehow is able to lace a really interesting story into this romance through Cassie's family and surrounding community. It was truly this underlying story of Cassie navigating her parents lives after the haze of their divorce that kept me hooked with this story and wanting to read more. There was also a twist that I NEVER saw coming but, nevertheless, was incredibly plausible. I feel that its hard to be able to pull off a twist of that nature in a romance novel. Speaking of romance, Tate and Cassie definitely had chemistry! While their insta-love meeting felt a bit ridiculous at the start, they soon developed a good rapport. In fact, they had good flirting banter that had me chuckling at points especially when Tate is "helping" Cassie find a date. There were also multiple spice scenes that felt like maybe I shouldn't be reading due to the nature of their intimacy. Since its difficult to be discreet, I'll just say, the cutesie cover is deceiving, folks! The one drawback thought is that the constant back and forth of "Will they? Won't they?" dragged on a bit too long. At a certain point, it was no longer a good tension, but a frustrating strain. It could just be that I wanted to see them as a happy relationship that I struggled.

As for characters, I really appreciated that the book was dual POV. I got to see both Tate and Cassie's thoughts on the same event which was fun to compare. While I really enjoyed Cassie's narrative and found her likable and relatable, I really loved her best friend. She was funny, wild, and the perfect balance to the book. I honestly wished she could have been in it more. That is all to say that the supporting characters are just a well done as the main characters. This could be due to the fact that other characters from the Avalon series pop up that it feels so fleshed out. While it isn't necessary to read the other books in the series, their inclusion made me want to snag the next one!

Overall, this was the perfect beach read. It has a good blend of romance (watch out for those spicy scenes, ya'll!), drama, and heartfelt goodness. I would recommend it to anyone who is wanting a light read that packs some kick.

*Special thanks to Netgalley for sending me an advanced copy!

Kendall V

While I have read several books by Elle Kennedy in the past, I hadn't read one from the Avalon series, but it didn't disappoint! The overall story follows Cassie, a girl visiting her grandmother who is selling the family hotel over the summer. In her attempt to be a "normal" summer girl, she is determined to have a summer fling, and her first attempt is her next-door neighbor, Tate. Golden-boy in his own right, Tate wants to do the right thing, and he sets out to help Cassie instead on her search for passion, but soon questions if anyone but him can do the job.

At first, the plot seems fairly superficial: It's summer, and everyone is looking to hook up. While my expectations for a deep plot were not high, Elle Kennedy somehow is able to lace a really interesting story into this romance through Cassie's family and surrounding community. It was truly this underlying story of Cassie navigating her parents lives after the haze of their divorce that kept me hooked with this story and wanting to read more. There was also a twist that I NEVER saw coming but, nevertheless, was incredibly plausible. I feel that its hard to be able to pull off a twist of that nature in a romance novel. Speaking of romance, Tate and Cassie definitely had chemistry! While their insta-love meeting felt a bit ridiculous at the start, they soon developed a good rapport. In fact, they had good flirting banter that had me chuckling at points especially when Tate is "helping" Cassie find a date. There were also multiple spice scenes that felt like maybe I shouldn't be reading due to the nature of their intimacy. Since its difficult to be discreet, I'll just say, the cutesie cover is deceiving, folks! The one drawback thought is that the constant back and forth of "Will they? Won't they?" dragged on a bit too long. At a certain point, it was no longer a good tension, but a frustrating strain. It could just be that I wanted to see them as a happy relationship that I struggled.

As for characters, I really appreciated that the book was dual POV. I got to see both Tate and Cassie's thoughts on the same event which was fun to compare. While I really enjoyed Cassie's narrative and found her likable and relatable, I really loved her best friend. She was funny, wild, and the perfect balance to the book. I honestly wished she could have been in it more. That is all to say that the supporting characters are just a well done as the main characters. This could be due to the fact that other characters from the Avalon series pop up that it feels so fleshed out. While it isn't necessary to read the other books in the series, their inclusion made me want to snag the next one!
Overall, this was the perfect beach read. It has a good blend of romance (watch out for those spicy scenes, ya'll!), drama, and heartfelt goodness. I would recommend it to anyone who is wanting a light read that packs some kick.
*Special thanks to Netgalley for sending me an advanced copy!

The Summer Girl (An Avalon Bay Novel, #3)

Reviews