The Boys of Summer (Summer #1)
by C.J. Duggan
Release Date:
12/17/12
294 pages
It seemed only natural to
nickname them the ‘OnslowBoys’. Every time they swaggered in the front
door of the Onslow Hotel after a hard week’s work, their laughter was loud and
genuine as they settled onto their bar stools. I peeked through the restaurant
partition, a flimsy divider between my world and theirs. I couldn’t help but
smile whenever I saw them, saw him ... Toby
Morrison.
Quiet seventeen-year-old
Tess doesn’t relish the thought of a summertime job. She wants nothing
more than to forget the past haunts of high school and have fun
with her best friends before the dreaded Year Twelve begins. To Tess, summer is
when everything happens: riding bikes down to the lake, watching the
fireworks at the Onslow Show and water bomb fights at the sweltering Sunday
markets.
How did she let her
friends talk her into working?
After first-shift disasters,
rude, wealthy tourists and a taunting ex-boyfriend, Tess is convinced nothing
good can come of working her summer away.
However, Tess finds unlikely allies in a group of locals
dubbed ‘The Onslow Boys’, who are old enough to drive cars, drink beer
and not worry about curfews. Tess’s summer of working
expands her world with a series of first
times with new friends, forbidden love and heartbreaking
chaos. All with the one boy she
has never been able to forget.
It will be
a summer she will always
remember.
Warning: sexual references, and
occasional course language.
My review:
The Boys of Summer was a cute book, a perfect beach/pool read, but just as perfect to read during winter when you long for the sun. It also made me nostalgic and brought back memories of my summers when I was 17 and 18, going to our first parties and secretly crushing on an older boy (didn't we all?!)
At first I had a hard time connecting to the characters. I thought that Tess sounded younger than her 17 years, and there was too little of Ellie and Adam's personality to form a connection. Still, I came to love them by the end; Tess has grown considerably, Adam shows his quirkiness and loyalty, and Ellie reveals a secret or two that made her much more sympathetic.
The Onslow boys were just what you expect them to be-attractive, hilarious and free in a way that Tess yearns to be. There's enough romance, some drama and heartache, but also a happy ending.
Most of all, I loved how The Boys of Summer brought back the summer feel that I adore, a perfect escape to a time when things were much simpler and for which I can't wait to return to the Onslow hotel in An Endless Summer.
Buy Links:
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Endless Summer (Summer
#2) to
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About the Author:
C.J Duggan is an
Australian author who lives with her husband in a rural border town of New
South Wales, Australia.
The Boys of Summer is Book One in her Mature
Young Adult Romance Series.
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