Title: We’ll Always Have Summer
Author: Jenny Han
Series: Summer, #3
Date(s) read: February 18, 2013
Genre: YA contemporary
Source: Won (Hardcover)

It’s been two years since Conrad told Belly to go with Jeremiah. She and Jeremiah have been inseparable ever since, even attending the same college– only, their relationship hasn’t exactly been the happily ever after Belly had hoped it would be. And when Jeremiah makes the worst mistake a boy can make, Belly is forced to question what she thought was true love. Does she really have a future with Jeremiah? Has she ever gotten over Conrad? It’s time for Belly to decide, once and for all, who has her heart forever.

Oh, Jenny Han — my feels! This book was the perfect, the perfect ending to the Summer series! I feel so sad to see it end, but I’m so happy that it’s one of those series where I felt so much resolution and satisfaction in the end.

Really, I hated the end of the last book, how heartbreaking it was for Conrad to give up Belly like he did and in this book we see such a change in the boys. Some may not see it as a welcome change, but I think it was just their characters evolving. Conrad, in all of his moodiness and sensitivity, seemed to be the one who has a hard time letting things go — I like to think that he just wanted his brother to be happy when he told him he was okay with Jeremiah liking Belly. Of course, I still think that Belly was very foolish for letting Conrad go like that. VERY foolish.  Continue reading →

Title: It’s Not Summer Without You
Author: Jenny Han
Series: Summer, #2
Date(s) read: February 17, 2013
Genre: YA contemporary
Source: Purchased (Hardcover)

Can summer be truly summer without Cousins Beach?It used to be that Belly counted the days until summer, until she was back at Cousins Beach with Conrad and Jeremiah. But not this year. Not after Susannah got sick again and Conrad stopped caring. Everything that was right and good has fallen apart, leaving Belly wishing summer would never come.

But when Jeremiah calls saying Conrad has disappeared, Belly knows what she must do to make things right again. And it can only happen back at the beach house, the three of them together, the way things used to be. If this summer really and truly is the last summer, it should end the way it started–at Cousins Beach.

The Summer series by Jenny Han is slowly creeping up there to become one of my favourite series of all time. I love that the books only take a few hours to read (I think each one has taken me about four hours), but there is still so much emotion in each one!

When I started reading this book, the second in the series, I had to go back and make sure I was reading in the correct order. I honestly thought that I had completely ruined the series for myself until I realized that I was indeed reading the books in the correct order. I really didn’t expect the book to start off as sad as it did! With the first book ending on so much hope, it was slightly jarring for the second book to be so sad, but I knew I had to persevere! Continue reading →

Title: The Summer I Turned Pretty
Author: Jenny Han
Series: Summer, #1
Date(s) read: February 6, 2013
Genre: YA contemporary
Source: Won (Paperback)

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer–they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

Oh my WORD! The second I finished this book, with tears gleaming in my eyes, I knew I had found a favourite. I love that feeling. What I also love is how, in the middle of winter, I can find such a great book that makes me long for summer days, sand beneath my feet, and the sun warming my skin. Really, this was a perfect winter read because it made me forget about the winter.

I devoured this book in a night and a morning, it was just so good. I loved the whole feel of the book, from the descriptions of the beach, to the complications of first loves that linger through the years, to the confusion of that first love, to the feeling of becoming a swan over a year, and to that horrible feeling that things, while looking okay on the outside, might not be as perfect as they seem. Continue reading →