Jaime Reviews ~ The Season of You & Me by Robin Constantine
By Robin Constantine
Published on May 10, 2016
Published by: Balzer + Bray
Source: Around the World ARC Tours
Published by: Balzer + Bray
Source: Around the World ARC Tours
From Robin Constantine, author of The Promise of Amazing andThe Secrets of Attraction, comes a funny and heartfelt summer romance set in New Jersey. Perfect for fans of Sarah Mlynowski, Jenny Han, and Morgan Matson.
Cassidy Emmerich is reeling from a sudden, humiliating breakup. The last thing she wants to do is stick around and be reminded of her ex everywhere she goes. On impulse, she decides to spend the summer with her father and his family at their Jersey Shore bed-and-breakfast. A different scene and a new job working as a camp counselor seem like the perfect recipe for forgetting Gavin as quickly as possible—not to mention for avoiding him until he leaves for college.
Bryan Lakewood is sick of nevers. You’ll never walk. You’ll never surf. You’ll never slow dance with a girl and have her put her head on your shoulder. Last year he made one false move—now he’s paralyzed and needs to use a wheelchair. But this summer, he’s back at his camp job and is determined to reclaim his independence—and his confidence.
Cass is expecting two months of healing her broken heart.
Bryan is expecting a summer of tough adjustments.
Neither is expecting to fall in love.
The Season of You & Me...
This book was part of my effort to expand my reading horizons, trying to venture away from my normal paranormal/fantasy/horror/etc., zones. TSoYaM is better geared toward a younger crowd than myself, and definitely more of a beach read, but regardless it was still fun and keeps me motivated toward my goal!
Cassidy is still reeling from her breakup with Gavin, and doesn't want to have to see his lying, cheating self all summer long. So she makes the decision to spend the summer with her dad and his family at the beach, working at camp. She is swearing off boys, too. She just wants time to heal, without seeing a certain someones face everywhere she goes. Against her best friends advice, she heads out for the summer. She doesn't expect how great it feels to be close to her dad again, and spending time with her little brother Hunter makes her happy. She is even growing close to her step-mom, and learning to be a part of their B&B, cooking and interacting with the guests. Cassidy also doesn't expect to make great new friends, and she definitely didn't expect Bryan.
Bryan is finally learning to live his life as a new paraplegic. It definitely still sucks, but he finally got the car of his dreams and has the freedom of driving again. He loves swimming, and he is in fantastic shape! He misses surfing like crazy, but he just isn't sure it is something he ever wants to do again. Will it even feel the same? When he meets a crying girl down by the water, he never expects that he will see her again. She is a summer girl after all. But then she walks in on his first day working at camp, and there is an immediate spark. Not to mention, she is smoking hot!
Bryan is finally learning to live his life as a new paraplegic. It definitely still sucks, but he finally got the car of his dreams and has the freedom of driving again. He loves swimming, and he is in fantastic shape! He misses surfing like crazy, but he just isn't sure it is something he ever wants to do again. Will it even feel the same? When he meets a crying girl down by the water, he never expects that he will see her again. She is a summer girl after all. But then she walks in on his first day working at camp, and there is an immediate spark. Not to mention, she is smoking hot!
Thus begins the friendship turned something more of Cass and Bry. The romance was slow moving, which I appreciated immensely. I enjoyed seeing the two of them getting to know each other as friends before anything romantic happened. Sure, there were the normal thoughts from the two of them about how hot the other was, but that is normal. They took their time getting to the romance, and it made it worth the wait. I loved that the story was told in dual POV's. We really got to know both characters, and the other secondary characters, really well this way.
TSoYaM was a really sweet story. I did have some problems with it, but I think that has more to do with my age than anything. Both of the characters seemed immature at times, sometimes excessively so, and it turned me off a little. Other than this, I really can't find fault with the rest of the story. It all boils down to characterization with this one, and one really intensely stupid decision on a certain characters part.
If you like sweet teen romances, especially if you are around 14 or 15 years old, I would absolutely recommend this one to you. My only advice is to wait and read it while you are sitting by the pool, or hanging out at the beach!
Jaime Lynn
