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Last Chance Summer
In Shannon Klare's fun and sexy YA novel Last Chance Summer, a teen is shipped off to work as a counselor at a summer camp―only to butt heads with her co-counselor.
Alex is a sheriff's daughter with a less than pristine reputation. When she's caught drinking at a party by her dad’s deputy, she’s in deep trouble. With an already incriminating incident in her past, Alex’s parents ship her off to her aunt’s summer camp to work as a counselor.
What's worse than spending your summer deep in the mosquito-infested woods of Texas?
Being paired with an obnoxious co-counselor who wants nothing to do with you.
Alex is determined to make the best of her summer, even if it means putting up with Grant, who has secrets of his own that he's determined to protect. Can Alex and Grant put their egos to the side and find the bright side of a summer that neither of them signed up for?
Alex is a sheriff's daughter with a less than pristine reputation. When she's caught drinking at a party by her dad’s deputy, she’s in deep trouble. With an already incriminating incident in her past, Alex’s parents ship her off to her aunt’s summer camp to work as a counselor.
What's worse than spending your summer deep in the mosquito-infested woods of Texas?
Being paired with an obnoxious co-counselor who wants nothing to do with you.
Alex is determined to make the best of her summer, even if it means putting up with Grant, who has secrets of his own that he's determined to protect. Can Alex and Grant put their egos to the side and find the bright side of a summer that neither of them signed up for?
320 pages, Hardcover
First published July 21, 2020
About the author
Shannon Klare
4 books116 followersShannon Klare is a writer, teacher, reality TV fanatic, and movie connoisseur. When she isn’t writing or daydreaming new plots, Shannon can be found frequenting Starbucks or hanging out with her family. SURVIVING ADAM MEADE was her debut novel. LAST CHANCE SUMMER releases July 21, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews
March 24, 2020
LAST CHANCE SUMMER
Shannon Klare
This is my first Shannon Klare book and I enjoyed reading this quick and fun YA Romance with relatable characters that I enjoyed reading about.
Alex is the sheriff’s daughter who is struggling with a recent loss of her best friend and difficulties moving on. As a last chance effort, Alex is sent to work as a counselor in her aunt’s summer camp in Texas. There she meets Grant where the attraction and friendship undeniable.
I loved the easiness in her writing that had me smiling and laughing rooting for these two as they both help each other moving on with their hurt and past.
I recommend this book for a fun YA romance that is a quick and fun read great for a wide range of readers.
Shannon Klare
This is my first Shannon Klare book and I enjoyed reading this quick and fun YA Romance with relatable characters that I enjoyed reading about.
Alex is the sheriff’s daughter who is struggling with a recent loss of her best friend and difficulties moving on. As a last chance effort, Alex is sent to work as a counselor in her aunt’s summer camp in Texas. There she meets Grant where the attraction and friendship undeniable.
I loved the easiness in her writing that had me smiling and laughing rooting for these two as they both help each other moving on with their hurt and past.
I recommend this book for a fun YA romance that is a quick and fun read great for a wide range of readers.
September 5, 2020
My Recommendation
Seventeen year-old Alex is not comfortable in her own skin anymore. As a result of a bad decision that she made, a tragedy occurred that left her without a best friend and unable to cope with her grief. Hoping to find some help for her, Alex’s parents send her to the summer camp that her aunt runs for troubled teens, to be a counselor. Alex has been carrying the weight of her grief and guilt for so long that it will be very difficult for her to open up and expose her dirty secret. If she doesn’t, though, she might just implode...
I would recommend this for Y.A. readers, but with adult guidance. The underage drinking and not -so-innocent flirting that takes place at the beginning make for some pretty mature scenes. However, the fact of consequences that can occur while driving under the influence is a point driven home all throughout this story., so I think teens could benefit greatly from reading it.
**Thank you, Netgalley, for honoring my request for this book in exchange for an honest review.**
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July 4, 2020I typically love books like this, books that I think will be about personal journeys of redemption and self-reflection. But to me this had too much romance (with a strange instalove-to-hate-to-love format) and not enough delving into actual issues.
I really wished the story could have been more about Alex's getting to know her campers and coming to terms with her past than 75% her arguing with Grant over whether she is qualified to be a counselor and 15% refusing to talk to her therapist and 5% pranks and 5% actually talking about what happened to her.
Sad face. But others have really liked this so that's just me.
Read more of my reviews on JenRyland.com! Let's be friends on Bookstagram!
Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review!
I really wished the story could have been more about Alex's getting to know her campers and coming to terms with her past than 75% her arguing with Grant over whether she is qualified to be a counselor and 15% refusing to talk to her therapist and 5% pranks and 5% actually talking about what happened to her.
Sad face. But others have really liked this so that's just me.
Read more of my reviews on JenRyland.com! Let's be friends on Bookstagram!
Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review!
June 2, 2020
This book's setup is good. Pressed into work as a summer counselor at a camp for troubled youth, Alex is attracted too and repelled by Grant, her co-counselor. What it lacked was a rich back story.
*Who was Marcus and what was their relationship like?
*What about flashbacks with her friend?
*Why did her aunt think she could handle being a counselor?
Without a window into Alex's past, we're adrift and left with Grant saying too many times, "You're not qualified!" (Which she totally wasn't!)
*Who was Marcus and what was their relationship like?
*What about flashbacks with her friend?
*Why did her aunt think she could handle being a counselor?
Without a window into Alex's past, we're adrift and left with Grant saying too many times, "You're not qualified!" (Which she totally wasn't!)
July 15, 2020
3.5 - I really liked the setting and the story. I always love summer camp settings. I do wish the relationship between Grant and Alex was more fleshed out because it seemed to jump suddenly from bickering to they're flirting and like each other to they're dating-- what? It seemed choppy. I also wish there had been more time to delve into Alex's issues and more time spent on her and her campers. Overall I did enjoy the story though! It's a good summer read! Full review to come.
July 23, 2020
This is the adorable teeny bopper romance I didn't know I needed.
Heeellllloooo high school summer!! This little gem transported me RIGHT back to the summer's of my youth growing up in Ohio. Sneaking out, meeting boys on the golf course. One summer, my best friend Emie Heisey and I set up a tent in the back part of my property. We lived out there ALL SUMMER LONG. Extension chords and sleeping bags. What the heck were my parents thinking?? All I know is it was the best summer of my life and I still tell my kids about it 25 years later.
This book is about two teens, Alex & Grant, who end up camp counselors at the same camp for troubled kids. Alex is sent to the camp as punishment by her parents in a last ditch effort to help her clean up her act. After a year of therapy didn't help her grief from an accident she was involved in, they hope that a summer of hard labor will do the trick. Grant is also a counselor, but he's there by choice after going through years of being a camper.
They immediately butt heads while sparks fly. I love a classic enemy to lovers trope! They both have their own troubled pasts they are hiding from and try to heal by loving on the kids they are there to help and getting to know each other.
It is sweet. It is clean. And it's adorable.
As a mom, I also love the deeper messages of the dangers of teen drinking and the normalizing of therapy as a healthy form or growth. But the light, witty banter and sweet love story will make the teens enjoy this one.
TW: teenage drinking, drunk driving, death of a parent
Heeellllloooo high school summer!! This little gem transported me RIGHT back to the summer's of my youth growing up in Ohio. Sneaking out, meeting boys on the golf course. One summer, my best friend Emie Heisey and I set up a tent in the back part of my property. We lived out there ALL SUMMER LONG. Extension chords and sleeping bags. What the heck were my parents thinking?? All I know is it was the best summer of my life and I still tell my kids about it 25 years later.
This book is about two teens, Alex & Grant, who end up camp counselors at the same camp for troubled kids. Alex is sent to the camp as punishment by her parents in a last ditch effort to help her clean up her act. After a year of therapy didn't help her grief from an accident she was involved in, they hope that a summer of hard labor will do the trick. Grant is also a counselor, but he's there by choice after going through years of being a camper.
They immediately butt heads while sparks fly. I love a classic enemy to lovers trope! They both have their own troubled pasts they are hiding from and try to heal by loving on the kids they are there to help and getting to know each other.
It is sweet. It is clean. And it's adorable.
As a mom, I also love the deeper messages of the dangers of teen drinking and the normalizing of therapy as a healthy form or growth. But the light, witty banter and sweet love story will make the teens enjoy this one.
TW: teenage drinking, drunk driving, death of a parent
July 29, 2020
I was extremely disappointed by this book. After reading and loving "Surviving Adam Meade" by this author, I expected so much more from "Last Chance Summer." Unfortunately, the main character was annoying and self-centered. I expected to come to like her, but I didn't. She annoyed me to the end - which wasn't even a satisfying ending. The whole thing felt very anticlimactic. If you're going to read a book by this author, read "Surviving Adam Meade." It was way better.
The reason this book got two stars from me is because Grant became likable. At first, I had been frustrated by him, too. And although he's nowhere close to being one of my favorite love interests, I still liked him better than Alex. I also liked when they went geocaching. It's an activity that I've never understood, but when Gramt explained it, it made so much sense.
That's all I had for this review. I don't recommend this book, but I still recommend the author. Sometimes people just have lows in their careers, and this book was it.
The reason this book got two stars from me is because Grant became likable. At first, I had been frustrated by him, too. And although he's nowhere close to being one of my favorite love interests, I still liked him better than Alex. I also liked when they went geocaching. It's an activity that I've never understood, but when Gramt explained it, it made so much sense.
That's all I had for this review. I don't recommend this book, but I still recommend the author. Sometimes people just have lows in their careers, and this book was it.
January 6, 2022
“If I could survive a car accident and the aftermath that followed, I could survive a handful of bratty teenagers with chips on their shoulders. I was one of them. Whether they wanted me or not.”
I’m a bitch for summer camp settings. And for plots involving troubled teen establishments.
I adored Grant and Alex’s version of enemies-to-lovers since they were more snarky with each other and called the other person out for their crap rather than loathed the other person for petty reasons. I enjoyed their dynamic.I won’t lie. I wanted Grant more for myself as the book progressed. Still rooted for him and Alex. As someone who doesn’t like opening up, I appreciated his whole “I never mentioned it because we weren’t talking about anything related to it” and how he didn’t force Alex to share her story.
My only real issue with the book, avoiding spoilers, was that I wish we had more context involving events in the prologue. It would’ve been more impactful and easier to empathize with Alex if we could see and feel more of her grief, guilt, and struggle. I feel as if a lot of it was shown/told in fragments or a single sentence here and there. We learn more eventually but a build-up would’ve been better.
A lot of the dialogue felt forced and cringey, but this is a gem: “Snitches get stitches.” “Hit me and you’ll get some too.”
If you want a short and simple read for one sitting, I recommend this one.
I’m a bitch for summer camp settings. And for plots involving troubled teen establishments.
I adored Grant and Alex’s version of enemies-to-lovers since they were more snarky with each other and called the other person out for their crap rather than loathed the other person for petty reasons. I enjoyed their dynamic.
My only real issue with the book, avoiding spoilers, was that I wish we had more context involving events in the prologue. It would’ve been more impactful and easier to empathize with Alex if we could see and feel more of her grief, guilt, and struggle. I feel as if a lot of it was shown/told in fragments or a single sentence here and there. We learn more eventually but a build-up would’ve been better.
A lot of the dialogue felt forced and cringey, but this is a gem: “Snitches get stitches.” “Hit me and you’ll get some too.”
If you want a short and simple read for one sitting, I recommend this one.
April 17, 2020
The perfect summer YA read that will tug at your heart strings while making you swoon. LAST CHANCE SUMMER was such a delight. The main character wasn’t always likable, but she was understandable and so well developed. I was rooting for her the whole way through and watching her progression was so rewarding. I was in tears by the time I was reading the final page. I also loved this author’s debut and hope to see more from her in the very near future.
April 20, 2020
After a few bad decisions and a great tragedy, Alex is given an ultimatum, work at her aunt's camp or give up her college fund. She thought this was her last chance summer, but it ends up being her second chance to live.
From the synopsis, I bet you are all thinking this is just some summer romance, and well, it is set in the summer time, and it features a wondrous romance, but it is so much more.
Not only did Alex make some bad decisions, she also lost her best friend. Though it was almost a year since the accident, Alex still struggled with her grief, pain, and guilt. Klare did a wonderful job painting a portrait of someone, who was stuck in their grieving cycle. Alex was bottling up her emotions, and needed a way to release her pain. The camp was the perfect place for this to happen. There, she had the space and the encouragement to start dealing with her emotions and push forward.
Don't worry, this is not all super heavy emotions all the time. The story is set in a summer camp, and Klare utilized it well. There is swimming, arts and crafts, smores, and even a mini prank war. And what kind of camp experience would it be without a camp boyfriend.
The sparks were flying upon the initial meeting between Alex and Grant, and that attraction manifests in some rather fun banter-filled tiffs. I had a great time watching these two work through their tension, but really delighted in seeing their friendship form and go to the next level. Grant was an important part of Alex's team. He had also experienced profound loss, and could relate to her on that level. He, along with some other members of the camp, were sources of support. They provided the encouragement, ears to listen, and shoulders to cry on, as Alex finally processed her grief. It was lovely seeing them all rally for her, and even better to know she was on the road to recovery.
Overall: A beautiful story about picking up the pieces, and finding the strength to move forward.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
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From the synopsis, I bet you are all thinking this is just some summer romance, and well, it is set in the summer time, and it features a wondrous romance, but it is so much more.
Not only did Alex make some bad decisions, she also lost her best friend. Though it was almost a year since the accident, Alex still struggled with her grief, pain, and guilt. Klare did a wonderful job painting a portrait of someone, who was stuck in their grieving cycle. Alex was bottling up her emotions, and needed a way to release her pain. The camp was the perfect place for this to happen. There, she had the space and the encouragement to start dealing with her emotions and push forward.
Don't worry, this is not all super heavy emotions all the time. The story is set in a summer camp, and Klare utilized it well. There is swimming, arts and crafts, smores, and even a mini prank war. And what kind of camp experience would it be without a camp boyfriend.
The sparks were flying upon the initial meeting between Alex and Grant, and that attraction manifests in some rather fun banter-filled tiffs. I had a great time watching these two work through their tension, but really delighted in seeing their friendship form and go to the next level. Grant was an important part of Alex's team. He had also experienced profound loss, and could relate to her on that level. He, along with some other members of the camp, were sources of support. They provided the encouragement, ears to listen, and shoulders to cry on, as Alex finally processed her grief. It was lovely seeing them all rally for her, and even better to know she was on the road to recovery.
Overall: A beautiful story about picking up the pieces, and finding the strength to move forward.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
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May 9, 2020
3.5/5*
Original review
This book was provided by the author through Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Shannon Klare and Xpresso Book Tours.
Last Chance Summer is a standalone Young Adult Contemporary and tells the story of Alex and Grant.
Last Chance Summer was the second book I’ve read by Shannon Klare and I really enjoyed it! Last Chance Summer was a quick, and fun read with some relatable characters. It’s hard not to enjoy a good YA Contemporary and I think that Shannon Klare did a good job with this book!
In the beginning, I had some troubles with liking Alex, but I started to enjoy reading about her the more I read. Grant is a character you cannot not like. I think he’s a good character because he’s there for Alex and he’s just really funny and likes to tease Alex.
I really liked the concept of Last Chance Summer. This isn’t just a normal YA Contemporary because it also talks about grief and struggling. I think more books should talk about these topics because they’re really important. Last Chance Summer was a good read and I really enjoyed it!
Original review
This book was provided by the author through Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Shannon Klare and Xpresso Book Tours.
Last Chance Summer is a standalone Young Adult Contemporary and tells the story of Alex and Grant.
Last Chance Summer was the second book I’ve read by Shannon Klare and I really enjoyed it! Last Chance Summer was a quick, and fun read with some relatable characters. It’s hard not to enjoy a good YA Contemporary and I think that Shannon Klare did a good job with this book!
In the beginning, I had some troubles with liking Alex, but I started to enjoy reading about her the more I read. Grant is a character you cannot not like. I think he’s a good character because he’s there for Alex and he’s just really funny and likes to tease Alex.
I really liked the concept of Last Chance Summer. This isn’t just a normal YA Contemporary because it also talks about grief and struggling. I think more books should talk about these topics because they’re really important. Last Chance Summer was a good read and I really enjoyed it!
March 14, 2020
A touching story of overcoming grief and picking up the pieces again.
Forced to focus on others over the summer instead of a bad attitude and one bad decision after the next. Alex is drowning in guilt and grief after her friend died.
When she meets Grant he challenges her and gives the attitude right back. He also does not take any of her crap. She is a counselor in the camp and needs to learn to open up herself to have the girls relate to her.
This was a well done book on grief with flirty banter and swoon along the way.
Forced to focus on others over the summer instead of a bad attitude and one bad decision after the next. Alex is drowning in guilt and grief after her friend died.
When she meets Grant he challenges her and gives the attitude right back. He also does not take any of her crap. She is a counselor in the camp and needs to learn to open up herself to have the girls relate to her.
This was a well done book on grief with flirty banter and swoon along the way.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 20, 2020
I'm still trying to process my thoughts about Last Chance Summer. The writing was fine and the plot was ok.
I've spent many of the summers of my life as a camper at a summer camp and then later as a counselor. I'm naturally drawn to stories with a camp setting. I've always believed camp is the perfect place to find yourself and figure things out. In a way, it makes sense, that Alex would start to heal from her grief there.
Don't go into this thinking it is only a summer romance. It's so much more than that. And it does deal with grief.
TRIGGER WARNINGS:
***Thank you to the author, for sending me a signed review copy!***
I've spent many of the summers of my life as a camper at a summer camp and then later as a counselor. I'm naturally drawn to stories with a camp setting. I've always believed camp is the perfect place to find yourself and figure things out. In a way, it makes sense, that Alex would start to heal from her grief there.
Don't go into this thinking it is only a summer romance. It's so much more than that. And it does deal with grief.
TRIGGER WARNINGS:
***Thank you to the author, for sending me a signed review copy!***
April 15, 2020
Still grappling with the death of her best friend after a tragic accident, Alex is furious when her parents give her an ultimatum-- work at her aunt's camp for troubled kids, or lose her college fund. Reluctantly choosing the former, she finds herself in charge of a cabin filled with rowdy young teens, and locking horns with her cute but aggravatingly uptight co-counselor, Grant. Is this summer worth keeping her college fund? Furthermore, will Alex ever get closure from the accident? Last Chance Summer manages to be both poignant and fun; a wonderful beach read.
August 25, 2020
“In your lifetime, you’re allowed to make the wrong choice. That’s what living is. It’s a series of complicated decisions and our ability to weave through them, doing the best we can to pick the right path along the way.”
Last Chance Summer was a quick read, but probably to quick. I felt like it could have done with fifty pages so if not more. I did enjoy Alex’s PoV and Grant was a nice addition to the story.
Last Chance Summer was a quick read, but probably to quick. I felt like it could have done with fifty pages so if not more. I did enjoy Alex’s PoV and Grant was a nice addition to the story.
July 18, 2020
Timeless tale of tortured girl meets tortured boy and they fall in love and their love is what enables them to conquer all. Quick and easy summery read. I do wish there had been more relationship development between Alex and her campers. Having attended and worked at a summer camp for many years growing up, I found the entire concept of how this camp operated a little far fetched.
June 29, 2020
3.5 Stars
A very quick read. Loved the setting and the story, but it needed to be longer so really delve into everything. Felt things moved a little too quickly for my liking. But all in all a good read.
A very quick read. Loved the setting and the story, but it needed to be longer so really delve into everything. Felt things moved a little too quickly for my liking. But all in all a good read.
June 10, 2020
2.5 stars
***TRIGGER WARNING***
drunk driving, death of a loved one
I needed more information. This seemed like the first pass on a story. I felt like I didn’t know these people at all. I would have liked for it to have spanned the whole summer, not just a few weeks. She hits a breakthrough in her recovery and then it skip to the end, That could have been a jumping of point to see her develop across the entire summer.
The conversations and dialogue were strong, but dragged on way too long. There could have been more room for backstory and descriptions.
***TRIGGER WARNING***
drunk driving, death of a loved one
I needed more information. This seemed like the first pass on a story. I felt like I didn’t know these people at all. I would have liked for it to have spanned the whole summer, not just a few weeks. She hits a breakthrough in her recovery and then it skip to the end, That could have been a jumping of point to see her develop across the entire summer.
The conversations and dialogue were strong, but dragged on way too long. There could have been more room for backstory and descriptions.
September 10, 2020
"You want me to let it all out so I can move on. But I can't move on. I can't let it go. I have to live with this. And that's something you could never understand. I'm on my own. Quit trying to help me."
Alex is the daughter of a small town sheriff, but she doesn't have a stellar reputation. While she has made several bad decisions in the past, it's the most recent that has left her hollowed out: after drinking at a party, her best friend dies in a car accident. Wallowing in grief, Alex flunks her senior year, leading her parents to send her off to her aunt's camp for troubled teens, where she'll work as a counselor to a cabin of high-risk fourteen-year-olds. Worse, her co-counselor is Grant, the golden boy of the camp, who has been both a camper and a counselor over the years. Grant and Alex bicker from the moment they meet....
Last Chance Summer was one of those on-the-whim books for me. As in, I saw the shiny, never-been-touched cover at my library and declared that if I was going to ever read it, it would be now. Well, I've read it, and to be perfectly honest, it's sort of what I expected? I mean, summer romance books are either painfully cheesy or adorably cheesy, and there is no in between. 2 stars.
I think where this becomes painfully cheesy for me is that I never really cared about the characters, so I didn't really care about the storyline. For a novel that, by definition, is primarily character-driven, I didn't feel like the characters were as well-rounded as I would've liked to see. For example, Alex is a painter, but that's only mentioned a handful of times; it was more of an "oh yeah, she's supposed to like that" than a defining piece of her character.
Furthermore, this book is very dialogue heavy. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I perhaps it was, at least partially, the reason that I struggled with connecting with anyone. They're too busy trying too hard to be funny and sarcastic that I skimmed over their conversations in search of something deeper.
Last Chance Summer is a light, quick read. Perhaps it's a little too quick; at just under 250 pages, there wasn't enough room for character development, and I think the book suffered for it.
April 27, 2020
thank you to NetGalley and the published for a free copy in exchange for an honest review
This was a quick and easy read about Alex, a girl dealing with a tragedy and a few mistakes, who is given an ultimatum and shipped off to a summer camp to counsel troubled youth. She thinks she has to just endure the summer, but ends up finding forgiveness and love in the process.
I enjoyed this book, a quick read with likeable characters. Grant was adorable and I appreciated his graciousness with Alex, to help her forgive herself and move forward. I loved the summer camp aspect; as someone who ran a summer camp for 4 years, I felt a deep connection with the location and scenery of this story.
I feel like I wanted this story to go just a bit deeper. The ending felt a bit rushed, and I feel like I didn't get to emotionally bond with Grant and Alex as much as I wanted to, that it just skimmed the surface of what was going on in each character. And I wanted more romance! But I do love a good happy for now ending, and I appreciated that the author wrapped everything up with a tidy bow.
I would recommend this book for a quick, easy YA read about second chances and young love.
This was a quick and easy read about Alex, a girl dealing with a tragedy and a few mistakes, who is given an ultimatum and shipped off to a summer camp to counsel troubled youth. She thinks she has to just endure the summer, but ends up finding forgiveness and love in the process.
I enjoyed this book, a quick read with likeable characters. Grant was adorable and I appreciated his graciousness with Alex, to help her forgive herself and move forward. I loved the summer camp aspect; as someone who ran a summer camp for 4 years, I felt a deep connection with the location and scenery of this story.
I feel like I wanted this story to go just a bit deeper. The ending felt a bit rushed, and I feel like I didn't get to emotionally bond with Grant and Alex as much as I wanted to, that it just skimmed the surface of what was going on in each character. And I wanted more romance! But I do love a good happy for now ending, and I appreciated that the author wrapped everything up with a tidy bow.
I would recommend this book for a quick, easy YA read about second chances and young love.
March 24, 2023
SWEET SUMMERTIME.
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An enjoyable backlist summer time read with allllll those camp vibes. I really liked this!
Alex and Grant had a solid enemies to lovers vibe, but yet sweet? I don’t know how to explain it. I loved the banter and the fun ways they got to know each other in a camp setting. They had maaaany super cute moments where I was cheering them on.
Alex had a lot to learn and explore within herself and this book did an alright job accomplishing that. I think there could have been a deeper dive into the entire story. It’s a short book and I felt much of it was surface level. The ending went kind of quickly with the bigger plots being wrapped up.
It was an engaging read I had a hard time putting down. It’s a simple read that’ll have you thinking of all things summer.
Overall audience notes:
- YA Contemporary Romance
- Language: a little
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: mild
- Trigger/Content Warnings: drunk and underage driving (resulting in loss of life), loss of a parent, grief depiction
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An enjoyable backlist summer time read with allllll those camp vibes. I really liked this!
Alex and Grant had a solid enemies to lovers vibe, but yet sweet? I don’t know how to explain it. I loved the banter and the fun ways they got to know each other in a camp setting. They had maaaany super cute moments where I was cheering them on.
Alex had a lot to learn and explore within herself and this book did an alright job accomplishing that. I think there could have been a deeper dive into the entire story. It’s a short book and I felt much of it was surface level. The ending went kind of quickly with the bigger plots being wrapped up.
It was an engaging read I had a hard time putting down. It’s a simple read that’ll have you thinking of all things summer.
Overall audience notes:
- YA Contemporary Romance
- Language: a little
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: mild
- Trigger/Content Warnings: drunk and underage driving (resulting in loss of life), loss of a parent, grief depiction
July 7, 2021
After really loving this author’s first book, I was excited to pick up her second one. Unfortunately I did not enjoy this anywhere near as much as I was expecting to. It wasn’t really flushed out as well as it could have been, mostly because it was so short. The grief aspect wasn’t really addressed…until it was, randomly and out of the blue. And where were her parents? I don’t think the father was in the book at all other than like one phone call or something. Were the parents divorced? Separated? It never seemed like he was with the mother (who also wasn’t in the story much) but it was never explained. The romance was trying to be enemies to lovers, but that didn’t really work either. They just sort of made fun of each other all the time and somehow that was flirting? I didn’t really see it. It needed to be a bit longer to flush out the story and it probably would have been pretty solid.
**read for book scavenger hunt - a book with the letters T, A, L, and E somewhere in the title**
**read for book scavenger hunt - a book with the letters T, A, L, and E somewhere in the title**
September 16, 2020
Meh...I found this book to be fairly predictable and somewhat boring. I did make it through the book. I did not make a connection with the characters. The main characters were thrown together due to circumstances and I never really understood why they liked each other. Of course they were both good looking but they did not know a lot about each other. It might have helped to have some narrative from Grant's perspective.
January 12, 2021
2.5 stars
Normally I hate romance books, but I thought a change of pace might be nice. Overall I thought it was a good book though the protagonist (Alex) got on my nerves.
She was extremely entitled and had a horrible attitude in the beginning which the author tried to disguise as her being witty and sarcastic. However this did get better towards the middle of the book and the end.
It was an nice read to turn your brain off and would recommend 👍
Normally I hate romance books, but I thought a change of pace might be nice. Overall I thought it was a good book though the protagonist (Alex) got on my nerves.
She was extremely entitled and had a horrible attitude in the beginning which the author tried to disguise as her being witty and sarcastic. However this did get better towards the middle of the book and the end.
It was an nice read to turn your brain off and would recommend 👍
July 29, 2020
This book was a little scattered and disorganized. It was really missing heart. Also, these are the worst camp counselors ever! You just can’t leave your campers all the time like they did.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
July 23, 2020
cw: death of a friend, drunk driving
idk…banter is supposed to be fun and witty not paragraphs…
idk…banter is supposed to be fun and witty not paragraphs…
September 29, 2020
I had a hard time liking the characters, and feeling invested in their journey. I found myself wanting more progress and development over the course of the story.
July 18, 2020
Eighteen-year-old Alex has an attitude bigger than the sun and entitlement issues to give even the most spoiled child a run for their money. The daughter of the town sheriff, she seems to have spent her life breaking the rules for no other reason than she didn’t like them. The only child of two loving parents, she doesn’t really have much to rebel against, except she discovered being a rebel in her small Louisiana town made her more popular, so rebel she did. Until the fateful night in the autumn of her senior year when she, daughter of a law enforcement officer, got into a car with her best friend, who was drunk, and allowed said girl to drive. She’s forced to live with the tragedy of that night, still suffering PSTD as well as the loss of her BFF, though she doesn’t acknowledge her role in it to the extent I believe she should. After spending most of her senior year in rehab after the accident took a toll on both her body and spirit, she’ll be repeating her final year of high school. But first, she’s shipped off to be camp counselor at a summer camp for troubled youth. This should be the wakeup call she needs to see how good her life was until that night, but she wears a giant chip on her shoulder like a badge of honor.
She gets a crash course in what it’s like to deal with her when she comes face-to-face with five fourteen-year-old girls who give her a run for her money when it comes to attitude. But unlike Alex, their lives and attitudes are shaped by vastly different circumstances. These little rebels have a valid cause for their rebellion. As Alex learns how to wrangle them, she’s kept off her toes by her hot counterpart, Grant. He won’t take any of her crap, but he’s really good at dishing it out. A former camper himself, he has his own secrets and dark past. While the attraction between them is evident from the beginning, Grant isn’t like most guys Alex deals with; he doesn’t find her smart mouth or antics endearing. The more they spar, the more they learn about each other, and Alex finally comes to realize that everyone has issues and hers aren’t any more important than anyone else’s.
Plot
The primary plot is Alex dealing with her issues and growing up, becoming less self-absorbed, but the romance between her and Grant is a strong subplot. The story moves at a steady pace, but where it really shines is the witty dialogue. From the playful banter between Alex and Grant and the snarky dialogue between Alex and her surly campers, the conversations make this otherwise run-of-the-mill summer romance really sparkle.
The Characters
The characters are fascinating, if not all incredibly relatable or even likable. In fact, it took me a good 75% of the book to warm up to Alex. But no one is untouched by trauma of some sort that has shaped their complex natures. From the sassy campers to Grant and Alex, no one is unscathed by their pasts and they all harbor scars that manifest in different ways. But each one is resilient in their own way, and uncovering the secrets that shaped them is what makes this book work.
Top Five Things I Enjoyed About LAST CHANCE SUMMER
1. Consequences. I may not like Alex for most of the book, but she’s never given a pass. The consequences for her behavior are harsh, deservedly so. The author doesn’t baby her, which is refreshing.
2. Grant. I love that he won’t take any of Alex’s bull. Sometimes I wonder why he’s attracted to her, but at no point does he allow her to get away with anything simply because he’s attracted to her. He has his own self-preservation motives for much of what he does.
3. Pranks. Summer camp pranks provided some much-needed lighter moments.
4. Redemption Arcs. I do love a good redemption arc and Alex has a great one.
5. Brie. She’s the most difficult of the campers, but her spirit and spunk were inspiring.
Bottom Line
A fun young adult contemporary with stellar dialogue and fascinating characters.
She gets a crash course in what it’s like to deal with her when she comes face-to-face with five fourteen-year-old girls who give her a run for her money when it comes to attitude. But unlike Alex, their lives and attitudes are shaped by vastly different circumstances. These little rebels have a valid cause for their rebellion. As Alex learns how to wrangle them, she’s kept off her toes by her hot counterpart, Grant. He won’t take any of her crap, but he’s really good at dishing it out. A former camper himself, he has his own secrets and dark past. While the attraction between them is evident from the beginning, Grant isn’t like most guys Alex deals with; he doesn’t find her smart mouth or antics endearing. The more they spar, the more they learn about each other, and Alex finally comes to realize that everyone has issues and hers aren’t any more important than anyone else’s.
Plot
The primary plot is Alex dealing with her issues and growing up, becoming less self-absorbed, but the romance between her and Grant is a strong subplot. The story moves at a steady pace, but where it really shines is the witty dialogue. From the playful banter between Alex and Grant and the snarky dialogue between Alex and her surly campers, the conversations make this otherwise run-of-the-mill summer romance really sparkle.
The Characters
The characters are fascinating, if not all incredibly relatable or even likable. In fact, it took me a good 75% of the book to warm up to Alex. But no one is untouched by trauma of some sort that has shaped their complex natures. From the sassy campers to Grant and Alex, no one is unscathed by their pasts and they all harbor scars that manifest in different ways. But each one is resilient in their own way, and uncovering the secrets that shaped them is what makes this book work.
Top Five Things I Enjoyed About LAST CHANCE SUMMER
1. Consequences. I may not like Alex for most of the book, but she’s never given a pass. The consequences for her behavior are harsh, deservedly so. The author doesn’t baby her, which is refreshing.
2. Grant. I love that he won’t take any of Alex’s bull. Sometimes I wonder why he’s attracted to her, but at no point does he allow her to get away with anything simply because he’s attracted to her. He has his own self-preservation motives for much of what he does.
3. Pranks. Summer camp pranks provided some much-needed lighter moments.
4. Redemption Arcs. I do love a good redemption arc and Alex has a great one.
5. Brie. She’s the most difficult of the campers, but her spirit and spunk were inspiring.
Bottom Line
A fun young adult contemporary with stellar dialogue and fascinating characters.
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