ARC Review : The Summer of Us – Cecilia Vinesse |A Travel YA Contemporary|

My Rating : 4 STARS

Genre : Young Adult Contemporary

Published on :14 June 2018

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Plot: Aubrey and Rae have been planning their trip around Europe practically from the moment they became BFFs in primary school. And, now, it ought to be the perfect way to spend their last summer together before university.But things are more complicated at eighteen than they were at ten. There’s Jonah, Aubrey’s seemingly perfect boyfriend, and his best friend Gabe, the boy Aubrey may have accidentally kissed. And there’s Clara, the friend Rae is crushing on, hard, even though there’s no hope because Clara is definitely into guys, not girls.Five friends. Ten days. Paris, Amsterdam, Prague, Florence, Barcelona.

My thoughts :

Well I was so excited about this book when I read the Synopsis as it seemed a fun ,cute YA Contemporary with lots of travelling and amazing friends. I instantly fell in love with the book once I started reading it. The story explores the trip of 5 Friends , Aubrey, Rae , Clara ,Jonah and Gabe . They have recently finished their high school and now will be leaving for college soon. But before that, they go on a trip to various places in Europe including Paris, Amsterdam, Prague, Florence, Barcelona. Well , I would say this the crux of the story . What happens in the trip is the main treat . We have characters who are just stepping out into the adult world where they have to take their own decisions about life and love . It is a coming-of-age story where the characters are in a sort of in-between phase and they are quite confused about a lot of things.The whole sense of growing up is captured beautifully in the book and it was particularly relevant for me, because I am a teen. The author explores it with a love story or two. The Summer of Us is an apt title as it is the last summer the fivesome get to spend together before they go their seperate ways. The characters discover their inner fears and find love in their last summer after high school.

The story is told in alternating POV’s of Aubrey and Rae . They have been best friends since primary school. It’s was good to know  the characters through their eyes. Aubrey has a seemingly perfect boyfriend Jonah but she doesn’t know why she kissed Gabe three weeks ago. The story veers to the familiar paths of love triangle and I can’t help but enjoy the new developments. Whereas Rae has a huge crush on Clara who is into guys, not girls. But is she really? So in short we have 2 love stories ,which spice up the plot.

Not to mention the setting of the book. This book is based on different places all over Europe . I always wanted to visit Paris and Rome and I get to ,through this book. They visit a lot of landmarks ,Eiffel tower ,Trevi fountain, Red Light Area (by mistake) in Amsterdam and so many more .They travel by trains and see so many things. It kind of awakened the travel bug in me .The book perfectly balances new places , romance ,friendship and beautifully crafted characters and that’s what makes the book a perfect Young Adult Read ,ideal for summer.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Click here to go to the Author’s Website

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Priyasha
(You can find me on Instagram @Scribbledstories514 )