Welcome to my spot on the Swept Away Blog Tour
hosted by FFBC.
by Michelle Dalton
Release Date: May 5th, 2015
Synopsis:
Beachfront love blossoms in
this refreshing summer romance, in the tradition of Sixteenth Summer and
Seventeenth Summer.
Mandy Sullivan isn’t exactly
looking forward to the summer months as tourists invade her seaside hometown on
the coast of Maine. Her best friend, Cynthia, has abandoned her for camp and
her older brother just announced he’ll be staying at college taking classes for
the summer, leaving Mandy with nothing to do and no one to hang out with.
Hoping to keep herself busy, Mandy takes a volunteer job at the Rocky Pointe
Lighthouse. On her very first day, Oliver Framingham asks for a private tour. A
new—and incredibly cute—face in Rocky Pointe, Oliver seems more interested in
Mandy than the lighthouse and its history.
Without her best friend at her side, Mandy is scrambling to act the right way and say the right things when Oliver is around. Cynthia—not Mandy—has always been the confident, flirtatious girl that everyone wanted to be around. As Mandy and Oliver spend more time together exploring the coast, biking through the woods, and attending the local summer festivals, their budding friendship becomes much more. But with Mandy’s insecurities creeping to the surface, can she open her heart to someone who will only be in town for three months?
Cindy's Review:
At a Glance/ The Cover:
Surprisingly, I've actually read all of the Sixteenth Summer series. It's those cute summer reads about romance and the amazing life of a sixteenth year old. What I'll give to go to a beach like those girls and just meet cute boys. I mean, I live in California and everything, but I don't live that close to a boardwalk.
The cover is also super cute. Just got to comment on that. I wonder if Simon Pulse actually gets real people to model just for this cover.
The Characters/My Opinion:
Okay, so moving onto the contents inside the book.
Mandy Sullivan - The main character of the book was enjoyable. Her clumsy personality was cute. Although I really didn't notice her trying to change herself into someone she thinks Oliver will like until she brought it up, that doesn't seem like a healthy relationship and I'm glad everyone urged her to just be herself in the end.
Oliver Framingham -
To me, this is definitely more like a summer read. A summer fling. I don't feel the long lasting romance between myself and the book or the characters. And there's nothing wrong with that because a summer fling is cute and all.
The synopsis does make the book seem like it's more about the romance than anything else, but I feel like it's more about Mandy's character building. Her semi-okay relationship with her mom definitely got better. Although there were some fights with her best friend, Cynthia, they learn to accommodate and solve the problem. Mandy's initial belief that she has to be someone different for a person to like her is changed by everyone.
I did find that both Mandy and Oliver got mad at each other quite too easily. One thing I would like to be added in this novel is an epilogue. It ended with a great deal of character improvement on Mandy's side, but I feel like Mandy's and Oliver's relationship to be explained further.
The Rating: (1-10): 8.5
Author Bio:
Michelle Dalton is one of the many names Carla Jablonski uses when writing. Her two YAs written as Carla Jablonski (published by Razorbill/Penguin), Thicker than Water and Silent Echoes, were included on the NYPL Books for the Teen Age list, and her graphic novel trilogy Resistance (illustrated by Leland Purvis, published by :01 Books) has won several awards, including the Sydney Taylor Silver Medal. In addition to writing novels she is an actor, playwright, and former trapeze artist. A native New Yorker, she is eternally grateful to her friends who invite her to their beach houses.
Links:
Giveaway:
These sound like the perfect summer reads! I think I even have the first book. I will have to read it this summer.
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