#AmReading YA

Last Chance Summer
Shannon Klare
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

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?

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. 

How to Quite Your Crush
Amy Fellner Dominy
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Entangled: Crush
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Mai Senn knows Anthony Adams is no good for her - no matter how hard she might crush on him. She’s valedictorian; he’s a surf bum. She’s got plans, he’s got his art. Complete opposites in every way. Vinegar and baking soda, they once joked. A chemical reaction that bubbled.

Yeah, they bubbled. Maybe still do.

Good thing Anthony’s got the perfect plan: two weeks to prove just how not good they are together. Whoever can come up with the worst date—something the other will seriously hate, proving how incompatible they truly are—wins.

Like taking a snake-phobe to the Reptile House at the zoo (his idea).

Or a cooking class where they don’t even get to eat the food (her idea).

It’s all about the competition, and it’s meant to help them finally crush their crushes. But it wasn’t supposed to be so hot. Or so fun. And when Mai’s future becomes at stake, will she be able to do the right thing and quit Anthony forever?

Mai wanted the "bubbles" to stop. Anthony wanted to extinguish the flame. They embarked on a two week "fling" in order to crush their crush, but their plan may very well have backfired on them.

Announcing Trouble was such a hit for me, and I jumped at the chance to get back into this world. I was always curious as to why Mai and Anthony didn't work out in the last book, and therefore, was interested in getting the full story. I must say, I was surprised by some of the things I learned about these two, and I really loved getting to see them get their HEA.

Anthony was known to be the go-with-flow fun party boy. He didn't take his grades too seriously, and didn't seem to have any concrete post graduation plans. It seemed as though losing his father had a huge impact on Anthony and the way he thought about many things, such as relationships and his future. It was really his journey, that gripped me and didn't let go. I felt those tears welling up almost every time he started to unpack his baggage. I also loved learning about all these different sides of Anthony, which he kept hidden. He was a lot more complex, than I had anticipated, and it was a treat peeling back those layers.

Mai also carried some baggage. She hadn't always been *this* Mai, the merit scholar winning valedictorian with the five-year-plus plan. It was a combination of things, which resulted in this version of her, but I discovered it was partially driven by fear. That aspect of her story sort of broke my heart, but it made me more happy to know she had Anthony in her corner.

Now that I got all the big emotional stuff out of the way, I have to talk about how fun this book was. Mai and Anthony were a great pairing. They had chemistry and sparks, and the banter between them was noteworthy. I thought the dates were fantastic, and they were also used well. The dates let us learn about and understand Mai and Anthony, while also allowing these two to grow closer.

I cannot forget to mention how much I enjoyed myself on the trail. Anthony inserted himself back into Mai's life by volunteering for the same service project as her, rehabbing a desert trail. I live in the northeast, and am not well acquainted with the desert. Therefore, I found my time out there quite interesting, and I like that Dominy really worked some of the location into the story.

Overall: This book had it all! It had great characters, swoony romance, fabulous banter, emotional depth, and even a grand gesture, which combined to yield a perfect escape for me.

**ARCs received in exchange for honest reviews.

Did you ever go to summer camp?
Let us know in the comments!