Huge thank you to Cait Marie and Skye Book Tours for allowing me to be a part of this book tour!
The Last Summer
- Author: Cait Marie
- Genre: YA Contemporary, Romance
- Publication Date: June 17, 2020
For the first eleven years of their lives, neighbors Lila and Gavin were inseparable best friends. They did everything together.
Until they didn’t.
Every detail of Lila’s life has been meticulously planned out since she was a child. To the point where she forgot one vital thing: to live. When she receives news that drastically alters the path of her future, she realizes she has one last chance to create memories and make the most of her summer.
Gavin, on the other hand, is known for his carefree attitude. He has lived a charmed life for almost eighteen years. He’s never short on friends or a good time, he has a supportive family, and he’s all set to go off to college and follow his dreams. The one thing he doesn’t have is the girl.
He doesn’t know why Lila pushed him away all those years ago, but when Gavin finds her summer bucket list, he’s determined to help his goody-two-shoes neighbor cross off every item and hopefully mend their friendship in the process. Even if that’s not all he wants from her.
He just hopes it’s not too late.
After falling in love with Cait’s debut book The Lost Legends, I was very excited to get my hands on this book, especially to see how she transitioned from one genre to another. As expected, Cait didn’t disappoint.
Lila comes off as a little snobby and very uptight at first. I didn’t click with her character right away, but I had faith in Cait’s talents and Lila slowly grew on me within a few chapters. I think the main reason why I disliked Lila was that I didn’t understand why she pushed Gavin away — but eventually more of her perspective is revealed and she was a character that I could empathize with. Gavin, on the other hand, was the kind of character I loved immediately, and continued to love even more with every page I read.
This was a sweet and charming summer romance that was deeper than expected. The story was written with the sense that time was running out to complete things, and it made me sad that Lila had planned so much that she didn’t even get to enjoy being young.
“That’s why Lila had the bucket list after all. She had such focus on the future that she forgot to live in the present.”
“For four years, she focused so hard on getting out of that school that s he missed out on friendships and fun.”
The story hooked me right away, and I couldn’t put the book down. The characters were vividly depicted and felt like people I could have known in high school. The plot was layered and interesting, and little bits of foreshadowing appeared throughout, making me eager to keep reading to find out the whole story.
Overall, this is now not only the summeriest (is that even a real word?) book that I have read, but it’s also one of my new favorites. I’d highly recommend it to everyone — even if you’re like me and don’t generally read romance. Yeah, it’s that good.
About the Author
Cait Marie has been obsessed with books her entire life, but the love of writing didn’t truly hit until 2017. Since then, she has held multiple positions within Coffee House Writers, including C.O.O., Editor, and Writer. In 2018, she used her passion for reading to create Functionally Fictional. In 2019, she joined the indie staff of YA Books Central as a reviewer and then Indie Assistant Blogger.
Cait graduated with honors in 2019 from Southern New Hampshire University with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology, and she is currently enrolled in their Master of Fine Arts program. She lives in Indiana, where she freelance edits and provides a variety of other author services. When she’s not writing or reading, she can usually be found watching Disney movies or Brooklyn Nine-Nine, creating bullet journal spreads, or singing along to various soundtracks and showtunes.
Links
- Facebook Group
- Newsletter Sign-Up
- Amazon
- Goodreads
- Website
- Functionally Fictional
Check out some of the other stops on the blog tour!
Categories: Blog Tour
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