Summer Skin

by Kirsty Eagar

Jess Gordon is out for revenge. Last year the jocks from Knights College tried to shame her best friend. This year she and a hand-picked college girl gang are going to get even. The lesson: Don't mess with Unity College girls. The target: Blondie, a typical Knights stud, arrogant, cold ... and smart enough to keep up with Jess.

• ISBN10: 1250146003
• ISBN13: 9781250146007
• Publish Date: 29 May 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Feiwel & Friends
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 3.5 Stars

While out for revenge, Jess may have met her match, and her unwanted attraction to him was a cause for alarm. She struggled throughout the book with many questions, among them: Can you fall for someone, who represents everything you detest? Can people really change?

• Pro: Jess was such a work in progress. Slightly damaged from a previous relationship, she was trying to avoid repeating that mistake. I really appreciated the inner battle she fought with respect to being true to her friends, her values, her needs, her wants, and herself.

• Pro: Poor Mitch was dealing with a LOT of guilt and grief, but he was trying to become a better version of himself. His process was painfully slow and often frustrating to watch, but I sort of like that Eagar kept it honest in that way.

• Con: The story was told in 3rd person from Jess' point of view, and though I loved her tons, I was really curious about what was rattling about in Mitch's head.

• Pro: This book was very feminist and sex positive. There was a lot of exploration of sexual politics as well as gender inequality in this story, which was attacked from many different angles.

• Pro: The banter in this book was so clever and witty. I loved every second of it.

• Pro: Summer Skin was set in an Australian University, which was new for me, and I found it very interesting.

• Pro: The last 25% of the book was where my patience paid off, and I was totally in love with what Eagar did with the ending. It was nice, but also answered a significant question that loomed over Jess during the course of this story.

• Pro: Jess had a fabulous set of feisty female friends, who served as a support system for. Her three floor mates were as different as night and day, but they all were empowered in some way, and I loved how they exerted this throughout the story. In addition to her friends, Jess also had a most wonderful aunt, who was doting, but also pushed Jess in a positive manner.

Overall: An untraditional love story, which is forthright, amusing, sometimes morally gray, but thought provoking and quite satisfying.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS

[Jyc]

★★★★ // the perennial female vs. male dilemma packed amazingly in a new adult book teeming with love and lust. sexy, frank, and entertaining. feminist ideals are well-represented. i just didn't like the dramatic dip towards the end.

[Bianca]

The only thing you can do is stop wanting things to be different. Because you can’t change people. You can’t help people. And you definitely can’t save them. They have to do it themselves.

[Sarah Says]

When Jess and Mitch first meet it is a truly awkward cringe worthy moment - a real moment.

Summer Skin’s story was believable and the characters felt real. While Jess and Mitch’s burning then blooming romance pushes the story along, a lot of issues that face young adults these days are touched on in a realistic and un-preachy manner. Well Done Kirsty Eagar.

It was hideously beautiful! It made me thank the stars above that I’m not 19 anymore, while at the same time making me wish I still was.

I’d say it’s more suited to a 15-25 age range. I’m not saying that if your older you won’t enjoy it, you still will, I still did. I’m just saying that age bracket because If I had read this when I was the main character’s age, it would have blown me away.

[Kelly]

Oh Kirsty Eagar, how I love thee.

As a reader, don't you tire of the same protagonists? The sleek, blonde and usually perfect young women who seem to have it all on a platter? Yeah, me too kids. Me too. You clearly haven't met Jess. Jess Gordon is a strong, no nonsense girl that could be the voice of the young feminism movement. Jess attends a not so prestigious collage with campus boarding, where females band together against the onslaught against the Knights, an all male boarding house who teach sexism as an extra curricular activity. Jess's story begins with her mission into the Knights lair, looking for a prize in their new annual ritual to repay their previous deeds only a year prior. Blondie doesn't look like a typical Knight but he sure shares their arrogance and catches Jess in her tangled lie of guernsey thievery and playing a doting yet imaginary girlfriend.

Now suddenly Mitch is everywhere and that makes him easy prey.

Mitch is very much the alpha male type character. He's undeniably sexy but does nothing to dispel the sexist label that is placed upon what he represents, even if Mitch isn't part of the typical Knight culture and Jess is the last girl he should be playing games with. The sexual tension between the two was delicious, the banter and sarcasm was hilarious. But under the surface, both Jess and Mitch have their issues. As lovely as Jess is, she's also incredibly cynical about others intentions, especially a Knight and they aren't exactly boyfriend material. She's also just escaped from a toxic relationship, in which she was not only oppressed but the relationship portrayed as being emotionally abusive. Mitch on the other hand is haunted by a ghost from his past. Physically, he's well aware of how attractive he is but emotionally he won't allow anyone to break past the barrier he uses to ensure women don't become attached. Jess included. Jess isn't the shy and subdued lamb you typically find in new adult novels, she's feisty and not afraid to call others out on their bullshit. Including Mitch.

'You're probably also threatened by the fact that the guys here can cope with women in contexts other than porn. Not like a bunch of little lords who hate women because they secretly prefer getting hot and sweaty with each other under the guise of chasing a leather ball around a field.'

She's awesomely fierce and refuses to sugar coat her words.

Jess and Mitch's chemistry sizzles. She's feministic, he's sexist and although they tend to clash, there's an incredibly tentative and gentle romance forming between the two. Slowly, Mitch's attitude towards not only his own demons, but also women, begins to change. Jess doesn't want to make him a better version of himself but through compassion and being such a pivotal person in his life, he wants to change. For her but more importantly, for himself.

The sex is wonderful, Kristy Eagar you saucy minx. It's so well written, sexy without being the focal point of the storyline which is what seems to occur with similar books within the genre. It's mature, sensual and incredibly sex positive. Jess isn't ashamed to give into her urges, nor should she be and I loved that characters were able to talk openly about sex without being shamed. It was incredibly empowering and a refreshing change.

"I want you to revise your attitude. Women, amazingly enough, are allowed to like it. If that's news to you, then you're not doing it right."

Other aspects that Summer Skin also explores is the need for young women to feel validated, quite often by social media. Allie is a beautiful and kind hearted girl who only feels validated by photos she posts of herself on Instagram which creates such fluctuations in her emotional state, often effecting her friendships.

One of the funniest scenes is between Jess and her strong female group of friends at a local building site. Where women are often on the end of cat calls and crass comments, it was brilliant seeing the girls taking control of the situation and be the ones objectifying male workers for once. It was written in such a positive light, with both parties engaging in heavy innuendo banter.

'I've got a big hard thing!' yelled a guy who'd been marking out a sizable plank of wood. 'See from here,' Jess shouted, 'it looks just like you're holding a stubby little pencil!'

It's all about the innuendo.

Summer Skin is a book to empower young women. The snark, the strong female characters, the compassion and tenderness. The message of being your own person and fighting against the stereotypes of both sexes, all wrapped up in a realistic, relatable and hilarious storyline.

Buy it. Idolise it. Refer to it as the thinking young womans bible. You need this book in your life. Kirsty Eagar, you complete me.