Can Ace and John make their relationship work?
Cherokee Summer by Susan Antony is an excellent book about falling in love and trying to build a bridge between two families that have nothing in common. Well besides lots of drama things, and the will of two teens.
Ace McAllister
Ace McAllister is the first point-of-view character that we met, and she is struggling with a lot of things by herself. She is dealing with an alcoholic mother, an autistic little brother, a dad that’s not helping in any way, and a guy that her mom is pushing her, even though she doesn’t want anything to do with him. Ace is a people pleaser who is struggling with that and coming terms with who she is when she’s not under her mom’s watchful eyes.
What I like about Ace is that she isn’t afraid to fight for what she wants even if it causes a rift between her and her parents. She is a great character that wants to be able to experience life without her mom always butting in when she’s sober enough to do so. Ace loves her little brother Zach and would do anything for him. She has a strong will to survive anything that life throws her way, and has been doing that since her little brother has autism which led to her mom drinking. There isn’t much that I dislike about her.
John Spears
John Spears is the second point-of-view character that we met, and he is struggling with a lot of things like Ace. He is a native American, and this complicates his life when he wants to be with Ace. It doesn’t seem like fate is helping him at all. John has to deal with lots of people who don't support his relationship with Ace, like his Grandma, Cameron the guy that Ace’s mom her to date, and of course his mother causes problems for him. John can deal with all of that throughout the book while falling in love with Ace. These two make a sweet couple, and John tries to do what is best for Ace.
What I like about John is that he, like Ace, never did like Cameron, and got a weird vibe from the guy. He went after something that he loved even if it meant some bad things could happen to him. I especially like it when he stands up for Ace. John is charming with Ave's little brother and can get through to him and get him to do things that he usually wouldn’t do. I couldn’t find anything that I didn’t like about him.
Five Stars
I am giving Cherokee Summer by Susan Antony five stars and recommending it to all young adult contemporary romance lovers out there. These two characters remind me of Romeo and Juliet with their forbidden romance, although no one dies in this one. I am such a sucker for a chance at a happily ever after. John and Ace had a lot going on for them, and they get their happy ending which makes me smile. They deserve it.
Excerpt 1
“Hold still,” she says. “You’ve got jelly on your lip.” She leans over and wipes it away with the pad of her thumb.
Her blue eyes capture mine and everything around me blurs. The only thing in focus is the two of us.
She wets her lips, and her eyelids drop to half-mast, exposing her blue-tinted eyelashes. I’m one-hundred percent sure I’ve never wanted to kiss any girl as much as I want to kiss her right now.
I brush her hair to the side and stroke her neck. Then I press my lips to hers. Her breathing stops momentarily, but then she opens her mouth, inviting me in. I grip on to a handful of grass to hold myself back, then let go almost as quickly. It’s no use. I want her close. I want to feel her skin against mine. My hands roam her perfect body. She makes little groaning noises into my mouth. “You are the best thing that’s happened to me,” I whisper.
“I’m the lucky one,” she whispers back.
My heart smiles.
Just then, a raindrop hits the back of my head— then another and another.
Damn it.
I tear myself away from her and stare at the sky. A large drop plops between my eyes and rolls down the side of my nose. I wipe it away, and a rumble of thunder sounds in the distance. The drops fall quicker and grow larger. In the blink of an eye, both of us are nearly soaked.
We hop to our feet, stumbling over each other, laughing. I gather up the blanket, take Ace’s hand, and we run into the asi.
The sun hasn’t budged. It’s still shining hard on the earth. We sit in the doorway, my arm around her shoulder, watching the world’s largest sun-shower. Even the rain can’t ruin a day when she’s around.
Excerpt 2
I loved writing many of my scenes, but I think my favorite scene takes place at the river right after Ace and John realize they care for each other.
I invite her into the circle of my arms. She leans against me and rests her head on my shoulder. Above us, the moon is nearly full, casting bluish light across the river. The sky is a starry mess. “Look.” I point. “There’s Ursa Major.”
“What?” she asks.
“The bear constellation.”
“Where is it? Show me.”
I raise her hand and trace the starry image like I’m doing a dot-to-dot picture. “There’s the head.” I swoop her hand left. “And there’s the tail.” I finish by pointing out the bear’s front and rear legs.
“The way you do it makes it look like a skinny, headless dog,” she says.
I laugh. “Where’s your imagination?”
“Let me try.” She lifts my hand and traces a detailed shape of a bear, describing the air-drawing from ear to toe. “Is that better?”
“Perfect,” I say. “Like you.”
She laces her fingers through mine.
I rub tiny circles on her palm with my thumb as I speak. “When I was a kid, I used to fear the bear would swoop down from the sky and eat me alive.”
“That’s horrible.” She presses her lips together, and her ribs shake in suppressed mirth.
“I wouldn’t laugh if I were you,” I say. “Elisi says that bear is pretty bad.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you from Starbear.” She makes a muscle, flexing and releasing her cute bicep.
“You will, huh?” I tickle her side.
She squeals, wiggles around, and digs her fingers into my ribs. We engage in a full out tickle-war. In the middle of our battle, the wind shifts and the earth rotates, and soon we’re on the ground with her straddling me, both of us panting.
Our eyes lock, and I brush a strand of hair behind her ear. She leans over inch at a time until her nose touches mine. She kisses me, only a peck, then runs the tip of her tongue around lightly around my lips. Unable to resist any longer, I pull her to me and crush my mouth into hers…
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This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove