When Summer Ends

by Jessica Pennington

[Sam@WLABB]

This went from being a summer of woe to a summer of OH for both Olivia and Aiden, and I really enjoyed having the opportunity to accompany them on this journey as they embraced their new beginnings.

• Pro: Pennington did a great job crafting these characters, because the empathy flowed instantly from me for both Aiden and Olivia. They were dealing with some big changes, and I was glad they had each other for support. I did think the stakes were a little higher for Aiden, but I also thought he was less resistant to embracing the changes than Olivia. She did come around, slowly but surely, and I was really happy with the growth she experienced.

• Pro: Aiden's art adventure was fabulous! First, we got to attend ArtPrize, but we also were treated to Aiden's grand-scale artistic endeavors, and it was all really wonderful!

• Pro: I have never been to Michigan, but Pennington definitely painted an amazing picture for me. I was sort of glad Aiden and Olivia worked outdoors, because I had a great time exploring the lake, river, and beaches with them.

• Pro: The romance was so sweet, and I was shipping these two right away. I just loved them together, and Pennington really had me feeling those first romantic stirrings right along with them. I had my fingers and toes crossed for these two, because they were such a great pairing, but facing quite a few obstacles.

• Pro: Part of Olivia's growth was with respect to her relationship with her mother. This was a complicated mother-daughter dynamic, and I liked the way Pennington let it play out.

• Pro: The ending made me really happy. Pennington knew the way to my heart, when she not only gave me a jump-ahead ending, but a good one at that.

Overall: This was a such a wonderful and enjoyable story about friendship, family, love, embracing change, and taking chances, and I adored every second of it.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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