The Boys of Summer by C.J. Duggan

The Boys of Summer (Summer, #1)

by C.J. Duggan

It seemed only natural to nickname them the ‘Onslow Boys’. Every time they swaggered in the front door of the Onslow Hotel after a hard week’s work, their laughter was loud and genuine as they settled onto their bar stools. I peeked through the restaurant partition, a flimsy divider between my world and theirs. I couldn’t help but smile whenever I saw them, saw him ... Toby Morrison.

Quiet seventeen-year-old Tess doesn’t relish the thought of a summertime job. She wants nothing more than to forget the past haunts of high school and have fun with her best friends before the dreaded Year Twelve begins.

To Tess, summer is when everything happens: riding bikes down to the lake, watching the fireworks at the Onslow Show and water bomb fights at the sweltering Sunday markets.

How did she let her friends talk her into working?

After first-shift disasters, rude, wealthy tourists and a taunting ex-boyfriend, Tess is convinced nothing good can come of working her summer away. However, Tess finds unlikely allies in a group of locals dubbed ‘The Onslow Boys’, who are old enough to drive cars, drink beer and not worry about curfews. Tess’s summer of working expands her world with a series of first times with new friends, forbidden love and heartbreaking chaos.

All with the one boy she has never been able to forget.

It will be a summer she will always remember.

Warning: sexual references, and occasional coarse language.

Reviewed by Angie on

3 of 5 stars

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Maybe there’s just something about “Summer” series that don’t click with me. Is it because I hate the beach? I don’t know, but I just didn’t connect with The Boys of Summer. It’s not a bad book at all, but I was just reading it for the sake of reading something. I’ll admit to skimming at some points, because the story didn’t always hold my attention. It is cute, but it didn’t impress me much. It’s also described as mature YA, but I thought it felt really young, especially at the beginning. Things didn’t pick up or become mature until almost 3/4 in, but then it was really good.

I felt like the first few chapters are really unnecessary. They show Tess and her friends at school, as Tess is being bullied by her ex-boyfriend and his loser friends. They mock her for being flat-chested and leave chewed up caramel on her locker. It’s all very immature and is why I thought the book read a little young. However, none of this affects the plot or characterization in anyway, so I don’t get why it was there at all. I think those opening chapters really set the wrong tone for the entire book.

However, once Tess and her friends begin their summer job at the Onslow hotel, things get a little interesting. Tess and Ellie being hanging out with the older boys who frequent the bar, and of course start up Summer romances. Tess has had her eye on Toby for the past 5ish years, and now’s her chance at him. Too bad he kind of has a girlfriend, or an ex-girlfriend. Maybe Tess is just the rebound girl? Their story was a bit repetitive until the last quarter where something finally happens! I think the author handled the sexual side of their relationship very well.

In the end, The Boys of Summer was okay. I didn’t like it at the beginning, warmed up a little bit to it in the middle, then really enjoyed it at the end. It just took way too long for something to actually happen. The conflict in Toby and Tess’ relationship wasn’t super dramatic and over-the-top, which I appreciated. The ending was happy and cheesy, but I liked it.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

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  • Started reading
  • 28 February, 2013: Finished reading
  • 28 February, 2013: Reviewed