Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Allison Ashley
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: May 5th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A teen starts to fall for the boy she and her best friend agreed was off-limits while building a relationship with the new guy in town at the same time in this seaside teen romance perfect for fans of The Summer I Turned Pretty.

Amelia’s summers in Cape Cod have always been about three spending as much time in the ocean as possible, hanging out with her best friend Kat, and crushing on Myles Ford, her and Kat’s forever dream boy. But this summer, Kat’s leaving their little beach town to get a head start on tennis training at her new boarding school. Kat’s always been the social one in their friendship, the one who made things happen, and Amelia’s just been along for the ride. Without Kat, Amelia’s…adrift.

Amelia’s job at the local seafood joint keeps her busy, and Pearl’s just so happens to employ the one and only Myles. As Amelia and Myles get to know each other, Amelia realizes there’s more to him than she thought, which complicates things when Myles starts to show interest in her. Because ever since Amelia and Kat decided Myles was the epitome of crush-worthiness, they agreed he was off-limits so no boy would ever come between them.

And when another boy comes into Amelia’s life—a newcomer in town who makes Amelia look at life differently—Amelia will have to risk her closest friendship for a romance fit for a Nicholas Sparks novel or take a chance on a boy who might not stick around for long?

Thank you Simon Teen for the gifted eARC.

I’M NOT SURE.

I just couldn’t get behind this one. I don’t read a lot of YA contemporary romances anymore but I love Allison Ashley’s adult romances so I wanted to try this one out too.

I did love the atmosphere of the plot. It has a very nostalgic summer quality to it where I wanted to be at the beach and pier too (a la The Last Song or The Summer I Turned Pretty). And that was probably my biggest win in regards to the book. I think most of it worked fine, though I am confused if there’s going to be a sequel?? I’m not going to lie, you’ll probably find me reading that too.

The love triangle didn’t work for me because it felt pretty obvious what direction it should go in and now I’m leery of the ending? Once again, not knowing if there’s another book coming. Some of the content (multiple underage drinking parties and a few sex discussions) make this for a little bit older of a YA crowd even though the writing was on the younger side of that spectrum.

I liked Amelia. I thought she felt like a teenager and responded overall, the way I figured. Which isn’t a bad thing. I don’t love friend to friend drama over a boy though and that bugged me as the book went forward.

Thoughts are all a bit scattered, but here we are.

Overall audience notes:

• YA Contemporary Romance
• Language: mild
• Romance: kisses
• Violence: low
• Content warnings: loss of a parent (recounted), underage drinking, alcohol poisoning (small side character)

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