Tag: childhood friends to lovers

The Summers Between Us by Noreen Nanja

Anna and AlexisLeave a comment
Coffee shop with an iced London Fog and a Kindle with The Summers Between Us

Alexis:

I’ve been in the mood to read my ARCs lately!

Happy publication day to The Summers Between Us! This is the perfect romance read for this summer if you’re looking for:

  • Childhood friends to lovers
  • Second chance romance
  • Dual timelines 
  • Summer romance 

The Summers Between Us follows Lia. As a teenager, her family vacations in a cabin on a lake, where Lia meets Wes, the next-door neighbor. Over several summers, Lia and Wes grow closer and fall in love. Meanwhile, in the present timeline, 28-year-old Lia is a workaholic lawyer determined to fix her family and live up to her dad’s expectations, even after his death. But when she finds herself back in the cabin of her teenage years, she’s forced to face Wes and her past once more.

Nanja’s writing style is lovely, and it really put me in the mood for summer! The lakeside cabin was a great setting, and it contrasted well with Toronto. I also appreciated how the main characters are both likeable yet realistically flawed. 

This was the perfect blend of a sweet, first love romance with more serious themes. Lia struggles with the cultural differences between her parents and Wes, and the theme of self-identity plays a big role. Family, friendship, and the idea of the perfect daughter all come into play in the story. 

This was a great read, and I definitely recommend it! Just be sure to check out the author’s note below for any trigger warnings. 

VERDICT: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️/5

Thanks to Random House Canada for providing me a copy for review! 

Author’s Note:

The Summers Between Us is a story that aims to represent the messiness of life. This book contains discussion of divorce, homophobia, pregnancy loss, grief over the loss of a parent as an adult and coping with family illness.

Review: Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

Anna and Alexis1 Comment
A hand holds a yellow can of mango Bubbly sparkling water next to a Kindle, which rests on both a gray blanket and a black and whtie blanket.

Alexis:

I recently read The Unhoneymooners, which is undoubtedly the most popular of Christina Lauren’s books. And I really enjoyed it. It was the perfect beach read, and there were definitely a lot of actual laugh-out-loud moments.

So I decided to pick up Love and Other Words. And it’s definitely my favorite of the writing duo known as Christina and Lauren.

The story follows two different timelines. In modern day, Macy is a busy pediatrics resident stuck in a routine relationship. Back when she’s thirteen, Macy is struggling to deal with her mom’s recent death when she strikes a friendship with bookish Elliot. Eventually, their relationship becomes more. But in the present timeline, Macy has been estranged from Elliot for a decade, and when she unexpectedly runs into him, she has to face both him and her past.

The alternating timelines work really well for the story. Macy and Elliot’s characters already have a lot of tension between them, but the timelines and the mystery of what happened to their relationship ups the tension even more.

Part of why I loved this book was the past timeline. Reading about their growing friendship feels so realistic, sweet, and sometimes awkward, but true to their characters and to life. Their shared love of books and words makes for a solid foundation and a fun story to read.

As for the modern timeline, both Macy and Elliot are absolute messes, and it was both fun and heartbreaking to read. 

I only have two critiques, and one is relatively small. As a Greek American, I was excited to read about Elliot Petropoulos. I loved reading about his family’s dynamic, but I thought there was a missed chance to explore his Greek identity, even if it was just a little bit. His family didn’t even have spanakopita or baklava when they hosted Thanksgiving! There was a mention of peeling potatoes that I thought might have been a nod to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but I kept waiting for him or his family members to make a joke about being Greek.  

The other is the reveal/plot twist at the end, which was definitely an…interesting choice. The ending really needed to be expanded on in order to give both Elliot and Macy more time to unpack what happened and really deal with their trauma, especially Elliot.  

That being said, this story about childhood sweethearts made me feel all the feels. I found myself wholly engrossed in the writing and in Macy and Elliot’s story and relationship.

VERDICT: 5⭐s