I will always read a second chance romance meets childhood crush. I don’t make the rules. So you know I had to read The Summers Between Us! Keep reading this book review of The Summers Between Us for my full thoughts.
Summary
Lia Juma thought she’d buried the dreams of her heart long ago. But when she’s forced to return to her family’s summer cottage on Pike Bay, the life she’s carefully crafted begins to unravel. The perfect immigrant daughter, Lia has carved out a successful career as a corporate lawyer and has just started dating a man who fulfills all her mother’s criteria for the ideal son-in-law. But underneath her polished life lies a secret she’s never spoken of—one she fears could have destroyed her family a decade ago.
Back at the bay, Lia stumbles upon memories she thought were long forgotten and, at the centre of it all, is Wesley Forest—the boy she left behind, the boy who knew her dreams better than anyone. Their friendship and young love once burned bright, woven through long sun-drenched days and whispered promises of a future together. But when family pressures and heartbreak pulled the two lovers apart, they were forced to follow separate paths.
Now, Wes is back in her life, and with him, old wounds and feelings surface. As the two confront the choices and secrets that divided them as teenagers, Lia must decide if she can heal from the past and finally embrace the life and love she’s always craved. Could a second chance with Wes be worth risking everything for?
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
The Summers Between Us is just up my alley. It has summer visits, childhood crushes, second chance romance, and the weight of expectations. With flashbacks, we see the feelings and intensity that scares Lia so much. There’s this idea that ‘young love isn’t real’, but it just tries to diminish these real feelings. The love that can be formed no matter the age. Experience doesn’t mean you love more or that love will be better. In the flashbacks we can see the friendship and the transitions from friendship to something more and it’s sweet – even if you know how it will end.
The Summers Between Us explores the family pressure and expectations. Everything that goes without saying and the ways we find ourselves becoming someone else. Nanja examines this theme through a few different characters as they each have a reckoning with themselves. Are they happy the way things are? There’s this pressure Lia feels as the Golden Child, but that’s a crown she never chose to bear herself. As we see Lia throughout her life, and who she is now, we can see how she has been living for others with nothing left. And we can let the fear of losing a relationship, even one that might not be working, or one that could fail, control us.
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Do we choose the easy or hard path? The one guaranteed – or seemingly so – or the one with the risks? The Summers Between Us is multi-faceted as it explores the meaning of second chances on love, but also on ourselves. We witness sister dynamics and a re-discovery of what matters to us. Find The Summers Between Us on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.