Wednesday 2 May 2012

Summer Lovin' Blog Tour: The Summer of No Regrets by Katherine Grace Bond (Review)

Source: Received an egalley from Netgalley and the publisher for an honest review.
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Number of Pages: 304 (Paperback)

Blurb from Goodreads:
The day Brigitta accidentally flings herself into the lap of a guy she's never met, her friend Natalie is convinced he's Trent Yves, egotistical heartthrob-in-hiding. When the boy, who calls himself Luke, is nearly eaten by a cougar, Brigitta finds herself saving his life, being swept into his spectacular embrace and wondering if she wants Natalie's fantasy to be true.

As the two spend the summer together raising orphaned cougar cubs, Brigitta still can't be sure of his true identity. But then again, since her grandparents' death, her father's sudden urge to give away all their possessions and become a shaman, and her own awkward transition from girlhood into a young woman, she isn't sure of anything. What is the truth? More importantly, can she accept it?



I don't know about all of you, but I've had daydreams where I've met celebrities, so I could definitely understand the whole celebrity appeal that is woven throughout The Summer of No Regrets. I really enjoyed this story, and I loved the whole celebrity aspect. I also really liked the main character, Brigitta, she was incredibly unique, but she also had aspects of her that were really easy to relate to...like her whole celebrity obsession, and the fact that she's embarrassed by her parents...I'm pretty sure that's something we can all relate to at least once! haha

I'm not going to tell you if Luke is Trent Yves, but I'm not going to tell you that he isn't either. Instead I'm going to tell you that you need to read the book to find out. Throughout the story, Brigitta is on the fence about Luke. One second she's convinced he is Trent, the next she's convinced that they're completely different people and that she's being absurd. It was confusing at times, but I think that confusion improved the story because it helped put you in Brigitta's shoes. She's confused, so you are, too. I liked Luke, a lot. I thought that he was a fantastic guy...he definitely needed to be more honest some of the time, but I really liked him when he let Brigitta see who he really was. It was fantastic.

Another detail that I wasn't expecting, but really enjoyed, was Brigitta's blog. She has an obsession with trying to find the right religion for herself, so that's what he previous posts were about. However, once Natalie insists that Luke is Trent Yves, she begins to blog about Trent...and I think that her blog posts share the truest representation of how she's feeling about the whole situation with Luke, and with her confusion about his identity. I also loved that the blog comments were shown, so you'd see some serious ones, then you had Trentsbabe, who was always hilarious and pretty much embodies that poster who never spells anything correctly and goes on and on about how someone is so seksi. It was such a small detail, but added a lot. :)

The cougar cubs were another great aspect. They helped Luke and Brigitta bond, but they also did so much more than that. They allowed Brigitta to process things, and to finally allow herself to come to terms with the deaths of her grandparents. Through that, it also allowed Brigitta and her father to finally repair their relationship, which I was really happy to see.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I loved that while celebrity and Luke played large roles, they weren't all that the book was about. This isn't a typical light summer read, it opened up a bunch of questions and went a lot deeper than just summer flings. I found it refreshing to have such a great summer read, and I loved that while it went deeper than I thought, it was still a fun and quick read. I definitely recommend this one if you want a fun read with some substance. :D

Have you ever had daydreams about celebrities?
Do you see celebrities everywhere like Brigitta's friend, Natalie?
Have you read this one yet, or does it sound like something you want to read?

4 comments:

  1. This is a book I stumbled across when making my "summer" reading list. I honestly wasn't sure how I'd feel about the premise, this whole is he a celeb or isn't he, isn't exactly up my alley. But it seems like there are a lot of other strong aspects to it, so maybe I'll have to give it a try afterall (even if it didn't make my list! Bonus read).

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    Replies
    1. It was actually a really cute story, and pretty short, so it'd be a good one to add as a bonus to your list! ;D

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    2. It says it's 300 pages.... pretty short compared to what? :P Pretty short is like 250 or less. Just saying!

      But I'll add it as a bonus and hopefully get a chance to try it.

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    3. It had really big text because seriously I flew through it, and I wasn't even really reading it quickly either. At least it seemed short. :P lol

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