Monday, October 14, 2013

Review: The Boys of Summer by C.J. Duggan

 Title: The Boys of Summer (Summer #1)
Author: C.J. Duggan
Source: Purchased

Synopsis:

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. 





Review:




The Boys of Summer is the first book in the Summer series by C.J. Duggan. It's a young adult romance that follows Tess, a 17 year old girl who reluctantly takes on a summer job.


When school lets out for the summer, she starts working at the Onslow hotel – after much begging from her friends. That's where she meets the “Onslow boys” - a group of guys in their early twenties who are regulars. She had seen Toby many years before, back before he graduated high school, and she's had a crush on him ever since. Now that she interacts with him sometimes when she's at work, it's pretty hard to not completely fall for him.


Honestly, I was a little disappointed in this book. There wasn't any big reason for this, other than the fact that I think maybe it was over hyped...so I was just expecting more I guess. I didn't feel a big connection between Tess and Toby. Maybe it was just me. I also felt like I didn't know Toby at all.


I was totally not expecting this book to be set in the 90's. It was also set in Australia. I tried not to read any other reviews so I would be surprised. And I was surprised, lol... There were several cultural things and phrases that through me off, but in most cases I think I understood what the author was talking about.


It took me awhile to get into the book in the beginning. It was just immature and I was afraid the book was going to be too young of a read for me. Things definitely picked up though. There was actually sex in this book, which I was not expecting. It wasn't detailed or anything. I just expected the book to be more innocent.


I liked many of the background characters – not just Tess' 2 best friends, but also the rest of the Onslow boys. I really like the fact that Sean is getting his own book. I have a feeling that I will like his story more than I liked this one. Don't get me wrong, this wasn't a bad book at all. It was a cute, Summer love story. It's just geared more toward the older teen/young adult crowd.


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