Title: The Season of You & Me
Author: Robin Constantine
Publication: May 10th 2016 by Balzer + Bray
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 352
Format: ARC
Cassidy Emmerich is determined to make this summer—the last before her boyfriend heads off to college—unforgettable. What she doesn’t count on is her boyfriend breaking up with her. Now, instead of being poolside with him, Cass is over a hundred miles away, spending the summer with her estranged father and his family at their bed-and-breakfast at the Jersey Shore and working as the newest counselor at Camp Manatee.
Bryan Lakewood is sick of nevers. You’ll never walk. You’ll never surf. You’ll never slow dance with your date at prom. One miscalculated step and Bryan’s life changed forever—now he’s paralyzed and needs to use a wheelchair. This is the first summer he’s back at his former position at Camp Manatee and ready to reclaim some of his independence, in spite of those who question if he’s up for the job.
Cass is expecting two months dealing with heartbreak.
Bryan is expecting a summer of tough adjustments.
Neither of them is expecting to fall in love.
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My thoughts:
I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from Harper Collins International in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion.
This book was profoundly cliché wherein I find every part of the romance unoriginal, but I do not blame the author. I mean, somehow, contemporaries only get to an extent where they get to be the same. That’s why contemporaries are a no go for me unless they have been recommended by a lot of people.
The Season of You & Me follows two main perspectives: Cassidy who just broke up with a jerk who cheated on her; and Bryan who recklessly did something and made him seated on a wheelchair. Both meet at a beach camp and unexpectedly fall in love with each other.
“I hate when things end.”
Let me start with the very start of the book – it was terribly dragging, and I don’t know if I’ll continue reading or put it down. After the next several pages, it didn’t begin to feel like it anymore. However, the fact that it didn’t feel original plays a huge role in my rating for this.
I don’t know if I have something that I like about this book. Maybe the characters because the guy, Bryan, is disabled, and most contemporaries portray perfection and normality. This imperfection implies reality, and that’s what I really enjoy while reading this book. Diversity.
“Sometimes I even believed it — that she could like me that way — but I didn’t now how to pursue anything more. One moment I was sure we were friends, and completely content with it, then the next she would pout, or smile, or hell, breathe next to me and I ached for more. I was starting to want it too much, especially if she didn’t, and I’d settle for being around her, even if it meant we were just friends.”
Like I said, reading this book felt like it has been done by another author before. Same summer setting. Same kind of endings. Same problems with life. That’s what I have observed from reading contemporaries, and I’m looking for something new and fresh.
Will I recommend this? Maybe, if you want something light and summery romance read, you can read this, but I don’t fully recommend it because of its similar aspects to other contemporaries. Also, I saw one of my favorite bands in this book – Neck Deep! That also kept me reading further, but that did not affect my review at all.
3 swords for being cliché?
About the author:
Robin Constantine is the author of The Promise of Amazing and The Secrets of Attraction. A born-and-raised Jersey girl, Robin likes to spend her days dreaming up stories where love conquers all, eventually, but not without a lot of peril, angst, and the occasional kissing scene. She loves swoony books, flip-flops, dark chocolate and the full moon.
Do you enjoy reading contemporaries? Comment below and let’s talk about it.
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