The Summer Before Forever by Melissa Chambers Genre: YA Contemporary Romance Publication Date: August 22, 2016 Format: I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. You can purchase a copy of the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Before-Forever-Melissa-Chambers-ebook/dp/B01JGMQDZ8#nav-subnav Summary: Chloe Stone’s life is a hot mess. Determined to stop being so freaking skittish, she packs up her quasi-famous best friend and heads to Florida. The goal? Complete the summer bucket list to end all bucket lists. The problem? Her hot soon-to-be stepbrother, Landon Jacobs. Landon’s mom will throttle him if he even looks at his future stepsister the wrong way. Problem is, Chloe is everything he didn’t know he wanted, and that’s…inconvenient. Watching her tear it up on a karaoke stage, stand up to his asshole friend, and rock her first string bikini destroys his sanity. But there’s more than their future family on the line. Landon is hiding something—something he knows will change how she feels about him—and she’s hiding something from him, too. And when the secrets come out, there’s a good chance neither will look at the other the same way again… My thoughts: I really thought the book was going to be different that how it turned out. It surprised me.
So starting at the beginning, Chloe, along with her best friend are driving down to Florida to visit Chloe’s dad for the first time since he moved down there and got engaged. The first thing they notice, is Chloe’s soon-to-be step brother, Landon. He’s freaking hot, and of course, no one can prevent themselves from falling for him. Of course, things gets a little twisted, as the soon to be siblings fall hard for each other, and have to deal with the obstacles and hide from their parents. They each have their own secrets, which are kept from each other, but come through eventually. I liked how it alternated points of views so we can see each character's thoughts and get a better understanding of why they do certain things. They set their own goals, that the other doesn’t know about and then sets to conquer them, which lead them only closer to each other. Ok, there were parts where I remember that Chloe and Landon are about to become brother and sister, so some scenes were really disturbing. I also really disliked the ending. It just stopped so abruptly. No mention or epilogue of what happened afterwards, the results, etc… It just stops before the wedding of Chloe’s dad and Landon’s mom. No mention of any major decisions, that is literally the drive of the entire book. It left me very upset and wanting to throw the book across the room. Of course I didn’t because I came to my senses before I did that and realized that I didn’t want to break my phone. There was also the entire situation with Monica, Landon’s math tutor that happened very randomly. I think there should have been a scene detailing the interactions of Chloe and Monica. I really, really like Chloe’s best friend, Jenna. She’s literally not afraid of anything and knows how to get the boys, and then subtly dump them. Now I’m not saying that that’s a good trait to have, but it’s pretty amazing. She’s not afraid to say anything and is always the first to break the ice. Although I gotta admit, placing in a national singing contest probably does have to boost your confidence. The writing of the book was really good. I liked the style that the author wrote in, it’s mostly the plot/content that I have issues with. It is definitely something different from other books written about the same type of content. Just a warning, this book does talk about more mature topics, such as drinking, drugs, nudity, sex, harassment, etc… This wasn’t a problem for me, but should be taken into consideration for younger audiences and readers who may be sensitive to those topics. Overall, I give the book a 6/10 (3/5 stars). I feel really bad about giving the book such a low rating, but the ending really just killed the book for me. I was loving it right up until the last 2-3 chapters.I recommend this book to people who like reading books about change in families and dealing with personal struggles, if you can get over the fact that the main characters are about to become family. I actually really like the book, with the exception of the ending. I really, really wish there was a little bit more, detailing what happened, just because it stopped so abruptly. I was literally like, “Am I missing part of the book? What’s happening?” Unfortunately, it really is how the book ends. So yea, You’ve been warned about the ending. What did you think about the book? Have you read it? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below, or find me on social media, Twitter: @BrookeEvans2001 and Instagram: @thecozylittlebooknook. I reply to every single comment! I love hearing your thoughts and we can talk all things bookish or anything else! I will be back soon with more posts, and in the meanwhile, you can go to my archives and read more reviews! Also tell me what books you would like to see me review or any other post ideas! ~Brooke
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About me!Brooke's a high schooler who loves to read all sorts of books. She's happy to be able to share all the books she's reading with all of y'all. Archives
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