I dont think this was my favorite book of hers by far. But i really felt connected to the main character and felt her shyness and also her fear of trying new things. I also really liked this book def shook up the main character life by taking her outside of her world. I also really enjoyed that this book focused on self discovery but also a really strong sister dynamics. I grew to love the romance. It was fun listen and like the music elements that become the focus of the read!! ( )

I dont think this was my favorite book of hers by far. But i really felt connected to the main character and felt her shyness and also her fear of trying new things. I also really liked this book def shook up the main character life by taking her outside of her world. I also really enjoyed that this book focused on self discovery but also a really strong sister dynamics. I grew to love the romance. It was fun listen and like the music elements that become the focus of the read!! ( )

Meh! It was fine. I never got sucked in. I didn't buy their talent. ( )

Sunkissed is yet another example of why Kasie West is one of my “automatic buy” authors! To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever read a book by Kasie West that I didn’t enjoy, and I’ve read all of them! Sunkissed is a lighthearted and perfect read for summertime.

Avery’s summer is not going as planned. Her best friend betrayed her, but when Avery is finally (maybe?) ready to talk it through, her parents drag her away to the middle of nowhere for their annual vacation… for three months… with no cell service or internet. Avery decides that she should use this time to rediscover herself and try new things, but she’s not sure where to start. Enter Brooks, the angsty, cute employee with an endearing sob story. Brooks offers to help Avery rediscover herself under one condition: she has to help him win a battle of the bands competition. There’s only one problem: Avery has unbearable stage fright.

First of all, the characters in this book were very likeable in my opinion. Avery and Brooks were both adorable, but many of the supporting characters were likeable as well. Avery’s sister, Lauren, really helped move the story along. Additionally, some of the other teenage employees that Avery befriended at the camp, also added depth to the story.

In addition, the plot of the book wasn’t necessarily fast-paced, but it moved quickly enough to keep me engaged. The scene at the battle of the bands’ tryout added variation to the setting and recaptured my attention further into the novel. Sometimes novels that have mainly one setting can feel a little monotonous or redundant, but that was not the case with this book. I was so absorbed with the interactions between the characters, that it didn’t really matter that most of the book takes place at the camp.

Finally, I’ve found with most Kasie West books that they simply go by so quickly. I read this book in under 24 hours, so it’s perfect if you’re in a reading slump or need a fun, refreshing read. Very few authors have the ability to write in a way where the reader can lose themselves in the book, but Kasie West is one of those talented authors, and Sunkissed is one of those books! ( )

The premise echoes Dirty Dancing, one of my favorite movies, so it makes for a solid choice for warm weather reading, there were just a couple areas where the book needed a little something more.

With the movie set in 1963 it easily allows you to buy into the conservative father and stifled mother expecting their daughter to be perfect and so naturally she does things behind their back. But for me, Sunkissed with its present day time period needed to provide a little more information about the parents to make sense of why Avery had to hide everything/lie to them. The dad mentions wanting to spend time with her before she’s off to college but to me that’s flimsy reasoning for why they were so militant about her eating every meal with them and accounting for her whereabouts every second when she’s an older teen on summer vacation with seemingly no history of misbehaving. Without the explanation of the era that the movie relied on, without some backstory for the parents, without Avery giving them any cause to keep a tight leash on her their need to keep tabs on her felt kind of contrived to make the plot work.

As for the romance, I liked Avery and Brooks together but the hostility and the tension wasn’t lengthy enough or consistent enough to really get the sparks flying on par with Dirty Dancing.

It’s probably unfair making comparisons to Dirty Dancing, it’s just with the book being a fairly obvious homage it does invite them. I do think Sunkissed did much better by the relationship between the sisters giving it more heart than the movie managed and I thought Avery’s arc matched up well with Baby’s as far as showing a girl breaking out of her comfort zone, figuring out who she is and what she wants and speaking up. ( )