This a fun summer beach read with all the necessities: light and easy read, page-turning, sexy and fun novel. This is part of a series which has similar characters but can be read as a stand-alone.

There is an interesting storyline aside from the lovelorn involving preserving the history of the town and its buildings. This story is the undercurrent which is carried through all the books providing the tie amongst the characters. For this reason I would recommend reading them in order.

The novel’s setting is the beach town of Avalon Bay in North Carolina where affluent people stay to escape for the summer from the chaos of their busy city lives. This story centers around Cassie Soul who is staying with her grandmother, Lydia Tanner, well-known owner of the Beacon Hotel. Mackenzie Cabot from Good Girl Complex will be renovating and restoring the hotel since bought it from Lydia. The hotel represents historical significance for the Tanner family which is the thread which strings the series together. Cassie, a college student, has been living in Boston with her mother and has come to Avalon Bay as her father is re-marrying in NC.

Cassie attends a party at Luke's house where she is introduced to the locals who live in Avalon Bay. After her parents divorce, her mother took her to live in Boston so she doesn't know her father or new step-sister very well. She decides that she will have a carefree summer as she celebrates her 21st birthday. It doesn't take long for her to find a "summer fling" when she overhears Tate Bartlett being dumped by his girlfriend. The sailing instructor is no stranger to flings but does not want to break Cassie's heart and decides she needs to stay in the friend zone. How long will he be able to keep his distance from the fun loving sweet Cassie. There are many events planned for this to be an eventful summer.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for providing this digital book for review consideration. I have read this book and all opinions expressed are my own. ( )

This is my first Elle Kennedy book, and my intro to the Avalon Bay series, although it is book 3. I was looking for an easy summer read, and this book was perfect. Cassie Soul is spending the summer with her grandmother and she meets gorgeous Tate Bartlett. Cassie is on the hunt for a summer fling, and although Tate is attracted to her, he says no to a fling, because he thinks she is special. As the summer passes, their attraction grows and there are some very sexy scenes. But, something threatens to destroy their newfound love, and it is a bombshell. Cassie and Tate are full of fun and flirting, but also a deeper connection.
Very enjoyable! ( )

The Summer Girl by Elle Kennedy
Avalon Bay series #3. Contemporary romance. New Adult. HFN. Can be read as a stand-alone. Alternating first person chapters between Cassie and Tate.
Cassie Soul is spending the summer of her twenty-first birthday in Avalon Bay. She plans to have a fun and easy summer and to reconnect with her father and step sisters. Maybe she’ll even have a summer fling. Tate seems to be the perfect candidate to have some fun with but he’s keeping her firmly in the friend zone.

🎧 I alternated between a paperback and audiobook. The narration was done by Caitlin Elizabeth and Teddy Hamilton. I loved these two together. Caitlin was new to me, but Teddy has been a favorite for awhile. They both clearly portray youth freshness, anxiousness, and breathless lust. Since both POV’s are first person, it was easy to track male, female to Teddy and Caitlin.
I listened to this at 1.5 for the best conversational speed.

Summer beaches, friends, parties, sailing, lust and good times. Then there is family and complications. It’s a typical summer in Avalon Bay.

Low angst. Blooming love. Reconnecting. Getting rid of misunderstandings.
A wonderful summer beach read. I didn’t realize this was a series until writing the review and now have to go find the first two books by this author. It was a book filled with emotions and hope and I want to experience those again and again.

I received copies of this from NetGalley and the publisher Macmillan Audio.
Opinions are my own. ( )

This was great! I was a little worried about picking up this book since I have not yet read the first two books in the Avalon Bay series but it was great as a stand-alone so there was no need to worry. Of course, I enjoyed this book so much that I feel like I need to go back and read the first two as soon as possible. I enjoyed every moment that I spent with Cassie and Tate!

Cassie and Tate were both wonderful characters and I felt that they absolutely belonged to each other. The banter between them was well done and I loved the chemistry that they shared. I liked getting to watch Cassie and Tate deal with their family issues and appreciated the way that they supported each other. I couldn’t wait to see them figure out a way to work things out.

Caitlin Elizabeth and Teddy Hamilton did a great job with this book. I thought that their voices complimented each other incredibly well. I loved the way that they were each able to bring the characters to life and add just the right amount of emotion to their reading. I couldn’t put this audiobook down once I started listening and believe that their narration took the story to the next level.

I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a wonderful romance featuring characters that were easy to fall for. I cannot wait to read the earlier books in this wonderful series.

I received a review copy of this book from St. Martin’s Griffin and Macmillan Audio. ( )

Cassie is a soon to be 21-year-old college student looking for a summer fling in Avalon Bay while she spends the summer with her grandmother. Tate is a townie and the first guy she asks to be her summer fling. As much as he’d like to say yes, he declines, unwilling to eventually hurt Cassie.

I’m a big fan of Elle Kennedy’s books but haven’t read any of this series. The Summer Girl could easily be a standalone, though. Cassie and Tate are both likeable characters and you can’t help rooting for them to get together and stay together. The family dynamics are interesting for both parties and Cassie’s mom is the ultimate villain. I would love to read more about these two and now I’ll add the previous Avalon Bay books to my TBR. Great sweet and sexy beach read!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin's Griffin for this complimentary ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. ( )