** I received an e-Arc of "Sometime in Summer" by Katrina Leno from the publisher for the book tour conducted by TBR and Beyond tours. All reviews are my own and unbiased.**
Trigger Warnings:
Divorce, strained relationships, near-drowning
About the book:
From critically acclaimed author Katrina Leno comes a tender love letter to books and summertime, with a touch of magic.
Anna Lucia Bell believes in luck: badluck. Bad luck made her best friend stop talking to her. Bad luck caused her parents’ divorce. Bad luck is forcing her mother, Miriam,to sell the family’s beloved bookstore. And it is definitely bad luck that Anna seems to be the only person in the world Miriam is unable to recommend a life-changing book. When Anna finds out that she and her mom are spending two months in a New England seaside town called Rockport, she expects a summer plagued with bad luck too. But Rockport has surprises in store for Anna,including a comet making its first appearance in over twenty years and two new—but familiar—friends.In what will prove to be the most important summer of her life so far, Anna learns about love, herself, and the magic that an ordinary summer can bring.
Book Links:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indigo | IndieBound
Review:
Sometime last year I delved into my first magical realism novel, and my first Katrina Leno book - and I loved both! I fell in love with her writing and the way she spun stories and plot lines with so much emotion entwined in it.
This book was no different. I fell in love with it from the first few pages. I was apprehensive about the fact that the main protagonist is a teenager (she's 14), and was expecting it to be naive and different, but the way it was done with so much raw emotion really moved me to the core. There were so many moments when I almost cried! I really connected with Anna's character and the way she was written and brought to life.
Anna's struggles were captivated really well, and her character development was done really well, in my honest opinion. The family dynamic was so well written, with all their struggles and relations being affected and strained and strengthened. I really loved the fact that Anna's character was expressive, because I hate the overuse of the miscommunication trope (especially with teenage POVs).
The magical realism touch was very unexpected but I love it so much! It gave the story a different twist and flavor, and I'm all for it! All I can say is, this is a must read if you're in the mood for heartfelt contemporary read with a touch of magical realism. It's hard to describe how it would make you feel, but you'd agree with me once you read it yourself and experience its appeal firsthand.
Rating:
4.5 / 5
Recommendation Level:
Waxing Gibbous
About Author:
Katrina Leno was born on the East Coast and currently lives in Los Angeles. She is the author of six critically acclaimed novels: Horrid, You Must Not Miss, Summer of Salt, Everything All at Once, The Lost & Found, and The Half Life of Molly Pierce. Her seventh novel, Sometime in Summer, arrives June 28 2022. She thinks you are just lovely.
Links:
That's all for today, besties. Don't forget to show some love to all the other wonderful bloggers and bookstagrammers on the tour.
XOXO,
Abby
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