Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway: An Endless Summer by C.J. Duggan

Or you can copy and paste the following:  Welcome to my stop on the An Endless Summer blog tour hosted by YA Bound Book Tours.  Click HERE to see the full blog tour schedule!

Title: An Endless Summer (Summer #2)

by C.J. Duggan

Release Date: 07/17/13
Source: ARC given to me for review
Format: eBook
Group Age: New adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Grade rate: A

Sean looked out over the lake, squinting against the sunlight. He turned to me, his expression sobering as his eyes flicked over my face in a silent study.

“Come on Amy, I saved you once, I’ll save you again.”

I met his stare unflinchingly. “I don’t need saving.”

A wicked grin formed slowly. “Don’t you?”

After a rebellious summer night that almost claimed her life, Amy Henderson – the Onslow publican’s only daughter – is sent away to suffer a fate far worse than any other punishment:

Boarding School.

Three years on, a now nineteen-year-old Amy returns to Onslow for the summer. What once was a cauldron of activity with live bands, hot meals and cold beers, the Onslow Hotel now lies dark, deserted and depressing. All fond childhood memories of loitering on the hotel stairs and eavesdropping on customers’ colourful conversations are in the distant past.

How had her dad let it come to this?

With the new threat of putting the Onslow up for sale, Amy reluctantly turns to a local tradesman for help: Sean Murphy, the very same Onslow boy who saved her life all those years ago. With his help and that of some old friends, the task is clear: spend the summer building the hotel back up to its former glory or lose it for good.

In an endless summer, Amy soon realises that sometimes in order to save your future, you have to face your past, even if it’s in the form of a smug, gorgeous Onslow boy.

Where to find it: Goodreads | Amazon 

The Boys of Summer is on sale this week only for $.99!  Get your copy now!

My Review 

A few months ago I participated in the blog tour for The Boys of Summer and I loved that book (you can see my review here).  I was really excited to be invited to review An Endless Summer, the second book in C.J. Duggan’s Summer series.  I really love the series and I can’t get enough of the “Onslow Boys” :)

What makes this new adult series so good is the characterization.  ALL of the characters come alive within the story; they have their distinct personalities, however, they are not perfect.   This makes them feel even more real to me.

The story is told in the first person, from Amy’s point of view.  Amy is very different from Tess (in the first book). Where Tess is sweet and a bit timid, Amy is a tornado of emotions.  She is funny, snarky, sarcastic, loyal, and self conscious.  She is trying to live under the shadow of her family and what people believe she is: a spoiled princess.  Don’t get me wrong, she can be spoiled, but she constantly tries to get from other that shadow and rise above her problems and her own insecurities. Another thing that I love about Amy is that she didn’t want to be ‘saved’.  She wasn’t waiting for a knight in shining armor, not because there is something wrong with that, but because she didn’t want to be the damsel in distress. 

How I adore Sean!  He is one of my favorite “Onslow Boy”, not only because he is gorgeous, but because he is good to the core and he is so sure of himself all the time.  Sean is a great friend, loyal, selfless, and even sweet.  I love the dialogue between these two, it was priceless!

Now, on the Onslow Boys!  I was so wound up to read about all of them again.  A few years (about 3-4) passed between the first book and An Endless Summer and we can see what has become of Ellie, Tess, Trish, Chris, Adam, Ringer, Stan, and Toby.  The “Boys” are not in their mid twenties and as handsome, disorderly and close as ever.  How I love this group of friends!  Also present are all the adults and parents that add something extra to the story. 

The story is a contemporary, new adult romance.  There is no secret tragic pass, but just the familiarity of childhood friends as they unite to revive the Onslow Hotel.  The Onslow, on and by itself becomes one more character, full of life and memories.  The plot is simple, well executed and Duggan’s writing is supreme.  I just love the sense of family, togetherness, and friendship that is at the core of the series.

I will most definitely read That One Summer, the last book on the series; I cannot wait to visit Onslow again!

About the cover:  It’s pretty, but nothing we haven’t seen before in NA books. 

About the Author

C.J Duggan is an Australian author who lives with her husband in a rural border town of New South Wales, Australia.The Boys of Summer is Book One in her Mature Young Adult Romance Series.

Author Links:

   

Giveaway

1 Signed paperback copy of either The Boys of Summer or An Endless Summer (INT) and 5 ebook copies of The Boys of Summer or An Endless Summer (INT).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of YA Bound Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by YA Bound, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and Testimonials in Advertising*