It's Not Summer Without You: Book 2

Bella's relationship with Conrad end badly, and two months after Susannah’s death, everyone is still broken. Jeremiah calls for help when Conrad goes missing, and the three of them end up back at the beach, but without the comfortable buffers of summer and family.
I love that this series isn't

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just about a teen romance, but about families and deep, deep friendships. Susannah’s death has almost broken the bonds that hold together her sons, as well as Belly and Steve and their mother.
Jeremiah's point of view is welcome, and almost all the characters become more knowable in this book. Conrad is still a big black hole of unknown, I have no idea what's going on in his head, but the little we see of him I do not like. Whiny, snotty boy. Steve, alas, is absent.

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It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han
Genre: YA, Romance
ISBN:9781416995555

Rating: 4

Everything changed after Susannah died. Her two sons, both of whom Belly loves in different ways, have changed. Jeremiah is older. Conrad is empty. Belly's mother is different. And Belly is different, too. After

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her painful break-up with Conrad, she isn't expecting to enjoy summer, she just wants to get through it. But when Jeremiah calls her and tells her that Conrad has vanished from summer school, she goes with him to find him… and try to make things write. But Conrad has his own agenda, and his own idea of what is right. Belly has to decide if she's willing to let her heart get torn and healed by Conrad's ever-changing emotions in relation to her—as changing as the sea at her summer house—or if she's ready to let go.

After having just finished It's Not Summer Without You, I'm not sure if I feel like smiling, or if I feel smug, or if I want to kill Conrad—or at least hit him—or maybe I want to kill Jeremiah, or maybe I want to cry. I think I feel like Belly. I feel sorry for her, that's for sure.

It's Not Summer Without You is beautiful in a painful kind of way. I loved the way the story was woven, but I'm not sure I liked the way it turned out. It's the kind of story that starts looking scary, because you know that in the end everyone is going to get hurt, and that someone is going to have to choose between two good things, and you'll never be completely satisfied with the choice. But then, maybe that's the way it is in the real world. That's what makes this story good: it's real.

I read it in one sitting, on the same day I got it, and I couldn't put it down. Just like The Summer I Turned Pretty, the main aspect of the book is the characters. They are what keep you reading, they are what makes you care about the book. I care about Belly, I care about Conrad, I care about Jeremiah. I just don't care about them in the same ways I used to.

The writing felt smooth, poetic, and lyric, but the entire book had a negative energy to it. It felt depressing to read. I don't feel like I just read a summer romance, I feel like I just read a sad book and I need a light summer romance to cheer me up. That's not to say I didn't like it, but it was rather depressing to read.

The whole thing, from start to finish, felt like a lost cause with a possible hopeful end—meaning Belly and Conrad would never be together again, everything is falling apart after Susannah's death, and nothing will ever be good again…unless, unless, unless—and I'm not quite sure if it had that end. It wasn't enough of an ending for me. There wasn't enough closure between the characters, I'm still not exactly sure what happened and where everyone stands, and the epilogue wasn't enough to decode what was being said. Hopefully, more was added to the epilogue in the finished copy of the book. That's the only reason I gave it four stars and not five: I didn't enjoy it enough. It was good, it was just hard to read and hard to enjoy.

All in all, I did like it, I liked most of what happened, and I liked how real it was. It's Not Summer Without You evokes real emotions because it plays out in the real world.

Content: Some language
Recommendation: Ages 16+

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This book was a really great sequel to The Summer I Turned Pretty, and I devoured it just like I did the first one – in one big gulp. This book takes place the summer after the first, and Susannah – the boys’ mother- has just died. Isabel has spent most of the last year in as much of a

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relationship with Conrad as he will allow, but after his mother’s death he has totally shut down. Then he disappears from school, and his brother Jeremiah and Belly go to find him. This is a painful follow-up because it is not all romance and roses – it is the pain of not understanding someone and not being able to ask for the real truth. And Belly is also seeing her only friendship in counterpoint to her mother and her best friend, and realizing that her own friendship isn’t so great. Even though it is full of the pain of losing someone, and growing up, the book is still sweet and loving. And it ends with a look towards the next book – something Han did in the last book, and incorporated into this one. Really good.

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I still liked this book very much it was just that it still had the same gist to it. I know that it is the same book duo but there really wasn't anything new in it.

Belly is back after The Summer I Turned Pretty. Things have really changed. She misses her time in Cousins (the place she's spent every summer) after Suzannah has died from Cancer. Conrad has gone missing and Jeremiah has called her up to help find him. This is one you just want to sit and read in

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one sitting. But what's up with the cryptic epilogue? Ahh, summer time.

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The second book about Belly, following The Summer I Turned Pretty, picks up a year after she finally got Conrad to notice her the way she wanted him to, but everything is not so great. Susannah died two months before the summer, Conrad sort-of broke up with her before that at her prom, and Belly

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hasn't moved on from any of it, despite her friend Taylor's attempts. And when Jeremiah calls to say that Conrad took off from summer school without a word to anyone and asks her to help him look for his brother, Belly finds herself back at Cousins Beach again. Here, at the beach house, maybe things can turn out right.

I like the second book a lot better than the first, and I really liked the first book! I think this one has more to the plot, and the characters get more fully fleshed out. The technique of going back and forth in time is still here, and it's executed more skillfully in It's Not Summer Without You, also including some chapters from Jeremiah's point of view. It's great how seamlessly it all fits together and every bit adds to the complexity of the story.

Now here's a part that I like that's hard to explain why without giving away the ending, but I'll try. Throughout the first book and most of the second book, I felt like Belly had no reason to love Conrad. I never got a full picture of his character, though it didn't bother me because the focus was on Belly's feelings, not on the person she had those feelings for. By the middle of the second book, though, I started getting annoyed at Belly for not getting over him. He did seem to be a bit of a jerk at that point. But the ending of the book clears all of that up and ends it just the way I was hoping for!

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Conrad and Belly left things badly. Or should I say Belly did. At his mother's funeral, she found him with his head in another girl's lap, the girl who broke his heart, and Belly told him she hated him. Yes it was childish, but that's what love does sometimes, makes you act childish. She spends the

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next few months pining over Conrad but also mourning the loss of Susannah. She misses the attention she got from her, how she treated Belly and mostly she misses their summer at Cousins. It just doesn't feel like summer. Her best friend thinks she's carried on long enough, but she just doesn't understand. For sixteen years, almost seventeen she'd lived at Cousins trying to fit in with the boys and this year, there was no Cousins, no Susannah.

But that all changes when Jeremiah calls and asks for her help in finding Conrad. He's gone missing at school and missed two classes and has some exams coming up on Monday. Jeremiah picks her up and she lies to her mom about where she'll be. They take off for Brown, where Conrad is attending school. His room mate is no help. A quick hello to the RA gives them the information they need when he tells them he said something about going to the beach. They find him at Cousins, his usual brooding, surly self. He gives them no reason why he's there and they can't talk him into going back.

It's only when the boy's dad shows up that they understand why he's there. Belly still loves him, but he is still aloof and she takes no chances on being hurt again until she gets drunk on their last night there. Then she runs to the beach to swim and Conrad comes after her because she's too drunk to swim. She taunts him and he tells her he won't follow her in. She gets distracted and he picks her up and drops her on the beach. By this time she's crying and apologizes for the way she acted the day of the funeral. Conrad acts like it was nothing while Belly has carried the shame and guilt of it around for months. She runs crying from the beach and crawls up to her room where she drunk dials her mom. She spills her guts, then passes out with the phone off the hook.

The next morning, when Belly's mom shows up, everyone is surprised and they relay the events of the past few days. She says she'll try to help. After she leaves, Belly and the Jeremiah have to help Conrad study for him exams. They study most of the night and then Jeremiah drives them to Brown while Conrad studies. Jeremiah has always been in love with Belly and knows he'd be good for her and during one of the times they are waiting for Conrad, they end up kissing. Conrad sees them and is jealous. Belly is confused all over again when he says he never loved her. It's and up and down ride and there will be another book coming out in May next year. Personally, I'd like to see Jeremiah punch Conrad in the face and Jeremiah and Belly live happily ever after, as much as you can. Conrad is really detestable. He strings her along, keeping her on the hook just enough to keep hope alive. But Belly is the most frustrating. She lets him treat her like dirt. He leaves her at the prom, to walk home. He didn't even bring her a corsage. He acted like he didn't want to be there the whole time. He doesn't call her. Then at the funeral when she wants to be with him, he's with his ex-girlfriend. But he still makes these flirty comments to her. So she lets him keep her hoping when even if he does love her, he's never going to be there for her and she's never going to be able to count on him.

That was the frustrating part of this book. For two books now, she's been mooning over Conrad and though between book one and two he called her almost nightly, she didn't know if they were boyfriend and girlfriend. Then there's Jeremiah who told her he liked her and who she can talk to and be with and laugh with. Hello, wake up Belly! First change your choice in boys and then change your nickname, you're not a toddler anymore.

I still loved this book and can't believe I have to wait this long to read what I hope will be the last in the series. I only want it to be the last because I don't like waiting for sequels. I love the characters and they had the appropriate feelings as to the loss of Susannah in this book. Each character handled their grief differently, but they were all grieving. The visit to Cousins helped to heal that wound a little. If you liked the first novel, you'll love this second one and hate that you have to wait for the third one! Again, this is PG for underage drinking and a possible swear word or two.

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Ever since she can remember, Belly has counted her life in summers, but this year may be her last year at the summer house. Susanne is sick again and Belly's relationships with Jeremiah and Conrad seem to be changing. I enjoyed the chapters where the boys told the story from their point of view. I

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also enjoyed seeing Belly mature.

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When I picked this up, I thought it was a sequel to The Summer I Turned Pretty, not the second book of a trilogy. Those things are completely different, and I might not have been as surprised as I was had I realized that going into the story. I know the first book was well-loved, and I’m curious

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to see what the response will be to this one.
Belly is very light, and I mean that in the sense that she isn’t very grounded in who she is independent of the people around her. This is difficult to admit because I see a lot of my high school self in this character (not so much the torn between two brothers thing, but her personality), and I found myself disappointed in Belly throughout a lot of the book. She blames others for most of her problems, but if she were to examine them a little bit closer she’d see that she played a bigger role in the problem than she wants to admit. There are very few instances in life when one person is solely to blame for a problem in a relationship of any type, romantic or platonic or familial, but she usually only sees how the other person messed up. While I can easily argue that that’s how most people are when they think they’re right, it doesn’t change the fact that I kind of wanted to smack some sense into her.
Conrad seriously upset me in this book, too, but I just can’t bring myself to hate him. This is partly because I’m still confused about him. There are moments when people explain his behavior as that of someone who is sensitive, who feels too deeply, but then other times he’s seen as cold and aloof. I want to believe that his aloofness stems from his anger about Susannah’s illness and his dad’s infidelity, but it’s possible it’s just who he is. The optimist in me wants it to be the former, something he needs time to work through, but I’m not sure if it is. Is he good for Belly? No. Could he be? Maybe. But I don’t think I could accept them as a couple until they both do a lot of maturing.
Jeremiah, on the other hand, I love, I really, really do. But I just don’t buy him and Belly together. At least not yet. And this is because, as much as Belly’s in love with the idea of Conrad, Jeremiah seems to be in love with the idea of Belly. Is Jeremiah good for Belly? Yes. But I don’t think she’s good for him, not because she’s in love with Conrad, but because she seems too wrapped up in figuring out who she is whereas he seems to know himself quite well.
The epilogue is rather ambiguous and extremely open to interpretation. I actually liked this, until I realized that there would, in fact, be a third book. Judging by the fact that this epilogue took place a few years after the events of this book, my guess is that the third book will as well. I hope so, because I don’t think any of the characters would be a good place for resolution without some time, distance, and life experience between what’s already happened and what is to come.

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I am just enjoying this series - easy YA read that makes a great beach read.

I didn't like this book as well as the other two in the trilogy. It felt like it existed mainly to get from point A to point B. The romance with Jeremiah was not wholly believable.

We follow up with Belly the next summer. And she's not going to Cousins beach anymore. I was really sad to find this out. I really didn't want to read about Belly's summer with her best friend, Taylor. But thankfully, Conrad has to be all moody and run away, creating a goose hunt to find him, which

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leads us to Cousins Beach. And we get the lovely struggle of Belly's decision between Conrad and Jeremiah. Well, actually. It's not really Belly's decision, it's all Conrad's decision.

I have to say that Belly's mom, Laurel, is awesome and sometimes I can't stand how Belly treats her. It seems that Belly would much rather have Susannah as her mom. Which is really sad. It's obvious that Belly does not 'get' her mother.

Conrad was his usual crabby, jerk-y self. I mean, really, what does Belly see in him? He's such a jerk to her. And then you have Jeremiah, who is as sweet as he can be, and is desperate for Belly to start looking at him instead of Conrad.

I liked this story, though not as much as The Summer I Turned Pretty. The story focused more on Belly's relationship between Jeremiah and Conrad. There is more to the story, I just don't want to spoil anything. It was an easy read and the pages seemed to flip themselves. Just like The Summer I Turned Pretty, I was surprised to see that I read through 100 pages without even realizing.

Overall I really enjoyed the story and was happy to see the way it went in the end.

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Second book in trilogy. Light but satisfying read. Y9+ girls

Great sequel! I love the characters in these books! Jeremiah and his earnest, puppy dog happiness, but also his sensitivity and emotional vulnerability. Conrad with his strong and silent, angsty, complicated but deeply passionate feelings about everything. And Belly (still hate that name), confused

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and kind of lost and ready to be utterly in love with a Fisher boy, if they could all only make up their minds and stick to it. I personally have an incredibly hard time choosing between Conrad and Jeremiah. Like, a harder time choosing between them than I have ever had. They are both so different and attractive in their own ways I sometimes can't imagine how Belly picked Conrad over Jeremiah in the first place. But regardless of how the two boys handled the death of their mother--one with open devastation and the other with stony distance and withdrawal--my heart was broken for both of them. Completely. On a negative note, Belly did some things in this book that I'm not sure I agree with. Most notably, I did not approve of Belly confronting Conrad AT HIS MOTHER'S FUNERAL at all. So insensitive and selfish! On the one hand, I too would have been confused by Conrad's back and forth, and, for that matter, by feeling pulled towards both brothers at the same time. So I can understand Belly's seeming to bounce back and forth between the two of them, and her being flustered with Conrad's distancing himself from her. But still, the one thing that always seemed constant with Belly was her implicit understanding of how the two brothers operated and the deep empathy that she felt for them always, even when the hard things they were dealing with were less traumatizing than the death of their mother, and so in that way, her losing it at the funeral seemed an odd departure for her. On the flip side, though, Belly does have a tendency to be a little immature and selfish at times, and so I guess it seemed both out of character and a little bit typical for her to freak out at Conrad that way. Still, really bad choice, Bells! You can't yell at someone at their mother's funeral!! It was nice to see Belly interact more with Jeremiah. Sometimes Conrad's broodiness is too intense, and Jeremiah's exuberance is warm and welcome. The beach house was still fantastic and I'm glad that Laurel swooped in to save it. I can't even imagine these people not having the beach house! It would be like the Kennedy's not having the compound in Hyannis! And in the end, despite Conrad's best efforts to steal away with my heart forever, I can't say that I'm unhappy that Belly seemed to wind up with Jeremiah for the time being because I love both of the boys so much that I can't really pick one over the other! Although, Conrad really does break my heart with how deeply and strongly and quietly he feels things. I can't wait to read the next book to see where things end up with these characters!

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It’s Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han picks up at Belly’s next summer. Since the events of last summer Belly has been on one wild emotional ride. She thinks she has her summer plans all figured out, but when you involve the Fisher boys nothing is set in stone.
Since the death of Susannah

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nothing has been the same. Not her, her mother, not Jeremiah, and certainly not Conrad. Dealing with the grief from their loss has been difficult for Belly. Conrad keeps sending her mixed messages, her mother is distant, Jeremiah isn’t there, and Taylor just doesn’t understand. Planning for her first summer away from Cousins Beach doesn’t exactly have Belly jumping for joy, because that’s where she wants to be the most. Then out of the blue Jeremiah calls her with the news that Conrad is missing. It’s off to Cousins Beach once again. This summer will be the one to change Belly’s life forever.

I just can’t get enough of this series. Jenny Han has me reading them over and over. Every time I read them it sends me on a girly, emotional, crying, and heartbreaking ride. I liked this this installment, it follows the flashback format of the previous book, but still stays unique by showing insights into Jeremiah’s point of view. I have to admit I found myself crying in this one too. At the end of this book I found myself heartbroken and hopeful all at the same time.

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Conrad and Belly left things badly. Or should I say Belly did. At his mother's funeral, she found him with his head in another girl's lap, the girl who broke his heart, and Belly told him she hated him. Yes it was childish, but that's what love does sometimes, makes you act childish. She spends the

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next few months pining over Conrad but also mourning the loss of Susannah. She misses the attention she got from her, how she treated Belly and mostly she misses their summer at Cousins. It just doesn't feel like summer. Her best friend thinks she's carried on long enough, but she just doesn't understand. For sixteen years, almost seventeen she'd lived at Cousins trying to fit in with the boys and this year, there was no Cousins, no Susannah.

But that all changes when Jeremiah calls and asks for her help in finding Conrad. He's gone missing at school and missed two classes and has some exams coming up on Monday. Jeremiah picks her up and she lies to her mom about where she'll be. They take off for Brown, where Conrad is attending school. His room mate is no help. A quick hello to the RA gives them the information they need when he tells them he said something about going to the beach. They find him at Cousins, his usual brooding, surly self. He gives them no reason why he's there and they can't talk him into going back.

It's only when the boy's dad shows up that they understand why he's there. Belly still loves him, but he is still aloof and she takes no chances on being hurt again until she gets drunk on their last night there. Then she runs to the beach to swim and Conrad comes after her because she's too drunk to swim. She taunts him and he tells her he won't follow her in. She gets distracted and he picks her up and drops her on the beach. By this time she's crying and apologizes for the way she acted the day of the funeral. Conrad acts like it was nothing while Belly has carried the shame and guilt of it around for months. She runs crying from the beach and crawls up to her room where she drunk dials her mom. She spills her guts, then passes out with the phone off the hook.

The next morning, when Belly's mom shows up, everyone is surprised and they relay the events of the past few days. She says she'll try to help. After she leaves, Belly and the Jeremiah have to help Conrad study for him exams. They study most of the night and then Jeremiah drives them to Brown while Conrad studies. Jeremiah has always been in love with Belly and knows he'd be good for her and during one of the times they are waiting for Conrad, they end up kissing. Conrad sees them and is jealous. Belly is confused all over again when he says he never loved her. It's and up and down ride and there will be another book coming out in May next year. Personally, I'd like to see Jeremiah punch Conrad in the face and Jeremiah and Belly live happily ever after, as much as you can. Conrad is really detestable. He strings her along, keeping her on the hook just enough to keep hope alive. But Belly is the most frustrating. She lets him treat her like dirt. He leaves her at the prom, to walk home. He didn't even bring her a corsage. He acted like he didn't want to be there the whole time. He doesn't call her. Then at the funeral when she wants to be with him, he's with his ex-girlfriend. But he still makes these flirty comments to her. So she lets him keep her hoping when even if he does love her, he's never going to be there for her and she's never going to be able to count on him.

That was the frustrating part of this book. For two books now, she's been mooning over Conrad and though between book one and two he called her almost nightly, she didn't know if they were boyfriend and girlfriend. Then there's Jeremiah who told her he liked her and who she can talk to and be with and laugh with. Hello, wake up Belly! First change your choice in boys and then change your nickname, you're not a toddler anymore.

I still loved this book and can't believe I have to wait this long to read what I hope will be the last in the series. I only want it to be the last because I don't like waiting for sequels. I love the characters and they had the appropriate feelings as to the loss of Susannah in this book. Each character handled their grief differently, but they were all grieving. The visit to Cousins helped to heal that wound a little. If you liked the first novel, you'll love this second one and hate that you have to wait for the third one! Again, this is PG for underage drinking and a possible swear word or two.

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OMG I absolutely devoured this book, again I went through a range of emotions whilst reading this, sad and tearful about the loss of Susannah, frustration at Conrad, despite this the book is also full of love and laughter and I loved every second. Since the first book I always rooted for Conrad,

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but as this book included some chapters from Jeremiah, I just don't know anymore. Throughout the book you're always find yourself asking who will Belly finally pick? But again were left with an annoying cliffhanger at the end! I don't know how I'll be able to wait more than a year for the last book in the series!!!

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I almost didn’t read this book because I wasn’t a huge fan of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” but I am so glad that I read this one. I think the big difference is that the plot was noticeable in this one unlike the first book. And the plot was strong and had the ability to make a good book–

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which it did. When Conrad goes missing, Jeremiah calls Belly to try to find him. Once they find him, they have to figure out why he ran away.

Being back at the beach house was different for them this time because not everyone was there. It felt empty, but they all loved the house and felt better being at the house. The first book revolved around the house as a setting or place but this book revolved around the house as a symbol. A symbol of what was there but now is gone and trying to keep it around. A symbol of people missing but trying to keep them around for as long as possible. This book made the house more important than just “the house we spent every summer in” because now it’s the house that “Susannah wants us to be in” and I can easily get behind that.

In my review of Summer I Turned Pretty, I said “In the end, I hope she grows up throughout the series and learns that the world doesn’t revolve around her. I’ll end up reading the rest of the series because I started it so why not, but I just hope that she is more mature in the next book.” She truly did grow up and in this book I actually liked her. She wasn’t always talking about Conrad because she finally found out there are more important things.

The one thing that just doesn’t seem believable to me is that both boys would have a crush on Belly. They both treat her like a little sister but then they both also like her? It just seems weird to me. Fortunately this book focuses more on her relationship with Jeremiah than her’s with Conrad. Conrad was not the focal point of this book, which is why I said the plot was more noticeable.

It’s Not Summer Without You focuses more on Belly trying to find herself after losing Susannah than her trying to find Conrad. That’s not to say she didn’t have her bratty or annoying moments, but they were fewer and far between. She didn’t spend a whole chapter complaining about Taylor. She didn’t spend two whole chapters complaining about girls that Conrad was dating that weren’t her.

Belly still has some growing up to do, but she’s a likable character and I’m excited to read the third book of the series.

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Last summer we were introduced to Belly, her family and most importantly the Fisher's.

While the last book was set in Cousins at the beach house this summer is much different.

It's the first summer that Belly hasn't spent in Cousins and she doesn't quite know what to do with herself. Not being able

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to go the beach house is one thing but not being able to talk to Susannah is excruciating.

But fate seems to be pulling her back to Cousins and perhaps back to her first love.

Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Book Depository

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Can I just say how upsetting the first two pages of this book were to me?

It was like Jenny waived this perfect book in front of my face and then ripped it away before I could even enjoy it.

I instantly missed Susannah, her wise words, her sage advice, her witty comments.

It felt empty without her on the pages, like she was the glue that held together their perfect paradise and without her it all fell apart.

I did enjoy the chapters from Jerimiah's point of view but I wished the parts including Susannah weren't told in flashbacks. I felt like we were robbed of her last days and merely got snippets of what happened.

I mentioned in my review yesterday that Belly acted really immature and that didn't really change in this book, sadly I feel like she was even more immature than the previous book.

I did still like this book but I'm hoping I like the next one a little more.

Until next time,
Ginge

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I am so glad that I started this series. I wasn't sure what I would think about it when I started the first book. But, I loved The Summer I Turned Pretty so much, that I ordered the second (It's Not Summer Without You) and third (We'll Always Have Summer) books before I even finished the first one.

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When I was finally able to settle down enough to read and finish this one, I whizzed through it quickly. I read the last 100 pages or so in one night.

This will probably one of my favorite series this year. And I am not a big contemporary (romance) fiction type of person. But the way Jenny Han writes, she makes it easy to get into the books and stay into them. For me personally though, the first couple of chapters get my attention, but a tad bit slow for me...Not a drag but just kind of meh....but once I get through the meh part, it breezes by kind of quickly. I am more willing to look into similar type of books on the contemporary romance genre. Hopefully that will help me branch out a little more in this genre.

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This is the sequel of The Summer I Turned Pretty and the second book from the trilogy. You know what, I really like this book more than the first one, I don’t know why but in this book it feels like everything was done neatly, and it feels like it has much more story than the first book.

Though at

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some points, I get irritated by Belly. She always thinks about herself and forgets that the whole world doesn’t revolve around her, and her ridiculous fantasy to Conrad (Just get over with it!) why can’t she notice that Jere is there for her.

And speaking of Jere, he has a point of view on this one! So when I read his chapter I was like “Whaaa” “wha!” Okay. I just love reading his point of view, I love how he is this cheerful person outside but in reality he’s one of those broken persons out there. I really wish for more of his POV in the last book.

And the love triangle in the first book became more intense here, but after reading this book, I know who I want Belly to end up with. I mean between the two brothers, I’m on Jere side because she treats Belly right not like Conrad who just keep on being a jerk.

Let’s go to Susannah’s death, wow just wow. I thought she would survive her cancer but she didn’t. I surely miss her presence in the book, because she’s like Belly’s second mom and maybe a best friend. And that few lines in the first chapter really broke me, Jenny Han! How can you do that? Don’t ever do such thing again. *insert sad emoticon*

There’s one more thing I’m annoyed about this book, it’s Taylor. Belly’s best friend. I don’t know if she’s a best friend or not because in the first book, Belly stated that she’s only a friend anymore, and now this. I’m so confused, and she really likes to talk and talk and talk of absurd things.

To sum it all up, her sequel gotten more good and better, I am really hooked in this one! Looking forward to the last book!

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This book was soooo amazing!! I love the whole series!!!!

I am so glad that I started this series. I wasn't sure what I would think about it when I started the first book. But, I loved The Summer I Turned Pretty so much, that I ordered the second (It's Not Summer Without You) and third (We'll Always Have Summer) books before I even finished the first one.

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When I was finally able to settle down enough to read and finish this one, I whizzed through it quickly. I read the last 100 pages or so in one night.

This will probably one of my favorite series this year. And I am not a big contemporary (romance) fiction type of person. But the way Jenny Han writes, she makes it easy to get into the books and stay into them. For me personally though, the first couple of chapters get my attention, but a tad bit slow for me...Not a drag but just kind of meh....but once I get through the meh part, it breezes by kind of quickly. I am more willing to look into similar type of books on the contemporary romance genre. Hopefully that will help me branch out a little more in this genre.

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First posted on bellesbeautifulbooks.blogspot.com

The Short:
I had tons of fun reading this book. I am loving the series, and cannot wait to get on to the next book. I am having fun exploring the characters and the beach setting is magnificent.

The Long:
Usually with second books in trilogies, it is

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weaker than the first book, but that was not at all the case with this book. It seemed to be on exactly the same level as the first book, and was a wonderful continuation.

The characters were their same old self except that they were overcome with grief for losing someone (if you read the first book, you know exactly who died). They were all handling their grief in their way, and it may not have been the best way, but it seemed to work for them.

The book was more focused on the family aspect which I really appreciate in young adult literature. The romance was put on the back burner, and did not really play a external part of the story. There was a lot of internal thoughts about their relationships, but it was not that central to the story.

My main problem with the romance is that it is a love triangle, and I don't enjoy love triangles. Granted, this is a VERY well done love triangle, but it's not my cup of tea.

There were snippets of past anecdotes that happened at the summer house. I really appreciated them because they made the characters seem more real, and like they are more than what was happening in the moment.

The whole book takes place over about a week, and that worried me at first, but it was so well done that I couldn't complain. Everything was so fast moving, and wonderfully written that the book just worked well.

In the first book, you only for Belly's point of view, but in this you got to see what Jeremiah was thinking during many scenes. His point of view was very well developed, and you could actually tell who way talking by the way that they described things. I have to give Jenny Han mad props because that is a very hard thing to do.

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