A Thousand Lives Lived: The Summer of Us by Cecilia Vinesse // A Lovely But Lacking Travel Read

The Summer of Us, by Cecilia Vinesse
Publication: June 14, 2018, by Poppy
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 311
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Rating:

Aubrey and Rae have been planning their trip around Europe practically from the moment they became BFFs in primary school. And, now, it ought to be the perfect way to spend their last summer together before university.
But things are more complicated at eighteen than they were at ten. There's Jonah, Aubrey's seemingly perfect boyfriend, and his best friend Gabe, the boy Aubrey may have accidentally kissed. And there's Clara, the friend Rae is crushing on, hard, even though there's no hope because Clara is definitely into guys, not girls.
Five friends. Ten days. Paris, Amsterdam, Prague, Florence, Barcelona. And a messy, complicated, can-this-really-be happening love story, or two ... because how could there not be?

My Thoughts:

After previously reading Cecilia Vinesse's writing in her debut novel, Seven Days With You, a book that *actually* made me cry and develop wanderlust to jet off to Tokyo and explore all of Japan, I knew I wanted more. Receiving word about a new book by this author, a book that features characters travelling throughout Europe and visiting one of my favourite cities in particular, Prague, really excited me. I had a HUGE feeling that this would be one of the best books of the summer, and while it wasn't a 5-star read like the author's debut was, it certainly was an enjoyable read filled with so much romance and drama that will make your head hurt. Readers who enjoyed Sarah Mlynowski's I See London, I See France will especially fall in love with this story, as I noticed many similarities (even though Mlynowski's story was better as a whole).

The Summer of Us is a story that is set during the summer before college begins, and the characters head off to their freshman year. Funnily enough, that is the exact state I am in right now, and this book as a whole made me really jealous that I did not plan some kind of Eurotrip like this around the continent (although it has always been at the back of my mind... maybe next summer?). We have five main characters: Aubrey, a worrier and English literature obsessed, Jonah, her boyfriend, Rae, her best friend, Clara, an artsy friend of theirs, and Gabe, the boy who Aubrey feels awkward around. I cannot go into the inner details of each of these characters or else I'll be spoiling some surprises that arise in the middle of the story.

So I must admit that I liked each of the characters, and grew to like them. Each of them had their own flaws, and this was the nice part of it all; no one is perfect and through this trip, readers and the characters themselves got to see that some of their intended relationships may not work out after all as they grow apart and see what they themselves are like on their own, taking full responsibility for all of their actions. I guess it was also interesting to see what kinds of lives these characters will have in the future since they are all privileged. They all attend some kind of British American school, and they all are from America.

However, what bothered me was the lack of description in terms of the cities visited by the characters. This Eurotrip included travelling from London to Paris to Amsterdam to Prague to Florence and to Barcelona... all in a matter of ten days. That felt rushed to me, and it felt as if the author was just trying to rush her characters from one destination to another so that she wouldn't have to describe the cities in detail and talk about attractions. But that's not what I like; I adore travelling and seeing characters travel in books makes me want to do so even more. This was a major low of the story and it affected the way I enjoyed reading this. I needed more detail.

The Summer of Us was a great, quick read that I finished in one sitting in a few hours. I always love the concept of travelling when it is mended with a contemporary-romance, and this was a successful read. I just wish that there was more description in terms of the cities and destinations the characters visited, but this was a overall enjoyable summer read.

*A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review. Thank you so much!*