“I couldn’t even be mad at him, because this was who he was. This was who he’d always been. He’d never lied about that. He gave and then he took away. I felt it in the pit of my stomach, the familiar ache, that lost, regretful feeling only he could give me. I never wanted to feel it again. Never, ever. Maybe this was why I came, so I could really know. So I could say good-bye.” – 5/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: a love triangle, car drives, the ocean, singing, slurpees, beach houses, college exams, real estate, dealing with grief and a ton of beer bottles.

Belly finds out what comes after falling in love in this follow-up to The Summer I Turned Pretty from the New York Times bestselling author of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (soon to be a major motion picture!), Jenny Han.

Can summer be truly summer without Cousins Beach?

It used to be that Belly counted the days until summer, until she was back at Cousins Beach with Conrad and Jeremiah. But not this year. Not after Susannah got sick again and Conrad stopped caring. Everything that was right and good has fallen apart, leaving Belly wishing summer would never come.

But when Jeremiah calls saying Conrad has disappeared, Belly knows what she must do to make things right again. And it can only happen back at the beach house, the three of them together, the way things used to be. If this summer really and truly is the last summer, it should end the way it started—at Cousins Beach.

SO. MANY. FEELS. This book… was so amazing, I don’t have enough words! I loved the first book, but I definitely liked this one better! This book had more depth and more serious issues, which I really appreciate. It’s a real and raw book with “real” characters dealing with very real struggles. It’s full of emotions, ups and downs… my heart broke over and over again. It was such an emotional rollercoaster! At this point, I’m very attached to all characters, and I need to see what happens next. Oh and don’t even get me started on that cliffhanger in the end…
I’m usually not a fan of love triangles, but this one is very well done! It makes the story very interesting! Jeremiah is very outgoing and sweet and shows constantly his love for Belly, but Conrad… is VERY unpredictable with his interactions and I love how slow the main romance is developing! I love both brothers, but I’m still cheering for Conrad though!
I thought Belly was a bit more mature in this book compared with the first one, but I feel she was still very selfish and childish.
I love Jenny Han’s style! She makes a story very easy to read and very relatable. I’m looking forward to reading her other trilogies “Burn for Burn” and “To All the Boys I Loved Before”. For now, I need to finish this series first… ASAP.