I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I loved the small-town summer aspect of this novel. I felt like I was on Piper Island with Quinn and her friends as they matured every summer. I did find that the changing timelines got a little confusing. I kept having to remind myself where I was because there would be talk of the past in the present, and then the next section/chapter would be that past event.

This novel becomes emotional very quickly. There is alluding to something that happened throughout the novel, and then when it is explained, it seems to come up very quickly. I understand the reasoning for it being written the way it is, but it just seemed sudden and fast to me.

I do plan to read more from this author. I did enjoy the writing style, and the friendship that becomes more like family as the friend circle grew up.

The Summer I Turned Pretty vibes but if Jeremiah wasn’t there irritating me the whole time… we have no choice but to stan. I thought this was gonna be a 3 star read because I found it a bit slow in the middle, but the last few chapters were SO good. Love a dual timeline and coming-of-age story!!!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC :)

4.8 stars. ☀️🍉⛱️🎡🎢

I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT HER. I absolutely loved the switching back and forth of timelines. It gave such a real perspective and a lot of background on the cutest group of friends ever. We also get to see a lot of the reasoning of why Quinn is the way she is. There is happiness, LOVE, and grief. I’m currently in a stage where I really love and appreciate grief books. They just really help my healing and journey I’m in. This book not only touches on real life things, but the imagery and setting of this book will make you SCREAM (happily yano?😍) I wish you could send me to Piper Island babe. Found family is just so sweet and these friendships are so strong and enduring. I’ll never forget🥹

MY FAV QUOTE: “ An inevitable end is why I enjoy the present”

The Summers of Us by Taylor Crooks is a stunningly written story that perfectly captures the essence of a young adult summer romance. There's a nostalgic, almost naive tenderness to it that makes you feel like you're experiencing your own first love all over again.

This book is everything I want in a summer read; cozy, a little bittersweet, and filled with hope. The writing is beautiful and immersive, pulling you into warm days, quiet moments, and the kind of youthful emotions that linger long after the final page.
Perfect for readers looking for a heartfelt summer journey.

Thank you for the ARC!

what a special summer story! I appreciate all of the descriptions and summer references. the nostalgia was really hitting hard reading this outside during the sunset. I wish I had a younger sister to share this story with.

this author is such a descriptive writer, and I'm looking forward to watching her grow. readers of jenny han, k.l. walther, and morgan matson would likely enjoy this book.

thank you, victory editing & net galley, for allowing me to read an arc of the summers of us by taylor crooks in exchange for my honest review.

“Maybe rain was actually the sky’s happiness, too heavy to hold back.”

“Just blue. If just blue were as beautiful as him, then I hoped for a lifetime of just blues.”

“Family comes and goes, but friends always stay.”

Thank you to Taylor Crooks and NetGalley!

A book full of nostalgia, growing up, anxiety, and realizing that life doesn’t have to be feared; but meant to be lived.

I HAVE to say I was hooked from the first few pages. This YA/new adult definitely makes a 28 year old like me feel all the nostalgia. A group of friends spending their last summer together before college? Come on. I loved every second of this book. Seeing how all the friendships formed and all the different relationships come to life gave me all the feels. I feel the author does an amazing job of representing the different stages of what teenagers go through, how sometimes friends fight and sometimes friends fall in love.

This book takes you back and forth between the present and the past, I love watching Quinn grow! Quinn is such a relatable character throughout the story, she really represents what divorce can make a young girl feel like in future relationships. YOU GUYS! Quinn and Everett give you all the feelings of young love, I think if you have a high school sweetheart you will LOVE their story. I was smiling the whole time, they experience the ups and downs of trying to figure it all out. Again, it’s just the nostalgia of it all that really makes you love this book. It’s the PERFECT summer read, all the feelings of summer as a teen and that feeling of the last summer before everyone splits apart. The book is seriously just perfect.

I had to read this book at a slower pace in order to finish it. I just wasn’t a fan of the author’s writing style. It was very flowery and lyrical and that’s personally not my vibe. It made the story too descriptive and boring. This book is also marketed as being YA but it read much younger than that. I don’t know if it’s because we get flashbacks starting at the age of 12 of the characters, but it was too childish and juvenile for me. The friend group consists of six people and I felt they were not introduced very well. It took me a while to get their names and personalities straight. The formatting of the book didn’t help with the reading experience either. I get this is a digital ARC, but it just made reading the book more unbearable.

When the high is 50 degrees in Chicago in MAY, I click 'request' on any Netgalley book that supposedly transports me to summer and don't think much more about it.

The Summers of Us follows a girl named Quinn throughout the nine summers she spends on Piper Island with her aunt and baby cousin. The story alternates between the present, Quinn's final summer after high school graduation, and the first summer she spent with her aunt, when she was only ten years old. Throughout the years, she makes friends with local kids and falls in love with one of her childhood friends, but she struggles in general with letting go and being brave due to some traumatic things that have happened in her family life. Throughout the novel, she comes to terms with what it means to live life to its fullest.

The best thing by far about this book was the setting. It really did make me feel emotional and nostalgic for all the summers I enjoyed as a kid, whether at my family's beach house or just running around with my neighborhood friends in the heat. The imagery was great, and while I did feel like the writing was a little overwrought with over-the-top and annoyingly artsy metaphors, the cozy feelings it brought to mind were enough to make up for that.

The ensemble cast was fun but a little weak in my opinion, especially the main love interest, Everett. We don't really learn much about him or his personality throughout the entire story. However, by the time I finished the book, I decided that this was fine, because the love story wasn't really the point. There was much more of a focus on family and friendship, so that made me willing to let the lack of depth to some of the characters slide.

High school me would have eaten this book up, and adult me still had an enjoyable time. The story excelled at capturing a specific moment of childhood, and I really enjoyed being transported back to those times in my life. Perfect way to pass a gloomy spring day while I impatiently wait for summer.

Thanks to the publisher for the eARC!

The Summers Of Us feels like summer and carries the same nostalgic summer vibe as The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han—except instead of two brothers, we get a whole friend group.
In this story, we follow Quinn through nine summers of her life at her aunt’s house in a small beach town, told in alternating timelines between past and present. While the story focuses on friendship and coming of age, it also touches on themes of grief and the impact of divorce.
This book captures that whimsical young summer feeling, friendship, and first love—but also how one perseveres through the unconventional curveballs of life.
While I gave this book a 3-star rating, I truly believe it’s a strong debut novel and will resonate well with its intended audience. I personally feel I may have aged out of it a bit, as it reads very much like YA—but that’s okay, because this is a YA novel. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy Taylor Crook’s writing style—I actually appreciated how she was able to transport us into this summer world where I could hear the ocean and feel the sun and sand.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

*I will also have this review posted on my Goodreads*

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

"Piper Island is where I grew up, in an ideal world where growing is only impacted by what happens in the summer, where life can only be shaped by summer."

Oh my goodness this book was beautiful. Taylor Crooks' imagery was immaculate down to the cotton candy taste of summer. It was like a combination of the vibes of The Summer I Turned Pretty and the format of Every Summer After.

Now I'm just wishing that summer would come sooner!

I'm going to talk about this book with EVERYONE. This was the summer i turned pretty and the summer of broken rules.
It was so gooood I'm obsessed

I loved this story. I spend my summers on the water and have grown up my entire life on the water so this holds a special place in my heart. Being a part of the journey and what they went through really resonated. There was a strong nostalgia feeling. This debut novel by Taylor Crooks was poignant and heartfelt as well as emotional. It was such an enjoyable ride.

This was a really cute🙊 simple read📓. I really enjoyed every aspect of it💌, from the characters to the plot. I would say it's 3 star⭐ compared to other books, only because I like books like shatter me⚡ and caraval🎪. Yk ones with something constantly happening🦸🏻‍♀️. However... rating it as a book itself? Yes... It's 4 stars❤️‍🔥. While there's no action🔫 and jaw dropping scenes👽, theres thoughts💌 and feelings🌟.

I would 100% but the physical copy of this👍🏼. Despite this book being a romance💋, it feels like a break from that genre❤️‍🩹. The book would definitely help people who want to slowly get into🫂 romance or out of it👥.

Thank you Netgalley and the author for the ARC❤️‍🔥🎯💫

Thank you to NetGalley and Taylor Crooks for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review 🩷

The Summers of Us by Taylor Crooks is a beautiful story about friendship, found family, and the kind of summer memories that shape who you become. It spans over nine summers and makes you feel like you’re growing up alongside Quinn in each summer.

Quinn and Everett stole my heart. Their connection, shared interests, and the way they grew together (and as individuals) worked really well, despite having a bit of miscommunication along the way.

“The secret is that I am in love with the boy who brought me here. He’s jumping the waves right now. Every couple waves, he looks back at me. I don’t think he knows I’m watching, but there’s nothing I’d rather watch than him.”

As a mama, parts of it (especially around grief) were really hard to read, but in a way that felt honest and important. It truly honored Hadley and I loved that.

“When you’re a little girl, everything is beautiful and you don’t know a weed from a flower.”

It was a beautifully written tribute to growing up, letting go, and the people who stay with us, no matter the years, blood relation, or the distance.

“We’re all just people, subjecting ourselves to the world and its woes. We have family and friends and love and fear. We fear that the universe will take what’s ours; we’re grateful the universe gave us ours to begin with. We breathe fear and gratitude in the same breath. In the same life.”

This is such a good debut novel! The writing style is immersive, and after reading this book, I feel like I know my way around Piper Island. Each character felt distinct, had their own backstory, and had their own unique relationship with Quinn, which I really enjoyed.

I liked that Quinn’s age was listed at the beginning of each chapter from the past, rather than just the number of summers. The timeline was easy to follow even though we jump from the present to the past.

Another thing I loved is the metaphor of a rollercoaster. It is so simple, yet so profound, and it makes sense within the context of the narrative. We all deserve a rollercoaster.

I would recommend The Summers of Us to anyone looking for a book that feels like summer but also has depth, as it deals with topics like first loves, family/friend dynamics, and grief.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookcomber Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I'M BUYING THE FLIGHT TICKETS RIGHT NOW ... PIPER ISLAND HERE I COME 🏃‍♀️‍➡️🏃‍♀️‍➡️🏃‍♀️‍➡️


5/5 🌟
4/5 😭


my honest opinion 🪩

Did I cry? Yes. Do I regret it? ABSOLUTELY NOT. This book kinda gave sense to my life and brightened up my somehow always grey days. This was so beautifully written, I can't ✋️✋️ Why do books about summer always make me cry??? This was so light hearted and emotional at the same time. It was written in summer ... summer is this book.


Character analysis ⛱️ (special edition ... emojis)

Quinn - 🐈‍⬛🍊🎆🌌

Everett - 💍🎠🎡🌆

Holden & Mason - 🎊⛵️🎂🪂

Haven & Jorge - 🍒🍦🛹⛱️


Characters were absolutely perfect ... every one of them had a story and i genuinely enjoyed to read about them ♡


What to expect? 🎇

In this book we practically deep dive into the concept of happiness, love and grief. Be prepared for an emotional rollercoaster of happiness, sadness, melancholy and euphory. The friendships in this book are like from another universe ... very strong, deep and beautifully written. OH AND I ALMOST FORGOT ... PINKY PROMISES


Favourite quotes 🎐

"You are worthy of love. Pinky promise."

"The sun is just like you, and so is the moon, and so is everything people need to survive but don't appreciate enough."

"You deserve a rollercoaster."

"An inevitable end is why I enjoy the present."

"Tsunami won't be our first rollercoaster ride. Nor will be our last."


Playlist for anybody who likes to read with music like I do ♡

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3kb5jQUXrFUg1d3wBjgKkQ?si=_Ig8n5TYSESxCmj-hI4cdQ&pi=xp_HQieVSzurI



THANKS FOR READING MY REVIEW AND THANKS SO MUCH TO THE AUTHOR AND NETGALLEY ... PLEASE GET ME TO TAYLOR CROOKS RIGHT NOW 💞

This book transports you to the summer days of being young, making friends and falling in love.
Quinn spends her summers with her aunt Blair in the small quaint beach town of Piper Island, North Carolina. The descriptive setting was picture perfect and felt like I was living my summer at the beach with Quinn. While at the beach she meets lifelong friends during her first summer there and they grow up together during the summers spent together. This told in alternating timelines flashing back to earlier years and Quinn back at the beach currently for one last summer before college.

The first thing I noticed while reading this book was it is written more like a literary fiction with amazing imagery for the setting. The beach of Pipers Island was described so well, I felt like I was there with the sun on my face and my feet in the sand.

The story itself is very young adult, with childhood flashbacks of Quinn. You meet the friend group, the drama of a childhood and of course, the unforgettable first love.

This was a change of pace from my usual reading style, but not a bad experience.

Tropes:
- beach read
- Emotional childhood
- Young love
- Young adult

This is such a beautiful debut novel. This has become one of my fav summer books. I love summer books so much and this one was so so good! I loved that this was YA, the main character coming of age and growing up added so much. Romance, family, friendship, grief, and self discovery. I felt like I was really at the beach. First love. Only see eachother in the summer. Perfect read if you love the summer I turned pretty, every summer after, and even the friendships like in happy place.