Elizabeth Margaret—better known as Em—has always known what life would contain: an internship at her father’s firm, a degree from Harvard and a career as a lawyer. The only problem is that it’s not what she wants. When she gets the opportunity to get away from it all and spend a month with the aunt she never knew, she jumps at the chance. While there, Em pursues her secret dream of being a chef, and she also learns that her family has kept some significant secrets from her, too. And then there’s Cade, the laid-back local surfer boy who seems to be everything Em isn't. Naturally, she can’t resist him, and as their romance blossoms, Em feels she is living on her own terms for the first time
The Good:
I love books about inns and Bed & Breakfasts. When you add in a young girl who wants to be a chef and a hot boy with great hair then I am guaranteed to read it. The Summer My Life Began promised me the hustle and bustle of a beautiful B&B, a well loved kitchen and a summer romance. In some aspects this book delivered. After reading this story I couldn’t wait to book my trip to the Outer Banks. I say that like I DID book it. I didn’t. But not because I didn’t want to. And the description of the B&B…oh my. If that isn’t the B&B the XO and I own in our retirement (yes that is our plan for our old age) I’ll die. Simply die. OK, that might be a bit dramatic. But you get the picture.
The Bad:
Unfortunately, the dialogue was flat and lacked emotion. For someone who thrives off of the emotion in stories, this was frustrating. The lack of emotion lead to most of the relationships appearing superficial. This in turn made them almost impossible to root for. The relationship between Em and her sister seemed forced and the romance between Em and Cade came across as completely implausible. I wanted so badly to get behind the characters in this book but found it impossible.
I really wanted to love this story but unfortunately it fell at a Meh (or 2 stars) in our rating system.
Nat
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