From the two-time Sydney Taylor Honor author comes another sweet Nantucket-set summer romance, perfect for fans of Rachel Lynn Solomon and K.L. Walther.
Jordan Edelman’s messy dating days are over. After a few too many broken hearts, and a father who worries a bit too much, she’s sworn off boys—at least for the summer. And since she’ll be tagging along on her father’s research trip to Nantucket, she doesn’t think it’ll be too hard to stick to her resolution.
But hooking up with the cute boy on the ferry doesn’t count, right? At least, not until that cute boy turns out to be Ethan Barbanel. As in, her father’s longtime research assistant Ethan Barbanel, the boy Jordan has hated from afar for years. And to make matters worse, Jordan might actually be falling for him.
As if that didn’t complicate her life enough, Jordan’s new summer job with a local astronomer turns up a centuries-old mystery surrounding Gibson’s Comet—and as she dives into her research, what she learns just might put her growing relationship with Ethan in jeopardy.
Jordan Edelman’s messy dating days are over. After a few too many broken hearts, and a father who worries a bit too much, she’s sworn off boys—at least for the summer. And since she’ll be tagging along on her father’s research trip to Nantucket, she doesn’t think it’ll be too hard to stick to her resolution.
But hooking up with the cute boy on the ferry doesn’t count, right? At least, not until that cute boy turns out to be Ethan Barbanel. As in, her father’s longtime research assistant Ethan Barbanel, the boy Jordan has hated from afar for years. And to make matters worse, Jordan might actually be falling for him.
As if that didn’t complicate her life enough, Jordan’s new summer job with a local astronomer turns up a centuries-old mystery surrounding Gibson’s Comet—and as she dives into her research, what she learns just might put her growing relationship with Ethan in jeopardy.
Title: Summer Nights and Meteorites
Author: Hannah Reynolds
Publisher: G.P Putnam's Sons
Expected Publication Date: May 21, 2024
Review:
Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing me with a finished copy and egalley of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
First things first, I did not know this was third in a series. When the publisher contacted me, I read the summary and it sounded like a cute YA romance. I love a cute YA romance so I said yes! I'm not sure if perhaps having read the first two books and being introduced to some of the characters before hand would have made this one better for me or not. This can totally be read as a stand alone. But there are cross over characters and I would be interested to see if knowing them may have changed my opinions.
Jordan Edelman is going to Nantucket to spend the Summer with her cartography researching father. She's hoping to be able to bond with him from this shared experience. She's also sworn off any potential messy romance as they have never gone well for her. She has an encounter with a boy on her boat ride to the island who turns out to be her father's assistant that she's heard about for the past few summers: Ethan Barnabel. She has a streak of jealousy over this boy's relationship with her father that she's determined to overcome. But as she and Ethan are put in more and more situations where they must interact, including her living in his parent's house for the summer, something blossoms. Can she have the romance that's always alluded her? Or will being with Ethan ruin her?
I love the setting of this book. This is not the first book series I've seen set on Nantucket. I love the idea of being at the beach all summer; surrounded by the ocean, sand and sun. There's something about this setting that is very romantic for me and it becomes the perfect back drop for summer love to blossom. It takes me back to the days I used to spend on the shore of Long Island or New Jersey when I was a young girl. This nostalgia really drew me into the book.
The plot was just ok for me. I liked the science behind what was presented: astronomy, cartography. But I did find the plot was slow to move. I really wanted something a little more fast paced for a YA book. The inclusion of history was interesting, though I think a bit overdone. While I enjoyed the journal entries the author included, I thought there were way too many of them. It seemed a little overdone and I didn't feel like they all were related to the story. It actually took me out of the story many times and slowed down my reading pace. I had to push to get through them so I could see what else might happen between the main characters.
My other plot line issue was the Judaism. Its inclusion just seemed so side bar to me. Like it was included because the author wanted to show the characters as Jewish. It didn't seem to truly lend anything to the characters' development. Using Shabbos and talking about the high holidays just seemed to be thrown in to try and give the story Jewish identity. But it didn't do that for me as a Jew. I wish the author would have used that identity more. It felt
I would have liked to feel more of a connection with the characters. I didn't find Jordan appealing. Ethan was romantic and fun but it was hard to get to truly know him having only seen him from Jordan's point of view. And their romance seemed a bit forced. I didn't feel the chemistry I wanted to feel. I didn't feel like there was anything really connecting them. Sure, they had her father in common, but in the end them being together seemed odd. And them wanting to stay together even more so. There was no real closure to their romance.
Overall this book was just ok for me, nothing special. I can see how it might appeal to the more scholarly teens overall. But for the most part I didn't feel excited to move through it, I just wanted to get to the end.
3 stars
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