Blog Tour: Sunkissed ARC Review

Sunkissed

Author: Kasie West

Pages: 320 pages

Genre: YA Contemporary

Published: 4th May 2021

Rating: 5 Stars

Synopsis:

A lighthearted and swoony contemporary YA romance by fan-favorite author Kasie West about a girl who finds that a summer spent at a family resort isn’t as bad as she imagined…and that falling in love is filled with heartache, laughter, and surprises!

After being betrayed by her best friend, Avery is hoping for a picture-perfect summer. Too bad her parents have dragged her and her sister to a remote family camp for the entire summer. And that’s not even the worst part. Avery also has to deal with no internet, a cute but off-limits staff member, and an always-in-her-face sister.

But what starts as a disaster turns into a whirlwind summer romance as Avery embarks on an unexpected journey to figure out what she truly wants and who she wants to be.

Book Links: Goodreads Amazon Barnes and Noble Book Depository Indigo IndieBound

Author Info

Kasie West is the author of many YA novels, including The Fill-in Boyfriend, P.S. I Like You, Lucky in Love, and Listen to Your Heart. Her books have been named ALA-YALSA Quick Picks, JLG selections, and ALA-YALSA Best Books for Young Adults. When she’s not writing, she’s binge-watching television, devouring books, or bury-ing her toes in the sand of the Central Coast. Kasie lives in Fresno, California, with her family.

Author Links: Website Twitter Instagram Goodreads Facebook

My Review!

Thanks to TBR and Beyond Tours and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC to review. You can check out the other posts here.

I have been a Kasie West fan since I first read The Fill in Boyfriend years ago. I love her books and they are always massive feel good books. I jumped at the chance to read an ARC of this! It did not disappoint!

‘He was quiet for a moment before his eyes went to mine. “You keep surprising me.”‘

I read this book so quickly, as I tend to do with all West’s books, as they are extremely addictive. I really liked the premise of the book and the inclusion of music being an important part of the story. Avery is on a journey of discovery throughout this book and actively tries to push herself out of her comfort zone. The book begins with Avery and her sister Lauren, in the car on the way to a summer camp, where they are going to spend the next two months of their summer without internet and phone signal. Avery has just been betrayed by her best friend and ex-boyfriend, as they had kissed less than two weeks later than the break up. In some ways, this camp is good for her as she can avoid all contact with her best friend and ex, but it leads her to wonder whether this had been happening whilst she was still with her boyfriend.

‘I am begging you that I might be able to sing at this festival with someone who has helped me see that I’m not boring and predictable.’

Brooks, the love interest, was such an adorable character. I really liked him, despite him coming off as a bit of a jerk to begin with. I really liked his character development as he opens up to Avery more over the course of the novel. I think both Avery and Brooks help each other be more vocal and share their feelings. The issue is Brooks is a member of staff and is forbidden from being alone with guests, else he might lose his job. This creates multiple points of tension throughout, but they were perfect! Brooks is a member of a band, and wants to enter a music competition to perform at a festival. The only problem is, his band don’t like the lyrics he writes to their songs. Avery helps him throughout the book, and rediscovers her love for performing.

‘But if you aren’t feeling like yourself lately, if you’re feeling uncomfortable and a bit cramped, maybe it’s time to start climbing.’

All in all, this was the perfect YA contemporary book and I could not recommend it more. This will definitely be a reread for me. It had likable characters, a swoon-worthy romance, and a great story. I recommend this for all YA romance lovers!

Have you read this or do you plan to?

Keep reading,

Georgia x