Jennifer Echols: Endless Summer Review

I honestly had high expectations for this book, especially considering all the wonderful things I’ve hear around the blogosphere about Jennifer Echols. However, it took me a while to get interested in The Boys Next Door. It just seemed a lot like The Summer I Turned Pretty (by Jenny Han). The plot was similar, as were the characters. But TSITP was deeper. This one, not so much.

Girl grows up around boys. Boys see girl as one of the guys. Girl acts like a girl and falls for boy. Boy sees girl as girl. Love is hard. See what I mean?

I did really enjoy the music references, as well as the humor interspersed. Jennifer Echols definitely has a strong voice. And I loved the setting. I could relate really well to the lake and everything that happened there. The whole story was very relatable. It also really picked up pace towards the end, something very much needed.

Even though I took a lot of harassment from my brothers about the cover if this book, I kept on pushing through.

I wasn’t even sure I was going to start reading Endless Summer. But I am sure glad that I did. Jennifer Echols’ writing vastly improved in the second installment. It no longer felt like a somewhat cheesy chick-flick that I had tuned in to. It felt real. And the alternating points of view definitely helped. Even so, there were some points that had me confused about who was narrating. That could be because the main character’s voices and personalities were all that similar.

And although there was still some dialogue that felt a little forced and pushed as before, everything picked up and amounted to lots of good.

This was the first book that I read by this author, but sometimes I wish it wasn’t. I have heard so many wonderful, positive things about Jennifer Echols. Her depth that really makes you think. This doesn’t really hold the same effect, but if you are looking for a beach read, this one is it!