The Summer You Found Me: The Summer Series, Book 3

After reading The Summer I Saved You, I just knew Kate and Beck would have an epic story waiting next. Kate is trying to win back her soon to be ex-husband, Caleb, from the previous book. Beck is his best friend, but at the moment, he is also Kate's only friend. She has had a rough journey, growing up without much unconditional support and affection and grieving a devastating loss. Now, Kate is trying to start over after coming out of rehab. She is a divisive heroine because she's trying to sabotage Caleb and Lucie's relationship and she's both conniving and persuasive. Despite these manipulative qualities, I was sympathetic towards her because of the stark pain underneath. She is lonely and learned to swim with sharks on her own, not realizing that she deserves more and has the capacity to give. I felt her pain and hurting and it made her relatable despite her vengeance streak.Her transformation from someone who hit rock bottom and is climbing her way back up is very much two steps forward and one step back. Beck is there to be a safe place to land although he'd obviously prefer more, but knows that Kate is like a bomb ready to go off and has to proceed with caution. I loved how Beck didn't try to mince words or edge around uncomfortable topics, yet he saw Kate in a way that no one else did or ever will. I admired the constant conflict within Kate to try to do better, but also the temptation to slide back, because recovery for an addict is a never-ending battle. She could be a villain and a survivor, but she is also compassionate and loving. This aspect of the story kept me riveted because I was fascinated by Kate, how someone so intelligent and incredible has so many flaws, and yet she has the ability to walk around with nothing but confidence and wield her beauty and sensuality like a super power. The more she kept failing and deceiving, while wanting to succeed, the more I liked her because I knew she had these complex layers and at her core, a desire to love and be loved unconditionally. Having a goal kept her from back sliding, but goals can change and people can change, too.Elizabeth O' Roark delivered in all the ways for this book. Kate is the opposite of a doormat and may be off putting to some readers especially any Lucie fans, but I was intrigued by her. She has a strong and adventurous personality and Beck is definitely the right match for her because he is even stronger, but also steady and secure while always knowing what she needs. Kate and Beck pull out all the stops on the gut wrenching, emotional and angst barometer and I enjoyed every page of it.

I debated making this a 3 star, as it's not my favorite book from Elizabeth O'Roark (she sets a high bar!) & Kate is very hard to like lol. But, the storytelling is masterful, as always & I appreciated the beautiful journey these characters went through!

“If she hadn’t died, I wouldn’t be here right now. I am never going to say that it was for the best, or that it was meant to be. But I can say that sometimes from darkness a beautiful thing emerges, something you’ll call your own. And the man in front of me, and the future we share, is mine.”Ok so grab your tissue because I promise you will cry at one point or another or more than one for sure. I must say this book hit home for me not because of the strong subject of addiction but because of loosing a child. It is a club I would never wish for anyone to join and unfortunately I became a member years ago. I felt for Kate in that aspect because no matter how many years it has been it never stops hurting. The author did a beautiful job telling Kate’s story and her struggles with grief and addiction. You couldn’t help but want to knock some scenes into her at times but I mean I understood why she did what she did. Hurt people hurt people and Kate was truly hurting. I loved Beck he was perfection. He saw Kate like no one else saw her. He loved her for who she was just like she was ugly parts and all. You guys really need to grab this book and read it. It is beautifully written and it will really take you through an emotional raw journey but one you will love. Highly recommend.

I have enjoyed immensely ( more like loved !) some of the prior books by this author such as “A Deal With The Devil”, “Waking Olivia”, “Undertow” just to name three that were so good. Unfortunately, this book for me is not in that same perfect story category. Don’t get me wrong, Elizabeth O’Roark is an excellent writer but for me this story although well written fell far short of her previous books that I loved. I admit, it’s probably me. I just could not stomach the FMC, Kate. She was so selfish, self-centered, entitled and actually cruel. I don’t care what her previous trauma was, for me it did not excuse her awful behavior and I never felt she truly redeemed herself. I have read other books where one of the characters may have had their share of faults, but they also had many positive things to offset the less than likable traits. I could find none in Kate. The MMC deserved so much better than her. My dislike for the lack of character in this FMC just turned me off to this whole book and if based just on that it would have been a one star rating. But I gave it a 3 because this author does write very well, but with this latest series, I really think she has lost her touch for good story telling.

Elizabeth tiene la habilidad de construir sus novelas con más de una dimensión, las crea dándoles un equilibrio perfecto , esta por ejemplo tiene la angustia suficiente para desarrollar a sus personajes en sus problemáticas pero sin dejar a lado que es una novela de amor y q como tal es lo que debe prevalecer en ella.También sus personajes principales, sobre todo los masculinos, siempre tienen varias capas en su personalidades por ejemplo el de esta novela es rudo pero tiene sentimientos que los expresa de manera congruente con su historia, me encanta!!!

This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year - I would probably read just about anything Elizabeth O'Roark writes at this point - but after some preliminary reviews I wasn't sure I was going to love it as much as I had hoped. I needn't have worried.I will say - Kate is not a character that you're going to easily be able to cheer for, but over the course of the story she is so well fleshed out that I found it impossible not to fall in love with her eventually. I actually think that's what really made this book a 5 star read for me. She's a challenge, she's really going through something raw and real and terrible and the way she deals with it is not necessarily easy to digest, but it's so honest and realistic in so many ways. And Beck is just a super dream, if we're being honest. He's also imperfect, but he has that amazing balance of rough around the edges while being impossibly sturdy and loving to those that he cares about without being entirely self sacrificing.I love this - it's worth pushing through the frustration that you will almost certainly feel in the first half of the story. The growth of the characters and the very real love story is worth it - if that's what you're into.

I read this book on a plane - not a good book to read in public. One to read locked in your room with a big box of tissues! I have never cried so much when reading a book. But there is a HEA.I read the previous book in this series and at the time was intrigued by Kate and Beck's story. Sort of wanted to reread the summer I saved you first (because its been a while) but jumped straight into this.Kate's backstory is so sad... her childhood in foster care, the one time she was nearly adopted and the woman disappearing without notice. And finally her relationship with Caleb, unplanned pregnancy, her fierce love for her unborn baby and then the tragedy that she lost Hannah a few minutes after birth which sent her into her downward spiral and addiction.Beck has loved Kate since he first met her, but she was already with his best friend.He has never had a real relationship and has frequent hook ups with customers from the bar and friends with benefits.He has always been a good friend to Kate. He helped her prepare for the baby during her previous pregnancy, while Caleb was busy working, and he used to defend her and care for her.The thought of getting back with Caleb got Kate through rehab and she is devastated when he has moved on. Kate is a multi-dimensional character and some of her choices are not good. She lies to her sponsor and doesn't keep up with meetings or the things she needs to do to stay clean. She becomes obsessed with Caleb's new relationship with Lucie, especially because she has 2 children and Caleb seems to be more involved with them than he was with their baby during her pregnancy.But her actions are mostly driven by overwhelming grief and I cried so much. For Kate, the loss or her newborn daughter was overwhelming and took over her whole life. She had succeeded despite her background in Foster Care and had overcome so much, but all she can see is the failures since Hannah died.She ia such a believable character and she totally deserves the love of a good man like Beck. She is strong, resilient, a survivor. I hated those first 2 interviews she went to where they saw her weakness and not her strengths.Beck sees Kate as she is and loves her as she is and I love them together. They really are made for each other.I would like more of the HEA. More epilogues. More insight into Kate & Becks future - what does their family look like? What happens to Beck's friendship with Caleb & the rest of their friendship group? What kind of relationship does Kate go on to have with Lucie?

I am going to start by saying I love this whole series. But because I do, this one was a bit harder to read.Kate is extremely real in the sense that she is very flawed and tbh that makes her hard to root for. I think people deserve second chances but they need to show some growth and I kept waiting for it but she kept digging that hole deeper. It’s not until the very end that we see her make a real effort at moving forward without hurting everyone around.Most of the book is also from her point of view and I almost wish we got more of Beck’s.I debated how highly to rate this one but ultimately the writing is beautiful and I will keep recommending this series.

2 complex multidimensional and layered characters with flaws, both of whom you bond with and root for. Angsty, but joyous. Loved this and will probably read and reread bits of it over and over. Truly recommend it.