#089 Summer’s temptation, Ashley Lynn Willis

#089 Summer’s temptation, Ashley Lynn Willis

I read this book in like a day, I loved it. It was a fun and addicting read with great characters and an intriguing storyline. This book is a great read however it has put me in the mood for a holiday, in the middle of January.

The main character is Cassie, when I first read the title I assumed the main character would be called Summer but the book is based in the summer term at a college in America so it makes much more sense. Cassie is a girl who has only ever had sex when in love; now at the end of two broken relationships that left her heart broken she is wondering if there is any merit in the more unconventional methods. It is friend Liz who suggests a ‘hug buddy’ might be the solution to the problem Cassie faces; Cassie takes matters into her own hands getting her next door neighbour to fill the role. As Cassie’s relationship with her ‘hug buddy’ escalates she finds herself falling for him, however with the added complication of a hot teacher Cassie finds her love life becoming highly problematic. Cassie in this book is fun and easily swayed by her friends; she is sort of an accidental leading lady as it seems unexpected that you support her since she is so easily influenced by others but I kind of ended up loving her.

There are lots of secondary characters that are important to Cassie’s character however I feel the most noteworthy are:  Tyler, Liz, Hannah, Philosopher Dan, Mr Westbrooke. Tyler is the boy next door who Cassie engages in a ‘hug buddy’ relationship with; he is an ultimate hot boy character with a bad boy reputation but a soft and loving true nature, it is easy to see why Cassie falls for him. Liz is the best friend who is full of ‘good ideas’ but when they go wrong she seems to step back, she is judgemental and a bit annoying but everyone has friends like that. Hannah is the best friend everyone thinks is quiet but is not in reality. Philosopher Dan is the crazy old man who hangs around at the university, Cassie brings him sandwiches and he offers friendly advice on her love life. Mr Westbrooke AKA Aiden is the teacher who everyone has a crush on, Cassie helps him with something he is writing by providing a case study he can use.

The pacing is great and it holds back the answer to our question, will the couple get together in the end until the very last minute.

The storyline is fairly similar to other books in this genre however I found it really great fun read. I thought the way the tale was flipped on it’s head at the end and the way it turned out that he was the one who’d had the long-time crush gave the book an edge compared to other books like it.

I rate this book a 4.5 star