"Summer" Trilogy, by Jenny Han

You've been waiting for it: A review of a straight-up romance novel. And with Valentine's Day coming up this weekend, I figured...Why Not?

For me, a good Romance must have a few things: 

1. Buildup

2. Crushworthy Feelings (whether one-sided or mutual)

3. Suspense

4. Satisfying Conclusion

5. Believability

Jenny Han's classic Summer trilogy (Summer I Turned Pretty, It's Not Summer Without You, and We'll Always Have Summer) hits home on all counts. Yes, they can be absolutely cheesy, but so adorable you can't help but devour them. Especially when you're in the mood to read about love.

Summer centers on Isabelle "Belly" Conklin, a hopelessly romantic teen who has been crushing on childhood friend, Conrad, ever since she can remember. Belly's and Conrad's families have met up at the same beach house every summer, and each summer Belly hopes will be THE summer she and Conrad finally get together. And the summer Belly is 16, she believes it will happen.

But wait...there's a twist!

There's always a twist...isn't there?

Enter Conrad's younger brother, Jeremiah, who, that same summer, starts to see Belly as something more than just an annoying tag-along. But does Belly see him that way? Maybe... if circumstances were right. 

Summer covers a span of about 5-6 years, where Belly's feelings toggle back and fourth between brothers.

The trilogy ends with a wedding. A Happily Ever After. How perfect is this?

But which brother will Belly finally end up with? Does she even end up with one of the brothers. Or does she (surprise!) pick someone entirely different? You'll have to read the trilogy to find out. And you DO want to find out...right?

Normally I avoid love triangles like the plague. A certain overly-hyped Paranormal Romance series kind of put me off them. But Summer is so cute I didn't mind the trope as much. So if you're looking for a cute, beachy romance (and who doesn't want something beachy this time if year?), the Summer trilogy is for you.

p.s. And if this review wasn't enough to convince you, rumor has it Amazon is adapting this trilogy for the screen. So read up now before these books can't be found on the shelves (because they're checked out)

--AJB