Not Our Summer | ARC Review

Synopsis

Five trips, two cousins, one family feud, and a summer that will change their lives forever.

It’s bad enough that estranged cousins Becka and KJ see each other at their grandfather’s funeral, but when he leaves them a bucket list of places to visit together over the summer, so they can earn their inheritance, it seems like things are about to get much worse.

However, with each trip the cousins complete — like riding mules into the Grand Canyon or encountering a bear and a hot tour guide at Yellowstone — they steadily learn about and begin to trust one another. That is until the truth behind Grandpa’s bucket list, and their family feud, is revealed, testing Becka and KJ far beyond their limits.

Will they find a way to accept each other or will their grandpa’s wish to mend his divided family end up buried alongside him inside his grasshopper green casket?

Review

This was the perfect book to read after not being able to travel for over a year. Besides the wonderful adventures around the US, this book also held great lessons on family, forgiveness, and moving forward.

I love books where someone has to complete a certain task or do something in order to receive their inheritance. This book was especially fun because it included two people who had to go on a series of adventures for their inheritance.

Becka and KJ had a hostile and anger-filled relationship for most of the book. It would have been nice for them to forgive one another sooner rather than later in the book, but that’s okay. We still got a nicely developed relationship out of it. It was great to see these two grow in their relationship as cousins, and as people in general. This great adventure held many lessons for the two of them and I was happy to be a part of it all.

Something I especially loved about this book was Eli and his letters. Even though he is not there physically with the girls, he’s still directing their whole adventure and trying to teach them valuable lessons about family and forgiveness. The girls have complicated families who have complicated relationships and Eli wants to fix that. I just loved hearing his advice and even applying some of it to my life.

Overall, this was a fun and adventurous book with many emotional life lessons that anyone could benefit from. I’d also recommend this book for those needing an adventure around the US after being locked inside for so long.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed a gifted and advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating

To check out my other reviews, click here. Or to check out more books by Casie Bazay, go to her GoodReads profile or her website.