Summer of You (Season of Change Book 1) by Joelle Lynne

Summer of You is a second chance at a first love. Both Chase and Nathan are young when they reunite, but their maturity and remaining heartfelt feelings allow for them to try again to keep their special person.

From the blurb:

I never said I was good at keeping promises…

Nathan   

Four years ago, we said goodbye. I’d always intended to come back for you, but life got in the way. All I have are cowardly excuses of being in school, fear of coming out, and thinking that too much time had passed. But fate? It’s a funny thing, because I’m now forced to spend the summer with you, working together. It’s my chance to make things right, but I know I have to prove myself to you. To show you I’m not afraid anymore. That I still burn hot and heavy for you. Can we work past our differences and try again? Can this be the summer of us?

Chase

Is there a stronger word for betrayal? If there is, I haven’t found it yet. It’s how I felt when you left and never even so much as called, let alone came back like you’d promised. You left me behind, alone, with no way out of a town that holds no future. Giving you all my firsts was my initial mistake. My second was letting you back into my bed when you finally returned. But that’s all we ever were, right? A mistake? I’ve spent four years not needing or wanting your excuses, but the more time we spend together, I’m reminded of how good we used to be. You want to fix what was broken, but I’m not sure I can forgive you.

Summer of You is book one in the Season of Change series. It's a low-angst, high heat second-chance romance with a guaranteed HEA. This book can be read as a complete standalone.

Molly Otto's Review:

Nathan and Chase had a summer love when they worked for Nathan's uncle Drew before he left for college. But as many choose to do, Nathan was free to be himself for the first time and didn't come back and ended up hurting Chase in the process.

When Nathan returns to the coast to work for his uncle, they get their second chance at being together. It's rocky at best, and learning to trust again is hard, but in the end, it all works out. Joelle explores praise and degradation kink and does a pretty good job at it. It's not my favorite in the trope, but it's all handled well. These two take the summer to see if it is worth exploring a future together. It's worth a read overall.

SNiK's Review:

First in series (Season of Change). Second chance. Found family. Dual POV. Heed content warnings.

Striking out on finding a job after college, Nathan returns to help out his uncle in the coastal town where Nathan spent most of his teenage summers and experienced his first love. Chase is blindsided by Nathan showing up, he has been trapped in his hometown, working for Nathan’s uncle has been a blessing, but Chase is still bitter about Nathan breaking his promise to return. Chase insists on a no strings lust filled summer, but there is no way for either of them to forget their past feelings and how being together again makes all their emotions even stronger.

I appreciated that Chase didn’t immediately forgive and forget, and also that Nathan commits one hundred percent to not letting him go again. These two had super steamy chemistry and although I do wish they had more conversations about how they had changed over their years apart, it felt like their love from when they were younger was deeply felt. Really enjoyable start to a new series, and I’m looking forward to some of the secondary characters getting their own stories.

Angel's Review:

I am quite new to this author's books, and I have to say I quite enjoyed their writing style of this book. I found the flow of the story to progress really well, and I liked how we got backstory on what happened to cause so much animosity between these two men. Throughout the span of this story we see these two men go from being angry with each other, to being vulnerable. Nathan owned up to his mistake that caused Chase so much pain, and Chase eventually told Nathan what had happened to his parents.

I appreciated the fact that both of these characters grew throughout the course of this story. Their journey may have started off rocky, but with time, and communication, these two men found not only what they want to do, but discovered how much they want each other in their lives. The surprise twist with Drew was shocking, I was not expecting that which made it even more surprising! I thought it was a good way to keep the story interesting, and a way to keep us readers on our toes.

Overall I enjoyed reading this story, and I loved how prevalent Oreo's (the cat) character was.

Heather's Review:

I'm a sucker for a second chance romance with a chance for the characters to learn and grow from their pasts, and Joelle Lynne delivers just that in Summer of You.  This new adult romance gives us a low angst but emotional summer journey with two men who have to reconcile their pasts and open themselves up to their adult futures.  Plus, we have an adorable kitty cat for comic relief.

With several twists and turns, this story held my interest and makes me want to see what is next in the Seasons of Change series.  

Summer of You is currently available as an e-book and paperback and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription