Night Owls and Summer Skies

DNF
I, unfortunately, could not get into this book. I got about 45% though and could not finish it. So let me rant.

night owls and summer skies open with our main character, Emma lane, going to stay with her toxic, bigoted mother for the summer, but things quickly go awry when it's revealed Emma will be going to camp mapplewood while her mother and brand-new husband go on their honeymoon. she's determined to get out but she gets caught up in a whirlwind of drama, as well as a budding romance with Vivian black, who is a counselor.

My biggest problem was Vivian. I just could not stand her. Vivian pursues this relationship just as much as Emma but no one around Vivian thinks this is a problem, like what?!? Vivian looks through Emma's phone and makes fun of her campers. Like why? Also, I and the writing just didn't click. I didn't feel any connection to the characters. The dialogues were very choppy and felt too much like a script to make it seem interesting. I was so excited for this because a gay summer romance? Yes, please! Unfortunately, this just didn't work.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me an e-copy for review.

The whole book was a hurricane of feelings, I didn't come from reading the wattpad version, but I did read the webtoon version, which I highly recommend.

I kind of hate that I didn???t like this book. It looks so promising! A fun, cute, light, summer-y read. We need those! But honestly, this book read like a Disney Channel movie. And not in the funny way - in the cringey way.

I???ll start by mentioning some things I enjoyed: the feeling of summer it brought about; the fact that the main character, Emma is very secure in her sexuality and (besides a horribly homophobic and toxic mother) this isn???t made into a big deal any time it comes up; that Emma gets to stand up to said mother; I suppose the idea of this book???

Oof. I think the main problem is that I???ve read this entire book, and I still feel like I know nothing about any of the characters. They are all two-dimensional, not fleshed out, bland characters. Everyone???s personality relies on being a) sarcastic, b) nice, or c) a bully. Generally, I do consider it quite a problem if no one, including your main character, seems to go through any kind of development. Any details regarding characters??? lives and feelings were always handed to us, and we were expected to take them at face-value. Even major things like Emma???s depression and anxiety, which are mentioned a couple of times as being something that influences her life greatly at times (and understandably so!), are kept completely at a distance. At some point she mentions to her father on the phone that she???s having a bad day, and I just had the thought that I would not have gotten that at all from any of the other descriptions of what had been going on that day. The panic attacks she experiences happen, and are brushed off afterwards, not to be talked about again. Their effects or causes are left untouched upon.

Besides that, the decision-making, the way basically everyone acted, was quite ridiculous constantly. Again, Disney Channel movie vibes. No one???s actions really sense. Multiple times when characters pointed out other characters??? motivations or thought-processes I was genuinely thrown because I would just not understand how they got to those conclusions at all. I'd blame it on the fact that the characters are young but honestly? All of them are around 18. Not to say all your decisions should be logical and sensible all of a sudden, but they also shouldn't be... this. And the relationships... I don???t know, but Emma keeps saying she???s bad at making friends, and I???m inclined to agree with her, because despite saying that Gwen is her, and I quote, ???soulmate???, she knows literally nothing about Gwen except that???s she???s peppy and kind. Same with Vivian, our love interest. After 300 pages I know nothing about her except that she goes to college, where she acts ???differently??? than she does at camp, and that she likes order. But then again, after 300 pages I know not much more about Emma, so.

I think this book had a lot of potential, and unfortunately it just didn???t live up to any of it for me.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.