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Summer camp just got a whole lot hotter in this enemies-to-lovers romance, perfect for readers of Tessa Bailey and Lucy Score. Teddy Knight’s band has just broken up in spectacular fashion after his longtime bandmate and—he’d thought—closest friend decides to go solo. So when he’s offered a last-minute gig to fill in as an artist-in-residence at a summer arts camp—which comes with a lake cabin and lots of free time to work on a revenge album—he takes it. No matter that he knows nothing about nature, dislikes kids, and is generally a grump. Gretchen Miller is having a mid-life crisis. Luckily, her summer job as the dance teacher at Wild Arts summer camp will allow her to drop out of society for a while. Having sworn off dating, she decides she’ll go into the woods and become a crone. She might skip the “luring innocent children to their death” part of cronedom, but she’s all for the “curse men” aspect. Teddy and Gretchen clash from the get-go when he mistakes her for a fan, and she relegates him to the “entitled jerk” ash heap. Despite their determination to dislike each other, a wary friendship blooms as the magic of the woods starts to unwind them, and they spend long hours by the campfire talking about art, being stuck, and the idea of starting over. But woods are often filled with monsters, and Teddy and Gretchen will have to face their fears if they want to start over together.
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This was one of those books that felt hopeful and sad at the same time. It was, at times, a cozy blanket, and at times that fear in the pit of my stomach. As Gretchen and Teddy revealed themselves to each other, I wanted to coddle the children they had been and cheer for the adults they had become. They both clawed their way out of situations that can seem insurmountable to most to make their adulthood steady the best they knew how.
I fell in love with both characters before they fell in love with each other. The walls that had to be climbed were thick and tall. But at their core, both Teddy and Gretchen are two of the kindest people. Poor Teddy and the way he was portrayed to Gretchen and then the rest of the summer camp staff in the beginning! Yet the isolation from others is what he needed. It’s funny how both of them went to this camp to be mentors to the counselors and campers and ended up growing some much themselves. Once they were taken out of their bubble and forced to interact with different people in a different sort of place with different influences their carefully crafted lives revealed the cracks.
Mistakes are made in this book. Of course they are. There are mistakes, overreactions, and grand gestures. There are also small gestures throughout the entire book that had me falling in love with this couple.
Note: For those who read Canadian Boyfriend and are wondering if this book is connected, it is. But you do not have to have read that book to read and enjoy this one. It was nice to catch up with Rory and catch a glimpse of Mike, they are not integral to this story.
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely.**
0When I saw Jenny Holiday had written another book set in the same universe as The Canadian Boyfriend, I couldn’t help but kick my feet and squeal with delight! I truly enjoyed this one! Jenny Holiday has a talent for hooking me from page one.
I loved that this story features an older FMC, Gretchen, who’s turning 40 and figuring herself—and her life—out. The summer camp setting was such a nostalgic trip, bringing back memories from my own camp days as a teen. From the mosquitoes to singing around the fire and even camp crushes… it captured it all perfectly.
Broody, guarded Teddy was everything! When he finally opened up to Gretchen, it made him even more vulnerable and, honestly, so sexy!
This book was funny, reflective, and steamy! I’d recommend it to all my friends who enjoy a romcom with some real depth.
Big thanks to Forever (Estelle) and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!
0The book is cute! I liked our characters but I didn't enjoy them as a couple per say. The spice scenes were not for me I did cringe a couple of times. It's well written and I loved the time we spent at the summer camp and I wished we would have had more time there.
Overall it's really cute!! It is a bit more on the slower side for my liking but still a good read!
Thank you Netgalley and Hachette Audio for an audio copy!! **All opinions are my own!**
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