Friday, July 19, 2013

*REVIEW + guest post + GIVEAWAY!* C.J. Duggan's An Endless Summer & The Boys of Summer


Welcome to my stop on the An Endless Summer blog tour hosted by YA Bound Book Tours.  Click  HERE to see the full blog tour schedule!



Today I'm have the absolute pleasure of reviewing C.J. Duggan's The Boys of Summer and its newly released sequel An Endless Summer! PLUS, I have a wonderful guest post for C.J. featuring her playlist AND a phenomenal GIVEAWAY! So, let's get to it, shall we?





*Spoiler-Free* REVIEW: The Boys of Summer (Summer #1) by C.J. Duggan
Published On: December 17th, 2012

*DISCLOSURE: ARC was provided in exchange for a fair and honest review

The Boys of Summer (Summer #1)
by C.J. Duggan
Publication Date: December 17th, 2012

Synopsis:
It seemed only natural to nickname them the ‘Onslow Boys’. Every time they swaggered in the front door of the Onslow Hotel after a hard week’s work, their laughter was loud and genuine as they settled onto their bar stools. I peeked through the restaurant partition, a flimsy divider between my world and theirs. I couldn’t help but smile whenever I saw them, saw him ... Toby Morrison.

Quiet seventeen-year-old Tess doesn’t relish the thought of a summertime job. She wants nothing more than to forget the past haunts of high school and have fun with her best friends before the dreaded Year Twelve begins.

To Tess, summer is when everything happens: riding bikes down to the lake, watching the fireworks at the Onslow Show and water bomb fights at the sweltering Sunday markets.

How did she let her friends talk her into working?

After first-shift disasters, rude, wealthy tourists and a taunting ex-boyfriend, Tess is convinced nothing good can come of working her summer away. However, Tess finds unlikely allies in a group of locals dubbed ‘The Onslow Boys’, who are old enough to drive cars, drink beer and not worry about curfews. Tess’s summer of working expands her world with a series of first times with new friends, forbidden love and heartbreaking chaos.

All with the one boy she has never been able to forget.

It will be a summer she will always remember.



The Verdict:

A perfect Australian summer romance full of fun, friendship, laughter, and love. C.J. Duggan sucked me into a fast paced novel that, even if it didn’t have a plot line (but it does), could stand easily by her immensely lovable characters alone.

I honestly couldn’t put this book down, not because the plot was so action packed, but because I truly grew to care for these characters, Tess and Toby, The Onslow Boys and, Tess’s best friends, Ellie and Adam. I just needed to know what happened next for them. One small hesitation I had was the almost 5 year age difference between Tess (~17) and Toby (~22), however, in the end....the love that I had for Toby and for how their relationship grew, I managed to overlook this. Toby and Tess are strong, kind, and intersting characters on their own, but truly blossom in their scenes together.

If you want a fun, whirlwind summertime romance, full of dreamy guys and good times, be sure to pick up this book to start out Duggan’s excellent series.

Rating:







*Spoiler-Free* REVIEW: An Endless Summer (Summer #2) by C.J. Duggan
Published On: July 15th, 2013

*DISCLOSURE: ARC was provided in exchange for a fair and honest review

An Endless Summer (Summer #2)
by C.J. Duggan
Publication Date: July 15th, 2013

Synopsis:
Sean looked out over the lake, squinting against the sunlight. He turned to me, his expression sobering as his eyes flicked over my face in a silent study.

“Come on Amy, I saved you once, I’ll save you again.”

I met his stare unflinchingly. “I don’t need saving.”

A wicked grin formed slowly. “Don’t you?”

After a rebellious summer night that almost claimed her life, Amy Henderson – the Onslow publican’s only daughter – is sent away to suffer a fate far worse than any other punishment:

Boarding School.

Three years on, a now nineteen-year-old Amy returns to Onslow for the summer. What once was a cauldron of activity with live bands, hot meals and cold beers, the Onslow Hotel now lies dark, deserted and depressing. All fond childhood memories of loitering on the hotel stairs and eavesdropping on customers’ colourful conversations are in the distant past.

How had her dad let it come to this?

With the new threat of putting the Onslow up for sale, Amy reluctantly turns to a local tradesman for help: Sean Murphy, the very same Onslow boy who saved her life all those years ago. With his help and that of some old friends, the task is clear: spend the summer building the hotel back up to its former glory or lose it for good.

In an endless summer, Amy soon realises that sometimes in order to save your future, you have to face your past, even if it’s in the form of a smug, gorgeous Onslow boy.





The Verdict:

Picking up several years after the end of The Boys of Summer, we get to go back to the Onslow Hotel and get to catch up with all of the beloved characters of the first book. I am so glad that The Endless Summer picked up with Sean’s story. The cocky, self-assured, sweet-hearted guy has grown up, though he still has the same endearing personality traits. Know who else has grown up? Amy Henderson. Now, again...HUGE age difference here, but the chemistry between them and my endless love for Sean was just enough for me to disregard this.

Amy is still young, but she’s strong willed, quick witted, feisty, and more admirable than others her age. She’s determined to save the place of her childhood and you can’t help but to like her for it.

And the sexual tension...oh the tension:


“Is that right?” He stepped closer, forcing me to lift my head to meet his eyes. He was so close we were almost touching, but I refused to be distracted. Not by the heat that emanated off his body, or the smell of his sharp, musty aftershave, or the feel of his breath. I refused to be sidetracked by the vivid blue of his eyes.

By anything.



The Endless Summer was a fun, warm-hearted novel that returned and brought new life to the little town and cast of characters that The Boys of Summer so lovingly portrayed. While I *did* love my first introduction to this series a bit more, C.J. Duggan did not disappoint with her sequel. I can’t wait to see what she has for us next.

Rating:





About the Author: 


C.J Duggan is an Australian author who lives with her husband in a rural border town of New South Wales, Australia. The Boys of Summer is Book One in her Mature Young Adult Romance Series.







And now, let me hand it over to C.J. for her awesome Playlist!!

An Endless Summer Playlist.

Music is hugely inspirational for my writing process, listed are some novel specific music and songs that drove my husband mad due to me playing them over and over again while penning ‘An Endless Summer.’

1. Endless Summer – Josh Pyke


2. That’s When I Think of You - 1927

3. Don’t You Worry Child - Beth

4. I’m Not In Love – 10CC

5. Young Blood – We Come Running


6. You’re So Vain – Carly Simon

7. Sway – Bic Runga

8. Only The Young – Brandon Flowers

9. Video Killed The Radio Star – The Buggles


10. April Sun In Cuba – Dragon

11. Friday On My Mind – The Easybeats






And now, the GIVEAWAY!!!!!!
***GIVEAWAY***

1 Signed paperback copy of either The Boys of Summer or An Endless Summer (INT) and 5 ebook copies of The Boys of Summer or An Endless Summer (INT).

a Rafflecopter giveaway


This cover reveal is brought to you by the FAB:





all the best, dear readers!


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