Summer Crush

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SKU 978-1-77233-427-2
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Summer Crush: A wonderfully romantic boxed set of Upper YA short stories by today's hottest authors. 

Summer is the time for lazy days at the beach, sun-kissed hair, flip-flops, and sizzling nights with a new crush. Those stolen glances and first kisses can quickly spark a flame. However, the road to love isn’t always a smooth ride. 

Every Summer has a story, whether it’s a second chance on love, seeing a friend in a different light, or taking a step in a new direction with someone special. Love and long days create endless possibilities, but can a summer crush really last?

14+ due to sexuality, adult situations

 

Sutton Summer by Sasha Hibbs 

Exquisite Torture by S.D. Wasley 

Forbidden by Melissa Frost 

Taking the Plunge by Diana Stager 

Boarderline Love by Deanna Dee 

An Ocean of Their Own by Bridie Hall

 

Product Reviews

Score: 5 out of 5 (based on 9 ratings)
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5/5
Must Read!
Written by Michael Parks on 16th Oct 2015

Fantastic story! Well written!

5/5
Summer love at its finest
Written by Deanna Dee on 4th Sep 2015

Such an awesome set of stories! Summer love at its finest! Sutton Summer by Sasha Hibbs This story was lovely. McKenzie's journey shows her growing up and learning that there's more than looks. Dylan is so sweet. Such a winner! Exquisite Torture by S.D. Wasley I loved this story. It was so cool getting Ryan's perspective on a budding relationship, and it was great to see his attitude change. I absolutely love Connie's style, and the little paranormal twist is super cool! Forbidden by Melissa Frost Frost said in an interview that she was going for a story that reminds readers of Taylor Swift's Love Story. This does that without fail. Olivia and Gavin's story is classic and beautiful. So good! Taking the Plunge by Dianna Stager This story was so raw and real. I've never read a romance with a teen mom protagonist, and it was such a unique perspective. Jessica grows up so much in this story, and Erik is so willing to help her get fully on her feet. This is a great story! Boarderline Love is my contribution to the anthology. Since I'm not going to review my own story, I'lll say it was a blast to write and that I hope people enjoy it. :) An Ocean of Their Own by Bridie Hall This story held so much passion. Lola and Sarah such interesting, complex characters. I wanted more of their stories. I feel like there's a world to explore here. Just so awesome!

5/5
SD Wasley's author review of the other stories in the anthology
Written by Strong chicks rule on 4th Sep 2015

Sutton Summer: A heartfelt, deeply emotional story about McKenzie and Dylan, who need to try to find their way back to one another after a giant rift develops. McKenzie has the loss of her mother to breast cancer to deal with, as well as regrets about her former shallowness, while Dylan has to try to reopen his heart to the girl who crushed it. A tender story that made me cry more than once! Forbidden: A very cute story about Olivia, who won't be put off the guy she knows is good at heart, despite his reputation. She is young and optimistic, and willing to look beyond first impressions - and to ask questions. It's rewarding to see how Olivia shows that independence of thought even in the face of severe disapproval. This was my 13 year old's favourite story. Taking the Plunge: An unusual topic for a romance - a sweet teen mom doing her best with the crappy hand life has dealt her. She adores her baby and falls hard for the hot baby swim class teacher who can't stop looking at her. But Jess has demons to deal with. This story left me hoping she and Erik could work together to help Jess heal. I felt sure she and her baby were in the best place for that to happen. Boarderline Love: I love this one's humour - I found the author's writing style very funny and gave a few LOLs at Dalya's attitude. She's got a great energy and the guy she falls for, Mason, has a little mystery around him. Why does he freak out from time to time? And who's the mysterious Jen? This is a story that sweeps you along, and has a nice subplot about Dalya's relationship with her big brother. An Ocean of Their Own: This was such a refreshing story! A beautifully romantic love story about a girl as startled by her crush on another girl as the reader is. The author has a beautiful style and isn't afraid of writing great imagery and intelligent language into the story. That shows respect for the young adult reader, which I love. I loved the scenario and characters. Very believable.

5/5
The Perfect YA Collection!
Written by undefined on 24th Aug 2015

Summer Crush is a wonderful collection of stories themed with young summer love. Exquisite Torture by S.D. Wasley: This story was fantastic! I LOVED that Ryan was shipped off to his grandmother's house fully equipped with old school technology aka, a time before the internet, cell phones, texting, etc. I loved Connie's character, with all of her charm and the fashion sense of a 50's goddess. The bike, the dresses.... I wanted to be Connie. The relationship between Ryan and Connie was so cute. I also really loved that it was written from Ryan's point of view. I do love a male perspective. And what was an even bigger surprise was the little twist at the end. You'll be sure to love Exquisite Torture! Forbidden by Melissa Frost: Forbidden was so classic. This love story was swoon worthy and had you cheering from get go for Gavin. I love a story about misconceptions and watching how the characters learn and feel their way through it. Olivia was easy to empathize with... her growing attraction to Gavin, trying to make it work when it appears everything is working against them, Gavin's genuineness... Forbidden was so wonderful! It left me smiling. Taking the Plunge by Diana Stager: Wow...this one really had me in it's clutches. Taking the Plunge is a story that tackles real issues. The story begins with teenage mother, Jessica. She's young, with a baby, with limited resources, trying to make it in the world when it's so hard. I loved the way the author handled this subject. It's all too real. I loved Erik. What a hero in my eyes. He has to work for Jessica's trust and trust me, after you get to the part where we establish why she struggles with trust, you'll get it. I cried for this poor girl and cried when Erik came to the rescue. This story was so heartwarming and dear to me. Brace yourself for a moving story with Taking the Plunge. Borderline Love by Deanna Dee: Borderline Love was perfect. It incorporated the beach (which is my favorite place on earth), young blossoming love, and a tragedy all together to make a wonderful read. Borderline Love starts out in introducing Dayla at the beach, in a near drowning experience. She's saved by Mason who comes with a past that torments him. Borderline Love was the perfect combination of young love, fighting demons, and finding a way to trudge through it all to a happy ending. I really enjoyed this! An Ocean of Their Own by Bridie Hall: I'm a huge of Bridie Hall so I was over the moon excited to find out she'd have another story out, and trust me, after reading An Ocean of Their Own, I wasn't left disappointed. I loved Lola and Sarah's characters. This didn't feel forced, it felt natural and was beautiful! Overall, Summer Crush was the perfect read... one I enjoyed while sitting outside on a nice sunny summer day, sipping on my lemonade and swooning over the joys of young summer love, happy memories, and feeling great at the end when I knew these were characters I wouldn't forget. This is a wonderful set for any young adult reader or the young at heart.

5/5
Best YA Antho Ever!
Written by kenzie on 22nd Aug 2015

Summer Crush was the perfect way to end the summer! I loved all 6 of these cute romantic stories, coming from the perspective of a teenager, I would highly recommend you to grab this YA anthology up. Awesome!!!!!!!!!!

4/5
Summer Crush
Written by Hillary on 22nd Aug 2015

This boxed set is actually fairly short, so I’ll touch briefly on each story, but I won’t be able to say much without ruining things. Sutton Summer barely felt like a romance. It was mostly just kind of sad and all about healing. She was frankly kind of shallow and I didn’t feel like she deserved him. The ending was decent, though predictable, but it just wasn’t the most satisfying read I’ve experienced. Exquisite Torture was a little weird, but kind of nice. I liked his character development and his sweetness. The ending was a little open though, feeling a smidge incomplete. Foridden was one of my favorites in this collection. It was refreshingly authentic with great characters and a very sweet story. I think many out there can relate to some degree to the couple. Taking the Plunge is a little more grown up than the other stories. It was very compelling and highly emotional. Predictable, and a little fast moving, but ultimately the story was satisfying and left me smiling. Boarderline Love was a little tough for me. She’s incredibly whiny and immature in the beginning so it was slow. She does grow some through the story. Overall, it’s a decent read, but wasn’t particularly satisfying. An Ocean of Their Own was a pleasant surprise. I hadn’t read the full description of all the stories in this collection, so I wasn’t expecting a lesbian romance and it was rather refreshing. The sweetness of the girls was very cute and totally believable. My favorite aspect though was Lola and her dad. This was my other favorite of the stories and left me smiling! Summer Crush is a set of stories that’ll make you take a trip down memory lane as well as drag you into characters’ lives until the last page is turned. Don’t miss out on this sizzling YA/NA beach read! **I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.**

4/5
Good beach read!
Written by Buffy Kennedy on 21st Aug 2015

This boxed set is actually fairly short, so I’ll touch briefly on each story, but I won’t be able to say much without ruining things. Sutton Summer barely felt like a romance. It was mostly just kind of sad and all about healing. She was frankly kind of shallow and I didn’t feel like she deserved him. The ending was decent, though predictable, but it just wasn’t the most satisfying read I’ve experienced. Exquisite Torture was a little weird, but kind of nice. I liked his character development and his sweetness. The ending was a little open though, feeling a smidge incomplete. Foridden was one of my favorites in this collection. It was refreshingly authentic with great characters and a very sweet story. I think many out there can relate to some degree to the couple. Taking the Plunge is a little more grown up than the other stories. It was very compelling and highly emotional. Predictable, and a little fast moving, but ultimately the story was satisfying and left me smiling. Boarderline Love was a little tough for me. She’s incredibly whiny and immature in the beginning so it was slow. She does grow some through the story. Overall, it’s a decent read, but wasn’t particularly satisfying. An Ocean of Their Own was a pleasant surprise. I hadn’t read the full description of all the stories in this collection, so I wasn’t expecting a lesbian romance and it was rather refreshing. The sweetness of the girls was very cute and totally believable. My favorite aspect though was Lola and her dad. This was my other favorite of the stories and left me smiling! Summer Crush is a set of stories that’ll make you take a trip down memory lane as well as drag you into characters’ lives until the last page is turned. Don’t miss out on this sizzling YA/NA beach read!

5/5
Sandra the Bookworm
Written by undefined on 21st Aug 2015

Deanne Dee the author of Borderline Love was kind enough to send me an Ecopy of these bind up of short stories in exchange for an honest review. This book is a collection of six short summer love stories by six different authors. I really enjoyed all the stories in this book; they were cute short reads and perfect for summer reading. I will review each one below and give each story its own rating. I gave the book a 4.5 overall. I really liked all the stories and recommend this book to all my contemporary lovers or if you're just looking for a light summer read. Sutton Summer By: Sasha Hibbs ★★★★★ Mckenzie said some awful things to Dylan the last time they worked together during summer and now that she's headed back to her aunt's for summer she isn't looking forward to seeing him, but Dylan has done some major changes and Mackenzie starts to regret not giving him the time of day. I loved this story and the character development Mackenzie goes through was so well written and perfect. I also really loved the message this story sends out and Dylan just seems like the sweetest. Exquisite Torture By: S.D. Wasley ★★★★ Ryan is being sent to his grandma's for the summer while his parents go to Paris, Ryan thinks his summer is over until he meets Connie, but Connie is keeping secrets and lying to Ryan. This was such different summer story and the twist the author hit me with was so unexpected. This story was very enjoyable! I also like that the author showed that you don't always need WiFi or your smartphone to have a good time. Forbidden By: Melissa Frost ★★★★★ Olivia can't help to feel attracted to the new guy Gavin, but there is a rumor going around that he’s a bad boy and her mother warns her to stay away from him. I really enjoyed this story; it shows that you shouldn't judge a person before getting to know them and that you can't always believe what you here. Also Gavin and Olivia were just so cute together. Taking the Plunge By: Diana Stager ★★★★.5 Jessica is a teenage mom living on her own trying to finish high school and take care of her son. One day she decided to take her baby for summer swimming classes and is there where she meets Erik who seems to be attracted to her and not mind that she has a baby, but Jessica is not sure she is ready for another relationship after what she's been through. This is the first time I've read anything with a teen mom in it and I loved it! Many of my friends were teen moms and they felt that their love life was over because they had a child; I love how this story shows otherwise and that there is still good guys out there that will love them and treat the baby as their own. Border Line Love By: Deanna Dee ★★★★.5 Dayla's on vacation trying to get away from her brother, she is in the water when she gets pulled in by a wave and almost drowns, but she is saved by Mason who also happens to be very HOT. When they bump into each other again he asks her if she would like some surfing lessons how can she refuse, but there is something from the past haunting Mason and makes act very overprotective towards Dayla. This story brought tears to my eyes! I absolutely loved Mason and just wanted to hold him until everything was okay. I really liked Daylas character as well even though she did irritate me a couple of times. An Ocean of Their Own By: Bridie Hall ★★★★ Lola had always loved to draw and now that her family has gone on vacation she has beautiful scenery to inspire her, when she sees a beautiful young girl standing far away she is taken away by how beautiful she is and starts to draw her. They soon start to spend more and more time with each other until Lola falls for her, but she doesn't know how to tell her parents. This story was very enjoyable and I feel many other teens can relate to it.

4/5
JanisF Book Reviews and More
Written by Janis on 21st Aug 2015

My Four Star Review: Each story was a little different but all focused on a summer romance and maybe taught you a little lesson along the way. I truly enjoyed each one of them. Sutton Summer by Sasha Hibbs: “After breaking Dylan’s heart last year, McKenzie returns to Sutton Lake for another summer. McKenzie realizes love was in front of her the entire time, but is it too late for Dylan to forgive her?” This was a story to remind you it’s not what’s on the outside that matters but what’s on the inside that really counts. It was a hard lesson for McKenzie to learn but with the help of her Aunt Jenny, it ended up being a summer McKenzie will never forget. Exquisite Torture by S.D. Wasley: “16 year old Ryan thinks he’s in for the summer from hell, stuck at his Gran’s farm in a remote town … until he meets the adorable Connie. But why is she so cagey about her past?” There was a bit of a mystery with this story. Ryan isn’t very excited about going to his Grandmother’s house but he ends up being very proud of everything he accomplishes. He meets Connie and all is definitely not what it seems. You’ll be wrinkling your forehead trying to figure out what’s really going on. Forbidden by Melissa Frost: “The new guy in town has a bad reputation and a bad boy demeanor to go with it. Even so, Olivia can’t help feeling drawn to Gavin. Can she convince her mother he’s not the delinquent everyone believes, or will his past tear them apart?” You don’t always have to believe what you hear and it’s okay to come to a conclusion about someone or something all on your own. Olivia was drawn to Gavin and I’m glad she took the time to really get to know him. Taking the Plunge by Diana Stager: “Overwhelmed and alone, Jessica is a teenage mother struggling to give her son the best possible life. Erik, a lifeguard at the local pool, never expected the girl of his dreams to have baby in tow. They have issues, but will it keep them from pursing the relationship, or are they willing to take the plunge?” Jessica really impressed me with how she wanted to live her life and take care of her son. She struggled along the way but she still wanted what was best for her and him and got them help she needed when she needed it. It was nice to watch the love blooming between her and Erik. Boarderline Love by Deanna Dee: Nearly drowning wasn’t part of Dalya’s vacation plans. Neither was being rescued by a guy with a perfect six pack and a haunted look in his eyes. Mason reminds Dalya too much of her over-protective older brother, but when he offers to teach her to surf, she can’t say no. Can Dalya get past her frustration with her brother to realize how much Mason means to her? This story made me smile, laugh and even cry. It was a truly entertaining story and fun to watch young love bloom to life. An Ocean of Their Own by Bridie Hall: “Lola spends her days trawling the sand dunes in search of the perfect subject for her art. She finds it in a solitary, beautiful girl. Sarah doesn’t just fill the pages in her sketchbook, she enchants Lola’s heart too. But how can Lola tell her family about Sarah?” Sometimes when you fall in love, you just fall. This was a very cute story of two young woman finding love on a summer beach. I hold a very special place in my heart for Lola’s parents. If you have a young adult reader at home or you like a good YA book, I would highly recommend this one.