One Hot Summer Anthology - ARC

 

Hiya all!

Today's blog post will be featuring One Hot Summer which is a compilation of different stories by different authors.

Cover is from Amazon- the Arc didn't include this?!

I feel kinda bad about not liking this book but I really couldn't like this anthology.  We were sent this anthology in exchange for an honest review.  Ready? Here we go!

First things first: this book is like an appetizer platter.

That is the best way that I can describe it.  I signed up for the reading blitz thinking that it would be an actual anthology of short stories?  I didn't realize that this would a collection of the first several chapters of completed books.  While there are 7 different authors, their stories featured in this anthology range from having 7 to 11 chapters and then they just tell you to go and buy the book when it's available for purchase.  Which is fine (I guess?) but really, if I'm going to buying a book with only parts of books in them- be up front with that... Don't be misleading. 

I also signed up for the blitz because I happen to be a fan of Katy Regnery!  I like her books and I really liked her YA book when she wrote under the pen name, Callie Henry.  So I figured, why not?!  NOW I didn't have any problem with Regnery's story in this anthology.  (I liked her story and I actually plan on buying Single in Sitka was when comes out next month.) 

I'm going to go in order of the books as they are featured in the anthology to tell you a little bit of what I thought about them....

Here goes nothing!

The Summer of Us by Melanie Moreland: 
I'm reading the synopsis of the story now on Amazon about this book and for the life of me, I can't remember what I read under The Summer of Us!  It didn't do anything for me.  I was fairly neutral about this one. 

The Inheritance by Amy Briggs:
I liked this one! I thought it was well written and I could definitely see myself reading the rest of the book.  I liked the idea that this woman, inherited a small fortune (and a home and a dog) from a colleague.  I liked that Briggs wrote a story about how you might not be with someone in a physically intimate way to make them love you and share things with you.   

Summer Seduction by Caisy Quinn:
NO. Just a big fat NO.
What the heck?!
This story follows a 17 (A SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD!!!) and the night she spends with a 24 year old guy from her college level art history class.  This 24 year old guy is also about to be her HIGH SCHOOL HISTORY TEACHER!!
NO. NO NO NO.
I wanted to crawl out of my skin while reading this one. 
Just. NO.

By the Seaside by Heidi McLaughlin:
While writing this review, I've realized that this one and The Inheritance seemed fairly similar to me.  There is something underlying about them both that makes me think that... This one was okay.  I didn't really get how this one "event" could change everything for the main character, Kelly- how she was basically driven out of her hometown and lead a life that she didn't really want.  But traumatic events change people and even though an outsider might not see it as that, it depends on how the person living it sees it. 

Love's a Beach by Danielle Pearl
This is another one that I liked.  This one who quite real.  There wasn't anything about it that was far fetched. It tackled something that was very real and something that a lot of women experience.  (A perk about this book? There's a character named Jillian!!)

Single in Sitka by Katy Regnery
What can I say? I'm a fan of Katy Regnery.  I started to find myself swooning over Luke Kingston! I liked the interactions between him and his kids.  I liked the real fears that his older son, Chad toward Amanda.  I liked how the story started off in a goofy way.  I thought it was cute.  I'm very excited for when this book comes out in October.  It ended on a true cliffhanger and I can't wait to see what will happen next!

The Secret at Sunset by Shari J. Ryan
I didn't care for this one either.  I found the main character Alexa to be self absorbed.  Meh. 

Out of 7 stories, I have to say that I would confidently go and buy 2 of the books to find out what happens.  Two of them were good and while I could see myself going out and getting copies to see what happened- would I really do it? No.  Then the last 3... while I found two to be meh, so much to the point where I don't remember what the heck happened in them.  That ONE really made me get upset (ask MB!).  I would honestly say to pass this anthology.  Go out and get copes of Love's a Beach and Single in Sitka when they become available!

~ Jillian