Novella Review: Summer Demons

Synopsis:

Jenna Shaw ran away to escape her past. In fact, she jumped on a plane and flew to Portugal to try and forget it. However, it turns out leaving everything behind isn’t as easy as it sounds.

She thought she could move on and break free of her fears—that if she had some space the pain would stop. But as memories resurface due to an ill-timed joke, the past crashes into her present once more and she didn’t see it coming.

Jenna’s plans for normality are derailed by the charismatic Ethan Brooks. She sees him as an annoyance; he sees her as a challenge. But as he tries every trick known to him to impress her, they only serve to push her further away. He’s never faced this problem before and Ethan has to work harder than he ever has if he wants to win over and help his mysterious girl.

Summer Demons is a quick, sweet romance read that is simple, and yet highly entertaining. At only 104 pages, it goes by very quickly.

Jenna and her friend Amy are on holiday in Portugal, seemingly having a pleasant vacation. But Jenna is running from a terrible event in her past: the death of her boyfriend. It was an accident, but Jenna blames herself. But then Jenna meets Ethan, who is staying at the same hotel she is. Ethan is intrigued by Jenna, and as the two get closer, he strives to help her with the demons in her past.

I almost wrote “help her with her summer demons”, but I thought that might be too much.

Summer Demons is great if you’re looking for a fluffy YA/NA read for a day at the beach. There’s nothing too explicit in it (sex is mentioned, and there’s some language, but that’s about it), and while the story is fairly predictable, it’s still a fun read. There isn’t even that much drama (at barely 100 pages, there’s no time), so not too much angst here. Jenna was a nice narrator, having a believable amount of PTSD, but also willing to work through it. The romance was a little insta-lovey, but again, only 100 pages. Everything has to move pretty quick.

If you enjoy the Young Adult/New Adult Contemporary genre, but are looking for something a little lighter, Summer Demons is the book for you.