The Summer of Us by Cecilia Vinesse Published by Poppy on June 5, 2018
Pages: 320
Goodreads
A swoon-worthy story about five best friends on a whirlwind trip through Europe, perfect for fans of Jenny Han, Stephanie Perkins, and Jennifer E. Smith.
American expat Aubrey has only two weeks left in Europe before she leaves for college, and she's nowhere near ready. Good thing she and her best friend, Rae, have planned one last group trip across the continent. From Paris to Prague, they're going to explore famous museums, sip champagne in fancy restaurants, and eat as many croissants as possible with their friends Clara, Jonah, and Gabe.
But when old secrets come to light, Aubrey and Rae's trip goes from a carefree adventure to a complete disaster. For starters, there's Aubrey and Gabe's unresolved history, complicated by the fact that Aubrey is dating Jonah, Gabe's best friend. And then there's Rae's hopeless crush on the effortlessly cool Clara. How is Rae supposed to admit her feelings to someone so perfect when they're moving to different sides of the world in just a few weeks?
Author Cecilia Vinesse delivers a romantic European adventure that embraces the magic of warm summer nights, the thrill of first kisses, and the bittersweet ache of learning to say goodbye to the past while embracing the future.
As I am just about to sit and do my review for The Summer of Us, I realized that it was roughly this time last year that I read Cecilia Vinesse’s debut novel, Seven Days of You. Both of Cecilia’s books are stand alone’s and are the perfect summer road trip books in my opinion.
The Summer of Us is told in two points of view, that of Aubrey and her friend Rae. Aubrey, Rae and three of their friends, Claire (Rae’s crush), Gage (Jonah’s best friend and he has a crush on Aubrey) and Jonah (Aubrey’s boyfriend) have all decided that before they all go their separate ways for college/university that they will travel across Europe for the summer for one last hooray and if you have ever traveled with a close group of friends you know that it will not all be hunky dory and that drama will ensue and that is exactly what happens on this trip.
The dream trip that everyone thought would happen doesn’t go off as planned although at first it seems like Aubrey is in control and has her own agenda of things she wants to see and do and the group is basically following her lead. Aubrey has always had a plan (going to NYC to study with her boyfriend and to live happily ever after) and nothing will change that until her own jealousy and paranoia sets in that risks it all.
Rae on the other hand comes off as the type of girl who goes with the flow and what happens happens. She doesn’t really have plans and is rather last minute in her planning. Rae realizes that her crush on Claire (who everyone thinks is straight and it leaves you wondering if she is or isn’t) will never materialize and realizes that being a friend is getting hard decides that she will move to Australia to go to school. Out of sight, out of mind kind of thing.
I want to tell you so much more about this book but I don’t want to give to much away. You really should pick it up and read it. I don’t think you will be disappointed. There is so much twist and turns throughout the book that will leave you wondering if this trip will change the lives of 5 people for good or bad or will it strengthen  their friendship as they all go their separate ways.
I really enjoyed reading The Summer of Us. It was a light, fun and quick read. If your looking for a quick fun summer read I highly recommend this.
I look forward to reading more of Cecilia’s upcoming books.