[REVIEW] The Season of You & Me

title: The Season of You & Me
author: Robin Constantine
genre: young adult, contemporary, romance
publish: May 10, 2016 by Balzer + Bray
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 4 / 5 stars
goodreads

Cassidy Emmerich is determined to make this summer—the last before her boyfriend heads off to college—unforgettable. What she doesn’t count on is her boyfriend breaking up with her. Now, instead of being poolside with him, Cass is over a hundred miles away, spending the summer with her estranged father and his family at their bed-and-breakfast at the Jersey Shore and working as the newest counselor at Camp Manatee.  

Bryan Lakewood is sick of nevers. You’ll never walk. You’ll never surf. You’ll never slow dance with your date at prom. One miscalculated step and Bryan’s life changed forever—now he’s paralyzed and needs to use a wheelchair. This is the first summer he’s back at his former position at Camp Manatee and ready to reclaim some of his independence, in spite of those who question if he’s up for the job.  

Cass is expecting two months dealing with heartbreak.
Bryan is expecting a summer of tough adjustments.
Neither of them is expecting to fall in love. 

fluffy, cliché romance.

YA contemporary romance is not my usual read. I got this book from Bookworms Unite 2.0 last year. But I was only able to read this last week because of #bookentine. Thank the stars for read-a-thons and reading challenges!

"No, a man who doesn't eat sweets doesn't know how to be sweet, in my experience anyway. And I don't mean the superficial fake sweet. I mean the real, deep sweet." -p19, ARC

The Season of You & Me is a YA contemporary romance set in summer. It's a sweet summer read with a female lead that's trying to get over a past relationship and a disabled male lead that's still at the point of accepting his disability. And I honestly did not expect myself to actually enjoy this!

This is one of those reads that left me grinning like a creep in public. It's a cliché novel -- from the characters to the things that happened and to that ending. It's all nice and sweet and it gave me that Jenny Han feel while reading this -- you know how things will go (like the two of them will be in a relationship, that this bitch will be her friend, or this said ex-boyfriend will drop by at some point) but you still eagerly read it and genuinely root for the two of them to happen!

I knew that Cassidy Emmerich was a summer girl. Tori was right -- she'd be gone at the end of the tourist season, but as I sat there watching her, I didn't care. -p164, ARC

Obviously, this isn't everyone's cup of tea. I know it isn't mine unless I'm in the right mood for it. There are certain elements which made me really like this novel though: (1) the romance that's bound to happen -- ya know it's there and when it's still not happening, and I'm like: come on now, guys! Can you just be together now? I don't want this to end right now though; (2) Bryan Lakewood is disabled -- I'm not a big #diversebooks type of reader but when I come across one, I just sit back and enjoy it. Also, I like how he's represented here, and how he slowly come into terms with it and have that happy ending; (3) there's family life -- and I mean we get to see Cassidy's family from her mom to her father with his new family to her cute little brother, Hunter; and (4) friendship, kind of not the strongest point for me but it was still a great part of the story -- especially when Cassidy actually became a part of Bryan's group of friends.

Why was I waiting for possibilities instead of actively participating? -p248-249, ARC

There are points I should say that feel a bit cringe-y and, you know, just weird. It's the narration. I kind of feel that Cassidy and Bryan have the same voice and it's awkward. It's awkward when the guy just gets that jittery, I'm quite shy and nervous around her kind of feel. It's just weird for me but at the same time I like it. I just like guys who gets a bit nervous around the girl he likes and just gets a bit awkward and a bit shy and worries of the things he says around her and still musters up the courage to talk to her and all -- reminds me of Kazehaya from Kimi ni Todoke (From Me to You).

OVERALL, The Season of You & Me is a YA contemporary romance novel that made me swoon and push for Cassidy and Bryan to happen. It's a sweet romance that involves a disabled character coming into terms with his disability, family life, and friendship. It's recommended for YA contemporary romance readers.

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