Thursday 1 September 2016

Review: Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories

Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories
Edited by: Stephanie Perkins
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: May 17th 2016
My rating: 3 stars 


Maybe it's the long, lazy days, or maybe it's the heat making everyone a little bit crazy. Whatever the reason, summer is the perfect time for love to bloom. Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories, written by twelve bestselling young adult writers and edited by the international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins, will have you dreaming of sunset strolls by the lake. So set out your beach chair and grab your sunglasses. You have twelve reasons this summer to soak up the sun and fall in love. Featuring stories by Leigh Bardugo, Francesca Lia Block, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Brandy Colbert, Tim Federle, Lev Grossman, Nina LaCour, Stephanie Perkins, Veronica Roth, Jon Skovron, and Jennifer E. Smith.

This book was a lot more darker than I was expecting it to be, whereas My True Love Gave to Me was the perfect read for the Winter with its cosy make you want to curl up in a duvet with a hot chocolate sort of read, some of the stories in Summer Days and Summer Nights were darn right scary, and didn’t really come across as summery sorts of reads at all. Despite this there were a few stories that shone through for me;

In Ninety Minutes Turn North by Stephanie Perkins.
This is just the cutest story ever. I’m a huge fan of Perkins  work and I’m known to gobble up her books in one sitting, whereas I wasn’t feeling the first few stories in this anthology, this story really ended up being a favourite of mine. I’m a huge fan of second chance romances and the romance in here was done perfectly. It was cute, whimsical and left a big fat goofy smile on my face afterwards.

Good Luck and Farewell by Brandy Colbert.
This was one story I started off assuming I wouldn’t like but my sister told me to push through as it was one of her favourites and once I’d finished I absolutely loved it. The MC sort of reminded me of myself in a lot ways, she’d been through a lot and was now seeing a big piece of her life (her cousin) move away to another state. Because of what she’d been through I could understand why it could be hard letting people in and why she was worrying about her family members. But I was happy with the chance (route) she decided to take because it was so worthwhile in the end. This story really can be an eye opener in many ways as it deals with characters finally opening up about grief they’d had to deal with, but also opening up the chance for someone to enter their lives. 

“I think maybe saying goodbye isn’t all bad. Maybe it means I’m making room for someone new”.

Brand New Attraction by Cassandra Clare.
This story was actually one of the darker ones that ended up working for me; it was set at a carnival, with scary clowns and demons (so not my sort of read). But the unexpected surprises that came along the way in the forms of characters that you could rely on that you didn’t assume that you could and finally discovering what happened to characters who had supposedly run away and the realising who the actual real villain made this book such a fun read. Also the sweet romance set amongst the grim, darker scenes really brightened up the story for me.



12 comments:

Keertana said...

I completely agree that the first anthology was much more my cup of tea rather than this one, but I did enjoy a few of the stories quite a bit! Great review, Jasprit--Perkins's story put a smile on my face too! :)

Jenny said...

I would not have guessed this anthology had a darker tone based on that bright and happy cover Jasprit! Glad there were a few highlights for you at least:) Thanks for the heads up on this one!

Lekeisha said...

I liked this anthology but It's not as good as the Christmas one. I did enjoy the variety in the stories.

Emma said...

I need to read this one but you would assume if it's summery you would think you could still curl up with it but by the beach. I would assume some sort of romance ones too. I will be cautious when it comes to the scary ones though. Great review Jasprit!

Eva @ All Books Considered said...

Great review! I didn't really care for this -- the two stories I kind of liked seemed to the be the ones everyone else hated haha I definitely think this would have benefited from more editing ♥

Maja (The Nocturnal Library) said...

I'd read anything Cassie Clare writes, even if it is about clowns and carnivals! Like you, I really expected this to be lighter, but I'm kind of glad it's not. I look forward to it.

Shooting Stars Mag said...

It's weird that there were scary stories in this one! I own it, but I need to read them still. I guess it's good going in. I think these stories would have been better for a fall-themed anthology! haha

Alyssa said...

Darker than you expected? Dude, the cover looks SO cute! That's interesting that they did that (cute cover but dark stories). I'm not big on anthologies, but I'm curious about the Bardugo one!

Great review, Jasprit. =)

Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!

Shane @ItchingforBooks said...

By the look of the cover I'd expect all the stories to be light, cute, and fluffy. It's surprising to hear that some were really dark. Still, I'm glad a few stuck out to you. Seems like an interesting collection either way. Nice reviews. Thanks for sharing :)

Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings said...

I started this one about a month ago, but I didn't get very far, I just wasn't in the right mood for it. I hope to try it again, I know that I will like the Perkins story. I am will keep in mind that it is a bit dark.

Siiri said...

Hah, really? I didn't know some stories here were scary. That seems kinda off esp since the cover is so bright and the topics should be more fluffy? LOL. Aw, I love family stories and emotional ones especially, so Brandy's would be right up my alley! I'm happy you managed to enjoy these stories darling! Sorry the rest wasn't up to par with these three as much as you hoped they would be.

Carina Olsen said...

Lovely review Jasprit :D Yay for enjoying these stories. It was also a three star for me :\ I just found most of the stories to be awful and boring, haha :D But also loved the Cassie one. <3 Thank you for sharing :D

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