Picked this book up on sale on impulse, feeling nostalgic for British Chick Lit. Perhaps I should have left nostalgia alone - if this book is a fine example of the genre, I just don’t enjoy checklist as I once did. Part of it is that I’m not a fan of first person narrative except in rare cirucmstances. The dialogue was pedantic, often meaningless filler. What troubled me most was the underlying storyline, however. The story is about first love. Our heroine, Alice, travels to a seaside resort for a brief summer vacation with her parents before heading off to college. Upon arrival she spots a barkeep, Joe, who makes her heart sing. He’s super attractive but has a troubled family life with parents who barely tolerate him and a jailbird brother who beats him up whenever he gets a chance. They quickly fall in love but are wrenched apart before the summer’s even over. She tries to find him and goes through her first year of college in a catatonic state mooning over him. {spoilers ahead} Nearly a year into school she develops a friendship with a punter, basically a tour guide for the boats that travel the city of cambridge. Their friendship brings Alice out of her shell and back to the living. After emerging she meets a good looking German man who slowly, and then not so slowly woos her. He claims love at first site. Fast forward, he proposes even though his parents want him to marry a wealthy daughter of their friends. Maybe they were onto something: even as she’s about to wed she’s pining after Joe. Skipping ahead on the drama, turns out Joe’s a world famous actor but Alice somehow missed that fact. Her friends think her husband is wrong for her so they help her reconnect with Joe. They run off for sex on the beach while she’s supposed to be at her parents. After she misses her flight back German husband tracks her down and gets demanding. She leaves Joe to track German husband down. The book closes with her reuniting with someone - it doesn’t say who, but one can probably believe it is Joe. I think I’m too mature (too old?) to appreciate this. The story’s about finding your own true love and holding out against hope that you’ll some day reunite, and when you find that person again you’ll be together but never mind the inconvenient relationships you may have in your life. The story bothered me in the same way that many Emily Giffen books bother me. The characters are immature and don’t seem to understand what a loving relationship means. The author tries to paint German Husband in such a way that readers won’t like him much and will root for Alice to reunite with Joe. Instead, I’m just rooting for Alice to grow up. Yes, people make mistakes and marry the wrong person, but she acts like an idiot throughout. And the idea that Joe’s her one true love doesn’t ring true - at least in terms of what real, adult meaningful love is. They had chemistry sure, but it was puppy love. And even if she shouldn’t be with German guy, she doesn’t need to treat him so poorly. Seriously people,esp. you ALice, grow up. I love this book. It was my first book I've read by Paige Toon and I plan on reading more of her books. I just fell in love with the story entirely and I couldn't put it down (I read it until 3 in the morning sometimes). Gave this book to my sister to read and she loved it too. Cant praise this book enough! There's also a sequel for this book (One perfect Christmas) which I refuse to read due to the fact I don't want to ruin the ending Id hoped for whilst reading this book
What do You think about One Perfect Summer (2012)?
The perfect read for a romantic at heart. The ending leaves you wanting more.
—cay
Funny, well written. Maybe, the end was a bit hard. Too many broken hearts.
—1072107499
While reading it, I had the feel that I was seeing a movie.Just loved it!
—southlouisiana
Good, logo liking forward to Paige toons next one
—Meli
