{REVIEW} THE SUMMER HE CAME HOME (BAD BOYS OF CRYSTAL LAKE #1)

Series: The Bad Boys of Crystal Lake #1
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: 4/2/13
Format: ARC
Pages: 360
Source: Received from publisher for review

Sometimes the best place to find love is right back where you started…

Falling asleep in a different bed every night has made it easy for Cain Black to forget his past. It’s been ten years since he packed his guitar and left Crystal Lake to chase his dreams. Now tragedy has forced him home again. And though Cain relishes the freedom of the road, one stolen moment with Maggie O’Rourke makes him wonder if he’s missing out on something bigger than fame.

For Maggie—single mother and newly settled in Crystal Lake—love is a luxury she just can’t afford. Sure, she appreciates the tall, dark and handsome looks of prodigal son Cain Black. But how long can she expect the notorious hellion to stay?

The last thing either of them wants is something complicated. But sometimes love has its own plans.

By now it's no secret that I absolutely love "going home" books. Seriously, I can't get enough of them. What's even better is when it's a rockstar going home. So when The Summer He Came Home was offered to me for review, and I took a glance at the cover, you better believe I was all over that!

The Summer He Came Home is the story of two lost people: Cain Black and Maggie O'Rourke. Cain left home ten years ago to chase his dream of being a rockstar, and never looked back. He's found success, but not happiness. Once again, I have a book with my favorite type of guy, the bad boy who is actually a good guy. Before Cain left Crystal Lake, he was one of the Bad Boys, along with his best friends Jesse, Jake and Mac. I loved how the Bad Boys had this amazing friendship that held true no matter how many years and miles separated them. The kind of friendship that doesn't require words to know what each is going through, and knowing that they'll have each other's backs no matter what. Cain was so freaking easy to read about. He was a straight-up nice guy, good to his family, friends, and Maggie.

Maggie was also easy to like right away. A single mom with a scary past, she's trying to make ends meet and keep her head down. Maggie is a housekeeper to a lot of the citizens of Crystal Lake, and the people have quickly grown to love and accept her and her son as their own. When Maggie meets Cain, she fights to push down the attraction she feels towards him. The last thing she needs is a complication in her life. Knowing that he won't be in town for long, she doesn't want her son or herself to become attach to the handsome and loving Cain. It's a losing battle, though, and Maggie tells herself to keep it casual, and we all know how that works out, right? Yeah, it doesn't take long for Maggie to fall hard for Cain, despite the heartbreak she knows is headed her way. I adored Maggie for her strength, her big heart, and for always putting her son first.

The Summer He Came Home was fun and sweet, but also very sad, and at the end, extremely tense. But it ended in the absolute best way possible I appreciated the slow buildup between Cain and Maggie. I loved seeing them fall in love, to slowly realize that despite the relationship's casual start, there is more at play. The author did a great job at making the characters and their relationship realistic. I loved that the actual town, Crystal Lake, was a character. The buildings and the history they represented, the intermingling people who made up the town, and the history of the Bad Boys, it all combined to create a fantastic story that I could not put down.

There were many hints as to the issues the other Bad Boys were facing, Jake... he has a lot of rage and pain inside him, and rightly so. And Mac, he came across as sort of flippant about his painful past, but his pain is barely contained. I can't wait for these guys to get their own books. The Bad Boys of Crystal Lake is another great series and I am anxiously waiting for the next book.



Favorite Quote ~

  "The things I'm going to do to you, Maggie, just might be illegal in some states."
  Cain turned and headed toward his truck, keys jangling in his hands loosely. "Make sure you get lots of sleep," he tossed over his shoulder. "Because you're sure as hell gonna need it."  ~ARC, pg 171

Purchase The Summer He Came Home at: 

Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Book Depository

 

 

About the author:

Juliana Stone’s love of the written word and 80s rock, have inspired her in more ways than one. She writes contemporary romance, paranormal romance and will debut a young adult novel in 2014. She spends her days navigating a busy life that includes, a husband, kids, a dog and a cat.

Connect with Juliana at:

Website  |  Twitter  |  GoodReads