Book Review / Since Last Summer by Joanna Philbin

Please note that this is book 2 in a series, so the below may contain spoilers.

Rory McShane should be excited to spend the summer in East Hampton with Connor Rule, her generous, smart, cute boyfriend. After all, Rory's no longer the hired help at the Rule family mansion on the beach, and she and Connor have made it through a year of long-distance dating. But now, in the months leading up to college, Rory can't help but wonder if she really belongs in Connor's world.

Isabel Rule is still trying to get over Mike, the devastatingly sexy surfer who broke her heart last summer. Enter Evan, an aspiring filmmaker who's kind, funny, and crushing on Isabel. He'd be the perfect summer fling -- so why can't she seem to forget about Mike?

Set against a backdrop buzzing with the rich, the famous, and the wannabe rich and famous, Since Last Summer, a companion novel to Rules of Summer, is the perfect beach read.



Published:     3rd June 2014
Publisher:  Poppy
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 2, Rules of Summer
Source:  Owned

MY REVIEW

Now this story I was intrigued to picking up.  Having read and enjoyed the first book, Rules of Summer, I wanted to find out what happened next with the characters.

Again, we follow Rory as she returns to the Rules' house in the Hamptons but this time she is not going back to work.  She is going back because she is part of the family.  Interestingly, what I enjoyed the most in this story was following Isabel as she grows as a character and discovers that she may not be over her past love...

There were no surprises in this story and I do have to say that I was a little disappointed by what happens with Rory in this one but could understand where that had come from.  I was hoping for most from this story but it really was just an extension of the first story but with a bit more drama. I did enjoy reading it to follow more about the characters but wished there was more to the story.

Book Review / Rules of Summer by Joanna Philbin

There are two sides…to every summer.

When seventeen-year-old Rory McShane steps off the bus in East Hampton, it’s as if she’s entered another universe, one populated by impossibly beautiful people wearing pressed khakis and driving expensive cars. She’s signed on to be a summer errand girl for the Rules—a wealthy family with an enormous beachfront mansion. Upon arrival, she’s warned by other staff members to avoid socializing with the family, but Rory soon learns that may be easier said than done.

Stifled by her friends and her family’s country club scene, seventeen-year-old Isabel Rule, the youngest of the family, embarks on a breathless romance with a guy whom her parents would never approve of. It’s the summer for taking chances, and Isabel is bringing Rory along for the ride.

But will Rory’s own summer romance jeopardize her friendship with Isabel? And, after long-hidden family secrets surface, will the Rules’ picture-perfect world ever be the same?

Published:     23rd May  2013
Publisher:  Atom
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 1, Rules of Summer
Source: Owned

MY REVIEW

This was a re-read for me.  I had not realised that there was a follow up second book to this and can't believe that I hadn't picked it up already.  It had been a while since I had read the first book, so I thought I should start there first.   I had first read this back in 2018 and loved it back then, so I was intrigued to find out what I thought about it now.

We follow Rory in this story when, wanting to escape from her mother who was not the best of influences, she gets a job working in a house in the Hamptons.  Soon enough, she realises that there may be far more family at this house than back home.  

This was a fun read.  It was so great to be revisting this world again.  For me, the best part of this story was the relationship between Rory and Isabel.  You can see they might not be characters that get on at the start but circumstances change that.  Yes, this is very cliche and nothing was a surprise but it was still fun to read.   I am intrigued to find out where the second book takes me.

Book Review / Rules of Summer by Joanna Philbin

There are two sides to every summer.

When seventeen-year-old Rory McShane steps off the bus in East Hampton, it's as if she's entered another universe, one populated by impossibly beautiful people wearing pressed khakis and driving expensive cars. She's signed on to be a summer errand girl for the Rules -- a wealthy family with an enormous beachfront mansion. Upon arrival, she's warned by other staff members to avoid socializing with the family, but Rory soon learns that may be easier said than done.

Stifled by her friends and her family's country club scene, seventeen-year-old Isabel Rule, the youngest of the family, embarks on a breathless romance with a guy whom her parents would never approve of. It's the summer for taking chances, and Isabel is bringing Rory along for the ride. But will Rory's own summer romance jeopardize her friendship with Isabel? And, after long-hidden family secrets surface, will the Rules' picture-perfect world ever be the same?

Published:    23rd May 2013

Publisher:  Atom

Goodreads :  Click here

Series:  N/A

Source:  Review Copy from Publisher

Review:   7 out of 10

What I loved about this book…

This was such a great summer read, despite the fact that our usual English summer meant that there were more grey days then summer days!  The feel of the story and the characters interaction made this just such a great summer read I wish I had kept this for a proper summer day!

For me, the main characters in this story were Isobel and Rory.  You have Isobel who is from a rich family and is very spoilt but having been caught out doing something bad the summer before and being sent to a school in California she has come back this summer with a slightly different perspective.  Then you have Rory who lives with a mother who is an alcoholic and very dependent on  her daughter – Rory having to take on the mother role for her own mother.  She gets the chance to go and work at Isobel’s family’s house over the summer and decides to take it.   Rory is very down to earth and has a lot of common sense.  I really enjoyed seeing these two characters come together at various points throughout the story and seeing how they progress.

What I was not fond of about this book…

As with most summer easy reads that I have come across, they mainly contain some element of romance.   With this story, there was an element of romance but there were at least three different potential love interests, things did get a bit confusing at times. 

One of the main aspects that drew me into this story was when I read it has long hidden secrets – I just cannot resist stories with long hidden secrets.  I have to admit that I was a little bit disappointed that those long hidden secrets were not really revealed until near the end of the book and I was kind of expecting what I had found out by then anyway so for me it was not much of a big reveal.

In summary…

This is a really great summer read; a light story with a bit of romance and a bit of rivalry.  I did struggle a bit with the many potential love interests and also the hidden secrets that were not revealed until the end when I had already anticipated them anyway.

Despite the negative, I really did enjoy this story and would highly recommend it as a great beach read.

Video Review...

Best wishes

Debs J