When we were 16, we made a pact.
When we were 17, we decided to follow through.
When we were 18, we decided to spend our final summer together.
Because at the end of the summer, we would show them.
Our deaths would show the world- they can’t treat us this way any longer.
This is our SOS, our Summer of St. George.
Murphy and her cousin Poppy have been BFFs forever. They share everything- including a birthday.
When they make a pact to commit suicide after high school, they decide to have one last summer of fun with NO consequences and nothing holding them back.
As the Summer of St. George begins, things don’t go as planned. Murphy doesn’t expect to fall in love and she doesn’t expect to find a boy that makes her want to live. His name is Liam, and after spending two years in the Air Force living in Japan, he’s trying to integrate back into American society. As a self-proclaimed “Jack-of-all-trades” he knows things about Murphy that she isn’t quite ready to admit to herself. And he is determined to haunt her, peel back layer after layer of lies until she can’t run from the truth anymore.
This is our SOS, this is our Summer of St. George.
Review
This review will be a bit different from the usual format that I normally use. I liked this book so much so I am just going to list down all the reasons why.
The Narration
SOS: Summer of St. George by Briana Gaitan has a nice, easy flow. The chapters are short with adequate dialogue that makes this quite a fast read. The story is narrated from 2 POVs and timelines. Poppy tells us about the past and sort of gives the background story to the current happenings. Murphy narrates about current events and their last summer. In the end, the two narratives come together like a jigsaw puzzle ending up with a surprising twist.
The setting
The setting is at a beach town, right at the oceanfront. Anyone who knows me will tell you just how much I love beaches and beach settings in books. The author does a very good job of portraying the summer at the beach. There is an easy mood of vacation and for a while I was just lost in the story of Liam and Murphy and the romance that was developing. There are also the secrets and dangers that lurk in the waters which add an eerie feeling to the story. I liked all the descriptions of the beach, the raging storms and the underlying tension presented by the setting.
The Characters
I liked the main characters. Murphy is lovely and it was so easy to like her. She seems to have lived in a cocoon all her life and we get to see her emerging during the summer. She was easy to sympathize with. I was happy for her when she met Liam and her world opened a bit but her pain and struggles with Poppy made me teary. Liam is sweet. He seems haunted by events of the past but he is still a nice guy and I liked how he was always there for Murphy. We also get to see him change from a jerk to a nice guy which was nice. The relationship between the two is lovely to read about. Overall, I think that the author did a great job in the character development.
The Twist
I thought I had figured out how the story would go. It seemed pretty simple. I could even guess the ending just based on the blurb. I was so wrong! The twist was quite a surprise. I had to pause and think about the past chapters which finally made sense after the big reveal.
Final Thoughts
I guess it is already clear that I really enjoyed reading this book. I picked it because of the cover and the interesting synopsis but didn’t know just how much I would end up liking it. It’s a nice, easy read that made it quick to get through. However, it’s the kind of story that will tug at your heartstrings and get you invested in the characters hence haunting you long after the final page. I really liked this book and highly recommend it. It is the perfect summer read. If you like romantic suspense, YA Mystery then you may also enjoy reading SOS: The Summer of St. George by Briana Gaitan.
I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
- Title: SOS:Summer of St. George
- Author: Briana Gaitan
- Expected publication: September 13th 2016
- My Rating: 5 Stars
(Note: This is a YA/NA dark romance/ suspence novel for ages 16 and up. It is loosely based and inspired by Pride and Prejudice, but is not a retelling of the original story.)-from goodreads
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