5 Star Review & Giveaway – That One Summer by C.J. Duggan

He sure could kiss.

As the countdown to the new millennium begins, there is one thing everyone agrees on: no one wants to be in Onslow for New Year’s Eve.

So that can only mean one thing: road trip!

No longer the mousey, invisible, shy girl from years ago, Tammy Maskala is finally making up for all those lost summers. A new year with new friends, which astoundingly includes the bossy boy behind the bar, Chris Henderson.

She likes her new friends (at least most of them), so why does she secretly feel so out of place?

After chickening out on the trip, a last-minute change of heart sees Tammy racing to the Onslow Hotel, fearing she’s missed her chance for a ride. The last thing she expected to meet was a less-than-happy Onslow Boy leaning against his black panel van.

Now the countdown begins to reach the others at Point Shank before the party is over and the new year has begun. Alone in a car with only the infuriating Chris Henderson, Tammy can’t help but feel this is a disastrous start to what could have been a great adventure. But when the awkward road trip takes an unexpected turn, Tammy soon discovers that the way her traitorous heart feels about Chris is the biggest disaster of all.

Fogged up windows, moonlight swimming, bad karaoke and unearthed secrets; after this one summer nothing will ever be the same again.

• Believable characters.  One thing that I love about Duggan is how she writes characters that feel so real to me.  All of her main characters are vulnerable in some way – Tammy has spent her life feeling just a little bit invisible and not always knowing where she fits in.  She loves her best friend Amy and the Onslow boys, but she can’t help but feel like a bit of an outsider around them, even when they’ve welcomed her in. I feel like I can totally relate to this type of character and all of her self-doubts.  Tammy wants to bask in their acceptance, but she can never quite get over her own hang-ups in order to do so.  Then there’s Chris.  He’s the serious, responsible one in the group. The one who always takes care of everyone else and makes sure that the crazy antics don’t get too out of hand. I could see how he fell into this role and why it makes it so hard for him to truly let go with anyone – even when he wants to – like with Tammy.  When Chris’ sweet side comes out, you just can’t help but see in him what Tammy does!
• Slow romance.  This was one of those cases where the romance between the two main characters is relatively slow to develop – which I appreciated. Tammy isn’t instantly in love with Chris – not even instantly lusting over him (though she does have some stray thoughts that lead that way). In fact, Tammy is pretty intimidated by Chris at first, and she has to get to know him pretty well before she really starts crushing on him.  Yay!
• Road trip!  Road trips are always fun, right?  Even when they’re miserable and crazy and full of disasters (which this one sometimes was). This book had that classic road trip feel – where the main character takes a physical journey and also takes an emotional journey as well.  Tammy’s trip has lots of bumps along the way, but it’s all worth it when she gets to that final destination!