Publisher: Quill & Flame Publishing House.
Release Date: 12th August, 2025.
Category: Contemporary YA, Christian.
Source: ARC gifted from the author. All opinions are my own, honest opinions.
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Riley Anderson swears she will never fall in love with Sammy Hong.
After all, every girl on earth already has.
But when Sam shows up next door with a scandal on his heels, their childhood friendship is rekindled and Riley feels the pull toward something more. But Sam is only here until the end of the summer and then he’s leaving to face the consequences of his actions and return to the world of pop stardom.
The pair, accompanied with Riley’s rambunctious younger cousin, make a list of all the things they want to do while Sam’s in town, but as they work through the activities and dodge rabid fangirls, letting Sam go may be harder than Riley ever imagined.
My Thoughts:
5 stars.
I absolutely adored this book!
It was so sweet and funny and had me laughing out loud on multiple occasions. It gave me all the happy feels after I finished reading it.
I haven’t read a lot of books were an ordinary person falls for a famous person, but I really do love reading stories about it, so when I read the premise for this I was intrigued. And I was not disappointed!
Riley hasn’t heard from Sam, her best-friend and former neighbour, since he went and became a famous singer four years ago. Until he shows up next door one day out of the blue. It doesn’t take long for the two to reconnect. Soon, along with Riley’s younger cousin Lou-Lou, the trio come up with a list of things to do for the summer, working through each item one by one.
Riley is happy to have her friend back, but torn because he is leaving. Feelings start to surface, but she is determined to keep them buried, not wanting the attention that would come with dating a famous singer. Sam, to me, was suffering from a case of burnout. He needed some time to experience normal life once again. How was he meant to write songs if he isn’t actually living life to give him inspiration? He lost his path and needed the break to find it again.
Loulou stole the show. She was funny, bossy and full of sass, but she clearly loved Riley and it was sweet how she looked out for her.
All the characters were realistic and well-written. There was a really strong family dynamic in this which I really appreciated. I love when characters have a pet dog, and Riley’s dog featured heavily in this! I thought it was a nice touch that Riley was an artist creating art for writers.
I also loved the strong faith themes threaded throughout the book. Riley prayed consistently throughout the book, showing her close relationship with God, and she encouraged Sam to get back in touch with his faith.
Overall, this was such a feel good, fantastic read. I cannot recommend it enough to fans of contemporary YA romance.
Content: This was a clean story with no swearing, no violence (though death threats were mentioned in relation to obsessed fan girls sending them), no spice – kisses only. It does deal with the death of a parent and the grief associated with that, which may be a trigger for some.
You can add it to your Goodreads here.
Rochelle L. Sharpe 