My Fake Summer Boyfriend by Ann Herrick – a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 13, 2014

Sun, surf, sand and Alex–Katie was swept away!

Katie eagerly agrees to pretend she is Alex’s girlfriend for the summer in order to protect his job. Amid sundrenched waves, they develop a friendship that is on the verge of turning romantic, when who should arrive but Nicole, Alex’s old girlfriend. In three days, Nicole ruins Katie’s relationship with Alex. So Katie gets involved with Logan, Nicole’s handsome older brother, though Alex is the one for her.

Soon enough Katie learns that fake romances can get out of hand and lead to complications she never imagined.

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REVIEW: My Fake Summer Boyfriend is a heartwarming YA summer love story by Ann Herrick.

Katie Price is a soon to be sixteen year old girl, with an undeniable crush. She has it bad for seventeen year old, school newspaper editor, Alex Stedman. With the summer fast approaching Katie better make her move. On the last day of school she crosses paths with Alex just as he is leaving school. When he offers her a ride home she gladly accepts. But the ride is awkward and Katie doesn’t quite know what to say. But as luck would have it her parents are dragging her away to the beach for the summer. She would not get the chance to cultivate the relationship she badly wants with Alex. After trying everything to get out of going on summer vacation, Katie reluctantly gives in. After the urging of her best friend, Samantha, Katie decides that a summer romance may be just what she needs to prepare her for the next school year and for Alex. Heading off on a summer of adventure in Chatfield, Katie is pretty happy about the prospect of a summer romance to get her in practice for the real thing with Alex. Until….She walks to the local store and finds that none other than Alex Stedman working there. Her summer may not be so bad after all.

I loved this story in that it is a classic summer love story. Katie is awkward in her dating / love life – as any wholesome sixteen year old would be. I found that I loved the friendship and bond she found with Alex. The sub-characters of the younger siblings were the right mix of annoying and lovable as any younger sibling would be. And I found that I truly enjoyed their part of the story. Of course with any love story there is those that try to cause chaos in the relationship. And the characters that brought the chaos were perfect, and they came along at just the right moment. I would highly recommend this quick read to anyone that wants an enjoyable classic love story. I can’t wait to share this love story with my daughter, she will absolutely love it as much as I did. I hope to hear more of Katie and Alex in future books – they deserve it.

Copy supplied by the author

Reviewed by Erin

You can find Ann at : Goodreads / Website / Twitter /

Ann Herrick is the author of several books and short stories for kids and teens. Her books have won several awards, such as the ALA Recommended Book for Reluctant Readers award and an IRA/CBC Children’s Choice award. Her stories have appeared in magazines such as ‘Teen, Listen, The Single Parent, Children’s Digest and The Friend.

Ann Herrick grew up in Connecticut, where she graduated from The Morgan School and Quinnipiac University. She now lives in Oregon with her husband, who was her high-school sweetheart. Their wonderful daughter is grown, married and gainfully employed, and has given Ann her only grand-dog, Puff, a bloodhound-rottweiller-beagle mix. While she misses the East Coast, especially houses built before 1900, she enjoys the green valleys, fresh air and low humidity in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Ann loves cats, walking and working in her back yard. In addition to stories and books for children and young adults, Ann also writes copy for humorous and conventional greeting cards.”

The vast majority of Ann’s books are HFN (Happily For Now, with the possibility of Happily Ever After. The characters are in their teens, after all, so Ever After would be a *really* long time.) Two books have positive endings, but not the standard HFN or HEA, but with those possibilities if the reader reads very carefully between the lines at the end of the story.