After reading the synopsis, "for fans of Sarah Dessen and Morgan Matson", I decided to ask NetGalley for a copy and got an eARC in exchange for a review.
After losing her best friend to a drowning incident the previous summer, Coriander (Cor) goes to Cape Cod and spends the summer with her Uncle Jack while taking a marine biology internship. It isn't too long before she meets Mannix, the sexy local lifeguard and wannabe chef. Cor develops new friendships with some of his friends as well as others at her internship. Throughout the summer, she has a to-do list she tries to complete. But falling in love was not part of that list.
I absolutely LOVED the setting of the town. It was a PERFECT beachside town. I enjoyed how Emma, Cor's friend that she lost a year prior, was still there for her and helping her through her friend's first summer without her. I enjoyed her budding romance with Mannix, how neither of them planned to fall in love and it ended up happening.
I didn't enjoy the conflict later in the book, but not because of the writing or because it didn't feel real. I just didn't enjoy that bit of selfishness that Mannix displayed. And I'm not really into marine biology, so there was that. Though, I'm still glad I read the book.
This is a quaint little Summertown romance that is just a pinch heavy with Cor dealing with her friend's death still, but all-in-all, it's a good summer read/beach read. Add this to your list.