Book Review: The Summer of No Regrets by Katherine Grace Bond

The Summer of No Regrets

By Katherine Grace Bond

Release Date: May 1, 2012

Summary: The day Brigitta accidentally flings herself into the lap of a guy she's never met, her friend Natalie is convinced he's Trent Yves, egotistical heartthrob-in-hiding. When the boy, who calls himself Luke, is nearly eaten by a cougar, Brigitta finds herself saving his life, being swept into his spectacular embrace and wondering if she wants Natalie's fantasy to be true.

As the two spend the summer together raising orphaned cougar cubs, Brigitta still can't be sure of his true identity. But then again, since her grandparents' death, her father's sudden urge to give away all their possessions and become a shaman, and her own awkward transition from girlhood into a young woman, she isn't sure of anything. What is the truth? More importantly, can she accept it?

Review: Wow, this book was definitely not what I was expecting. After looking at the cover and reading the description, I expected a book about your typical girl falling for a guy, then figuring out he was famous, getting mad, then they made up and lived happily ever after. Haha, now that sounds like a joke compared to what actually happened. And I'm so happy this didn't follow the same cliche path many books are following these days. 

What makes this book so unique would definitely be the main character Brigitta. She's been home schooled all her life expect for the one year she attended public high school. Her dad is into strange, drum playing meditation and opened a Center for spiritual gatherings. To escape everything, Brigitta likes to hide out in her tree house,secretly read her tabloids, or write on her blog that no one knows about. Yeah, she's definitely not like any character I've ever read about. 

When she meets Luke, the nagging suspicion that he looks EXACTLY like the Hollywood Hottie Trent Yves is always in the back of her mind. But the more she hangs out with Luke, the more she forgets his movie star look alike. Brigitta is more comfortable being herself around Luke, but she still doesn't know if she can trust him or not, especially when he disappears for days at a time on supposed "getaways" with his mom. 

I loved following Brigitta's story and how she got closer to Luke, but the best part was when Brigitta was finally figuring out who she was as a person. The only thing that bugged me, though, was how weird her Dad was. He used to be Christian, then became an Atheist, and now plays his drums to the Gods and has spiritual gatherings? I didn't even completely understand what he believes in now. Aside from her dad, though, this was a pretty good read. My favorite part was when Luke and Brigitta find two Cougar cubs, but I don't want to spoil anything so I'll just let you see for yourselves what that's about! 

Overall, this was a nice summer read that had really unique, interesting characters. They all have so much depth and personal issues to them that it's really easy to relate to at least one aspect of their characters. As a debut novel, I'd say this one was really good and definitely a book to pick up this summer!