The Summer of No Regrets by Katherine Grace Bond

Title: The Summer of No Regrets

Author: Katherine Grace Bond

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Release Date: May 1st, 2012

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

The day Brigitta accidentally flings herself into he 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 event 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?

When I first read the synopsis of The Summer of No Regrets by Katherine Grace Bond, I'll admit that I was expecting a sappy love story. As it turned out, the story took me by surprise and ended up being a lot more than I originally thought it would be. And I loved the story for that.

Brigitta didn't think accidentally falling into some random guy's lap would change her summer the way it did. When she and that same boy are attacked by a cougar together, something happens and Brigitta can't seem to get Luke out of her head. After they find the cubs of the cougar that attacked them, Brigitta and Luke start growing closer. But everyone keeps telling Brigitta that Luke looks strangely like Hollywood bad boy Trent Yves. But that doesn't stop Brigitta from falling for Luke. And when that happens, everything starts to fall apart.

Like I said, when I first read the summary for The Summer of No Regrets, it made me think it would be a cheesy love story. I didn't have a problem with that since I was in the mood for a fun, light, summer read. I ended up being pleasantly surprised by Katherine Grace Bond's story. While there was definitely a good love story, there were also a lot of other stories happening alongside that one. There was the story of a girl trying to find her place in the world. It was also the story of a girl and her father trying to find their way back to each other. All these stories were blended together and worked together to create a story that was more complex and interesting to read. And that was why I ended up loving the story as much as I did.

Brigitta wasn't exactly described as typical. In some aspects she was completely different from the types of girls I normally read about, while at the same time being exactly like them. To me, that just made her more interesting to read about. There was always something going on with Brigitta and the fact she wasn't perfect made me love her more. What I liked most about Brigitta was how she questioned everything around her and never just accepted anything. And that was true when it came to Luke. Where Luke is concerned, there was a lot more to him than met the eye. To say there was a lot to him is a bit of an understatement, considering what ends up happening. But I don't want to spoil anything.

Katherine Grace Bond's The Summer of No Regrets definitely took me by surprise, in a very good way. There was a lot more to this story than meets the eye, which proved to be good. If you are looking for a summer read that has a little more to it, then I definitely recommend this one.