Just One Summer

Castleton Hearts #7

by Chelsea M. Cameron

Hayden Lindsey expects to spend lots of time at the beach and with her cousin Piper when she temporarily moves in with her in Castleton, Maine. What she doesn’t expect is to bump into Alessi Mason at the bakery and fight her for the last cinnamon roll. The girl she used to spend every summer in Castleton with is all grown up and she probably doesn’t even remember the last time they saw each other and that kiss they shared when they were kids.
Hayden doesn’t think about it either. Much.
But now is no time for thinking about past kisses. Hayden is only in Castleton to get on her feet and figure out how to balance her accounting job and her online tie-dye shop. A romance with Alessi is the last thing on her mind.
That is, until Alessi is in a bind and Hayden comes to the rescue and that little spark Hayden felt during the kiss? Well, now it’s an inferno, and she isn’t the only one who feels it. Alessi has her own complications, and a relationship is the last thing she needs.
Alas, chemistry sometimes has other plans. Will Hayden and Alessi give in to everything pulling them together, or will they let too many obstacles pull them apart?

Genres: LGBT, Lesbian Romance, Romance, Lesbian, Queer, Second Chance, Fiction

248 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 26, 2022

About the author

Chelsea M. Cameron is a New York Times/USA Today/Internationally Best Selling author from Maine who now lives and works in Boston. She's a red velvet cake enthusiast, obsessive tea drinker, former cheerleader, and world's worst video gamer. When not writing, she enjoys watching infomercials, eating brunch in bed, tweeting, and playing fetch with her cat, Sassenach. She has a degree in journalism from the University of Maine, Orono that she promptly abandoned to write about the people in her own head. More often than not, these people turn out to be just as weird as she is.

Reviews

[Kexx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely to return to this series, so well written, no major angst, the perfect smooth read, thank you. Recommended from Number 1 (Just one Night).

[Searchr.23 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series of Castleton Hearts is more voluminous and mature, don't you agree?! Actually in this story of sympathy and love of Hayden and Alessi that there is slowness, passion, true empathy. I really love all the characters in Castleton Hearts, but in this particular book, they were a bit redundant, except for Makena and Piper. Secondary characters in this series like Gram, Jenna were very pleasing to the eye. Let's move on to Alessi and Hayden. I also really liked their character development. For example, Hayden is more daring in appearance, but at the same time painfully emotional. And Alessi keeps everything to herself and loves control, still can't really relax.
I really, really liked this book. Especially in this book we have unpredictable and interesting bed scenes...

[Vita L. Licari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hayden has just moved to Castleton, Maine where she used to spend her summers when younger. One morning she was hoping to get a cinnamon roll and the person ahead of her gets the last one. When Hayden stops her to ask if she can buy it off of the woman, she turns around and it's her best friend until they were 11, it's Alessi Mason.This is a great second chance story and book 7 in the series. I'm thoroughly enjoying this series. This book is sweet and HOT!! 5 stars!

[Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

“‘So,’ I said, putting down the cinnamon roll so I didn’t try to inhale it all at once, ‘what the fuck are you doing here?’ ‘That question seems a little hostile, Sparrow,’ she said, and I was glad I wasn’t eating, because the use of the nickname might have made me choke. ‘I can’t believe you just called me that,’ I said. ‘I’m the only one you let call you that,’ she said, bumping her shoulder with mine. I felt my face getting red. I’d become obsessed with a book about a girl who turned out to be a princess whose name was Sparrow and I’d asked Alessi to refer to me as Sparrow one summer when we were eight. How did she still remember that?”

[Tammy Carney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

Hayden ran into her best friend from grade school she didn't know that Alessi had moved back to the small town where her grandma lived. A nice story of two young girls that fell in love for each other, tell Alessi had to move away because her parents wanted a new life for her. When they meet again after decades of being apart you can feel the love that they still have for each other, but they don't know how to tell each other. A beautiful story of childhood friends coming together

[Carolyn G. Manuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome Series

I’m falling in love with Castleton, Maine. Hayden moved back to Castleton just for the summer. When she runs into her best friend from childhood she is entranced again. Will Castleton work it’s magic and bring a new couple happiness? Great writing.

[Doug Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a decent addition to the Castleton Hearts series with two new main characters and a familiar,if rather large, supporting cast. The story arc has many cute moments, countless trips to the beach, and relatively little drama. A good read with the anticipated HEA.

[Gen Giggles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

Yet another great book. The Castleton Hearts series keeps giving more and more. I am very excited for the next one.

[Kim Yandell · Rating 5 out of 5]

😍😍😍

I had been waiting on this book to come out and it did not disappoint. After reading the series I feel the need to visit Maine one day. Absolutely love her writing.

[wilma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely written warm romance family and friends pulling together looking forward in reading more from this author

[alice lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's pretty good, but I feel like there's a lot more agency given to 11 year olds than they really have, so the start felt a bit off

[J.R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It takes just a few or a village to help or hinder!

Which do you prefer? I my self have ADHD. It is a struggle. One day you like and the next you don't. The author has chosen a human trait that exists in a lot of people. Finding a support person or group can be daunting. So our characters have decided to help one of their own. Even if she did leave and has come back and wants to start over. Past episodes can be hard or easy to forgive and remember or forget! Do you make a HEA or He double toothpicks? Apologies and thank you Radar! Your choice! Read and Enjoy! Thank you Chelsea for this series!

[Rebecca Gaddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

independence & familial surroundings

I love the character diversity & the independent but dependent qualities exhibited by this crew of characters. The group of friends is warmth personified.

[Megan H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series

This series is awesome. To visit everyone again and see what they've been up to. Preston is adorable and made me laugh. Hayden and Alessi were smokin' and I can't wait for the next book.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it!

I immediately fell in love with Hayden and Alessi, I loved their back story and how they met again and fell in love. It was so beautiful to watch. And Gram is such a delightful character! Highly recommend.

[wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

feels good

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Hayden reconnects with Alessi after years of being apart, she tries to convince herself it’s only a reunion with an old friend. Only this friend was also the first person she ever kissed. Not only that, she can’t stop herself from thinking about her in more than friendly terms. When Alessi seems to share a similar attraction, the sparks between them are scintillating, but career and personal stress may uproot their romance before it can even blossom. Fortunately, they have an amazing community of friends and a meddlesome, tough-talking grandma pulling for them and maybe even a little fate too.

Just One Summer is yet another steamy, exuberant, and heartwarming addition to the Castleton Hearts sapphic romance series. The “Castleton Crew” expands and benefits with the presence of Hayden and Alessi, who are as relatable as they are endearing. Their reconnection morphs into an attraction and heart-fluttering love story with an ease that makes it feel inevitable without being formulaic. The characters’ struggle to figure out life and balance their responsibilities with their desires is realistic and engaging. As a caretaker of a family member, I especially appreciated the portrayal of Alessi’s relationship with Gran.

This series just keeps pulling the reader deeper and deeper into the Castleton community, making the characters feel like old friends and their fictional town a happy, low-drama place to escape to for a while. I highly recommend reading and re-reading all the books so far.

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I struggled for a while between giving this book a four or a three and the reason why I ultimately gave it a four is because I’m comparison to the other books in this series that I rated a three, I did enjoy this one more.

Hayden and Alessi overall were really well fleshed out characters both separately and together but I will admit, there were some parts of the book that I just really disliked, the main one being Hayden’s ‘pet name’ for Alessi. Every time I read it, I tried to read it super quickly just so I wouldn’t have to read it at all. There was something about it that just made it unbearable to read but it’s a minor detail in the grand scheme of things. Special shoutout to Gram as well because to be honest, she was my favourite character in this book, surpassing both Hayden and Alessi so that definitely says something to me.

In general, the book kept its predictability, similar to the previous books in this series and I like reading books that I know for a fact will have a happy ending so that’s always a good thing. It was great to see all the characters from the other books come together again in one setting and honestly, if I can find a town like Castleton that has like 60% LGBT+ people, please let me know so I can move over there asap!

Overall a decent book, with a good mix of humour, seriousness and mature content. Not something I would read again but it sits nicely in the middle of the pile in terms of enjoyment for this series.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like a good friends-to-lovers trope, and a reunion never hurts. I wasn't crazy in love with these characters, and the plot was very basic, but it was cute and fluffy, and that was what I was looking for.

However...Chelsea Cameron has a really bad habit of taking shortcuts with her books. Sometimes, a book seems to have effort put into it, and it's actually really enjoyable. And other works of hers don't seem to have the same time and care, and it shows. I don't know why this is, but it has caused me to rate her books all over the Star Spectrum! It's hard never knowing what quality of work I will get from her. She's lucky I came back at all, after Marriage Of Unconvenience. *cue eye roll* The inconsistencies in this book weren't as bad as some of the others, but Alessi's eye color changed more than once, and I'm sorry, but that is not okay.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

BEFORE YOU READ THIS SERIES!!! - as long as you don’t mind a monotonous plot that hops from book to book and blatant typos carrying throughout all 8 books, then read this series. I liked the premise of the books and I did enjoy them. However the plots got a little stale as I went on. It’s like the author revamped the story and added different names in each book to make it a sequel. Not a bad series all in all. The typos really bugged me though, did anyone proof read these before publishing?

[Jos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this installment of the Castleton series. The characters have moved away from the original cast, but the character building, in this one, felt a little stronger to make up for it. There was some cheesiness and a little bittersweetness that kept this one interesting.

Castleton series has had its ups and downs for me, but as I near the end I can say its still a fun series, great for summer reading or when you want to read about a growing queer friend group in small town Maine.

[sweet_psycho · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book was good I like friends to lovers but this one had a little spin on it because something happen making them lose contact .