Emma Lane’s forced to face her fears when her mother unceremoniously dumps her on the doorstep of Camp Mapplewood, abandoning her for the summer while she heads off on a cruise with her latest husband. It’s the last place Emma wants to be with scary creatures, creepy crawlies, and much that can go bump in the night. When Emma breaks into the tool shed on her first day there, the fall out from her escapades leads her right into the path of her counsellor, Vivian Black. . . .
Thank you to Netgalley and Wattpad for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
This book intrigued me, a pretty cover, a summer romance, the great outdoors. What’s not to love? Well, unfortunately a lot more than I expected. This book wasn’t necessarily bad. It just wasn’t very good either.
Emma was problematic from the off. She flitted from being scared, depressed and anxious to being cocky, arrogant and just….kind of unlikable. I would just begin to relate to her and like her when she would do or say something that would brush me the wrong way. In fact, most, if not all of the characters, were completely not fleshed out and underdeveloped. I had soft spots for some of them, mostly Vivian, the rest of the Black family and Emma’s dad. But Emma herself seemed to be so unsure of herself, or as if the author had been unsure of how to write her.
The location was great and I loved the idea of a camp romance. I could really picture the scene and it reminded me of my few days at camp years ago! The plot was okay, predictable but mainly enjoyable to read. Once I passed the 50% mark I found it easy to pick up and more compelling. The parents of Emma were both well written for their own ways, and I actually found myself enjoying the relationship between Vivian and Emma.
Although I can see the problems with the romance, and it did make me a little angry that they were often overlooked by other characters such as Vivian’s family, I actually did like the scenes between them.
Overall, this book was…weak. It had enjoyable factors, but too much bad outweighed a possibility for it to be good. There was so much potential for it to be good, but so much was lost.
★★★
2.5 out of 5 stars
-Beth
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