I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Finley has always felt most comfortable in someone else’s shadow. Fortunately, she’s got Colin, her magnetic boyfriend, who sweeps her along for activities, friendships, and future plans. Then she goes on a last-minute trip with her distant mom to a family vacation house that Finley didn’t know existed and is now about to be sold.

Her mom was estranged from her own parents and siblings since leaving home for college, and it’s a novelty for Finley to see her aunts and cousins. There’s also the handful of teens who work at the Egg, her aunt’s diner, and make up a found family of their own—including undeniably handsome guitarist Ben.

Then her relationship with Colin goes into freefall, and Finley’s roadmap for life after high school is gone. She has no choice but to live, for the first time, without plans. The longer Finley stays, the closer she gets to the truth about why her mother stayed away—and why she’s brought Finley here now.

And the closer she grows to new friends at the Egg, the more she starts to fall for charmingly awkward, soulful Ben and to realize how much of herself she’s been missing. By the end of the summer, nothing will be the same—for this community or for Finley herself.

Short and Sweet Review

Finley has always built her life around her boyfriend, Colin, letting him take the lead in almost everything. But when she’s suddenly whisked away to her mom’s estranged family’s lake house, and then gets dumped, she’s left without a plan for the first time. As she spends the summer getting to know relatives she’s never met and a new group of friends at a local diner, including the quiet and charming Ben, Finley starts to figure out who she is outside of someone else’s shadow.

This felt like a very classic coming-of-age summer story, with a big focus on self-discovery, family, and figuring out what you actually want for your life. Finley’s character arc was the strongest part for me. Watching her go from someone who lets other people make her decisions to someone who starts thinking for herself felt realistic, even if it took a while to fully get there. Her journey is quieter and more internal, but it still had a lot of relatable moments.
The setting and side characters gave the book that cozy, small-town summer feel. The diner, the lake, the late-night hangouts, it all had that easy, nostalgic vibe. I especially liked the friendships Finley built over the summer, which honestly felt more developed than the romance at times. Lana stood out the most, and I liked how those relationships helped push Finley’s growth forward.
The romance with Ben was sweet but a little underdeveloped for me. He had his moments, but I never felt like we got a super deep understanding of him as a character. Their relationship worked, but it didn’t fully stand out compared to other parts of the story.
One of the biggest issues was how crowded the story felt. There were a lot of characters introduced quickly, especially on the family side, and it made it hard to keep track at times. Because of that, some storylines didn’t get as much depth as they could have. The ending also felt pretty open-ended, which fits the theme of “figuring things out,” but still left me wanting a bit more closure.

Overall, this was a solid, character-driven summer read with strong themes about independence and identity. It’s more about the journey than big plot moments, so if you like quieter stories about personal growth, family, and finding yourself, this one will probably work well for you.