Title: Long Past Summer
Author: Noué Kirwan
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.0 out of 5
Mikaela Marchand is living the polished life she always planned for: a successful New York lawyer, with a promotion in her sights and a devoted boyfriend by her side. She’s come a long way from the meek teen she was growing up in small town Georgia, but the memory of her adolescence isn’t far—in fact, it’s splashed across a massive billboard in Times Square. An old photograph of Mikaela and her former best friend, Julie, has landed on the cover of a high-profile fashion magazine advertised all over the city. And when Julie files a lawsuit, Mikaela is caught in the middle as defense lawyer for the magazine.
Not only will she have to face Julie for the first time in years, Mikaela’s forced to work closely with the photographer in question: the former love of her life–and Julie’s ex-husband–Cameron Murphy. Mikaela needs to win the case to get her promotion–and as a junior partner, she has no margin for error. But unresolved feelings still exist between Cam and Mikaela, and jealousy always made Julie play dirty…
Solid writing from a debut author, I just didn’t really care for the characters. Mikaela was totally self-absorbed and so focused on other people’s perceptions of her that she forgot to be human—and forgot other people have feelings, too (like her doctor boyfriend). Cameron really wasn’t any better, and for me, these two came off as uncommunicative, needy, and co-dependent. Despite the quality of the writing, the characters themselves made this a lackluster read for me.
Noué Kirwan is from New York. Long Past Summer is her debut novel.
(Galley courtesy of Harlequin in exchange for an honest review.)
Tomorrow Is Another Day 