Swept Away by Michelle Dalton Published by Simon and Schuster
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Beachfront love blossoms in this refreshing summer romance, in the tradition of Sixteenth Summer and Seventeenth Summer.
Mandy Sullivan isn’t exactly looking forward to the summer months as tourists invade her seaside hometown on the coast of Maine. Her best friend, Cynthia, has abandoned her for camp and her older brother just announced he’ll be staying at college taking classes for the summer, leaving Mandy with nothing to do and no one to hang out with. Hoping to keep herself busy, Mandy takes a volunteer job at the Rocky Pointe Lighthouse. On her very first day, Oliver Farmingham asks for a private tour. A new—and incredibly cute—face in Rocky Pointe, Oliver seems more interested in Mandy than the lighthouse and its history.
Without her best friend at her side, Mandy is scrambling to act the right way and say the right things when Oliver is around. Cynthia—not Mandy—has always been the confident, flirtatious girl that everyone wanted to be around. As Mandy and Oliver spend more time together exploring the coast, biking through the woods, and attending the local summer festivals, their budding friendship becomes much more. But with Mandy’s insecurities creeping to the surface, can she open her heart to someone who will only be in town for three months?
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The amazing thing about a Michelle Dalton book is the ability it has to put you right in a beach side town in summer. Since reading her first book, Sixteenth Summer, she has managed to transport me to warm summer days on a beach, Cape Cod for me, and made me remember what it was like in the summer when I was younger. She has done it with every book of hers so far and Swept Away wasn’t any different.
Swept Away is the story of Mandy, a girl living in a small town in Coastal Maine. Mandy is not looking forward to the summer in front of her. Her best friend will be away, her mom and forcing her to volunteer at the light house and her brother isn’t coming home from college. Mandy has resigned herself to this being the worst summer of her life. That is until Oliver, the new summer boy, shows up and has a huge interest in her. Now instead of being forced to spend time with her mother and at the light house Mandy is having the summer of her romantic dreams and learns a little something about herself in the process. But like all summer romances there is an end date and as it gets closer and closer Mandy and Oliver have to deal with the harsh light of their reality and see if love is worth it.
The thing I love most about Dalton’s writing is her consistency. All of her books have the same writing and feel to them but they are also different enough that you don’t feel like you are reading the same book. Swept Away fit in perfectly. There was the cute coastal town, the endless summer days and the quintessential summer romance. It is basically a perfect beach read as it keeps you interested but doesn’t bog you down with over the top drama.
I also really enjoy Michelle’s characters. Mandy and Oliver were a pretty great pair. Although Mandy did get on my nerves at times by not being herself out of fear that Oliver would leave her (tip: he isn’t worth it if he doesn’t like who you are), I guess I understood the insecurity more as the book progressed. She was a person that lived in her best friend’s shadow mostly so she wasn’t sure how to just be herself. But even with that blip I really liked Mandy. She was more determined than she knew and she was more open minded than she thought. It was actually nice to see her stand on her own without her best friend. And Oliver, oh Oliver was just geekily adorable. He was 100% nerd and I 100% loved him.
Swept Away was a very fast read that will kept you interested and smiling the whole way. It is the perfect summer beach read and it will make you wish you were there. I would recommend this for contemporary fans for sure as you are guaranteed to enjoys yourself with the feel of summer and first love.
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