Meredith and her family use to spend their summers in Martha’s Vineyard every year, that is, until Meredith’s older sister Claire unexpectedly passed a few years ago. After years away, Meredith and her family are finally returning to the Vineyard for Meredith’s cousin’s wedding #HoorayShesaDupré. Having recently been dumped by her long-time boyfriend, Meredith is definitely not looking for a summer fling! But, right from the get-go, Meredith literally jumps into a whirlwind romance with the groom’s bruised yet handsome stepbrother, Wit, while playing a huge game of assassin with all the wedding guests. Along the way, Meredith deals with her overwhelming grief, makes more concrete decisions for after high school, reconnects with the family she’s been ignoring, and determines her own self-worth.
The Summer of Broken Rules is ideally suited for those who enjoy contemporary romance. This book reminded me a lot of books like P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han, The Beach House by Beth Reekles, People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry, The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han, Breathless by Jennifer Niven, and Fade Into the Bright by Jessica Koosed Etting and Alyssa Schwartz. This book deals with themes such as coming of age, growing up, death and grief, family, love and heartbreak, travel, and identity.
Firstly, the references to Taylor Swift’s songs in this book were so enjoyable because, like Meredith, I am a huge “Swiftie”. This book had a little bit of everything: a beach destination, some family drama and healing, a summer love, a fairytale wedding, lots of adventure, and an epic game of assassin. It’s very well organised and in addition to numbered chapters, the book is also broken down chronologically by the day of the week. I loved how Walther included both an epilogue as well as a chapter taking place one year after the conclusion of the book. This made it so satisfying to read about what was happening with Meredith post happily ever after. Lastly, I thought that the tropical descriptions of Martha’s Vineyard were an excellent form of escapism.
To be honest, there wasn’t a lot about this book that I didn’t like. One critique is that the game of assassin was rather long as well as a little bit juvenile and intricate. Another critique is that Walther doesn’t give us the whole story of Claire’s passing at the beginning of the book; I was left guessing as to what happened to Claire until the whole story was revealed approximately mid-way through the book.
Since this book is relatively short and takes place during summer vacation, I think that it would be a perfect summer or beach read!
The Summer of Broken Rules is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Meredith Fox has been going to Martha’s Vineyard for the summer as long as she can remember. But this summer is the first one back since the death of Meredith’s sister. It will all be overwhelming, but even more since since the entire extended family will be together for her cousin’s big wedding.
Unfortunately, Meredith’s longtime boyfriend unexpectedly dumped her two weeks before the wedding, leaving her dateless. Luckily, she has the perfect distraction. Her family has a tradition of playing the ultimate game of Assassin every summer, and this year it will take place during the week of wedding festivities.
But her target just happens to be a very cute groomsman. She’s determined to not let herself get distracted, not let herself be lost in another doomed relationship. But as the week progresses, she can’t help falling for him, which may cost her not only the game, but also her heart.
Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Katie Cotugno, this is a story of loss, romance, and the time it takes to become who you really want to be.
