Goodreads Rating: 3.79 stars

Goodreads Summary:

A summer read about first love, feminism, and ice cream.

Summer in Sand Lake isn’t complete without a trip to Meade Creamery—the local ice cream stand founded in 1944 by Molly Meade who started making ice cream to cheer up her lovesick girlfriends while all the boys were away at war. Since then, the stand has been owned and managed exclusively by local girls, who inevitably become the best of friends.

Seventeen-year-old Amelia and her best friend Cate have worked at the stand every summer for the past three years, and Amelia is “Head Girl” at the stand this summer. When Molly es away before Amelia even has her first day in charge, Amelia isn’t sure that the stand can go on. That is, until Molly’s grandnephew Grady arrives and asks Amelia to stay on to help continue the business…but Grady’s got some changes in mind…

My Thoughts:

I was saving this cutesy contemporary for summer because—look at that cover! Doesn’t it look like the epitome of summer? Plus the book takes place during the summertime.

Because I was saving it, I was expecting more. In general, I was expecting more. Maybe it was the writing style, but I felt absolutely nothing for Amelia. And I felt negative feelings for Cate. CATE WAS THE WORST. I seriously don’t understand how Amelia and Cate were best friends for years with how little they communicate and understand each other.

The only thing “feminist” about this novel was the storyline with Molly Meade. Honestly, I would’ve rather learned more about her than the main characters. She had more heart and had a moral com.

The romance between Amelia and… Grady? Was so flat. Because they’re flat characters.

The best part of the book was the ending because Amelia actually found a purpose. And then it was over.

In general, I don’t think this book was bad. It was just okay. The characters weren’t likable and the romance was terrible and shouldn’t have even been in there. That’s how little purpose it served. BUT, the small town ice cream stand plot was really cute and I liked the IDEA of how strong the girls’ friendships become working there. It was just poorly executed/shown.