A lighthearted and swoony contemporary YA romance by fan-favorite author Kasie West about a girl who finds that a summer spent at a family resort isn't as bad as she imagined . . . and that falling in love is filled with heartache, laughter, and surprises!

Avery has always used music as an escape. But after her best friend betrays her, even her perfectly curated playlists can't help her forget what happened. To make matters worse, her parents have dragged her and her social-media-obsessed sister to a remote family camp for two months of "fun." Just when Avery is ready to give up on the summer altogether, she meets Brooks--mysterious, frustratingly charming Brooks--who just happens to be on staff--which means he's off-limits.

What starts as a disaster turns into. . . something else. As the outside world falls away, Avery embarks on a journey of self-discovery. And when Brooks offers her the chance of a lifetime, she must figure out how far is she willing to go to find out what she wants and who she wants to be.

Fan favorite Kasie West is back with another unforgettable summer romance that reminds us falling in love is full of wonder, heartache, and--most of all--surprises.

Praise for Sunkissed:

"Hits all the right notes." —Kirkus Reviews *
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“Light, frothy, swoony! Readers who rip through romances in the summer will be happy to have this peeking out of their beach bags.”—*School Library Journal

• "This is a YA title that will definitely get you in the mood for summer."—Culturess *

Praise for Kasie West:*

*"A tender story about friendship and love." —*Kirkus Reviews 

*"Kasie West books are our kind of comfort food--romantic, light and cute!" —*Justine Magazine

*"The perfect romantic comedy." —*VOYA

*"This sweet-and-salty, opposites-attract romance has more than a pinch of Pride & Prejudice tucked inside. Prepare for adorable." —*Justine Magazine

*"A sweet, swoony love story." —RT Book Reviews 

Autorentext

Kasie West is the author of many YA novels, including The Fill-in Boyfriend, P.S. I Like You, Lucky in Love, and Listen to Your Heart. Her books have been named ALA-YALSA Quick Picks, JLG selections, and ALA-YALSA Best Books for Young Adults. When she's not writing, she's binge-watching television, devouring books, or bury-ing her toes in the sand of the Central Coast. Kasie lives in Fresno, California, with her family.

You can find her online at kasiewest.com.

Leseprobe

Chapter 1

I took a breath and closed my eyes, letting the sun-­drenched glass warm me as I leaned my head against the car window. This was going to be a perfect summer. If I said it enough times, it would come true. After everything that had happened this week, I needed a good summer. The one before my senior year was mine to claim, Dad had said months ago. I was ready to claim it.

Up front, my parents had turned the radio to barely audible but I could just make out a Taylor Swift song. My AirPods had lost their charge ten minutes ago, rendering the remainder of my perfectly curated road trip playlist—­*Stuck in the Backseat with You—­*useless. As I felt myself drifting toward sleep, my sister’s voice rang out louder than necessary from beside me.

“Hey, viewers. Happy summer! We’re on hour four of our car ride and so ready to be done. Say hi to my older sister, Avery!”

Lauren had her elbows propped on the pillows between us and was holding up her phone, the camera facing me. Behind her phone, she gave a silent plea that said, Give me something, anything, aside from your normal boring face. Since boring was the face I was born with, I held up a peace sign, which apparently was good enough, because she flipped the recording back to her. “This year, the parents are taking us to the middle of the forest. Are you ready to join us?” She pointed the camera out the car window, the tall pine trees zooming by in a hazy blur.

The middle of the forest wasn’t exactly how I’d describe the four-­star family camp we’d be spending the summer at, but exaggeration is the key to any good social media video. I shook my AirPod case as if that would make them charge faster. I needed some noise-­canceling, head-­clearing music.

“Did you girls pack your swimsuits?” Mom asked, even though there was nothing we could do about it now, four hours from home, if we hadn’t.

Lauren dropped her hand. “Mom, I was recording.”

“Oh, sorry,” Mom whispered.

“Well, I’m not anymore.”

“I hear there’s a huge Slip ’N Slide at this camp,” Dad said, as if this was the most exciting thing a seventeen-­ and a fifteen-­year-­old could hear. “Supersized for super kids.” He laughed at his own joke, and I couldn’t help but laugh too.

Lauren gave me the Really? look, then said, “There’s real water, too, though, right?”

“Real water?” Mom asked.

“A lake or something?”

“Yes, there’s a lake and a pool,” Dad responded as he took a curve too fast, pushing me against the door.

“I don’t know why we couldn’t just go to the camp we went to a couple years ago,” Lauren complained. “It was closer and the roads weren’t so windy.”

“Because this year is our epic adventure,” Dad said. “Next summer Avery will be so busy prepping for college she’ll boycott a family vacation.”

“So true,” I said, and smiled when my mom turned around to make sure she shouldn’t be offended. When she saw my face, she gave my leg a little slap.

Both my parents had summers off. Mom was a professor at UCLA and Dad taught sixth grade and coached middle-­school basket­ball. So most summers for as long as I could remember, we went on an “adventure.” Sometimes it was a cabin on the lake or a KOA near the beach. And most of the time, it really was an adventure. Sometimes even a good one.

My phone vibrated against my thigh on the seat next to me, and I immediately tensed. I didn’t want to look. I didn’t want to read more excuses. I was trying to start my perfect summer. It buzzed again. I sucked in a breath and looked at the screen. As I expected, it was from my best friend, Shay.

I’m sorry. I can’t go the whole summer knowing you’re mad at me. It was an accident.

I wasn’t sure how one accidentally kissed their best friend’s ex-­boyfriend. Trent and I had only been broken up for a couple weeks! I had even thought we might get back together. Now I wondered if Shay was the real reason we’d broken up in the first place. They obviously liked each other. I felt stupid for thinking Trent and I had just hit a rough spot and would work it out.

Another message popped up.

It was a big mistake. We were both just talking about how you were leaving for the whole summer and how much we were going to miss you! Please forgive me.

I put the phone, screen down, on the seat, as if the messages would go away if I couldn’t see them.

“Hello, everyone!” Lauren said again into her camera. “Time for our summer trek into a wooded forest. Trees and lakes and excitement. Hope you’re all ready to join me. Say hi, Avery.”

The recording was on me again. I could feel my eyes stinging from the texts. I clenched my teeth and willed myself to control the tears. Finally, I faced Lauren and puffed my cheeks out like a blowfish, a creature with a defense mechanism I could appreciate.

She lowered her phone a…