A sexy three book enemies to lovers romance with a dirty dancing twist! Spoiled Princess is what he used to call me.We were an inferno of hate and passion wound up with a dash of chaos.For four years I watched him mow my lawn.For four years I watched my friends make fun of him.For four years I hated myself for wanting him, but even more for the way I treated him.And then I had him.For one night, … him.
And then I had him.
For one night, we put all labels away and I spent the best night of my life in his arms.
Then the next day, with my secret night under lock and key, I looked the other way while my friends shamed him.
But now the jokes on me, because the scrawny lawn boy who I secretly loved from afar is now the director of Hollywood’s most exclusive summer camp.
And I’m on his staff.
Now it’s his turn to punish me.
His turn to make me pay.
His turn to take his revenge after years of humiliation.
He’s no longer a boy you can ridicule.
But a college graduate who can have any woman he wants.
I want him to look at me the way he did that one night we had together, but right now
the look in his eyes tells me he’s going to enjoy having me under him for two straight months.
I don’t know where his hatred ends, his passion begins.
All I know is he wants revenge.
And I’m his lucky target.
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Summer Heat is book 1 in the new 3 part series Cruel Summer and what a start to a series, this book drew me in from the first chapter and it had me feeling like I was experiencing Summer Camp with these guys. Marlo and Ray may have grown up together but they come from different sides of the track he was the nerdy kid who mowed her families lawns and she was the princess mixing with the in crowd at school and for four years they made his life hell are the tables about to turn when Ray arrives at Summer Camp to find Marlo is the Camp Director……
This may be a short read but that doesn’t mean it’s missing anything it’s a emotional read that will have your feelings pulling in all directions. They Day there is a very fine line between Love and Hate and this book proves that in order to love we sometimes have to hate. I can’t wait for the next instalment in the Marlo and Ray love story will he play nice and will she let him in or will she push the arrogant Marlo away. Great start to this new series.
5 STARS
It’s no wonder Rachel Van Dyken is my favourite author because everything she writes just keeps on getting better. This is the first book in the Cruel Summer series which will be exclusive to ibooks. The book itself is novella size which makes for easy fast reading when you only have an hour or two to spare.
When Ray turns up to work at Hollywoods most exclusive summer camp never in a million years did she expect to see the scrawny lawn boy who was always bullied at high school. The boy who she had the one night stand with then ignored him being taunted the next day. The boy who is now a filled out muscly hot man. The man who is now camp director and her boss! One thing for sure though is that Ray knows her summer has just taken a turn for the worst because no doubt Marlon will be seeking his revenge.
This book is a breath of fresh air and as usual with any Rachel Van Dyken book it will keep you entertained right until the very end. I totally loved it! Ray and Marlon are strong characters you will quickly fall in love with and you will feel the chemistry bouncing between them leaving you shouting for them to hurry up and get it on. There are some side characters you will get to know as well and the banter that flows between them all at times will have you laughing out loud. There is however a bit of a cliffhanger that will have you wanting to jump through time to grab the next instalment. There isn’t to long to wait between books though so if you don’t like even the smallest of cliffy’s then I suggest you wait until all 3 are released.
Overall an extremely fun summer read and I can’t wait until the end of August to get my hands on the next one.
Wow! What a start to this series! Marlon and Ray have such a strong connection, and man, you can feel it pouring out of the pages. Woo! These two have a wild love/hate relationship that will have your head spinning. I love them!
Having grown up together, although in very different manners, Marlon and Ray both think they know all there is to know about each other, but things are quickly coming to light. Man, that ending has me dying for the next book. I’m so anxious to see what’s going to happen.
Wow! Summer Heat! What a start to new series by Rachel!
This is exclusive to iBooks, so if you have it, go get it!
This is the start to the story of Marlon and Ray. Two kids that grew up in totally different ways. Two kids that, because of circumstances of life and childhood, had to hate each other.
These two characters are the definition of “A thin line between love and hate” I could totally understand Marlon’s anger and hate towards Ray. And I know there is more to Ray’s story than what has been shared so far. I am hoping to hear more in the next book in the series!
As with all of Rachel’s books, the secondary characters are fantastic and bring more to the story.
There is humor, there is definitely heat, and there is the perfect cliffhanger! I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!
If you want a fresh, quick read, then get your hands on this!
This was a fast paced read that I couldn’t put down. Rachel Van Dyken pulled me into this story from the first page.
Ray and Marlon come from different backgrounds. Ray is beautiful and comes from money and from the outside looks like she has the perfect life. Marlon mows the lawn for Rachel’s family and regularly picked by bigger kids. He doesn’t realize that Ray is just as lonely as he is, he sees her a spoiled princess.
Four years later and they are both working at a summer drama camp. They never thought they would see each other again. Ray doesn’t recognize Marlon; he isn’t the same skinny kid any more.
This was a quick with lots of sexual tension. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.
Summer Heat by Rachel Van Dyken is the first book in her iBook exclusive Cruel Summer series and one of my favorite Rachel Van Dyken stories yet! The blurb alone gave me all the feels! A spoiled princess and the boy who was ridiculed and how years later, so much has changed. Sign me right up!
Ray watched Marlo for years. Then they shared one night, but the next day, she acted like nothing happened between them. Years later they are adults and he is not the man you laugh at anymore. But she is everything that angers him about his past. Now they are working together and he does not let her forget what he suffered.
Even with all the animosity between them, you can feel the chemistry between them as well. Can Marlo ever forgive Ray? All Ray wants is for him to see her for who she really is, but is it too late? I loved watching the back and forth between these two and the tension they felt! I have to say Rachel Van Dyken never disappoints! I loved Summer Heat and cannot wait to get my hands on the second book! That ending!
4.5 stars! Read and reviewed for Sultry Sirens Book Blog.
Happy reading!
Summer Heat by Rachel Van Dyken is book 1 in her iBooks exclusive series, Cruel Summer.
(Anyone else now hearing the song by Bananarama in their head? NO?! Just me?! Ahem… OK, then… on to the review!)
Marlo and Ray were friends for a brief summer when they were younger. Then labels became important, lines were drawn, and they were firmly separated by those lines. He grew to hate her, vowed to hate her forever after she stole a scholarship he needed desperately in order to escape the life he lived. Now the tables have turned, and he’s her boss. He’s no longer the lanky boy she spent the best night of her life with. He’s hot. He’s successful. And he’s out for revenge.
Or is he?
Summer Heat introduces us to Marlo and Ray, who meet up after four years apart at a prestigious and sought after summer camp. He’s the boss. She’s part of the staff. He thinks he knew her way back when. She has no idea who he is now. And nothing is as it seems on the surface.
Ray is supposed to be the spoiled princess daughter of two wealthy parents. Marlo was their lawn boy. Each thinks they know the other. Each thinks what they know on the surface is true underneath. Each of them is wrong. But the drama is just beginning to unfold in this story. You feel sorry for Ray, and you want to hate Marlo. Until he begins to see that there’s more to her story than he ever realized. But will that realization come too late? Is the hate too much to overcome? Or is it a fine line between love and hate that these two just might cross? Guess we’ll have to wait for books 2 & 3 to find out!
NICUnurse’s Rating: I give this book 4.5 stars. It’s Rachel Van Dyken, so the writing pulls you in from page one with a bit of a mystery as to what really went on between these two in the past. Add in loveable secondary characters, hot guys, and summer camp escapades and I wasn’t able to stop reading until “The End”! There IS a bit of a cliffhanger but I hear we won’t have to wait too terribly long for books 2 & 3 so stay tuned for those reviews coming (hopefully!) soon.
Summer Heat by Rachel Van Dyken is book One in the Cruel Summer series. This is the story of Ray and Marlon. Ray is thought of as a ‘Princess’ and Marlon was the boy that mowed her lawn, a foster kid and one that the other kids picked on. They were never really friends, although both thought the other one was attractive. Ray did go along with the other kids sometimes to stay cool and which did cause Marlon to be hurt. Now years later Marlon is totally different and they find themselves together again. Sparks fly again and love it tempted but something happens pulling them apart due to their past.
I am such a fan of Ms. Van Dyken and this book you won’t be able to put down! It takes you through some roller coaster rides of emotions! I cannot wait for the next installment of this story!!
I have never been more happy that I read on an iPad than I am right now. I am sooooo glad I got to read this book by Rachel.
“I was asking for trouble. And heartache all in one. But his eyes? Those eyes, they haunted me.”
I’ve read a lot of insta love stories the past few weeks, not by choice but because I signed up for them not knowing that they were that kinda story. Luckily they all turned out to be good books despite that aspect. The issue I have with insta love is that it takes away my favorite part of reading romance. I read romance because for me seeing two people fall in love is the best thing ever. Watching them slowly realize their feelings for each other, watching them fight it, seeing them realize they can’t and then watching them go after what their heart wants. It’s best thing about romance books. Sometimes seeing what is right in front of them before they do and rooting for what you know is meant to be is the best. The flutters that develop in your stomach or the ache in your chest because it just hurts, those tings come along with “the chase”. God, I love the chase. When it’s done well, it can be the best part of the book. You do not get any of this with insta love.
“Ray and I? The princess and the pauper? Unlikely. I think we’d rather kill each other.”
Why I am saying all of this? Well, simply because Rachel slays me every time. She gives me everything I need from a story and then some. It’s one of the things I love about Rachel’s writing, she gives me exactly what I need at the moment it’s needed in a story. I only started reading her books last year. I have, since then, read every one of her back list books along with all of the ones that have released along the way. The first book I read was The Matchmaker’s Replacement. I had received an email asking me to join the blog tour and review it. I am so glad I did. Lex is still my favorite guy from her although Chase Abandonato is pretty much tied with him.
“I found my soul in that moment. Tethered to his. Like I knew it had always been.”
Anyways, Summer Heat delivers yet another reason to fall in love with her writing. Marlo and Ray had so much chemistry it leaped off the screen. The story made me smile, made me swoon, and wouldn’t let me go till the end. It’s a novella and I read it in one sitting. The ending is brutal but then again I live for endings like that. I love cliff hangers. That feeling you get when you go “OMG nooooo”, well that means the author did what she was supposed to and that’s the sign of a great book. I am so ready for the next book.