Our Team
A SUMMER PLACE
The summer of 1973 is magical for Jazzy and Charlie. It’s a time to prepare for college while celebrating the end of high school. Jazzy has secretly loved Charlie for years, and now her dreams have come true—it’s young love at its most innocent.
​
Everything changes when Charlie accidentally discovers that his high school girlfriend is pregnant and her parents have sent her away. The rumor mill in that small South Texas town is alive and well, and Charlie is being treated like a pariah. The only bright spot in his life is Jazzy. They love each other and she’s willing to defy society, but then her dad steps in…
It’s the summer of 1993 and a high school reunion looms on the horizon. Jazzy has a successful career in California and is engaged to her business partner, but she’s never forgotten that magical summer. When she bumps into Charlie in the airport she realizes that she’s never stopped loving him.
Can these star-crossed lovers finally get it right? Not quite yet.
The summer of 2003 finds Jazzy testing the theory that you can go home again—her marriage is over and her teenager doesn’t want to leave California. Can Jazzy and Charlie finally realize their destiny? Of course, this time it’ll be forever.
​
Contemporary Romance, 268 pages, 5 x 8
Trade Paperback, $15.99, ISBN: 978-1942209744
E-Book, Kindle Unlimited until October, $0.00, ISBN: 978-1942209737
Praise for A Summer Place
Is true love ever really lost, or does it just become harder to see? That’s the question Jasmine is trying to figure out in The Summer Place by Ann DeFee, a beautifully written contemporary romance novel.
The Summer Place begins during Jasmine's last summer before college. She and her friends, Mary-Alice, Honey, and Misty are trying to find a way to make their last summer together the best it can possibly be. As they try to sort out their plans, Jasmine also tries to sort out her feelings for her best friend, Charlie. The friends engage in a plethora of activities, from cruising around the town, to playing petty pranks on their principal. However, the summer takes a turn when news about Honey and Charlie's relationship comes to light. This sends Jasmine through a rollercoaster of emotions as she tries to work up the courage to tell Charlie how she feels before the summer ends. Fast-forward twenty years later, we find the characters living with the choices they had to make that summer. It’s now when Jasmine makes the choice of a lifetime and goes after her one true love.
The Summer Place is skillfully written, emotional, and truly unique. Its innovative plot makes it a standout novel in a genre that has become very repetitive. The story provides interesting insight into the mind of someone who feels like they’ve lost everything. Jasmine spends all of her time thinking about what could’ve been, which is a characteristic that young readers are sure to relate to. In the end, through her own actions, Jasmine is able to attain the life she has always wanted which is a strong reminder of the importance of fighting for your dreams,
even when all seems lost. DeFee uses a style of writing that is very difficult to master, but she has done an incredible job. The youthful aura of the writing is clear from page 1 and doesn’t stop, it exhilarates the reader with an almost whimsical feeling. Overall, this book is recommended for young adult romance readers. This age group will love The Summer Place for its contemporary style, and realistic prose.
If you want to think, feel, and fall in love all over again, read The Summer Place.
--Maincrest Media Review, 4 Stars
​
​