The Summer of Broken Rules - K.L. Walther

The Summer of Broken Rules by K.L. Walther

Genre: YA Realistic Fiction

Blurb (on back of book): 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.

MY OPINION: ***

While I didn't particularly enjoy this book, I also did not despise it, resulting in my mediocre rating. I was disappointed with it by the end as I had gone in with high expectations, having had it recommended to me by multiple people. However, I personally did not like the overall book, especially the characters. 

It was very reminiscent of what I would have adored in early middle school. I think the audience that it was geared for was too young adult for me, and as someone who has recently been getting into new adult and adult fiction, I personally found this to be too... vanilla and blase for me. The plot was predictable and bland, the characters were outrageously annoying, and the relationship had zero chemistry. 

I hadn't realized I had read this author's other book, another one I did not particularly love. I think I am just not a fan of this particular style of writing, and I was bored for a good amount of the book. However, I did find the assassin plot interesting, though they made it so much more dramatic than it had to be. I would personally love to play but I wouldn't feel the need to break up a relationship because of it, something I found utterly ridiculous.

I didn't like the family dynamic within this book mainly because I think I glossed over the descriptions of each character and had no idea who anyone was for most of the book. Everyone felt the same and were just simply quite annoying and I didn't like anyone in the book, especially the main characters. 

Meredith was quite simply annoying. Her boyfriend dumped her right before her cousin's wedding and she makes everything a way bigger deal than it has to be. She also seems to be very dependent on the people around her, which is a quality I personally do not like and find distasteful, especially since she's supposed to be going to college and becoming her own independent person. 

Wit himself was not charming or cute and I personally just found his character aggravating. He felt sort of immature and young, despite supposedly being in college. Everyone in this book were supposed to be around eighteen or nineteen but acted anywhere from twelve to fifteen, and I just found it quite irritating reading about a child in a man's body. 

The relationship is insta-love and quite honestly not at all realistic. I felt no chemistry between the two, no sparks or heart flutters. My biggest hate in a YA contemporary novel is insta-love, especially when the characters legitimately have nothing to draw them to each other except the fact that they find the other person physically attractive. It was the epitome of a summer fling that we were somehow supposed to believe would last beyond that summer and I personally just was not feeling it.

I do know that it sounds like I'm crapping all over this book but there were parts that I did enjoy. I finished it relatively fast, considering the fact that there is absolutely no time to read this year, and I liked the pacing of it. I just wish that I had connected with the characters and plot more. I did appreciate how the idea of grief and loss was dealt with in this book because it felt very realistic and emotional, as it should be. 

The whole thing with Meredith's ex-boyfriend could have been better resolved. It seems to be a large conflict for the first half of the book and then is just forgotten about by the second half. 

I would recommend this book to readers looking for a cute, summer read. 

Main Character: Meredith

Sidekick(s): Wit, friends, family, etc

Villain(s): Misunderstandings, death, grief, etc

Realistic Fiction Elements: This book was all very real to life.