The Summer of Jake by Rachel Bailey – a Review

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Description:
Life is just dandy for aspiring fashion designer Annalise Farley. She has a great job (or she will once her designs are discovered), parents who only slightly disapprove, a cat that thinks she’s a dog, and a best friend…even if she hasn’t seen her in a while. But then Jake Maxwell saunters back into her life. Jake, the love god. Jake, her best friend’s older brother. Jake, who broke her heart at sixteen without realizing it, then left to become a pro surfer. Now he’s back, having taken the surfing and business worlds by storm, and he’s ready for a new challenge—catching the eye of another girl. And he wants Annalise’s help. Helping Jake land his next girlfriend is too fraught with emotional danger for her liking, but then Jake offers to put her designs in his shops. Is that the sound of her life cracking at the seams? It’s hard to tell with Jake smiling at her like she’s the only thing that makes him happy…

Review:

Time to focus. I needed to be absolutely on my guard. “So, what’s the favor?”

He leaned back in his chair, linking his hands behind his head. “I’ve met my future girlfriend.”

“Oh?” There was that strange freezing thing again. Twice in one day was probably bad…Maybe I should check these symptoms with a doctor – paralysis of body parts could be a precursor to a stroke.

Yikes! It was bad enough to have just been fired from a job the day before, but to hear that your former crush wants your help to win over another girl?! No wonder Annalise is considering a triage at the ER. The Summer of Jake by Rachel Bailey was exactly what I needed before the back-to-school countdown. I was swooning from the get-go; picturing a sexy as hell David Gandy as Jake and Annalise…well…it’s obviously ME!!! You know you do it, too! 😀

So the negotiations are done: In exchange for Jake’s makeover (attire and manners) to impress Scarlett, two of Annalise’s swimwear designs will be featured at Jake’s surf shop. Easy enough. Will someone then please tell both of them to take this seriously and stop starring in each other’s fantasies?! Not this reader – otherwise, it would have been a dull book instead of a delicious romp! Hormones are raging and ruling over logic.

Yep, there was the body disobedience – a slight increase in temperature, a flutter in my belly, and a blush thing trying to come out. Why was I always blushing around him?

Jake’s charming and impossible to resist; especially when you’ve been carrying a torch for him in spite of his indifference. Or has he noticed Annalise all along? Genes (background story) and being his kid sister’s BFF were definite factors to keep Jake’s attention elsewhere, but hell if Annalise isn’t stunning and enticing now. Noooo…must resist!

If it’s any consolation, Jake, Annalise is far from immune – it took your coffee date proposal to propel her right back to those adolescent feelings (that have more than matured since then). This is why she banned all flirtation and insisted you remain professional. And yet when Jake adheres to Annalise’s (half-hearted) no-flirting policy, she feels a pang of regret on his follow-through. Sucks to do the “right” thing.

‘I don’t know. Maybe I’m looking for something.”

“You find it?”

“I think I’ve found part of it. Problem is, I don’t know what the rest of it is.”…

“You mess around too much. Always have a cocky smile on your face. You’ve managed to get away with that in surfing and your business, but not for this. This is going to be harder, and you’re going to have to make new rules about how to get there.”

“Do you know what it is?”

“I’ve got an idea.”

“Tell me.”

“Nope. It won’t mean anything unless you find it for yourself.”

I have an idea, as do you, you smart readers. Question is, will Jake recognize it, her, when she’s hiding in plain sight? Man, did I love this book! It was such a spirited, romantic, relatable story. Ms. Bailey’s use of spazzy inner monologue was freaking funny (and dear to my heart), as were her love for chocolate and the antics of her cat/dog, Rover. Water is my personal kryptonite, but Ms. Bailey lulled me with lush, not terrifying, images of its beauty. I wouldn’t consider myself “cured”, but I wasn’t a gasping mess, either.

The Summer of Jake should never be seasonal! 😉

Review by Carmen