Summer Lessons

Summer Lessons by Amy Lane was a great read. Mason, an awkward executive, and Terry, a field tech meet at a party and find each other’s other half even if they haven’t realized it. While Terry navigates towards finding freedom and teaches Mason how to play soccer. Mason looks for patience and happiness in teaching golf and learning to just be himself with new friends, even if it means letting go. This story was wonderful and beautiful and at times gut wrenching and funny I loved it very much and am looking forward to the next installment.

Mason is such a caring person who has redirected his life to help his brother. But life has been kind enough to give him much in return. He has finally found a place to belong. Terry has been stunted in his growth. But with Mason's strength helps him grow and when he's ready he's all in. This story reminds us that adulting is hard work no matter when you finally start to grow-up.

It should come as no surprise that I'm a HUGE fan of this author. I've read everything she's written excluding a few young adult books, and it doesn't make a difference to me what genre it is, what types of characters there are, whether it's filled with angst and pain or humorous, and it matters not what the plot is. Hands down I love every word written by Amy Lane. Sometimes that makes it very difficult to review her work because I feel as if I'm saying the same thing over and over. I'll apologize, in advance, if I gush too much and seem as if I'm incapable of being unbiased. At the very least, I'm being honest.

"Mason glared at him. “Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I’m just never going to find the right guy? That there is something deficient in me, something that fucks things up at the last minute, something that says the wrong thing or does the wrong thing or—”…
“I just… I don’t want another relationship—not if it’s not going to be awesome, you know?”

I fell for Mason right from the start. He, literally, has no filter from brain to mouth and I loved that about him. The way the author showed him at different ages and the things he said and did was hysterical, but it also showed how lucky Mason was to have the parents he did. Falling for Mason straight off wasn't a problem… except then I immediately fell for Terry. It was impossible not to adore this kid who has an emotionally manipulative mother who is slowly strangling the life out of him. Terry and Mason were raised in completely different environments and it is hard for Mason to keep his mouth shut and not say what he thinks about Terry's mom. Goddess knows I'm not so sure I could have stayed quiet.

It has been a while (in an Amy Lane book) since I disliked a character as much as I did Terry's mom. In fact, she and Richie's dad are equally heinous. Ever since Terry's dad left when he was a little boy she hasn't worked, she's been on welfare, waiting for her son to get old enough to provide for her, all the time telling him everything wrong in her life is because of him. Trust me when I say I couldn't possibly describe her evilness well enough; it needs to be experienced.

“No.” Mason pulled him back. “It means when you know how you want us to be, all you have to do is tell me. Text me and I’ll be there. Knock on my door and I’ll probably bang you before we make it to the stairs. Call me and I’ll teleport through the phone. But… but until you tell me what you want us to be, you take your time. You go out with friends. You sit in your apartment and listen to whatever goes on in your head. You… you be you. And then….” His voice got wobbly. “Then you invite me along for the ride, okay?”

I had zero preconceived ideas about where the author was going to go with this story. I couldn't have begun to imagine all the places I went and all the things I experienced. Mason and Terry are definitely the main characters but as always, the author has written some enchanting secondary characters, and I'm dying to see more of them. 'Summer Lessons' seemed complicated, on the surface, but when I broke it down it was as simple as simple can be. Love can sometimes mean letting someone go and hoping they see you for who you are, and they come back ready to love you the way you love them. Wholly. Unconditionally. Wantonly.

NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.

Reviewed by Erin for Diverse Reader

A new release by Amy Lane is always something to be excited about, no lie, and her newest book, Summer Lessons is all the reasons why she's such a beloved author. There are few that write the way she does, with an unparalleled mix of wit, humor, angst, and romance her books never fail to deliver. Summer Lessons is the second book in her Winter Ball series so all our favorites are present, Skip and Richie especially, but this time we're treated to the joys and endearing awkwardness of Mason Hayes and Terry Jefferson. Two guys who are so adorkable and just downright lovable that I fell for them both pretty much from the first page and my love only continued to grow as I kept reading.

You know doubt will remember Mason from Winter Ball, he was one of my favorites, and I was so excited that he got his own story. He's awkward and sweet and a bit clueless about things and man is ever a bit obsessed with his penis. Just ... you have to read to appreciate, trust me. That being said though, Mason is very much your typical Amy Lane hero. He has a heart of gold, is so self deprecating that it's almost cringe worthy, is a total failure in his love life, has next to no friends but he does have a kick ass family and his brother is his best friend. He's handsome, successful at work but not much else, has money and really is just kind of there most of the time. All it takes is for him to be invited to watch Skip and Richie play soccer and then wham, things sure start changing for Mason. He starts to play soccer, he makes friends with the guys on the team, and then of course we have Terry.

Terry Jefferson is twelve years Mason's junior. He's a bit rough around the edges but his heart is in the right place. He's also got a mom from hell that does everything she can to tear him down and suffocate him to the point where Terry's not quite sure who he is or what he wants to do with his life. Watching Mason and Terry begin their romance was all things vintage Amy Lane. I loved the sense of each guy coming into their own, how they found their people with the men on the soccer team, how they both realized that life is meant to be enjoyed and lived with the people who just get you. There's awkwardness, endearing beyond belief tender and raw moments, and then there's some hot and steamy sexy times. I loved these two seemingly opposite guys finding their way toward one another and find themselves along the way. The ensemble cast of secondary characters added such richness to the overall story. Everyone from Mason's family (especially his brother, Dane) to Mrs. Bradford to Skip, Richie, Carpenter and the rest of the soccer team were all just wonderful.

I love how Amy is able to weave stories that never seem overly sappy but they hit on every feeling: happy and heart melting and a twinge (or sometimes more) of pain right in the gut. I do wish in the case of Summer Lessons that both Mason and Terry wouldn't have seemed quite so juvenile at times but this little complaint took nothing away from my overall enjoyment of the book. This is a feel good book of the best kind so make sure if you're needing a pick me up, you check this one out. Well, check it out anyway because it's that good and you don't want to miss it. Oh and, I'm SO hoping that Dane and Carpenter are the next book in the series?!

*Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.*

Summer Lessons is Book 2 in Amy Lane's Winter Ball series. The characters overlap in both books in the series, so even though you could read this on its own, I think it would be more enjoyable if you read both books.

Mason missed out on a relationship with Skip (Book 1), but he did gain a new group of friends. At one of Skip and Richie's parties, he met Terry. Terry is younger than him and still lives at home with his mother. Mason is unsure if Terry is even gay and feels like he's too old and boring for Terry. Terry is interested in Mason but can't be gay because his hateful mother would never allow it. He and Mason start spending time together whenever Terry is able to get time away from his controlling mother, until Terry gathers the strength to move on with his life without his mother. Mason stands beside him and helps him and then steps back and lets Terry figure out if Mason is what he wants.

I really liked Mason in Book 1 so I was happy to see him find love in this book. From the outside, Mason seems to lead a charmed life, but in this book we see the truth. He does have a good life but he also has to fight to keep his bipolar brother moving forward with his life. Mason has done well for himself, and unlike others in his position, recognizes that he didn't get his success without the help of others. And Mason has a filterless mouth. He tends to offend others when he opens his mouth, except the group of friends he's made, who like that he speaks his mind. Honestly, the story starts out with little stories from Mason's past and totally explains his mother's fondness for kool-aid and vodka. I thought it was hilarious and gave great insight into Mason.

Terry was raised by a single mom who has spent his life telling him she owes him for giving birth to him. He's pretty beaten down. As this story is told from Mason's POV, I don't feel that I know Terry as well but when provided the support, he's able to take control of his life and do what's best for himself. And, unlike what most people would do, he doesn't completely cut off contact with his mother once he gets away from her. I sympathized with Terry's situation but I really didn't like him for part of this book. He hit the jackpot with Mason and the fact that he didn't see that and needed to explore really ticked me off. He eventually proved himself worthy, but he's still lucky that Mason is so loyal to those he loves.

I really enjoy this group of people and look forward to reading more about them and more from Amy Lane!!

Rating: 4 stars