Strawberry Summer

I really enjoyed the book (though going by some reviews if I had read anything by this author before I'd be disappointed?), but I didn't give it a better rating for a few reasons.
First of all, Maggie. She really got on my nerves as the book progressed. Even though we saw everything from her pov I was still on Courtney's side on the breakup? I thought I would love her when I started reading but she seemed overtly judgemental and immature (i would accept immature in the flashbacks but I can't in the now section).
Second, why is the bisexual character the only one to ‘not like labels'? Will this trope die already or do I have to kill it myself? Every bisexual person I know will shout it from the rooftops if asked so I have no idea why it even exists.
And third, I think the flashbacks took too much of the story. I would have liked to see more of them now and their getting together again seemed rushed to me. Too easy considering Maggie's (childish) behavior at first.
I will still check out the author's other books, though, and I look forward to reading them.

“I hope you find whatever it is that will make you happy.”What she didn't realize was that I already had, only I was powerless to hold on to it.

content warnings: secondary character death, alcoholism mentions, domestic abuse mentions

Strawberry Summer follows Margaret ‘Maggie' Beringer, a small-town girl whose family own the local strawberry farm, and mysterious and devastatingly gorgeous department store heiress Courtney Carrington. After five years of no contact following their break up, they meet each other again when Courtney returns to town following her father's death. Following the timeline of their relationship, from the moment they met as teenagers, to the moment they meet again and beyond, the reader falls in love with them falling in love, and gets to experience the highs and lows they have together.

Holy moly, this book emotionally destroyed me in the best possible way. There was the perfect blend of passion, love, and angst, and I was completely enraptured from beginning to end. It's hauntingly beautiful, and the connection between them stays with you long after you've read it.

I really appreciated the flashbacks that we got (most of the book was recounting the previous seven+ years of their relationship) because it totally added to the emotional strength of their story and how much their reunion meant. I think without those flashbacks, and therefore this book solely being about their reconnection as both friends and a couple, it wouldn't have been nearly as good as it actually is.

I felt everything that they felt. I truly believed that Courtney and Maggie were the loves of each other's lives, and the fact that they got a happy ending made my heart swell.
This is one of those books I wish I could read for the first time over and over again because the genuineness of it absolutely struck me. Everyone in this book was real to me. No one seemed to be two-dimensional, and even the secondary characters had a warmth and depth to them that only a good writer could give them.
I welled up reading this, that's how much it affected me.

If I could give this more than five stars then I absolutely would. This is the F/F romance I've been waiting to read. It's crushingly gorgeous. It's heartwarming. It's absolutely everything you could ever hope for.