Lydia's Lovely Library

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Book Review: One Last Summer

By

Lydia Gordon

One Last Summer
by Kate Spencer

Published: 2025

Genre(s): Romance, Romcom, Contemporary Romance, Beach Read

TLDR: Summer camp as a cure for agency-life burnout? I couldn’t relate to this premise more if I tried. I, too, was a summer camp kid. I, too, had a very brief teenage moment with a boy named Mack (different spelling). And I, too, have been burned out by agency life. This book does get the details of agency work WAY wrong, but that only bothered me a little. Would I, too, like to try a week away doing summer camp activities with my besties as a cure for all that ails me? You betcha!

Rating: 4 out of 5.
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From the publisher

From the cohost of the award-winning and uber-popular Forever35 podcast comes a dreamy, laugh-out-loud summer romance that What do you do when the life you’ve planned isn’t what you’ve dreamed?

Clara Millen’s life is spiraling out of her dream job is a nightmare, she’s resoundingly single, and it’s been years since she’s taken some time off. Thankfully, the last problem she can fix—this year she’ll join her friends on their annual summer vacation to their beloved childhood sleepover camp for a much-needed escape.

But when Clara arrives at Pine Lake Camp, she faces yet another unwelcome the owners are retiring and selling the property. The news turns her plans for revelry into a night of reminiscing . . . and prompts a surprise heart-to-heart between Clara and Mack, her old camp nemesis and constant competitor, who’s still just as annoying (and annoyingly handsome).

Soon the campfires aren’t all that’s throwing off sparks. And when one wildly passionate night turns into two (then too many to count!), Clara begins to wonder if she and Mack could have a future together. But when Clara’s boss finally offers her everything she’s worked so hard for, Clara will need to decide if the life she’s always wanted is the life that makes her feel truly alive

My Review

This is a middling summertime romcom that leans heavily on millennial nostalgia. Although the premise is totally fun and I would love to be a part of this group of best friends who get together at their childhood summer camp every year the week after the kids have all gone home (move on with your adulthood much?), the actual characters and the romance aspect sometimes don’t really feel truly realized.

It’s the most summery and I totally read it on a chaise lounge with a spindrift beside me under a patio umbrella, so if that’s the mood you’re after, this is the book for you. As a kid who went to a summer camp on a lake very much like this one, I was fully in my nostalgia feels. Even if the closest to summer camp you’ve ever gotten is Wet Hot American Summer or The Parent Trap, this book will scratch that itch.

Although, if you have ever worked at a marketing agency, this book will piss you off just for the sheer inaccuracy of the FMC’s job. The same way doctors can’t watch Gray’s Anatomy and lawyers can’t watch Suits and cops can’t watch … any cop shows? I assume? I had a really hard time, as someone who has worked in agencies for the last 10 years, stomaching the parts of this book that happen at her work. Like, ask literally *anyone* in marketing – nobody has an assistant. Assistant isn’t even a job title in the field to my knowledge. And has the author ever spoken to a project manager? That is not what the FMC’s title would be. That’s a real job, but from the description, that’s not what she does. She’s a creative strategy director. Rant over.


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Heyo! I’m so glad you’re here! I’m Lydia and welcome to my ramblings about my love of all things books and reading. I’m a millennial book blogger living in Chicago but originally from the Great State of Maine. In addition to reading (duh) I also love to cook, rock out at karaoke or take in a good musical or opera.

Got some reading in over the Thanksgiving break (and throughout November)! 22 total books this month—mostly audiobooks—and LOTS of five star reads! October reading wrap-up!! Yes excellent give me more no notes thank you so much I offer myself as tribute can I dive in and swim in this world okay that’s a lot I’ll leave now I’m done. Started a new job this month (yay!) but that also meant this was a slight slower (slash heavier on the audio as my reading time was more weighted toward chores/errands time) reading month. Still managed to squeeze in some great books! These are the new releases I’ll be watching out for in October! We’ve got a good month ahead!! Do you have a book that’s just sitting on your physical TBR, staring at you? Maybe you bought it because the hype was so high and you legit love the author but now you’re a little scared to start it because what if it’s not actually as amazing as you’ve built it up to be in your mind? Hello! Me too! I’m here from the future to tell you — just read the dang book! I’m so mad at myself that it took the impending release of MATE for me crack this baby open! Infinity stars.

Rating System:

5 stars: Excellent, loved it, couldn’t put it down. Will be recommending it to all my friends and also strangers who didn’t even ask and may not have even said hello. This is my new personality now.

4 stars: Great. I loved it. I had an excellent time reading it. There’s just something that’s keeping it from absolute perfection.

3 stars: It was a good read, but it wasn’t great. I may still recommend, but only for certain people if I already know you like similar things or only with a caveat or two.

2 stars: I mean, it was a book and I finished it, I guess? Somebody must have liked it because it got published?

1 star: I have never in my life given a book a one star review. If it’s this bad, I’ll just DNF.