Blog Tour, Guest Post and Book Review: Four Summers by Nyrae Dawn

Title: Four Summers
Author: Nyrae Dawn
Series: Stand Alone
Published: April 29, 2013
Genre: NA Contemporary

Book Description:

Charlotte Gates is tired of being Charlie Rae. She loves the lake she was raised on, their rental cabins, and spending her nights under the stars…but inside she yearns for more.

After his freshman year, Nathaniel Chase’s family spends their first summer at The Village. From the beginning Charlotte intrigues him. She’s the girl who always says what’s on her mind, wins at night games, and each time she looks through her telescope, gets lost in the sky.

Over the course of four summers together, Charlotte and Nathaniel become best friends, share firsts, mend broken hearts, protect each other’s secrets, overcome tragedies…fall in love. And say goodbye…

Charlie wants out of The Village. Nate wants her to have her stars. And they dream of being able to do it all together. But life isn’t as easy as their summers.

Each summer is told in alternating points of view between Charlie and Nate. Journey with the pair, and their friends, as they share their story about growing up, discovering who they are, making tough choices, and falling in love again and again.

*Amazon*

About the Author:

I am a compulsive reader and writer who loves YA fiction. 

I love nothing more than writing about young adults. There is something so fresh and fun about it. You can pretty much always find me with a book in my hand or open document in front of me. 


I live in Southern California with my husband and two children.

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Guest Post:

FOUR SUMMERS Inspiration:

If you’ve read any of my work before, you know I’m a huge fan of romance. I love exploring every part of falling in love: friendships, accidental brushes of an arm here, purposeful touches there. First kisses, heartache and love. Love is such a powerful emotion and there are so many ways to experience it.

There are certain stories I consider “epic romances.” I think they’re hard to come by. One example I have of an epic romance is The Outlander (adult series). I’ve always wanted to try and write an epic romance. It’s those love stories that don’t happen over night. Where the characters really GROW and they deal with loss and finding their way back to each other. Those stories that take place over long periods of time and they go through so many different things together.

I’m not sure if I came close to achieving that in FOUR SUMMERS, but it’s what I was going for. I always wanted to write an epic romance and that desire is what led Charlotte and Nathaniel to me.

I also really love summer stories. There’s something special about falling for someone when you know they’re going to be leaving soon. One of my favorites is THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY. Ever since reading those books I’ve always wanted to write a book that takes place over the summer.

Nathaniel and Charlotte’s story is inspired by my love of summer books and my quest to write an epic romance. I hope readers enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it!


My Thoughts and Review:

I don't think I have come across a novel written by Nyrae that I haven't gotten completely wrapped up in and have fallen in love with the main characters. One thing if for sure, Nyrae knows how to write a man! And the thing is, she doesn't just know how to write a swoon worthy guy, she knows how to write a feisty, equally awesome female character as well. Someone you would want to be friends with and hang with. 

And Charlie and Nathaniel are two such characters. 

I loved that this is was so much more than a book about two people who find each other over the course of a summer (or in this case four summers). It is so much more than a love story. It is a story about friendship, finding yourself, making mistakes, and growing up with the person that will forever live in your heart and be a part of your life, for good or bad.

I wish I could put into words all the greatness that makes up this read but I can't, not really. I can only try to express to you how wonderful this story was. How the main characters aren't perfect, they make mistakes but they learn from them and most importantly, they grow from them. 

Charlie and Nate are characters that are so fleshed out they become real. Their emotions are your emotions and their troubles and worries are your trouble and worries. Their happiness matters to you and over time you come to care a great deal about them as you become invested in their lives. I love that the point of view alternates between the summers as these two spend each summer together over the course of their friendship. Where their time together is so much more than just a summer boy and a summer girl. 

Nyrae has a gift when it comes to making all her characters stand out and just be. She isn't afraid to talk about the hard stuff and get raw and gritty when necessary. Nyrae is someone that stands out as a writer in this genre. She amazes me with each new master piece that she writes and she will forever have a fan in me. 

I give this one 4 Stars!