Once Upon a Twilight!: Book Review: When August Ends by Penelope Ward

WHEN AUGUST ENDS
Author: Penelope Ward
Reading Level: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance

From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward, comes a new standalone novel.

What do you do when a sexy, older man moves into your family’s summer rental?

Well, apparently, you make a fool of yourself—over and over. Things didn’t exactly get off on the right foot with Noah Cavallari. Our first encounter was embarrassing, to say the least.

But despite that, I found myself waking up every day with a newfound energy. Nothing exciting ever happened on the lake—not until Noah moved into the small boathouse on our property. He’d booked it for the entire summer…and I was still trying to figure out why.

When my mother became ill, I inherited the responsibility of making sure our guests were well taken care of. I should have been finishing up college. Instead, I was living my best life…as a maid.

Dark, handsome, and mysterious, everything about Noah screamed forbidden.

I knew he was just passing through town for the summer.

I knew he was probably a little old for me.

Yet, I was drawn to him.

Not to mention, he tried to save my life when he mistakenly thought I was drowning.

I wanted him and made no secret of it.

His own attempts to warn me away soon gave way to late-night moonlight chats by the lake. We were slowly easing into a friendship that was gearing up to explode into something I might not recover from.

Because he’s leaving at the end of the summer.

And I have no idea what I’ll do when August ends.

Penelope Ward has created another amazing story! When August Ends is unlike anything she's written before. I was pleasantly surprised at the change up. I don't normally go for the older man much younger woman plot but I'm glad I read this book. It's Penelope freaking Ward for goodness sake, of course I'm going to read it.

The story line starts with our heroine, Heather, dealing with a lot of pressure and seemingly, the weight of the world on her shoulders. She has been the caregiver for her mother for so long that she has had to put her own life and dreams on hold. I really felt a connection with Heather. She is young and SO INCREDIBLY AWKWARD, yet lovable and endearing at the same time. Our hero, Noah, rented out her family's boathouse for the entire summer. He is the absolute sexy, handsome perfection that I expect from a Penelope Ward book. I was iffy about his personality in the beginning because of how closed off his character seemed but he quickly grew on me.

I am giving this book 4 stars because it was such a good book. There were so many unexpected twists and turns that made me feel allllllllllllll the feels. It was a quick read and I was able to finish this book in one day. I recommend this book and every Penelope Ward book because her books never fail to suck you in from the very beginning and not let up until the final page!