So I may have said it once or twice, I’ve been struggling with reading—which explains why the majority of my recent reviews are for audiobooks. My focus has been all over the place for months now. However, I got into this book right away (even though I had to stop for a few days because of the Olympics and work). I don’t know if the timing was finally favourable or if this was the right book, but I believe it’s the book. It’s the way Ashley Bartlett writes characters. The banter. The tenderness.
PJ Addison and Wylie Parsons fell in love in their twenties, on the set of the first movie of a new slasher franchise. Life, Hollywood, and their own screw-ups put an end to their relationship, but when they’re reunited a decade later for a sequel PJ is directing, it’s obvious they haven’t moved on with their lives as much as they thought they had.
Revisiting Summer Nights is a first for Bartlett in that the MC isn’t a criminal. I’m not huge on morally grey characters, but who could resist Cash Braddock? Definitely not me. PJ and Wylie are an interesting departure from what Bartlett has written so far. They’re adults (as in, not as endearingly immature as her previous protagonists), they’re professionally successful, they’re wealthy, which gives them another degree of agency. And yet they face extremely relatable challenges. Their feelings for each other—despite Wylie being on her third marriage—but also the patriarchy and the old boys’ club—it’s Hollywood here, but it could just as well be any other work environment.
As usual when I love a book, I love it for many reasons, some big, some small. I enjoyed the way Bartlett paints the atmosphere on set and in the wings, the camaraderie between younger actors and their willingness to “adopt” Wylie and PJ, the team spirit, the solidarity against despicable men.
I love a second-chance trope, and I rooted so hard for PJ and Wylie to see the error of their ways. I know it’s a romance and there was always going to be a happy ending, but I live for the angst and doubts on the way, the bumpy journey to that happiness. And I already mentioned above how much I like the way Bartlett writes flawed but ultimately very human characters. Speaking of which, there’s one I wish I’d seen more of: PJ’s mom. Who knows, maybe she’ll get her own book someday. 4.5⭐️
Experience Revisiting Summer Nights:
Bookshop.org (paperback)
Kobo (ebook)
Amazon (paperback – ebook)
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Jude in the Stars 