Lovestruck Summer by Melissa C. Walker

Published: May 1, 2009 by HaperTeen
Received: bought from Barnes & Noble

Austin Music Fest!
Yay, summer in Austin!
Good food, good times. Fun for everyone!
Okay, living with my sorority-brainwashed cousin, who willingly goes by "Party Penny," is not exactly what I had in mind.
All your favorite bands!
But the cute musicians I've met totally make up for it . . . like Sebastian. Swoon.
All ages welcome!
So why can't I stop thinking about Penny's friend All-American Russ and his Texas twang??
Saturday & Sunday, from noon to midnight!
Don't wait up! {taken from goodreads.com}

Looking for a cute, refreshing summer read?  Then this is definitely the book for you!  I was recommended this book by a few book blogger friends (who understand my love for YA Contemps that mix in music & summer romances).  This easy-paced book had me from the very beginning.  There was just enough material to grab my attention & keep me reading until the end.

Quinn has accepted a summer internship at a music company in Austin, TX.  The only person she knows here is her cousin Penny who happens to be the social butterfly of the University of Texas and sorority row, everything that Quinn is not.  Immediately Quinn begins the journey with many stereotypes of what to expect in Texas and the people she encounters.  Being someone from Texas & frequenting the Austin area quite often, I knew the stereotypes she referred to.  Yes, they do exist.  However for the sake of the book, I found a few to be a bit over the top.  But that's what makes a book interesting, right?  Sometimes exaggeration is needed.

As Quinn begins her summer internship at the music company, she immediately makes friends with another intern there who seems to fit inside Quinn's mold of being the young hipster that she is.  The two girls hit it off & make plans to frequent the local 18 & up music scene on Friday nights.  It is here that Quinn is introduced to her "perfect summer fling" - or at least she thinks so.  Imagine a young, music-involved, free spirit, trendy guy who takes Quinn's breath away.  In her mind the summer is turning out to be everything she had hoped for, & then some.  However not every thing in life can be planned out accordingly.  Sometimes life has a tendency to throw us unexpected curve balls.  This curve ball happens to be named Russ & lives next door to Penny, where Quinn is staying for the summer.  Russ fits the typical stereotype of a Texas guy.  Belt buckle, twangy-accent, old beat-up truck, & to Quinn's surprise: alarmingly handsome.  But how can this be?? He doesn't fit in to Quinn's mold of what Sebastian (the hot music guy from the club) represents.  Everything Quinn thought she knew about the summer begins to change & shift.  What she once thought was going to be the summer to remember, is starting to become a reality check for Quinn.

I enjoyed the character progression of Quinn.  She began the summer as a very closed-minded individual who thought she had it all figured out.  Through experiences & new relationships with people she soon realized that life is full of uncertainty & what you thought you knew about someone, may not always be the case.  The references to music through out the story was a big hit for me as well.  I understand Quinn's need to relate everything back to music.  She was constantly listening to music, attaching it to moments in her life.  I find myself creating soundtracks for my world, at times too.  It was Russ's character who I really enjoyed though.  He seemed so genuine & believable.  I found myself screaming at Quinn to open her eyes & see this fabulous boy in front of her!  Sometimes surprises are nice.  The references to local spots in Austin were cool to read about too.  And of course I loved the reference to the heat!  That part is oh so true!  Texas summers are ungodly horrid.

Though this book did not dig deep in to my soul while reading it (which most books I love usually do), I still enjoyed this light, fun read.  Sometimes it's a good contrast against those dark, heavy books.