The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the best burger in Los Angeles) by Amy Spalding

The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the best burger in Los Angeles) by Amy Spalding
Published by Sky Pony Press on April 3rd 2018
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance, LGBTQIA
Goodreads

Seventeen, fashion-obsessed, and gay, Abby Ives has always been content playing the sidekick in other people's lives. While her friends and sister have plunged headfirst into the world of dating and romances, Abby has stayed focused on her plus-size style blog and her dreams of taking the fashion industry by storm. When she lands a prized internship at her favorite local boutique, she’s thrilled to take her first step into her dream career. She doesn't expect to fall for her fellow intern, Jordi Perez. Abby knows it's a big no-no to fall for a colleague. She also knows that Jordi documents her whole life in photographs, while Abby would prefer to stay behind the scenes.

Then again, nothing is going as expected this summer. She's competing against the girl she's kissing to win a paid job at the boutique. She's somehow managed to befriend Jax, a lacrosse-playing bro type who needs help in a project that involves eating burgers across L.A.'s eastside. Suddenly, she doesn't feel like a sidekick. Is it possible Abby's finally in her own story?

But when Jordi's photography puts Abby in the spotlight, it feels like a betrayal, rather than a starring role. Can Abby find a way to reconcile her positive yet private sense of self with the image that other people have of her?

Is this just Abby’s summer of fashion? Or will it truly be The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles)?

I received a copy of this for review from the publisher. This does not influence my thoughts on the book or this review.

The Summer of Jordi Perez sounded like a fun romantic summer read which is exactly why I picked it up. It definitely did not disappoint in that department and it was just the perfect summer fluff I needed.

Abby is the blogger behind +style and her dream is to be a fashion designer some day. The first step in her plan is to land the internship at a local boutique that she’s wanted. But what she didn’t expect is that she’d have to share her internship with Jordi Perez, a classmate she can’t help but fall for. As her best friend starts to drift away, she becomes friends with a total douchebro and helps him find out what the best burger in L.A. is, for his dad’s new app. It seems like Abby’s summer is set out to be The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the best burger in L.A). 

I loved the premise and the characters. A romance based in rivalry is one of my favourite tropes and I loved that not only was this novel a cute romance, it was about growing pains in friendships and sisterhood. It was also about family and body acceptance and it just all worked so well together. It was a short read that I think would definitely work for the summer, but also for any time of year because of its different elements.

While I really liked the characters, premise and themes, I wasn’t too sold on the writing style. While it was first person POV, I felt like the writing read too much like a monologue sometimes that it didn’t feel like regular thoughts. Other than that, I really enjoyed The Summer of Jordi Perez and it definitely goes on my recommended list of summer reads.