Gemma had her summer all planned out, but it takes a sharp turn when she gets dumped and finds herself back in the Hamptons after a five-year absence.

Being there puts her at risk of bumping into Hallie, her former best friends (that is, before Gemma ruined her life). But people don’t hold grudges forever. Do they?

Gemma intends on making amends, but a small case of mistaken identity causes the people she knew years ago—including Hallie and her dreamy brother, Josh—to believe she’s someone else. As though the summer wasn’t complicated enough already.

Filled with summer sun, boys, and friendships gone sour, Katie Finn’s first novel in the Broken Hearts and Revenge series sizzles and delights.

Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn
Published May 13, 2014 by Feiwel & Friends
Young Adult, Contemporary Romance
Format: Hardcover; 339 pages
Also By This Author: Top 8, Revenge, Ice Cream, and Other Things Best Served Cold
Goodreads | Amazon | Author’s Website
My Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Thoughts:

If I could summarize this book in one sentence it would say: LYING IS BAD!

Gemma Tucker is a big liar. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I won’t go into too much detail, but when Gemma was 11 she did some really horrible things to a friend she made while vacationing in the Hamptons for the summer. I say horrible without explaining what she did exactly, but trust me, some of these things she did were cruel and had serious, long-term affects. I remember feeling really sad after we finally find out what happened.

Anyway, this book is actually fun, despite some of the sadder/darker backstory. Fast-forward 7 years and now Gemma, recently dumped and back in the Hamptons for the summer, is presented with a chance to “mend” all the wrongs she did…by lying.

Yeah, because that’s not going to end badly.

This book was well-written and the characters weren’t flat or boring. The only reason I didn’t rate this book a little higher is because of the lying. Lie after lie built up to the point that I was stressing out and feeling like I was the one lying. (Side note: I have a problem, when it comes to appropriating fictional characters’ feelings as my own, especially guilt or embarrassment. It’s a big problem of mine) But by the time I reached the end of the novel and things took a huge twist, I was ready to read the sequel (which I just received for Christmas!).

Read This Book If…

…you enjoy books about second chances.
…you’re looking for a light but suspenseful read (that may stress you out like it did me!).
…you need a beach book even if it’s not beach season yet!
…you want to start a new series (the final book will be published in May so you wouldn’t have to wait years to read them all!).

Final Musings

If you didn’t know this, Katie Finn is also Morgan Matson, author of some of my favorite Young Adult books, Since You’ve Been Gone and Second Chance Summer. Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend is a lot different from Matson’s books, but the writing styles and character developments are similar. I enjoyed this book even if 3-stars doesn’t seem like a great rating (it would have been 4-stars if I hadn’t experienced so much second-hand embarrassment).