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NetGalley Review of Burnout Summer

Posted on May 5, 2026November 8, 2025 by caritagardiner
Screenshot 2025-11-06 at 1.51.07 PM

title: Burnout Summer

author: Jenna Ramirez

publisher: Saturday Books

publication date: May 12, 2026

pages: 352

peppers: 3 (on this scale)

warnings:

  • smoking
  • vomit
  • drinking alcohol

summary: When Camille "Cam" Luna has the worst day of her life-- first getting fired then spending the night in jail for disturbing the peace--she calls one of her four best college friends. Even though it's been five years since college, she knows Danny will be there for her. In fact, he convinces her to come live on his couch and work at his restaurant until she figures out what to do with her life. She sees the time in his beachside life as the perfect opportunity to reset and plan a path forward that will help her pay off college and credit card debt and get her life back on track.

tropes:

  • friends-to-lovers
  • just this once
  • what will our friends think
  • happy-go-lucky makes it big
  • golden retriever (both the guy and an actual dog)
  • need to sort out my life

what I liked:

  • great friendships
  • restaurant talk
  • cute town
  • Esme, the cranky bartender

what I didn’t like:

  • Cam seems a little too young for 25

overall rating: 4 (of 5 stars)

As always, you can click on the photo above if you want to buy the book.

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WHAT I DO

I serve as a class dean and teach English to high schoolers at a boarding school in Connecticut. I’ve earned a Bachelor of Arts (Amherst College), an Education Master in Learning and Teaching (Harvard University Graduate School of Education), a Master of Arts in English (Bread Loaf School of English), and most recently a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing with a certificate in the online teaching of writing (Southern New Hampshire University).

As a writer, I hope to capture the complexity and joy of life in the New England boarding school world. On this site, I share what I know about trying to write fiction while deaning, teaching English, coaching, and doing the other tasks associated with helping to raise over six hundred other people’s children.

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Read my recent “Why” Wednesday Blog Posts

  • 384. Why The Imperfectionist
  • NetGalley Review of Burnout Summer
  • NetGally Review of How to Find a Guy in Five Weddings
  • 383. Why AI
  • 382. Why Breakfast (GUEST POST)
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