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NetGalley Review of Last Kiss of Summer

Posted on April 21, 2026January 13, 2026 by caritagardiner
Screenshot 2026-01-13 at 8.06.31 AM

title: Last Kiss of Summer

author: Jessica M. Felleman

publisher: GP Putman's Sons Books for Young Readers

publication date: April 28, 2026

pages: 320

peppers: 2-3 (on this scale)

warnings:

  • illness/medical scenes/blood/surgery
  • death
  • alcohol

summary: When Sera and Luke were infants, they were part of a three-way heart transplant, with Sera getting a donor heart and Luke getting part of Sera's heart. Since then, they were best friends...until two summers ago. When Sera started having romantic feeling that Luke didn't reciprocate, she was crushed, but then she went into heart failure and had to leave their small summer town. Now, they're reunited but things are awkward as neither of them knows what's been going on with the other.

tropes:

  • friends to lovers
  • you have a piece of my heart
  • small town
  • summer people
  • hometown hero
  • family drama
  • no-nonsense best friend

what I liked:

  • emotional tuggin
  • mind of 18-year-olds
  • summer vibes
  • art scenes

what I didn’t like:

  • predictable ending

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

  • NetGalley Review of Last Kiss of Summer
  • 381. Why Betting is Entertainment
  • NetGalley Review of Mad Mabel
  • NetGalley Review of While You Were Seething
  • 380. Why Jumbled (GUEST POST)
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