Review: The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells

Blurb: There Are Some Summers You'll Always Remember

Sometimes I wake up shivering in the early hours of the morning, drowning in dreams of being out there in the ocean that summer, of looking up at the moon and feeling as invisible and free as a fish. But I'm jumping ahead, and to tell the story right I have to go back to the beginning. To a place called Indigo Beach. To a boy with pale skin that glowed against the dark waves. To the start of something neither of us could have predicted, and which would mark us forever, making everything that came after and before seem like it belonged to another life.

My name is Mia Gordon: I was sixteen years old, and I remember everything 

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

My Review: 
As the rating says, The Summer of Skinny Dipping to me was...okay. I kept turning the pages and expecting it to turn better, more exciting, to no avail. I'd read such great reviews about this novel that I was absolutely sure that this would be my favourite summer read for this year so imagine my disappointment when I found myself no wanting to return to the story once I left it because it was just sooooooo sloooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

Don't get me wrong. The story was really sweet and nice but somehow, I didn't feel connected to it even ONCE. It took me SIX FREAKING DAYS to finish it because I just wasn't interested in getting back to the story.

Mia was a sweet protagonist. There were some instances where I could relate with her but the initial few chapters were simply boring. I remember thinking at one point that Mia's severe case of inferiority complex requires professional help. Urgently.
However, the pace did pick up once Simon was introduced in the story....only to fall back again.
Simon was an interesting character, full of life and very self-assured. Their romance was a sweet (I realize I'm using this adjective for the third time but really, sweet is all I can use to describe most of the stuff in this book, so bear with me) one which bloomed with time but the problem is that the time it took was a bit too slow for me.
To keep my interest, the story should have a STRONG female protagonist who doesn't need a guy to boost her self-esteem like Mia, or if that's not the case, then it should be funny or exciting or give me a rush or make me want to just vanish into the story and that world. NONE of these happened and I'm genuinely disappointed.

At the end, I didn't feel emotional or sad. I just felt relieved that it was over and I can move on to more interesting novels now which is a sad thing in itself. I hate feeling like this about any book because each story is a product of immense hard-work by an author but unfortunately, this one just wasn't for me.