What is “The Summer of Broken Rules” by K.L. Walther about?

Meredith Fox has been going to Martha’s Vineyard for the summer as long as she can remember. But this summer is the first one back since the death of Meredith’s sister. It will all be overwhelming, but even more since since the entire extended family will be together for her cousin’s big wedding.

Unfortunately, Meredith’s longtime boyfriend unexpectedly dumped her two weeks before the wedding, leaving her dateless. Luckily, she has the perfect distraction. Her family has a tradition of playing the ultimate game of Assassin every summer, and this year it will take place during the week of wedding festivities.

But her target just happens to be a very cute groomsman. She’s determined to not let herself get distracted, not let herself be lost in another doomed relationship. But as the week progresses, she can’t help falling for him, which may cost her not only the game, but also her heart.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Review:

This is the perfect summer book! I read K.L. Walther’s debut, “If We Were Us” earlier this year, and absolutely fell in love with is — so I was so excited when she and Sourcebooks Fire sent me an ARC of “The Summer of Broken Rules”!! The book came out just in time for summer, and I think it’s perfect for fans of Morgan Matson’s “Save the Date,” since both involve big families getting ready for a wedding.

One of my absolute favorite things about this book was that we (yes, the collective we…I’m assuming you’re all going to be reading this one too, if you haven’t already) get to see characters from her debut pop up, even though they aren’t necessarily mentioned by name. In case you haven’t been able to tell from the amount of times I’ve mentioned it so far in this review, the IWWU characters have a special place in my heart, so getting to see a glimpse of them after that book ended was so much fun. Another element that I love about K.L. Walther’s books is all of the pop culture references, especially those to Taylor Swift!

It’s interesting to see Meredith’s journey throughout the book as she continues coming to terms with her sister’s death. As she’s finally surrounded by close friends and family that knew Claire, she’s forced to confront the loss of her sister and start to figure out how she wants to navigate the next chapter of her life. Getting to see how she interacted with her cousin Sarah and her husband-to-be Michael (along with her other friends and family) as she comes to terms with the fact that for the first time Claire isn’t at the place where she always felt the most alive — including playing the family game of Assassin — really tells us a lot about her and how she’s changed after her sister’s death.

Meredith and Wit have the opposite of a meet cute. I don’t want to spoil how they meet (it’s not necessarily an enemies-to-lovers, so they’re not purposefully being mean to each other), but I thought it was one heck of an impression. It’s almost hard to believe that the whole book pretty much takes place throughout the span of a week, since so much happens and the two of them grow so close so quickly. With that being said, their connection never felt rushed, and I love their Instagram caption game.

Overall, I’m so glad I had the opportunity to read this one! It’s a great young adult romance, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good summer read — I can’t wait to see what K.L. Walther writes next!

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Interview with author K. L. Walther about her debut novel, “If We Were Us”

Reviews of K. L. Walther books:

“If We Were Us” – K. L. Walther

“The Summer of Broken Rules” – K. L. Walther

Playlists of K. L. Walther Books:

“If We Were Us” – K. L. Walther

“The Summer of Broken Rules” – K. L. Walther