“Mom says you get two birthdays.”

Asha Bromfield’s gorgeous, moving debut had me hooked from that first compelling line, and it only becomes more engrossing from there.  

I’m so excited to join Asha Bromfield’s blog tour for her incredible debut, Hurricane Summer.

Eighteen-year-old Tilla has spent most of her childhood missing her father as he goes between their home in Canada and returning to his family’s homeland in Jamaica, every six months. When she hasn’t seen him in more than a year, she and her younger sister Mia fly to Jamaica to spend the summer with him. Tilla has spent her life trying to make her father love her enough – enough to stay, enough to choose her and their family – and she dreads the trip. She desperately wants to understand what it is about Jamaica that makes her father choose to live so far away from his family.

In Jamaica, Tilla starts to unearth dark family secrets that unravel her life as she knows it. As hurricane season looms closer to the island, Tilla must learn to face storm and love and stand up for herself before she loses it at all in the Jamaican countryside.

This was a five-star read for me. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Asha Bromfield’s world building blew me away. I can’t remember the last time I read a YA contemporary where the setting is such an important aspect of the book. The scenery of Jamaica, the lush setting and vivid descriptions make the readers feel as if we are right there beside Tilla as she experiences so much upheaval and change.

Emotionally, this book hooked me right from the very first line. Lush descriptions coupled with vivid characters create a deeply moving, powerful story. I find it impossible not to relate to Tilla and her struggles with crushes and attention from boys and men, understanding how to form friendships with girls who view her as competition, and figuring out the changing family politics and dynamics.

This book pulls no punches in dealing with difficult, important topics – from racism and colorism to classism and sexism. The journey from girl to woman is complex, and difficult, and Asha Bromfield navigates it in this book with deftness and deep emotional impact.

I loved this book. Be sure to add it on Goodreads.

TW: rape, physical and emotional abuse, slut-shaming, sexual abuse.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with an e-arc of this beautiful book.

Want to learn more? Read Chapter 2!

Read chapter 2 here.