Audiobook review 🎧

So, when I first read the blurb of this book, I was very intrigued about the setting of the book and it was just as I had expected it to be. The book gave off strong Sumer vibes and the camp that Joe worked in was set up perfectly but the romance part felt flat for me. This was more of Joe's journey of self discovery. The book was realistic, told by a sixteen year old boy revolving around his life for the six weeks of summer camp he attended. The first chapter was a bit dragging tbh, I liked the English accent of the narrator but sometimes some parts got boring to listen to. But I really liked the character development and just the overall plot about friendship, family and Joe's personal life. There was underage drinking with which I felt quite uncomfortable but that's the harsh reality of what happens in the world. I liked Joe & Amy's dynamics but I don't know, something was missing between them. Overall, the book gave off really nostalgic vibes (back in the 90's) and it was a story about the innocence surrounding first love. It had depth but I went in expecting some romance which is why I was kind of disappointed when Amy & Joe's relationship went from friendship to love too fast, though it's a solid read if you like to read coming of age books.

ARC provides by Netgalley and Bookouture in exchange of an honest review

This was not my usual type of novel but I’m a fan of Kerry’s books so I was looking forward to reading it. This was a nice easy read but it didn’t really keep my attention.

Truly, Madly, Amy is a beautiful coming-of-age romance. Kerry Wilkinson’s writing is amazing. This story is so emotional - it’s not only a love story, but also a story of self-discovery. Joe is lost in this world as he is dealing with the death of his father, his mother’s mental health issues, and he has no clue what he will do now that school is over. Joe is coerced into working a summer camp, but little does he know how much he will change over the course of that summer. Everyone he meets at camp impacts his life for the better, especially Amy. Mistakes are made, lessons are learned. Joe and Amy experience first love and it all comes together brilliantly. The character development is written so well. I really loved this book and the audio narration. The narrator does a fantastic job of bringing the book to life.

I have a special place in my heart for coming of age books and this is one is great. I am very close in age to the characters, so it was also a nostalgic read for me. I loved that this was written from a male POV, such a refreshing change. Thank you for allowing me to listen to this advance copy.

Sometimes a person can change your life forever. When Joe and Amy met for the first time in Summer Camp little did they know their lives will change forever and their history will intertwined making them both a better person. Summer Camp was where they met, where they fell in love, where they made friends for life. A great story and better as audiobook. The narrators does an excellent job with Kerry’s words

While this one was marketed as a romance it certainly didn’t feel like it. It was truly more about Joe’s development and his relationships in general with family and friends. Being marketed as a romance will lead to disappointment or dissatisfaction for other listeners if that was what they were hoping for from this one.

The narrator’s voice for me was not a favorite as the way he narrated felt dry and felt like it lacked the depth I typically am used to with other audiobooks with his telling of the story.

If this was marketed a bit more accurately so I could have had more accurate hopes going in I think I would have enjoyed it more.

We follow Joe's journey of one summer right after school when he takes up a job at a summer camp as a helper. We see him travelling into that later teen stage of his life and all the different situations he finds himself in where he shows both courage and love.
This is narrated by an older version of Joe in 2021 after the pandemic, and we see how this one summer job changed and shaped a lot of his life and choices.

⚜️My Summary

📚 Thank you @bookouture for sending me this read by Kemi Wilkinson. This book was in audio form which I was really thankful for. It started off slow and for the longest time had me feeling like it was a young adult fiction read. The story of a young teenager boy trying to find his way though his interesting life. His sister set him up with a job at a camp where he met his first love Amy. You're able to follow the two of them into adulthood which was nice but I think this book should have been in the YA fiction Category.

⚜️Likes/Dislikes

📚Glad I got the audio because this book would've been a struggle to get through otherwise.

⚜️Can everyone read this book?

📚Yes

⚜️Would I recommend?

📚No, because I feel like the author should have put this book in Young Adult Fiction not adult romance.

Just Read Stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Truly, Madly, Amy was a feel good coming of age summer read.
Joe has had a tough couple of years since his dad passed away. He is having a difficult summer of 1999 as his mother is battling with mental health. He takes a job at a camp for six weeks and his life is never the same.

The audiobook is perfectly narrated by Joe Jameson and although the book started a bit slow, I enjoyed listening to the story develop and loved Joe and Amy's friendship and romance. This is more of a character driven story and focuses on Joe's growth over the six weeks as well as the changing relationships with the people in his life.

I liked the summer camp setting and the supporting cast of characters were diverse, quirky and felt genuinely relatable in their flaws.

Overall Truly, Madly, Amy is a beautiful and poignant story - a reminder of what it is to be a teenager, the friendships and relationships.

This was a sweet story of a young man trying to navigate through the late teen years. First love, first job, graduating school and trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life.

This book is a summertime coming of age novel about a teenage boy who volunteers at a summer camp and meets a young girl named Amy.

To me this was not quite a love story, not quite a self discovery book, not quite a family drama but a book following a boy who isn't quite sure of anything. Himself, his future, his feelings, or how to deal with anything in-between. Overall the story is well rounded but so many aspects felt underdeveloped. I did not have a strong connection to the characters but I really wanted too. It's not that they aren't relatable or likable. They were so I rooted for them in so many places in this book but the story moved slowly because I didn't know how the story was supposed to progress. This made the story feel slow and some statements about their feelings feel a bit over the top. I wanted to feel captivated because the premise really hooked me in but I didn't feel passionate about the characters like I wanted to.

That being said I did like the way Amy and Joe interacted. I loved that we could feel his nerves and his anxieties about meshing his worlds together and his fear of putting himself out there with her. She seems like such a zesty and bold character who really brought Joe out of his shell. Having her be the girl at camp that everyone liked and knowing she chose Joe was sweet and made me really root for them along the way.

Overall, I would recommend this book. Think it's definitely worth a read, especially during summertime, and if you went to camp in your childhood it will come with some great nostalgia.

I picked Truly, Madly, Amy because of the time period (1999). I was about the same age as the main character, Joe, and was excited for the nostalgic vibes.

Joe is finished with school and not sure what to do with the rest of his life. He decides to begin working at a summer camp where he meets Amy, the girl who makes the lousy summer job worth it. Joe is so wrapped up in Amy and how different they are he does not think he stands a chance. Amy is everything he is not and he cannot bring himself to tell her the truth behind his past and family situations. This is the summer where Joe will be forced to make important decisions for his future. Will Amy be there to help him throughout the summer? Will Joe make choices that reflect his prior self or the person he is becoming?

Thoughts:
I thought that this was a very slow burn. I find that this is the case with many coming of age stories. I enjoyed Joe's character, but felt that the narrator could have done a better job with expressing emotions. Too monotoned for my liking. I am going to be honest, I almost gave up on this book many times because of the narration. But, I stuck with it and especially liked how the story ends. The author's note at the end made me adore the book even more.

Overall, a good read. If you like coming of age stories, this is the novel for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

A cute and fun read! It was more about Joe than it was a romance story, and the struggles of his life. The romance part didn’t stand out to me at all (I feel like we didn’t know enough about Amy) but the way Joe’s struggle with mental and family issues were shown was a nice breath of fresh air.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Joe takes a volunteer job at Summer Camp and meets the lovely Amy. He has so many different struggles in his life and always trying to do the right thing.

As many have noted this is a classic coming of age story. We follow Joe's journey travelling into that later teen stage of his life and all the different situations he finds himself in. He shows both courage and love, and I like that he showed real raw emotions. For myself, I wasn't to taken with Amy, but did like her character. This a really easy fun listen and will have you done in one sitting.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for this ARC.

I was looking for a nice easy feel good romance when I decided to listen to this advanced audio courtesy of @netgalley and , but unfortunately that’s not what I got.

I didn’t like the characters in this book. Everyone felt so melancholy and dejected. I wasn’t attached to their story at all and didn’t buy in to the young lovers camp romance between Joe and Amy.

The book is way too long, yet the ending abrupt, and I felt like not much was going on.

It also bothered me that the narrator would narrate and then during his speaking parts his voice was different even though his character was the narrator! They are the same so why do they have a different voice?

Overall, this was a miss for me.

"𝑊𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑤𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡'𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠. 𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑤𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑖𝑡'𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑤𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑑."

I requested this book mainly because it was classified as humor and romance, and those two as a mix are usually great. And let me tell you, it was.

Let me start by saying, there's nothing I didn't not like about this book, so there will be no dislikes this time. Now to what I liked:

✨The dynamic between Amy and Joe, I'm living for it.

✨Kerry's writing style is absolutely beautiful, and the Narrator made it super enjoyable to listen to. All combined, made it one of the best audiobooks I've listened to so far.

✨The idea of summer camp and the teenagers learning to take responsibility.

✨George. He's basically the godfather of the characters.

✨The whole book was like a trip down memory lane, again, it was beautiful.

✨It had me smiling the entire time I was listening to it. Even if it wasn't funny sometimes, it was still cute, reminiscent, nostalgic, had heart-warming moments.

✨The entirety of the book.

I'm sad to have finishing the book. I truly highly recommend it if you're looking for a quick, cute, heartwarming read.

This was my first book by the author and it definitely won't be the last.

"𝐼 𝑤𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡'𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑖𝑠, 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑜𝑛𝑒."

Thank you @netgalley & @bookouture for this Audio ARC in exchange for an honest review💕

This was a realistic look at life through the lens of a teen trying to figure out who he is and who he wants to be. The characters were relatable and their story was touching. Completely coming of age with a precious first love woven in seamlessly. It took a while to feel like there was any conflict and even then it was mild, but it was real.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for gifting me an audio ARC of the new book by Kerry Wilkinson and perfectly narrated by Joey Jameson - 4 stars!

It's 1999 and Joe has finished with school and is awaiting his class results before trying to figure out his next steps. His sister gets him a mostly volunteer job at a local summer camp to get him out of the house and it's there that he meets Amy. All of a sudden, his days are brighter and he is becoming a different person because Amy gets him.

This is a nostalgic, coming-of-age story filled with promise, hope and heartbreak. Neither Joe nor Amy have easy home lives and they both fill a need in each other. It's a fun look back to the past when summer romances can change your world. A different type of novel from Kerry Wilkinson - be sure to listen to the author's note.

Often, the angst of YA novels is a bit much for me. However, I felt Kerry Wilkinson hit the right note with "Truly, Madly, Amy." I think many YA authors forget that teens can have really big things they're dealing with at home, and I appreciated Joe's very real problems and real emotions. Even the lack of words to explain how he felt in many situations felt so perfect for the character and his situation.
This was a really well-formed YA novel, and ended up being a super-satisfying audiobook :)

I was so excited about this book, but it just didn’t click for me. I think it may have been the narration. Maybe the physical book would have been better. Overall I just couldn’t get into it.