Samantha and Will's youngest child wasn't coming home for the summer.  Freedom at last!  To understand the premise of the story we have to know their history.  They married at age eighteen because Sam was pregnant. They went on to have two more children, financial security and a solid family.  So thought Sam until the night they went out for dinner and Will announced he wanted an open marriage. Not a divorce, just an open marriage.  This reeks of having your cake and eating it, too.  Sam knows she can never agree to this, but Will agrees to her suggestion that they separate for the summer. They'll see where they are when summer ends. Sam is certain that her husband will come to his senses and they will resume their idyllic marriage.   Suddenly, Will's best friend, Logan Martin, offers her a job of sorts.  He has to deliver some cars and has asked her to travel the country with him.  It doesn't hurt that he is good-looking, but their relationship has always been a bit rocky.  Even so, Sam accepts his offer.  Why not? This can be arguable.

CRUEL SUMMER, by Maisey Yates, provides an in-depth look into a relationship that perhaps neither party understood.  Not really.  Over one summer, both Sam and Logan came to terms with what they thought was true.  Deep thoughts and new freedoms are explored.  Sam reevaluates who she is and why.  Will had told her he had been unhappy for three years and was wondering if there was more to life than what they had.  How did she not know this?  And what about her? Has she been so caught up in her secure life that she has forgotten how to be her?

The narrative is packed with emotion, passion and introspection. The author has a deep understanding of her characters as they are vividly portrayed. The road trips take readers across the country and we see both magnificent and sometimes overlooked sites through the characters' eyes. As to what happens at the conclusion of the summer?  There are surprises.

Skillfully told and memorable, CRUEL SUMMER is a thought-provoking story.  Highly recommended.