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Summer Rains #1
No Experience Required
After leaving the hippie commune she grew up on, Summer Rains set a modest goal for herself: earn enough money to live a normal life in the real world.
Maybe she was aiming too high.
When she wished she could get rid of the platinum-selling pop star who was stalking her, she didn’t mean ‘get rid of’ in the permanent sense. But someone did. And being a suspect isn’t the kind of attention she wants from the gorgeous-but-entirely-too-condescending detective investigating the case. As if that wasn’t bad enough, her only help comes from the man she’s been in love with since her hormones kicked in…and his beautiful girlfriend.
Sounds like a good time to reassess her goals. ‘Living a normal life’ moves down the list, and ‘figuring out who the real murderer is before she gets thrown in jail’ moves all the way to the top.
But crime-fighting wasn’t part of the home-schooling curriculum back on the commune. So solving the case is an on-the-job kind of thing. Along the way, she learns other skills—how to fold hospital corners, how to keep herself from becoming the next victim, and how to deal with all the insanity of the ‘real world’.
*** This novel is a fun comedic-mystery, similar in tone to the books of Janet Evanovich, Meg Cabot, and Stephanie Bond. It is not paranormal romance or dark urban fantasy. If that’s what you’re looking for, please check out my other work:
Hyde, an Urban Fantasy
Second Bite, a Vampire Novella
Or Jekyll, book II of the Hyde series
Maybe she was aiming too high.
When she wished she could get rid of the platinum-selling pop star who was stalking her, she didn’t mean ‘get rid of’ in the permanent sense. But someone did. And being a suspect isn’t the kind of attention she wants from the gorgeous-but-entirely-too-condescending detective investigating the case. As if that wasn’t bad enough, her only help comes from the man she’s been in love with since her hormones kicked in…and his beautiful girlfriend.
Sounds like a good time to reassess her goals. ‘Living a normal life’ moves down the list, and ‘figuring out who the real murderer is before she gets thrown in jail’ moves all the way to the top.
But crime-fighting wasn’t part of the home-schooling curriculum back on the commune. So solving the case is an on-the-job kind of thing. Along the way, she learns other skills—how to fold hospital corners, how to keep herself from becoming the next victim, and how to deal with all the insanity of the ‘real world’.
*** This novel is a fun comedic-mystery, similar in tone to the books of Janet Evanovich, Meg Cabot, and Stephanie Bond. It is not paranormal romance or dark urban fantasy. If that’s what you’re looking for, please check out my other work:
Hyde, an Urban Fantasy
Second Bite, a Vampire Novella
Or Jekyll, book II of the Hyde series
286 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
7 people are currently reading
480 people want to read
About the author
Lauren Stewart
22 books833 followersLauren Stewart lives in Northern California with two teenagers, a cat named Luna Lovegood, and a very hairy, drooly old man who loves belly rubs. Lauren reads almost every genre so naturally, her writing reflects that. In all her novels, you'll find elements of other genres--fantasy, mystery, romance, paranormal, suspense, all with a touch of humor.
Because what doesn't kill us should make us laugh.
Join her newsletter to get exclusive Once and Forever extras, deleted Hyde scenes, and a PNR novella: http://bit.ly/LS_news
Website: https://www.LaurenStewartAuthor.com
Facebook: https://bit.ly/LS-on-FB
FULL LIST OF BOOKS:
Once and Forever
Darker Water
Virtually Impossible
Deeper Water
Immaterial Defense
Hyde
Hyde
Jekyll
Strange Case
She's Everything - Coming Soon
Everything She Isn't
Two Doors Apart
Never, Ever a Bride
Others
No Experience Required
Second Bite
The Heights - Coming Back Soon
Into the Dark
Into the Fire
Into the Wild
Because what doesn't kill us should make us laugh.
Join her newsletter to get exclusive Once and Forever extras, deleted Hyde scenes, and a PNR novella: http://bit.ly/LS_news
Website: https://www.LaurenStewartAuthor.com
Facebook: https://bit.ly/LS-on-FB
FULL LIST OF BOOKS:
Once and Forever
Darker Water
Virtually Impossible
Deeper Water
Immaterial Defense
Hyde
Hyde
Jekyll
Strange Case
She's Everything - Coming Soon
Everything She Isn't
Two Doors Apart
Never, Ever a Bride
Others
No Experience Required
Second Bite
The Heights - Coming Back Soon
Into the Dark
Into the Fire
Into the Wild
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
January 7, 2013
OK - so I am already a huge Lauren Stewart fan - thanks to her Hyde series, but I have to say I think I like her Summer Rains series just a smidge more. I can't really put my finger on why that is but it might be because it is on the lighter side and I love humor in my books. I am doing a Read to Review for the author and I must say I am so glad I got to read this book.
Summer Rains(great name by the way)grew up in a commune with no TV, internet, cell phones and sharing a bedroom with all the other kids in the commune. She has a biological mom & dad but also calls all the other parents in the commune her parents as well. She falls head over heels for Gan(short for Ghandi) - a boy who arrived at the commune when she was 7. Unfortunately he moves away to college and has always seen her as a little girl. She follows after him but mistakenly enrolls in Hale University instead of Yale University and spends four years studying history and watching TV to catch up on everything she has missed in the commune. She moves to San Francisco with her college roommate Jordan and has been looking to find a good job to support herself.
At a music video shoot she catches the eye of the music star Dustin Wiles who won't take no for an answer and finally agrees to meet him in his hotel room so she can help her friend Jordan get some publicity. Everything goes to crap after that and the way Summer goes about clearing herself is hysterical.
Now the main reason I fell in love with this book can be summarized in one word - SUMMER. What an excellent character. She is quirky, fiesty, naive, funny, sweet, always stumbling head first into trouble and sarcastic. I may have a mini crush on her.
Gan(who changes his name to Will - short from Willow - his middle name)pops back into the picture after 7 years and he is incredibly sweet in a wake up and smell the coffee kind of way. Obviously he has feelings for Summer but is still fighting them. He and his girlfriend Audrey are in the middle of another breakup when Summer stumbles into them.
Then there is Detective Ronin. He sounds like a real hunk and I am curious as to how he is going to fit in to subsequent books because I really liked him too. I am still snickering about the gift basket that got delivered to him in error.
I can't wait for the next Summer Rains installment. Hurry up and keep writing Lauren!!!!
Summer Rains(great name by the way)grew up in a commune with no TV, internet, cell phones and sharing a bedroom with all the other kids in the commune. She has a biological mom & dad but also calls all the other parents in the commune her parents as well. She falls head over heels for Gan(short for Ghandi) - a boy who arrived at the commune when she was 7. Unfortunately he moves away to college and has always seen her as a little girl. She follows after him but mistakenly enrolls in Hale University instead of Yale University and spends four years studying history and watching TV to catch up on everything she has missed in the commune. She moves to San Francisco with her college roommate Jordan and has been looking to find a good job to support herself.
At a music video shoot she catches the eye of the music star Dustin Wiles who won't take no for an answer and finally agrees to meet him in his hotel room so she can help her friend Jordan get some publicity. Everything goes to crap after that and the way Summer goes about clearing herself is hysterical.
Now the main reason I fell in love with this book can be summarized in one word - SUMMER. What an excellent character. She is quirky, fiesty, naive, funny, sweet, always stumbling head first into trouble and sarcastic. I may have a mini crush on her.
Gan(who changes his name to Will - short from Willow - his middle name)pops back into the picture after 7 years and he is incredibly sweet in a wake up and smell the coffee kind of way. Obviously he has feelings for Summer but is still fighting them. He and his girlfriend Audrey are in the middle of another breakup when Summer stumbles into them.
Then there is Detective Ronin. He sounds like a real hunk and I am curious as to how he is going to fit in to subsequent books because I really liked him too. I am still snickering about the gift basket that got delivered to him in error.
I can't wait for the next Summer Rains installment. Hurry up and keep writing Lauren!!!!
March 10, 2014
Really juvenile plot without much mystery to the mystery and very little romance to the romance. Deduct one star.
Main character is completely clueless, which is supposed to make her interesting and cute. It was only marginally successful. Deduct one star.
Ended in a cliffhanger. Not cool. Deduct one star.
Main character is completely clueless, which is supposed to make her interesting and cute. It was only marginally successful. Deduct one star.
Ended in a cliffhanger. Not cool. Deduct one star.
June 18, 2015
Summer was raised in a hippie atmosphere but when she leaves home she is stalked & she try's to escape him but someone offs him instead. Follow her many journeys through the time in her life when she is not sure what to do
Read
June 17, 2018NERF is now available on Amazon and Smashwords! Whoop!
If you're looking for something similar to my Hyde, an Urban Fantasy series, this ain't it. This is not dark urban fantasy or paranormal romance. It is a fun and whimsical mystery.
The Summer Rains series is pretty much as far from the Hyde series as can be. Where Hyde is dark, Summer is light. Summer is the kind of girl I want as a BFF--she's witty, loyal, and trustworthy. Sure, she's snarky, but not sardonic like Mitch is.
If you enjoy the books of Janet Evanovich, Stephanie Bond and Meg Cabot, then No Experience Required will be right up your alley.
Happy reading!
If you're looking for something similar to my Hyde, an Urban Fantasy series, this ain't it. This is not dark urban fantasy or paranormal romance. It is a fun and whimsical mystery.
The Summer Rains series is pretty much as far from the Hyde series as can be. Where Hyde is dark, Summer is light. Summer is the kind of girl I want as a BFF--she's witty, loyal, and trustworthy. Sure, she's snarky, but not sardonic like Mitch is.
If you enjoy the books of Janet Evanovich, Stephanie Bond and Meg Cabot, then No Experience Required will be right up your alley.
Happy reading!
May 25, 2020
I love this authors book but i didn't like this one. The heroine was funny and strong, but sometimes too silly , hero, I don't know who is the hero. This story is book number one of some series. Heroine had crush on a boy, boy left, now heroine met him, he has gf suddenly ditches her... He looked not quite a man, but a silly adolescent. Then heroine saw them kissing (last time,,,..hi told her...) No way. spineless man.
April 15, 2013
Lauren Stewart has done it again!!
This time she has given us a lighthearted murder mystery, and the amazing character that is Summer Rains.
Summer is a quick witted 20 something, who grew up in a commune with her hippy parents. Her quick wit gives us a lighthearted read about a serious matter of murder.
I loved the banter between Summer and Detective Jace Ronin, if she wasn't so crazy in love with Gan, then I could see the pair of them hitting it off. Im hoping we will see more of him, in the future???? Lauren?
Then we have the relationship between Gan (Will) and Summer. It got off to a rocky (re)start, but by the end of the book they were so naturally comfortable with each other, as if they had never been apart.
Loved it Lauren!! Waiting with baited breath for the next installment.
“What other key pieces of evidence are there?” I asked. “He’ll know what it is and that I don’t have it. So why would he come after me now? My part in this is done.” Thank Spirit.
Ronin turned to Will. “I could cuff her and attach her to the...” He looked around the room. All our
eyes went to the headboard of the bed, its scrolled metal being the only logical place to attach the other side of the cuffs to.
Oh boy. The silence lingered.
I looked at Will.
Ronin looked at me.
I looked at him.
He looked at Will.
Will looked at me.
“The fridge,” Ronin said quickly. “The handle of the fridge.”
We all let out the breaths we’d been holding.
“I’m leaving. Now.” Ronin strode to the door. With his hand on the knob, he turned to Will. “Try
your best to keep her inside.”
“That might be difficult.”
“Maybe duct tape?” Ronin shrugged. “Just do what you can. And you.” He pointed at me. “Just stay
out of trouble, and let me do my job.”
Will stood at the counter, eating Chow Mein out of a take-out container. “Should I tie you up,
Summer?”
“Only if you want to ravage me.” I flopped down on the couch and spread out my limbs.
He smirked at my joke that was only partially a joke. “Maybe tomorrow—you look like you would
fall asleep before I even had you unwrapped.”
Yeah, like I’d miss that. But I was tired. Exhausted. Will seemed to disappear every few seconds
as my eyelids grew heavier. What a hot date I was. “Okay, tomorrow you can strap me down and have at
me. Can you be home by seven o’clock?”
“You’re determined to go back to the hotel tomorrow, aren’t you?”
“I have to. There are a few more people I need to talk to.”
“It was a good thing that detective doesn’t know where I keep the duct tape. I have a feeling he’d
have loved to put a strip of it over your mouth.”
I puckered my lips. “Is that my problem?” I spoke with my eyes shut. “Men suck.”
“Only men who don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“Nope, I’m pretty sure it’s all of them.” Right before my mind shut down, I said, “Okay, report back
here at seven for ravaging. And don’t be late.”
This time she has given us a lighthearted murder mystery, and the amazing character that is Summer Rains.
Summer is a quick witted 20 something, who grew up in a commune with her hippy parents. Her quick wit gives us a lighthearted read about a serious matter of murder.
I loved the banter between Summer and Detective Jace Ronin, if she wasn't so crazy in love with Gan, then I could see the pair of them hitting it off. Im hoping we will see more of him, in the future???? Lauren?
Then we have the relationship between Gan (Will) and Summer. It got off to a rocky (re)start, but by the end of the book they were so naturally comfortable with each other, as if they had never been apart.
Loved it Lauren!! Waiting with baited breath for the next installment.
“What other key pieces of evidence are there?” I asked. “He’ll know what it is and that I don’t have it. So why would he come after me now? My part in this is done.” Thank Spirit.
Ronin turned to Will. “I could cuff her and attach her to the...” He looked around the room. All our
eyes went to the headboard of the bed, its scrolled metal being the only logical place to attach the other side of the cuffs to.
Oh boy. The silence lingered.
I looked at Will.
Ronin looked at me.
I looked at him.
He looked at Will.
Will looked at me.
“The fridge,” Ronin said quickly. “The handle of the fridge.”
We all let out the breaths we’d been holding.
“I’m leaving. Now.” Ronin strode to the door. With his hand on the knob, he turned to Will. “Try
your best to keep her inside.”
“That might be difficult.”
“Maybe duct tape?” Ronin shrugged. “Just do what you can. And you.” He pointed at me. “Just stay
out of trouble, and let me do my job.”
Will stood at the counter, eating Chow Mein out of a take-out container. “Should I tie you up,
Summer?”
“Only if you want to ravage me.” I flopped down on the couch and spread out my limbs.
He smirked at my joke that was only partially a joke. “Maybe tomorrow—you look like you would
fall asleep before I even had you unwrapped.”
Yeah, like I’d miss that. But I was tired. Exhausted. Will seemed to disappear every few seconds
as my eyelids grew heavier. What a hot date I was. “Okay, tomorrow you can strap me down and have at
me. Can you be home by seven o’clock?”
“You’re determined to go back to the hotel tomorrow, aren’t you?”
“I have to. There are a few more people I need to talk to.”
“It was a good thing that detective doesn’t know where I keep the duct tape. I have a feeling he’d
have loved to put a strip of it over your mouth.”
I puckered my lips. “Is that my problem?” I spoke with my eyes shut. “Men suck.”
“Only men who don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“Nope, I’m pretty sure it’s all of them.” Right before my mind shut down, I said, “Okay, report back
here at seven for ravaging. And don’t be late.”
October 3, 2014
Hilarious! Summer Rains is better than Stephanie Plum! Love her! Love Detective Ronin! Like Will. Funniest book I've read this year! Love it! :)
It starts with Summer being in a music video. She's just trying to earn money and find something she enjoys doing. Unfortunately for her, the singer sees her, wants her, stalks her via his manager, and is not a nice guy. To end the harassment she decides to meet the idiot. Oops. When the singer is murdered, she tries to discover who killed him before going to jail. LOL
Summer is gorgeous, honest to a fault, smart, too trusting, funny, outgoing, young, very refreshing, and simply adorable. She's very easy to root for and laugh with. :) I love her. It's interesting to have a character that's in her early twenties, trying to find her place, and learning as she goes. Summer comes from a very unique background which is funny and intriguing in itself. No abuse, though. :) She's just young. :) I've invested in watching her grow, wondering what decisions she'll make and mistakes she'll overcome. Also, Summer Rains! How adorable is a name like that? So cute! It fits her perfectly! :)
Her childhood friend, Will, is an enigma. I never could figure him out. Is Will in love with Summer? Or his ex sometimes girlfriend Audrey? Does he and Audrey have a strong relationship or does he wish she'd leave him alone? Just when I though I understood, Will would do or say something stupid to confuse me. Poor Summer! He was her childhood crush! Now he's acting like he doesn't know what he wants! He is a long time friend, though, so bravo to Summer for tolerating his behavior. :) It'll be fascinating to see how their relationship turns out.
Personally, I love Detective Ronin. He's in charge of finding who murdered rock star idiot. He also has to endure Summer's constant nagging as Summer tries to investigate on her own. LOL Their chemistry is HOT! I love their interactions! :) Very funny and, yes, hot!
The female characters surrounding Summer are typical actress/model wannabes and hilarious! Some of Summer's jobs are downright LOL, tears falling funny. :)
No Experience Required is a very fast paced, quick, light, beach book of the summer. :) Well worth the money and two-three hours it takes to read it! :)
It starts with Summer being in a music video. She's just trying to earn money and find something she enjoys doing. Unfortunately for her, the singer sees her, wants her, stalks her via his manager, and is not a nice guy. To end the harassment she decides to meet the idiot. Oops. When the singer is murdered, she tries to discover who killed him before going to jail. LOL
Summer is gorgeous, honest to a fault, smart, too trusting, funny, outgoing, young, very refreshing, and simply adorable. She's very easy to root for and laugh with. :) I love her. It's interesting to have a character that's in her early twenties, trying to find her place, and learning as she goes. Summer comes from a very unique background which is funny and intriguing in itself. No abuse, though. :) She's just young. :) I've invested in watching her grow, wondering what decisions she'll make and mistakes she'll overcome. Also, Summer Rains! How adorable is a name like that? So cute! It fits her perfectly! :)
Her childhood friend, Will, is an enigma. I never could figure him out. Is Will in love with Summer? Or his ex sometimes girlfriend Audrey? Does he and Audrey have a strong relationship or does he wish she'd leave him alone? Just when I though I understood, Will would do or say something stupid to confuse me. Poor Summer! He was her childhood crush! Now he's acting like he doesn't know what he wants! He is a long time friend, though, so bravo to Summer for tolerating his behavior. :) It'll be fascinating to see how their relationship turns out.
Personally, I love Detective Ronin. He's in charge of finding who murdered rock star idiot. He also has to endure Summer's constant nagging as Summer tries to investigate on her own. LOL Their chemistry is HOT! I love their interactions! :) Very funny and, yes, hot!
The female characters surrounding Summer are typical actress/model wannabes and hilarious! Some of Summer's jobs are downright LOL, tears falling funny. :)
No Experience Required is a very fast paced, quick, light, beach book of the summer. :) Well worth the money and two-three hours it takes to read it! :)
April 24, 2015
I’m not sure where to begin. I dislike having to write a review like this but I hope that it’s helpful because I want to see and hear an author and narrator be successful. This story started off great for me. I thought it was cute, the commune hippie idea and the awesome names like Summer Rains of course, along with her brother Zen and the other brother and her dad. Well, after a while, it began to get overwhelming with the storyline and the narration issues.
I felt the story begin to stray way out in left field somewhere. Leaving the commune and being the last person seen with the dead guy, Summer decides to do her own sleuthing and that perhaps is where it fell flat for me. She seemed to be doing multiple things which were confusing to me. I think there was poor editing and I felt like it was cartoonish. I’m not sure who the target reader or listener is for this book. Possibly the physical book is better, which segues me to the narration.
About the narration: I’ll be as gentle as I can. First off, I was beginning to feel dizzy with the narration going from what sounded like someone on helium to very slow motion. It wasn’t smooth or consistent. Next, the audio had some serious issues with overriding or something starting in chapter 9. I didn’t feel that the quality was there. Even if a story is lacking somewhere, in many cases, a good narrator can redeem its quality. Sadly this wasn’t the case. Sorry.
Audiobook gifted in exchange for review.
© 2014 crystalzen © Teresa W.
I felt the story begin to stray way out in left field somewhere. Leaving the commune and being the last person seen with the dead guy, Summer decides to do her own sleuthing and that perhaps is where it fell flat for me. She seemed to be doing multiple things which were confusing to me. I think there was poor editing and I felt like it was cartoonish. I’m not sure who the target reader or listener is for this book. Possibly the physical book is better, which segues me to the narration.
About the narration: I’ll be as gentle as I can. First off, I was beginning to feel dizzy with the narration going from what sounded like someone on helium to very slow motion. It wasn’t smooth or consistent. Next, the audio had some serious issues with overriding or something starting in chapter 9. I didn’t feel that the quality was there. Even if a story is lacking somewhere, in many cases, a good narrator can redeem its quality. Sadly this wasn’t the case. Sorry.
Audiobook gifted in exchange for review.
© 2014 crystalzen © Teresa W.
January 5, 2014
This book is fun, light hearted and stupid - just what I needed!!! If you are looking for serious believability then look elsewhere. Summer is a clueless, fluffy, sweet and well meaning character...so perfect for a bit of fictional indulgence. A murder mystery of sorts, it flows along on a carpet of story telling and mindless rubbish. Even though Summer annoyed the hell out of me she was too lovely to dislike and I felt a bit sorry for her at the end - liked it a lot and will read more (assuming there are more!) as light relief between books - don't get me wrong on that comment, just because it's light reading doesn't mean it's not worth 4 stars!
June 19, 2016
So first off Thank you Lauren for letting me read this book to see how awesome it would be!!! I laughed so hard in this book. It was a great premise and I think that it will be a great series. I want to know more about Summer and Will. :-) This was a book that was a fast read and made me relax. Can't wait until there is another one in this series. How long do I have to wait?
November 8, 2012
Review to come :-) But definitely 5-stars!
March 8, 2021
I listened to the audiobook of this story. Narration was okay. Summer Rains spent her life growing up in a hippie commune, but wanted to experience the real world. So off to the city she goes. Trying to find a job isn't easy and she now has a stalker from a modeling gig. The star or his agent won't leave her alone. She wants him gone and unfortunately he is permanently and the police think she did it. The only person who can help her, is her teenage crush. She starts trying to solve the case, but they didn't teach that in the commune. Funny story, crazy things are always happening to Summer.
September 26, 2018
This one kinda fell into my lap. The premise sounded a little odd - I mean, a commune? - so I wasn't expecting much. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised by how funny and entertaining it was! I was sorry when it ended, and especially sorry when I realized there was no second book! C'mon, Ms. Stewart, throw us a bone! Where's that sequel?
October 4, 2020
Give me a good story
Did not like the ending at all. Main female character couldn't make up her mind who she was even interested in!
Did not like the ending at all. Main female character couldn't make up her mind who she was even interested in!
September 3, 2021
I was not a fan of the audible version. At all. I could bot deal with the narrator's voice. It irked me to no end. I did go back and but the book and I absolutely loved it.
December 31, 2012
My Rating: ★★★★¼
Book Description:
After leaving the hippie commune she grew up on, Summer Rains set a modest goal for herself: earn enough money to live a normal life in the real world.
Maybe she was aiming too high.
When she wished she could get rid of the platinum-selling pop star who was stalking her, she didn’t mean ‘get rid of’ in the permanent sense. But someone did. And being a suspect isn’t the kind of attention she wants from the gorgeous-but-entirely-too-condescending detective investigating the case. As if that wasn’t bad enough, her only help comes from the man she’s been in love with since her hormones kicked in…and his beautiful girlfriend.
Sounds like a good time to reassess her goals. ‘Living a normal life’ moves down the list, and ‘figuring out who the real murderer is before she gets thrown in jail’ moves all the way to the top.
But crime-fighting wasn’t part of the home-schooling curriculum back on the commune. So solving the case is an on-the-job kind of thing. Along the way, she learns other skills—how to fold hospital corners, how to keep herself from becoming the next victim, and how to deal with all the insanity of the ‘real world’.
My Thoughts:
I will first begin by saying that I was given No Experience Required (A Summer Rains Novel) in exchange for an honest review.
This story is about Summer Light Rains, (yes...that is her real name), grew up in a simple living commune with her parents and a few other couples outside of San Francisco, CA. Summer's best friend, Gandhi Willow Rhys, (I swear I'm not making these names up...*snicker*) is two years older than her but the two of them are inseparable in their youth. As they reach adolescence they recognize their budding attraction for one another but Gandhi quickly puts a kibosh on it. Once they reach college age, Gandhi goes to Yale University and Summer goes to Hale University (yep, there is a LOL story there). The two friends lose touch and Summer settles her adult life in San Francisco.
For Summer, her life moves along at a mediocre pace. She has no "real" job and takes odd jobs like being a video hoochie to support herself. Enter rock star: Dustin Wiles. Dustin decides that Summer must be his and stops at nothing to get her. And THAT is where all her problems begin.
After reading her paranormal books, Lauren Stewart has quickly become one of my favorite authors so I jumped at the opportunity to review this book when asked. Let me tell you that about 50% into the story, I started to get a bit frustrated with it. Why you ask? Because, frankly, Summer irritated the snot out of me with her hijinks and sarcastic rejoinders to mostly everything. But, I kept reading, because of my commitment to the review.
When I reached 65% in the story, I had a mindset shift. I "GOT IT". Summer was absolutely created that way for a reason. She is an unlikely "heroine" because she just couldn't seem to stay out of trouble...trouble that she often created...but trouble nonetheless. So, in that respect, Stewart's writing is genius because I was as irritated with Summer as Detective Ronin was. She raised my blood pressure. LOL.
With my new mindset, I reflected on the first half of the story as I read the rest of it and thoroughly enjoyed the story's direction. It was very well done and it was masterful the way that Summer stumbled into who done it! Stewart created a story that was, in fact, witty, detailed, and highly engaging. I never expected the story to end as it did but it was an excellent and fitting ending.
Lovers of comedic mysteries will greatly enjoy this story. I look forward to seeing what's next for Ms. Summer.
Character Line-up: Summer and Will
For more reviews, visit The BookChick with Kick blog
Book Description:
After leaving the hippie commune she grew up on, Summer Rains set a modest goal for herself: earn enough money to live a normal life in the real world.
Maybe she was aiming too high.
When she wished she could get rid of the platinum-selling pop star who was stalking her, she didn’t mean ‘get rid of’ in the permanent sense. But someone did. And being a suspect isn’t the kind of attention she wants from the gorgeous-but-entirely-too-condescending detective investigating the case. As if that wasn’t bad enough, her only help comes from the man she’s been in love with since her hormones kicked in…and his beautiful girlfriend.
Sounds like a good time to reassess her goals. ‘Living a normal life’ moves down the list, and ‘figuring out who the real murderer is before she gets thrown in jail’ moves all the way to the top.
But crime-fighting wasn’t part of the home-schooling curriculum back on the commune. So solving the case is an on-the-job kind of thing. Along the way, she learns other skills—how to fold hospital corners, how to keep herself from becoming the next victim, and how to deal with all the insanity of the ‘real world’.
My Thoughts:
I will first begin by saying that I was given No Experience Required (A Summer Rains Novel) in exchange for an honest review.
This story is about Summer Light Rains, (yes...that is her real name), grew up in a simple living commune with her parents and a few other couples outside of San Francisco, CA. Summer's best friend, Gandhi Willow Rhys, (I swear I'm not making these names up...*snicker*) is two years older than her but the two of them are inseparable in their youth. As they reach adolescence they recognize their budding attraction for one another but Gandhi quickly puts a kibosh on it. Once they reach college age, Gandhi goes to Yale University and Summer goes to Hale University (yep, there is a LOL story there). The two friends lose touch and Summer settles her adult life in San Francisco.
For Summer, her life moves along at a mediocre pace. She has no "real" job and takes odd jobs like being a video hoochie to support herself. Enter rock star: Dustin Wiles. Dustin decides that Summer must be his and stops at nothing to get her. And THAT is where all her problems begin.
After reading her paranormal books, Lauren Stewart has quickly become one of my favorite authors so I jumped at the opportunity to review this book when asked. Let me tell you that about 50% into the story, I started to get a bit frustrated with it. Why you ask? Because, frankly, Summer irritated the snot out of me with her hijinks and sarcastic rejoinders to mostly everything. But, I kept reading, because of my commitment to the review.
When I reached 65% in the story, I had a mindset shift. I "GOT IT". Summer was absolutely created that way for a reason. She is an unlikely "heroine" because she just couldn't seem to stay out of trouble...trouble that she often created...but trouble nonetheless. So, in that respect, Stewart's writing is genius because I was as irritated with Summer as Detective Ronin was. She raised my blood pressure. LOL.
With my new mindset, I reflected on the first half of the story as I read the rest of it and thoroughly enjoyed the story's direction. It was very well done and it was masterful the way that Summer stumbled into who done it! Stewart created a story that was, in fact, witty, detailed, and highly engaging. I never expected the story to end as it did but it was an excellent and fitting ending.
Lovers of comedic mysteries will greatly enjoy this story. I look forward to seeing what's next for Ms. Summer.
Character Line-up: Summer and Will
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December 23, 2015
I became a fan of Lauren Stewart after reading Darker Water. No Experience Required was a different kind of read, but one of the most witty books I've ever had the pleasure to read.
Summer Light Rains was raised in a hippie commune. After spending her earlier life growing up in this commune, it forms the way she sees the world. She decides, after the friend she had grown up with Gandhi Willow, had left the commune that she too would go to college in the outside world. Only she made a mistake in the college he went to and ended up losing track. His mother, Daisy, said “Summer and Gandhi were inseparable when they were little. It was just adorable.” and “Summer was in love with Gandhi, though we didn't know it until he went away. She didn't stop crying for weeks or was it months?” And a large part of why she lost track of Gandhi was Daisy's fault. If she hadn't been weeping so hysterically when she told me what college he'd gone to, I would have met up with him at Yale University in Connecticut instead of going to Hale University in Alabama. A Single letter had ruined all my dreams.
Not seeing the world quite the same as others causes Summer to get into a lot of messes. Life is a series of choices. We determine our own path by which of those choices we make. In the commune, “I'd spent most of my life around people who don't wear deodorant. We all knew we stank. It was just something you got used to.”
When she meets up with Gandhi for the 1st time outside of the commune, who is now Will Rhys, it all happened in slow motion. All we needed was a beach or a field full of flowers. We were being pulled to each other like compass needles at opposite sides of the North Pole. I swear I heard music play when our lips met. It was incredible—everything I'd thought it would be. It was the kiss of the century.
But there was an ex-girlfriend named Aubrey who was upset with the man now named Will, because he was afraid of commitment, and a roommate from Hell named Daria, a best-friend named Jorden, and a Detective Ronin investigating who murdered the superstar Dustin Wiles. “My family always taught me to trust my intuition—it was smarter than I'd ever be.” We always have a choice, make the right one.
There are way many twist and turns, but plenty of action, amazing characters, but a warning to Summer to stay out of trouble, but I doubt for her it is possible. There will be more adventures with Summer, because what doesn't kill us should make us laugh. A 5* read for me.
Summer Light Rains was raised in a hippie commune. After spending her earlier life growing up in this commune, it forms the way she sees the world. She decides, after the friend she had grown up with Gandhi Willow, had left the commune that she too would go to college in the outside world. Only she made a mistake in the college he went to and ended up losing track. His mother, Daisy, said “Summer and Gandhi were inseparable when they were little. It was just adorable.” and “Summer was in love with Gandhi, though we didn't know it until he went away. She didn't stop crying for weeks or was it months?” And a large part of why she lost track of Gandhi was Daisy's fault. If she hadn't been weeping so hysterically when she told me what college he'd gone to, I would have met up with him at Yale University in Connecticut instead of going to Hale University in Alabama. A Single letter had ruined all my dreams.
Not seeing the world quite the same as others causes Summer to get into a lot of messes. Life is a series of choices. We determine our own path by which of those choices we make. In the commune, “I'd spent most of my life around people who don't wear deodorant. We all knew we stank. It was just something you got used to.”
When she meets up with Gandhi for the 1st time outside of the commune, who is now Will Rhys, it all happened in slow motion. All we needed was a beach or a field full of flowers. We were being pulled to each other like compass needles at opposite sides of the North Pole. I swear I heard music play when our lips met. It was incredible—everything I'd thought it would be. It was the kiss of the century.
But there was an ex-girlfriend named Aubrey who was upset with the man now named Will, because he was afraid of commitment, and a roommate from Hell named Daria, a best-friend named Jorden, and a Detective Ronin investigating who murdered the superstar Dustin Wiles. “My family always taught me to trust my intuition—it was smarter than I'd ever be.” We always have a choice, make the right one.
There are way many twist and turns, but plenty of action, amazing characters, but a warning to Summer to stay out of trouble, but I doubt for her it is possible. There will be more adventures with Summer, because what doesn't kill us should make us laugh. A 5* read for me.
August 15, 2014
First off I'd like to send a big shout-out and thank you to Lauren Stewart for considering me to read her new novel (and provide her with my honest review) before it became available to the general public. Since I was already a huge fan of hers, I didn't even think twice when she approached me.
Second, my apologies for the delay in posting my review. So many books, so little time. :)
Already a fan of Lauren Stewart, I was not disappointed reading "No Experience Required," the first book in what looks like to be a terrific series. A mystery novel, it's a fun and witty story full of humour with a bit of sarcasm thrown in that will keep you entertained from beginning to end. But what makes this novel really shine is the female protagonist, Summer Rains. Even though she grew up in a commune, you wouldn't really know it. She's witty, funny, quirky, and sarcastic; overall has a heart of gold. She's always there for her friends; always giving a hand when needed - which I believe at times gets her into a little trouble. For such a terrifc person, I wasn't a fan of her best friend Jordan, or her former roommate, Daria. I totally thought these two were the most inconsiderate people I'd ever come across and Summer deserves better friends; in fact, she deserves to be treated a lot better than how they actually were to her.
It wouldn't be a proper story without a love interest, and it seems that there are possibly two in Summer's future. There's Will, the boy she grew up with at the commune and really cared for; and Detective Ronin, who at first didn't seem to be too interested in Summer but that starts to change towards the end. I personally hope she ends up with Ronin as Will doesn't seem to know exactly what he wants. I'm hoping there's some passion and heat between Summer and Ronin in the next book as I didn't feel there was any in this one. Hence the four stars.
In the end I highly recommend this novel to those who want to curl up with a fun book, whether at home or at the beach. I look forward to the next book in the "Summer Rains" series. If you haven't read any of Lauren Stewart's novels, I highly suggest you do as you're missing out on some terrific story-telling.
Second, my apologies for the delay in posting my review. So many books, so little time. :)
Already a fan of Lauren Stewart, I was not disappointed reading "No Experience Required," the first book in what looks like to be a terrific series. A mystery novel, it's a fun and witty story full of humour with a bit of sarcasm thrown in that will keep you entertained from beginning to end. But what makes this novel really shine is the female protagonist, Summer Rains. Even though she grew up in a commune, you wouldn't really know it. She's witty, funny, quirky, and sarcastic; overall has a heart of gold. She's always there for her friends; always giving a hand when needed - which I believe at times gets her into a little trouble. For such a terrifc person, I wasn't a fan of her best friend Jordan, or her former roommate, Daria. I totally thought these two were the most inconsiderate people I'd ever come across and Summer deserves better friends; in fact, she deserves to be treated a lot better than how they actually were to her.
It wouldn't be a proper story without a love interest, and it seems that there are possibly two in Summer's future. There's Will, the boy she grew up with at the commune and really cared for; and Detective Ronin, who at first didn't seem to be too interested in Summer but that starts to change towards the end. I personally hope she ends up with Ronin as Will doesn't seem to know exactly what he wants. I'm hoping there's some passion and heat between Summer and Ronin in the next book as I didn't feel there was any in this one. Hence the four stars.
In the end I highly recommend this novel to those who want to curl up with a fun book, whether at home or at the beach. I look forward to the next book in the "Summer Rains" series. If you haven't read any of Lauren Stewart's novels, I highly suggest you do as you're missing out on some terrific story-telling.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 17, 2015
I read / listened to this book in audio format via audible.com. I always choose audios first as the narrators tend to breathe life into the stories, thus giving them a heart beat. Audios also allow us to read our books and still get things done such as working, walking, chores and so on. They also make great companions for the long road trips!
This is a story about a girl who moves away from her hippie commune. Summer Light Rains is her given name by her huge family. Summer leaves the commune to explore the world just to see what she has missed in the last 18 years. While out and about Summer does a few modeling jobs and a video with a well known celebrity who hounds her for a date. Summer finally says yes just to get some embarrassing pictures of this celebrity who takes girls to bed and uses them. After Summer leaves his room, he is found dead the next morning.
This book is a total riot from start to finish! Summer is always getting herself into trouble. As time goes by Summer runs into another person Ghandi who also left the commune. Ghandi changed his name legally and is now known as Will. Summer has always had a crush on him. Read along as Summer who is the last known person to this this celebrity alive (it's all hush hush) takes it upon herself to discover who really killed him. This book is a barrel of laughs!
The author, Lauren Stewart did a fabulous job writing this book. I loved it! The plot is exciting and adventurous. The narrator, Maya Tremblay did a great job delivering this story to us too! With all her magical voices (even Valley girl voices & Hippie voices) along with accents keeps us highly entertained with this narration! Wonderful job ladies! A true 5 star read!
This is a story about a girl who moves away from her hippie commune. Summer Light Rains is her given name by her huge family. Summer leaves the commune to explore the world just to see what she has missed in the last 18 years. While out and about Summer does a few modeling jobs and a video with a well known celebrity who hounds her for a date. Summer finally says yes just to get some embarrassing pictures of this celebrity who takes girls to bed and uses them. After Summer leaves his room, he is found dead the next morning.
This book is a total riot from start to finish! Summer is always getting herself into trouble. As time goes by Summer runs into another person Ghandi who also left the commune. Ghandi changed his name legally and is now known as Will. Summer has always had a crush on him. Read along as Summer who is the last known person to this this celebrity alive (it's all hush hush) takes it upon herself to discover who really killed him. This book is a barrel of laughs!
The author, Lauren Stewart did a fabulous job writing this book. I loved it! The plot is exciting and adventurous. The narrator, Maya Tremblay did a great job delivering this story to us too! With all her magical voices (even Valley girl voices & Hippie voices) along with accents keeps us highly entertained with this narration! Wonderful job ladies! A true 5 star read!
January 1, 2013
Summer hoped that she could get rid of the pop star who was stalking her and concocted a bullet proof plan of making that happen. Honestly, what could go wrong? The next morning though she finds out that someone else's plan to get rid of the pop star was to murder him making her the last known person to see him alive. So naturally Summer ends up being a main suspect with a gorgeous detective investigating the case. As if that wasn't bad enough, her only help comes from the man she's been in love with since she was twelve and his beautiful girlfriend.
Solving this case becomes number one on her to do list. Can she find out who murdered the pop star before she ends up getting hurt herself or getting into more trouble?
I thought this book was witty and found myself chuckling throughout the book. I read this book in less than 24 hours. It was a pager turner to say the least. The two men in her life, Detective Ronin and Gandhi "Will" Rhys are devilishly handsome and I loved the chemistry between them and Summer. I thought that this was a good start to a good series and I looking forward to the next one. If you like humor and mystery mixed together, than this book is for you. Personally I'm looking forward to finding out what Summer could possibly get into next. A whole lot, I bet!! I can't wait to find out.
Solving this case becomes number one on her to do list. Can she find out who murdered the pop star before she ends up getting hurt herself or getting into more trouble?
I thought this book was witty and found myself chuckling throughout the book. I read this book in less than 24 hours. It was a pager turner to say the least. The two men in her life, Detective Ronin and Gandhi "Will" Rhys are devilishly handsome and I loved the chemistry between them and Summer. I thought that this was a good start to a good series and I looking forward to the next one. If you like humor and mystery mixed together, than this book is for you. Personally I'm looking forward to finding out what Summer could possibly get into next. A whole lot, I bet!! I can't wait to find out.
December 26, 2013
Did anyone else want to smack Will?
I loved this book. Summer was very easy to relate to and it did seem like trouble followed her everywhere. I would of love if maybe at certain at certain times it had view points from Will and Ronin. Then maybe I would have liked Will more. To me he just came off as an indecisive immature jerk. One minute he seems all into Summer but then Audrey. It's like he is trying to figure at a way to keep both of them. Then toward the end when he is telling Summer that Audrey is smart, and blah blah that Audrey is a good choice and even though it should be her he picks he doesn't want her. But yet he isn't ready for Summer either. It just seemed like he was insulting Summer by saying how awesome Audrey is and why it seems odd that he isn't picking her over Summer.
As for Detective Ronin, I loved him and his grumpy attitude. To be honest I felt way more chemistry between him and Summer than I did with Summer and Will. I really hope to see a lot more of him in future books. (wink wink)
I loved this book. Summer was very easy to relate to and it did seem like trouble followed her everywhere. I would of love if maybe at certain at certain times it had view points from Will and Ronin. Then maybe I would have liked Will more. To me he just came off as an indecisive immature jerk. One minute he seems all into Summer but then Audrey. It's like he is trying to figure at a way to keep both of them. Then toward the end when he is telling Summer that Audrey is smart, and blah blah that Audrey is a good choice and even though it should be her he picks he doesn't want her. But yet he isn't ready for Summer either. It just seemed like he was insulting Summer by saying how awesome Audrey is and why it seems odd that he isn't picking her over Summer.
As for Detective Ronin, I loved him and his grumpy attitude. To be honest I felt way more chemistry between him and Summer than I did with Summer and Will. I really hope to see a lot more of him in future books. (wink wink)
March 27, 2015
I have read this book months ago and am still eagerly awaiting the next in the series.
The main character is Summer, a young woman who grew up in a commune and is going from job to job to pay her bills. Summer is a bit ditzy, but I liked her anyway. She gets into trouble when a famous singer is murdered and Summer was the last person to see him alive. He had been badgering Summer to go out with him and she only went to his hotel room to say No, but thanks no.
After a kind of boring bit about her home town, she decides to go to the cops (after all, they will find her) and meets Detective Ronin. And that is when it became interesting. I am a sucker for handsome detectives and the bickering between Ronin and Summer was like music to my ears.
OK, so the mystery was a bit so so and Summer does some stupid things, but the overall story was likeable and.. did I mention Detective Ronin????
Yup, the one and only reason I look forward to Summer Rains number two. Ronin, Ronin, Ronin. And I hope the next one(s) will contain some HOT scenes :-)
The main character is Summer, a young woman who grew up in a commune and is going from job to job to pay her bills. Summer is a bit ditzy, but I liked her anyway. She gets into trouble when a famous singer is murdered and Summer was the last person to see him alive. He had been badgering Summer to go out with him and she only went to his hotel room to say No, but thanks no.
After a kind of boring bit about her home town, she decides to go to the cops (after all, they will find her) and meets Detective Ronin. And that is when it became interesting. I am a sucker for handsome detectives and the bickering between Ronin and Summer was like music to my ears.
OK, so the mystery was a bit so so and Summer does some stupid things, but the overall story was likeable and.. did I mention Detective Ronin????
Yup, the one and only reason I look forward to Summer Rains number two. Ronin, Ronin, Ronin. And I hope the next one(s) will contain some HOT scenes :-)
February 12, 2013
I liked this story -- Summer is quirky and entertaining. The story is is first person, through Summer's POV. Summer grew up in a commune and is in some ways very naive about the world. She meets up wit the boy that she had a crush on as a child (Gan, short for Gahndi - who now goes by the name Will). Will is in an on again/off again relationship. Summer and her best friend, Jordan are doing modeling/acting jobs to try to make some money. Though well intentioned, Summer makes some choices that lead to her and Jordan being implicated in the murder of a star. I did not like that the characters, particularly her best friend and Gan/Will seemed to use her for their own needs throughout the story and Summer just seemed to act as if that was ok. Although, the story line seems to be focused on her eventually ending up with Gan/Will, I thought that there were more sparks between her and the detective.
October 14, 2015
I really liked this book. Summer Rains was raised in a hippie commune with her best friend Gandhi. Gandhi finally leaves the commune to go out into the world and Summer decides to follow him only making a mistake as to what collage he is going to and she losses track of him. She is trying to find work and has a lot of odd jobs. One lands her in trouble as a Pop star wants to get real friendly so he starts having her stalked by his manager. The Pop star comes up dead and she is the person of interest. The things Summer goes through are laugh out loud hilarious and keep you guessing as to what she is going to do next. This was a fun read! Oh, and she does find Gandhi again only his name is Will now.
January 17, 2016
I had a difficult time getting through this book. It was just so... trendy? "Oh lookit me, I don't eat meat and grew up on a commune and take slutty modeling jobs even though I'm not a slutty person, teehee!"
The main character just grated on me. A lot. And it didn't help that I pegged the murderer as soon as said murderer was introduced. Because of that, I bounced between being annoyed and being bored. I don't know. It just wasn't my cup of tea. It's worth mentioning that I've read worse, but that's the only endorsement I'm going to give it.
If you're looking for depth and substance, this is not the book for you. If you want a shallow, easy murder mystery and covet the LA lifestyle, then I highly recommend this book.
The main character just grated on me. A lot. And it didn't help that I pegged the murderer as soon as said murderer was introduced. Because of that, I bounced between being annoyed and being bored. I don't know. It just wasn't my cup of tea. It's worth mentioning that I've read worse, but that's the only endorsement I'm going to give it.
If you're looking for depth and substance, this is not the book for you. If you want a shallow, easy murder mystery and covet the LA lifestyle, then I highly recommend this book.
February 9, 2013
This book was hilarious and followed the antics of the aimless Summer Rains trying to solve the murder of a pop star heartthrob. Though drifting through life, Summer was likeable as she possessed integrity and intelligence. There may be a potential love triangle in future books and I am hoping for her to hook up with detective, Ronin, as their banter was funny. I did not like Gan/Will as much as he seemed to be so determined to lose his roots. Looking forward to more mayhem and romance from Summer.
December 28, 2012
No Experience Required by Lauren Stewart.
I give this 5 stars.
This is a fun comedic-mystery. I had a smile on my face threw out the whole book. I have to say that who killed the pop star was a mystery till the end for me, I was so focus on everything that was going on with Summer I didn't think to much on who did it. Love Summer, she really draws you in.
Looking forward to the next one.
Also this is a nice clean read.
This was given to me by the author for a honest review.
R2R
I give this 5 stars.
This is a fun comedic-mystery. I had a smile on my face threw out the whole book. I have to say that who killed the pop star was a mystery till the end for me, I was so focus on everything that was going on with Summer I didn't think to much on who did it. Love Summer, she really draws you in.
Looking forward to the next one.
Also this is a nice clean read.
This was given to me by the author for a honest review.
R2R
April 9, 2014
Was looking for something light since I have a hellish week going on, plus I have a genre challenge on to read "humor". This was light and easy - I knocked it off in about a day. It was a little silly for me. I liked the character of the cop but most of the others were just too extreme. As for the romantic interest he just could not make up his mind, which I found quite UNSEXY.
Probably a 2.5 but because I'm nice I round up ;)
Probably a 2.5 but because I'm nice I round up ;)
April 21, 2015
This was a rather fun read...at times.I listened to the Audible version gifted to me for an honest review.I really enjoyed Maya Tremblays interpretation of the main character.She was also good with the other characters.I found the story rather silly with an ending that left me wondering what the outcome really was.
January 1, 2013
R2R book :for an honest review
I really liked this book. The Characters were very easy to visualize. At time I wanted reach out and shake Summer. But growing up in a commune really would stunt your maturity,lol.....
It was a fun read with lots of laughs....
I really liked this book. The Characters were very easy to visualize. At time I wanted reach out and shake Summer. But growing up in a commune really would stunt your maturity,lol.....
It was a fun read with lots of laughs....
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