Like Smoke in The Summer

Seventeen-year-old Senior Katherine Ellis has always played her role, and played it correctly: the Preacher's daughter, good and obedient, someone who'd never step out of the line her father strictly drew while her mother watched in silence. But it only takes is one party, one spark, and one boy to unravel everything.

Jonah Maxwell is everything she's supposed to avoid and hate. Aloof, unpredictable, a storm in human form. that clouds the crevices of her mind. But when their worlds collide on a cool April night, something shifts. Sticks. An as stolen moments turn into lingering glances, texts give way to tangled emotions, and sneaking out becomes a pattern; Katharine finds herself crossing lines she'd always sworn she never would.

Over the course of one sweltering, reckless summer, the girl known to follow every rule spirals head first for the boy who makes her question all of them. But what starts as a quiet rebellion quickly spirals into something deeper, more impulsive.

Something that might come with consequences they aren't ready to face. Because sometimes the love we want burns fast, leaving us with marks that don't fade, no matter how far you run.

For fans of bitter sweet slow burns, messy but unforgettable first loves, and tales of fining growth in the oddest of places: This is a novel about the people we become when we finally decide to let ourselves want more than we think we're allowed.