The Summer I Chose Myself | Katarzyna Szczepkowska

 

Rated :8/10

The Summer I Chose Myself is a warm, uplifting women’s fiction novel about courage, emotional freedom, and learning to make choices without asking anyone else for permission.

Dorota is thirty-four and has spent years living carefully, quietly, and according to other people’s expectations. Her decision to travel alone to the seaside may seem small, but for her it becomes the beginning of a personal revolution. She creates a list of challenges: speak to a stranger, sit alone at a bar, wear something she would normally hide in, and allow herself to be noticed. What follows is a summer filled with new friendships, flirtation, difficult boundaries, and several very different possibilities for love.

What I enjoyed most was Dorota’s emotional development. Her transformation does not happen through one dramatic event. It grows through small but meaningful decisions: ending an uncomfortable phone call, saying no without apologising, starting a conversation herself, and recognising that being desired is not the same as being respected.

The romantic tension is engaging, especially because the men represent different kinds of attraction and emotional energy. Kamil is confident and exciting, Michał is calm and attentive, and Bartek sees Dorota in a way she has not yet learned to see herself. However, the most important relationship in the novel is ultimately Dorota’s relationship with herself.

Marta is also a memorable supporting character. Her friendship with Dorota brings humour, warmth, and encouragement without taking away Dorota’s independence.

The writing is light, accessible, and emotionally direct, making this an easy summer read. Some scenes and reflections are repetitive, but the repetition also reinforces Dorota’s gradual change and her struggle to break old habits.

This book will appeal to readers who enjoy:

• uplifting women’s fiction,
• contemporary romance,
• seaside settings,
• stories about starting over after thirty,
• female friendship,
• personal growth and emotional boundaries.

The Summer I Chose Myself is not only about choosing between different men. It is about a woman realising that she no longer has to wait for someone else to choose her.

A comforting and hopeful beach read with a meaningful message: sometimes the bravest love story begins when a woman finally chooses herself.