My French Summer by T.D. Arkenberg

In 1980, college sophomore Alec Van Horne approaches his final months as a teenager dreading the shame of eternal celibacy. But to lose his virginity he must first break out of the closet. He hatches a plan. Stay on campus over summer recess and spark a romance with a handsome upperclassman. Alec's mother has other ideas. Wracked with fears of mortality, Audrey decides that Paris is the perfect consolation prize for turning 50. Still viewing her youngest offspring as a child, she insists that Alec accompany her and his father, Walt, to Europe. There he'll learn he's not the only one with a dark secret.

Determined to be a miserable traveling companion, Alec finds romance instead. A hunky New Englander, Conor Walsh, is taking a gap year abroad before starting law school. Lifted from Alec's fantasies, Conor suggests a road trip to Normandy...on a motorcycle. The picturesque Norman coast fuels the young men's passions. But Alec's immaturity threatens the relationship. Inexperience, insecurity, and a sexy Swedish boy make him doubt Conor's sincerity. There's also Audrey. Will she let her boy grow up or doom him to a life of regret?

My French Summer is a coming-of-age story with all the ingredients of a great romance: grand adventure, luscious European setting, delicious cast of supporting characters, and a plot with plenty of surprises. Young love set in Paris and the French countryside will enchant readers of all ages who will laugh, cry, and root for Alec and Conor.