Books are food for my soul! Pull up a beach chair and stick your toes in the sand as the Jersey surf rolls in and out, now open your book and let your imagination take you away.

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner (Book Review)

 





Book Review



The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: May 10, 2022
Format: Hardcover - 414 pages
               Paperback - 432 pages
               Audiobook - 14 Hours 19 Minutes
               Kindle - 2104 KB
               Nook - 3 MB
ISBN (HC): 978-1501133572
ISBN (PB): 978-1501133589
ASIN (Audiobook): B099TCWF72
ASIN (Kindle):  B09969JBFG
BNID: 978-1501133596
Genre: Women's Fiction



Buy The Book:



Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I also purchaced a copy of the book from Authentic Books monthly book box subscription.



Book Description:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of That Summer comes another heartfelt and unputdownable novel of family, secrets, and the ties that bind.

When her twenty-two-year-old stepdaughter announces her engagement to her pandemic boyfriend, Sarah Danhauser is shocked. But the wheels are in motion. Headstrong Ruby has already set a date (just three months away!) and spoken to her beloved safta, Sarah’s mother Veronica, about having the wedding at the family’s beach house on Cape Cod. Sarah might be worried, but Veronica is thrilled to be bringing the family together one last time before putting the big house on the market.

But the road to a wedding day usually comes with a few bumps. Ruby has always known exactly what she wants, but as the wedding date approaches, she finds herself grappling with the wounds left by the mother who walked out when she was a baby. Veronica ends up facing unexpected news, thanks to her meddling sister, and must revisit the choices she made long ago, when she was a bestselling novelist with a different life. Sarah’s twin brother, Sam, is recovering from a terrible loss, and confronting big questions about who he is—questions he hopes to resolve during his stay on the Cape. Sarah’s husband, Eli, who’s been inexplicably distant during the pandemic, confronts the consequences of a long ago lapse from his typical good-guy behavior. And Sarah, frustrated by her husband, concerned about her stepdaughter, and worn out by challenges of life during quarantine, faces the alluring reappearance of someone from her past and a life that could have been.

When the wedding day arrives, lovers are revealed as their true selves, misunderstandings take on a life of their own, and secrets come to light. There are confrontations and revelations that will touch each member of the extended family, ensuring that nothing will ever be the same.

From “the undisputed boss of the beach read” (The New York Times), The Summer Place is a testament to family in all its messy glory; a story about what we sacrifice and how we forgive. Enthralling, witty, big-hearted, and sharply observed, this is Jennifer Weiner’s love letter to the Outer Cape and the power of home, the way our lives are enriched by the people we call family, and the endless ways love can surprise us.



Book Excerpt: https://a.co/gM8P4Mr




My Book Review:

In The Summer Place, author Jennifer Weiner transports the reader to the town of Truro on Cape Cod, that follows a post-Covid family saga and summer of change for a family when drama and a tangled web of secrets are uncovered at the family beach house. 

When Sarah and Eli Danhauser's daughter Ruby plans a Post-Covid wedding to live-in boyfriend Gabe Andrews in three months at grandmom Veronica's beach house on Cape Cod, what ensues is a summer of change for the entire family when they deal with complicated individual life issues and long-held secrets, and discover the true meaning of love, friendship, and family.

In The Summer Place, author Jennifer Weiner easily captivates her readers' attention with this beautifully written tale through a seamless and flowing storyline, a wonderful description of a tranquil seaside setting, and characters who draw you into their lives with a strong emotional pull, along with their complexities, flaws and secrets.

The Summer Place is a wonderful story told in the third person alternating narrative that engages the reader to follow along as this summer of change at the family's beach house will bring plenty of drama, long-held secrets, trials and tribulations, life challenges, and family issues for Sarah, Eli and Ruby Danhauser, Ruby's biological mother Annette Morgan, Ruby's boyfriend Gabe Andrews and his mother Rosa, Sarah's mother Veronica and brother Sam Weinberg. The alternating storylines will keep the readers on their toes, but it all culminates in a heartwarming ending that will leave them with a smile on their face. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that my favorite character was Veronica (Ronnie), I loved reading about her backstory and the wonderful description of her Cape Cod beach house that witnessed so many family changes throughout the years. Families are messy, but it is the family relationship bond that keeps everyone together!

The reader will be kept engaged as this wonderful story unfolds. With a cast of interesting characters, and a richly vivid description of Cape Cod, The Summer Place is a compelling story about love, friendship, family, and second chances in life. 




RATING: 5 STARS 





About The Author



Jennifer Weiner is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of nineteen books, including That Summer, Big Summer, Mrs. Everything, In Her Shoes, Good in Bed, and a memoir in essays, Hungry Heart. She has appeared on many national television programs, including the Today show and Good Morning America, and her work has been published in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, among other newspapers and magazines. Jennifer lives with her family in Philadelphia.












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