Another 5 star read from Brenda Novak!

What would you do if you discovered that you have two half sisters that you didn’t know existed? Would you want to get to know them or is this better left alone? This is the challenge of three young women.

Serenity is a writer who took a DNA test as research for a book she was writing. She was surprised to find that she had two half-sisters that she didn’t know existed. What was her mother hiding from her?

Regan is an ad executive who resigned her position after a bad decision involving her boss. Her mother is a workaholic control freak. Regan is afraid to tell her mother that she quit her job. She feels that she let her mother down.

Lorelei has a lot of emotional baggage. She was raised in a series of foster homes. She took a DNA test because she was desperate to to find the family that she didn’t have when she was growing up.

The women and Lorelei’s four year old daughter meet at Serenity’s family’s cabin at Lake Tahoe to get know each other hoping to discover the secret of their connection.

This is a story of three women who are much stronger than they realize finding strength and comfort in family they didn’t know they had.

I recommend One Perfect Summer to anyone who enjoys women’s fiction. The book is filled with emotional highs and lows, laughter and tears. Brenda Novak never disappoints.

I received an ARC of this book from the author and publisher in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I simply could not put this book down. It was so compelling and riveting I had to tear myself away for brief respites, but then rushed back to pick up the story. Three women discover they are sister through DNA. They spend one summer together at Lake Tahoe, trying to unravel the mystery of their parentage. That answer isn't revealed until almost the very end. Each sister is grappling with her own set of troubles. My favorite character was Sawyer because he sizzled. The least likable was Mark, who was a complete ass. Novak's books keep getting better and better, I tried to read this book slowly to savor it, but I had to keep reading to find out what happened.

One Perfect Summer was my first read by Brenda Novak and am so glad I read a book by her!!

I absolutely loved the dynamic duo of the half sisters of Lorelei, Reagan, and Serenity! Each of these women are dealing with life challenges and trying to respect the new found relationships they have as sisters. I thought the relationships between the sisters were beautiful and the acceptance/love of understanding and acceptance through the secrets behind them all being half sisters.

I do have to say that last bit of the book was packed with information that was a bit of an overload. I think maybe if the author would have spread this out and didn't give so much at the end... the story could have flowed a little better.

Overall, I enjoyed this one and can definitely see why Novak has so many fans! I definitely will be reading more from this author.

4 stars

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Harlequin/Mira for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Pub day: 4/7/20
Published to GR: 2/2/20

I am a long time Brenda Novak fan! While I did enjoy this book, it did fall a little flat for me. The three women finding out they shared DNA and their navigation of this this difficult information was fascinating. The storyline was complex and told through the sisters different voices. I liked the addition of the brothers next door and their story. Overall, I felt this book lacked the emotional warmth/depth I typically expect from Brenda Novak.

This was an interesting take on the genetic kits that are currently a hit! This was a modern, light, easy read. Each of the sisters is at a crossroads in life and find each other just when they needed it. I loved reading about their relationship and how they come to be sisters by heart. I wanted more depth, considering that they are all dealing with big life events. However, this was a lovely story and great for a lighter read. My thanks to the publisher for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

When Serenity Alston swabbed her cheek for 23andMe, she joked about uncovering some dark ancestral scandal. The last thing she expected was to discover two half sisters she didn’t know existed. Suddenly, everything about her loving family is drawn into question. And meeting these newfound sisters might be the only way to get answers.

The book covers the three women meeting up at a summer home in Lake Tahoe and how their relationship blossoms. This author is my all-time favorite and I read everything she writes. And I was not disappointed in this story. It keeps your interest and keeps you turning page after page. The story divides between Serenity (whose husband is in jail), Lorelei (whose husband cheated on her) and Reagan (who is having an affair in the office)....with all this drama going on in the background the women endeavor to find out how they are half sisters and dig up some pretty amazing theories.

Again, Brenda Novak gives us a great story. Place this book (available April 2020) on your TBR list. #NetGalley #five stars

Three women take DNA tests and find out that they are half sisters. The journey that Serenity, Reagan, and Lorelei begin is fascinating and difficult for them at times. Each woman is dealing with serious life issues but also wants her sisters to respect her, so they have to find their way to relate to each other. I loved the interaction between the sisters and their struggles for understanding and acceptance. Sisterhood at its best. Recommended.

I enjoyed One Perfect Summer, but it's definitely not a favorite from this author. The book centers around three women - Serenity, Reagan, and Lorelei - who discover when each takes a DNA test ,that they are half sisters. Serenity and Reagan are both pretty shocked, as they thought they knew everything about their families, and Lorelei, who was raised in foster care, is just glad to find family. The three decide to meet at a Lake Tahoe cabin owned by Serenity's family.

The three sisters are each facing rough personal situations. As they meet and spend time together, they have to face those personal challenges and decide what sort of a relationship if any, that they want with one another.

I liked all three main characters, although I had some reservations about each of them at one point or another. Lucy, the daughter of Lorelei, added to the story, and I wholeheartedly enjoyed her character.

It felt like the storyline tried to cover almost too much. Trying to provide resolution to each of their personal crisis, plus the puzzle of exactly how the family situation between them fit together, was so much that the last part of the book felt rather rushed to me.

I enjoyed reading the book, but didn't care for it as much as Novak's romantic suspense or contemporary romance. I received this ARC from the publisher and this is my honest review.

One Perfect Summer follows the lives of three women who find out they are related through DNA testing. Each woman is going through a period of transition in their lives due to circumstances not in their control. It is interesting to watch them approach their individual situations in different ways. The sisters have made the connection that they are related and spend the summer at one women's family cabin in Lake Tahoe. The sisters help each other through their difficulties while trying to determine how they have become related. The mystery portion is not as much as I would have liked although still providing an interesting ending.
Brenda Novak is one of my auto buys and she never disappoints. Good book, enjoyable read. Definitely one to pick up.

The current popularity of DNA testing to research family history may provide shocking information and turn your world upside down. That is the case in One Perfect Summer when Serenity discovers she has 2 half sisters. Each sister is dealing with her own problems, but a summer together may provide the opportunity for each of them to move forward.

Recently I finished reading “One Perfect Summer” by Brenda Novak. She is an American author that has written over 50 books which she received numerous awards for including three RITA award nominations. Some of her most widely known series include the “Whiskey Creek” series.
“One Perfect Summer” follows Novak’s traditional genre of writing, contemporary or women’s fiction. I affectionally dub this genre “Chick Lit”. I have read books by Brenda Novak before, however, it had been a while. “One Perfect Summer” was a good book to reintroduce me to Novak and her style of writing. Her style of writing varied in sentence length, structure, and word choice. While some sentences were short and easily flowed, others were longer which provided a fluid reading experience.
“One Perfect Summer” takes place in Lake Tahoe, although the characters of the story are from a variety of locations. Novak described the setting in enough detail that allowed me to picture the scenes and locations, however, did not bore me with minute details. Having never been to the west, this book piqued my interest into wanting to visit the Tahoe area.
The overall theme of the story is the importance of family and finding yourself despite the challenges you are facing. Each of the characters showed tremendous growth in the face of their adversities, and together work to solve a mystery surrounding each of their lives.
Three women, who each took a DNA test, have found that they are sisters. After talking to each other for quite some time, they decide to meet at the lake house of Serenity’s family. Serenity, Reagen, and Lorelei have no clue how they could be related, let alone sisters and want to use this time to fill in the missing link. Each sister has their own set of challenges that they are dealing with. What was supposed to be a week together turns into one summer of family, discovery and personal growth.
Serenity is the character that I thought exhibited the least amount of growth. I feel the majority of her growth happened in the backstory of her character, which I would have loved to have read. However, her character does show challenges and growth.
Reagen was my favorite character of the three sisters. Her whole life is an upheaval over a mistake that she made while in New York. She had to overcome the failure she felt in herself, and completely change her life. To me, she had the most growth.
Lorelei was the character that I liked least. With unresolved feelings about her past, and the least information about her history, I felt like she was the hardest to like. The emotional turmoil that she is facing, coupled with the pain of her past, made it seem like she was the kind of person who must have “someone” in her life. I felt like of the three sisters she was the one who should have not tried to entertain the idea of any type of love interest.
This particular book was a longer read for me. It required more effort for me as it switched viewpoints among the three main characters in the story. I had to constantly redirect my mind to understand the dynamics of each character’s situation.
The last fifteen percent of the was packed full of information. Sometimes it felt as if there might have been too much thrown at me. There were also times in the story that I thought the storyline was going to go in a direction that would have been more suspenseful or provided a more climactic approach, and it didn’t.
While the ending provided me with the answers to many of the questions that arose during the reading, I feel like I didn’t get enough of the questions answered. I have unresolved questions that still linger which leads me to wonder if there will be a sequel to the story.
There are a few sensitive aspects that I feel need mentioned that could trigger a reader. There are elements in the story that revolved around foster care, adoption, rape, affairs, unplanned pregnancies, and abortion is also mentioned. None of these elements were describe in specific details, however, are vaguely mentioned.
The overall rating that I would give this book is a 3.5 out of 5. The storyline was suspenseful enough that it kept me reading, however, I think the storyline could have gone into other directions that would have increased my interest.
“One Perfect Summer” has an April 7, 2020 publication date from MIRA Publishing. It can be purchased from amazon in Kindle format for $9.99, paperback for $16.99 and hardcover for $27.99.
Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exhange for my honest review.

When a simple DNA test reveals three women living in California, Florida, and New York are half-siblings, they come together to meet, compare stories, and hopefully learn more about each other's different backgrounds. All have serious complications in their lives and relationships that each must deal with, but they decide to take a summer in Lake Tahoe to perhaps become a family. There are no easy answers, but I thoroughly enjoyed their journey in this good women's fiction read by Brenda Novak.

What would you do if you suddenly found out you had two sisters you didn't know about. This is the setting for One Perfect Summer...Serenity, Reagan and lorelei find out they are sisters when they do DNA swabs to learn more about their family. They decide to meet and spend a week together trying to figure out how they are related---but that week winds up being the whole summer. It's interesting to see the dynamics between these women and to learn their stories and how they are connects. Thank you NetGalley for an e arc in exchanged for an honest review!

Good read. Great plot which really made you empathise with the situation that arises. The book was well written. Nice characters that fitted well. Very interesting read to get your teeth into

ONE PERFECT SUMMER by Brenda Novak is one perfect read! I loved this story, the complex problems the girls were dealing with really got me involved. I really wanted Finn and Lorelei to find a way to be together. They just had so much chemistry! Five 🌟read for sure!

Honestly, not my favorite from Brenda Novak. While well written as always, the story jsut seemed to drag on a bit...no really excitement or action. If you are looking for a Women's Fiction type book with some drama and a lot of growth of characters this one might be for you.

Interesting story about sisters, the families we're raised by, and families we choose. It's all about connections, and this is done with Novack's usual flair

This story line is based on the results of a DNA sample from a women who is wondering about her family line. She finds out good and bad info but this is really a story about 3 strangers finding out they are half sisters and how they deal with this. Each character has their own personal problems to deal with on top of this. The story is told in sections with each sister writing their story and feelings. So it goes: sister 1, 2, 3, back to sister 1, 2, 3, repeat and repeat. Hard to make the story flow with this but I guess it was the best way to let readers know every ones thoughts and feeling. I enjoyed this book but I always enjoy this author

“ We were all raised by different families, have different backgrounds and experiences , and come with different emotional makeup-maybe even scars”
So begins the story of Lorelei, Reagan and Serenity. 3 siblings who just found each other , via DNA testing , but the big question is how are they related?
While they all have different reasons for connecting and are all at crossroads in their life, they all come together for a summer expecting support , strength , acceptance , connection and love.
Written only as this author can write , these characters , this storyline, this secret , is told by the truly master story teller Brenda Novak !
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest review!

BEST BOOK EVER!!! I will not repeat the synopsis. The characters and the story are amazing. Even with a fabulous ending I wanted this book to continue. It grabbed me by the throat and barely let me eat while I was reading it. Do yourself a favour and read it. You will not regret it. Highly recommended. Deserves way more than 5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin-Mira and the Author for the privilege of reading and reviewing this book.