At first, East Coast Girls seemed like a promising beach read about friendships and women, with a bit of suspense thriller thrown in. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. Each character that had a POV in the book was so overwritten that they became cliched stereotypes: the neurotic frazzled one, the blunt and carefree one, the tough tomboy. I found it hard to be sympathetic towards any of them.

The "suspense thriller" aspect of the story didn't work for me, either. A good thriller drops little reveals along the way, or you work out clues along with the main character(s). In East Coast Girls, there was just one huge secret that everyone alluded to throughout the story, which wasn't revealed until the very end. Because of this weak kind of storytelling and unlikable, unbelievable characters, I didn't find much to like in East Coast Girls. It's a shame, because it had potential.

What a beautifully written, raw, and evocative story. Kerry Kletter has a new fan and constant reader in me.

East Coast Girls is the lyrically-gifted story of four friends who experience a terrible tragedy during their final summer together before college...and the long-term mental and emotional suffering which ensues throughout the years that follow. It explores the bonds of friendship so perfectly...those complex, somewhat fractured relationships which had me in tears one minute, and snorting with laughter the next. Every character--from Hannah and her anxieties; to Blue and her tendency to shut down when dealing with emotion; to Maya and her over-the-top personality; and even to Renee, who doesn't seem to know exactly who she is without a man's validation--was so poignantly authentic. The writing was truly gorgeous.

This is a slow-burning, compelling, and life-affirming read, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to those who enjoy stories about forks in the road, and the absolute depth and longevity of female friendships...regardless.

4 brilliant stars

**Many thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

I heard about Kerry Kletter from author Jeff Zentner, and was pleased to receive a free copy to review. I'm so glad I did. This book about friendship and growth and love is just beautiful. The language and writing style is eloquent and evocative.

Four women are the main characters. The prologue opens in the past, their final summer together after high school. Blue, Renee, Hannah, and Maya have bright futures ahead, and are enjoying time together at Blue's Nana's beach house in Montauk. They make a vow to meet every year at Nana's in the future. But an unexpected turn of events results in a tragedy that changes the trajectory of the four girls' lives.

The remainder of the book takes place a dozen years in the future. Hannah is a reclusive germophobe, Maya can't keep a job and is in danger of losing her house, and Blue's just put Nana's Montauk house on the market. None of them are in touch with Renee . . . until Maya insists on one final long weekend before the beach house sells, and secretly invites Renee.

The story is told in alternating points of view and it's always clear whose head the reader is in. Kletter delineates the personalities of her characters beautifully, and I was sad to get to the book's end. It is a lovely, well-told story and I would recommend it highly. It is really a fabulously woven story.

I have been fortunate and lucky enough to be on a roll of reading great books lately, and East Coast Girls is one of them! I read this book in eight days and really enjoyed every page. The characters were my favorite part of the book (aside from the outstanding writing of course), they were so realistic, relatable, and likeable. It was easy to picture them in my mind during all of the scenes, almost like I was watching a TV series of it happening while reading the subtitles. Actually, I would LOVE to see this story and these characters in a series! There is so much to this book and it all fits together so perfectly, I absolutely loved it!

East Coast Girls is a fierce, friendship fueled summer story about what happens when you grow up and find yourself among your high school friends. East Coast Girls is very different from Kerry Kletter's YA release but her writing style carries through each book. The story dragged in some places but slowly seeing the mystery of what happened in the friends' past kept me reading.

When I read The First Time That She Drowned, I was left breathless, immediately searching for anything else that Kletter had written. So I was beyond excited to see an advance copy of this and was anxious to devour it.

I can’t say I was as swept away this time around, but I did enjoy the complexities of the characters and their relationship with each other. The four girls accurately represented many different insecurities and fears that I have experienced at various points in my life. Reading one character and feeling like you could relate so deeply, then reading another and relate to her, too. These girls were so real and human and flawed, it was a little exhausting but very comforting to stand in the middle and feel their storm.

Kletter does something magical in the way she describes grief and trauma and difficult emotions. The writing feels light and airy, even though it's such heavy content, because she has a way of balancing everything so you don't feel completely deflated, instead you feel heard and like your own emotions are given a voice.

You'll be reading along a seemingly normal passage, and then there will be an observed description or a character will make a comment that will just punch you in the gut because it's so accurate and seems so simple when described as Kletter can describe it. Seriously, she gets me every time.

I did feel a little bit of a drag towards the end, a lull as the story had circled back to tie up the loose ends of four people, but there were so many different passages that I would happily circle back to and read again. Really powerful writing.

Four best friends spend each summer in Montauk by the sea. The summer they turned eighteen would be their last trip for many years. After they returned home that summer, tragedy struck and for the next twelve years they had very little or no contact. Now twelve years later, Maya, has decided it has been far too long and has set up a weekend trip back to Montauk. Each of the four is scarred in some way from that tragic summer and the weekend doesn’t go quite as planned. Emotions are high as they confront each other as well as taking a deep look at themselves. As the weekend ends the two summers collide and their lives come full circle. A story of heartache, loss and the love that connects them all. A well written story with an ending full of hope.

An interesting story of 4 childhood friends, their friendships with each other, and how trauma from their teens still impacts them today. I was hoping for more of a beach read but this book is fraught with tension and bad decisions. I had a hard time getting invested in the characters. This one didn’t work out for me like I had hoped and I had a hard time finishing it. My thanks to the publisher for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

Amazing book!! This book is one of my new favorite feel good books. You just fell in love with the characters. Definitely one I will reread!

If you're looking for a beachy read to get you through this pandemic, East Coast Girls has you covered. Though so much more than just a beach read, the setting of Montauk is so wonderfully alive in this novel. It's a character in and of itself - making you feel like you are back in the beach house and town with these girls.

"But there was no way to explain a phobia to anyone who didn't have one."

Being in Hannah, Blue, and Maya's point of view in alternating chapters gives this novel a depth that I think would be lost if there was only one POV. I identified most with Hannah, having my own OCD tendencies and fear of germs. Some of the descriptions of her panic attacks and obsessions felt so real to me. (Trigger Warning: if you have an anxiety disorder or anxious tendencies, read this book when you are in a good place mentally).

"How much she'd taken those friendships for granted. No one told her how much harder it was in adulthood to build a family out of nothing. How unmoored a person could be without those connections. but then, who would have?"

I love the friendship of the four girls. The found family dynamic is one that I really enjoy in novels, and I liked the added depth that each of these girls felt uniquely rejected by their families, but bonded over the universal hurt that came with those rejections.

"May was starting to think that all people were in need of love's rescue and women were sometimes just more honest about it."

What I love most about this novel is how unique each woman is. Their stories are so different, but each one is super important and integral to both the group's past and future. In the end, nothing can keep them from coming together, to be there for each other during life's toughest moments.

This novel is about forgiveness, love, friendship, and most of all, growing up. What a wonderful follow up novel for Kerry Kletter.

East Coast Girls by Kerry Kletter releases May 26, 2020. You can preorder it wherever books are sold.

East Coast Girls is a story about the bonds between four childhood friends that suddenly become complicated and fractured after a traumatic incident when they were 18 years old. Now, after 12 years apart, the foursome decides to reunite at the cottage in the seaside town of Montauk, New York where they spent many summers in their youth in the hopes of renewing their friendship.

While the focus is on the friendship between Maya, Blue, Renee and Hannah, there's also a couple of mysteries. The main mystery is about what happened that fateful night 12 years previously that changed the trajectory of the friendship and the second focuses on what caused the rift between Blue and Renee. These two aspects linger through much of the story as readers are introduced to the characters and their issues but aren't resolved until much later in the book.

The four main characters have a lot of history and each stands out for different reasons. Unfortunately, Maya and Blue came off a little too strong and extreme with their reactions while Hannah was overly naïve leaving these three feeling predictable and bordering on irritating. I enjoyed the humorous banter between the women that added some levity and I liked how the mystery surrounding how their rift began was slowly revealed, but the actual revelation, while intense at times, was just okay and not as emotional as I had anticipated after the big build up.

This story, with its beautiful cover, is about forgiveness, moving on and the strong bonds of friendship. While it deals with some bigger issues, the story didn't quite get as deep as I had hoped, and I didn't connect strongly with the characters. I think, with its setting, characters and focus on friendship, East Coast Girls would be a good pick for fans of Elin Hilderbrand.

Wow. Just wow! This book left me with all the feels. Written eloquently with excellent complex characters, female friendships that make you feel good and yet break your heart at the same time. It was so complicated, with bits of love and humor and heartbreak. I couldn't get through it fast enough and yet I didn't want it to end. This is the first book by the author that I've read, but it won't be the last.

I would like to thank Kerry Kletter, Harlequin - Trade Publishing (U.S. & Canada) Mira and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book and exchange for a fair and honest review.

This story lightly resonated with me due to the close friends with troubled home lives coming together each summer at the beach for fun, love and freedom. This was how life went until their summer after high school when everything changed. Sisterhood friendships that fell apart but the girls try to rekindled the friendships years later. Yet again tragedy strikes pushing them apart yet again. Can they really continue to grow and be friends?

This story, while not as light as I expected, held my attention throughout. I love stories that go back and forth between present and past, uncovering details as it goes. This book was about a group of four close-knit friends who after a tragic night in high school, part ways for many years.

Their attempt to rekindle their friendship is full of challenge, hardship, and honesty, while ultimately proving how strong true friendships can be. While I did find the subject matter a little heavy for the current time we are living in, I did really enjoy this read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for an advanced copy.

Eat Coast Girls is at the heart a story about the power of female friendship. Kerry Kletter, with her beautiful prose, captivates readers in exploring the bonds of four friends - brought together for the first time in 12 years after a tragedy separated them. Definitely recommend this one!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

This was one that I liked. Not much happened, but I still liked it.
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I felt this was an enjoyable read. I really loved the complex friendships and the dynamics between the people. Their friendships seemed very authentic and real. It almost felt like you already knew them. This is one of those books you read them immediately tell your friends about.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

East Coast Girls is a bittersweet yet celebratory story of friendship and life. Maya, Hannah, Blue and Renee are four high school best friends who are experiencing their best summer in Montauk until that tragic night..

Twelve years later, Maya tries to bring them back together in Montauk, hoping life can be as fun and worriless as it used to be, but...

I fell head over heels with Kerry Kletter’s writing style. She was able to make our four main characters come to life and feel so real. I felt like I was one of them. My favorite character: Maya!!!!

Thank you so much Net Galley, Kerry Kletter and MIRA for this e-ARC in exchange for a honest review.

This book is everything and then some. It was so beautifully written, I fell in love with her writing style right away.
I couldn't get enough of this book, I can't wait to read more books by her.

This book was powerful, heartbreaking, funny, and all-around amazing.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book for my honest review.

I've been on a reunion kick apparently because this is another book about a group of friends that reunite after years of being apart. 

Unlike the last book I reviewed, this one does not include a disappearance. However, this group of friends still have secrets that all revolve around a terrible night that changed their lives forever.

I have to say I fell into this group of friends and I truly felt like one of their group. Immediately I realized that things had happened in their past that pushed them apart, however once upon a time they were as close as friends can be - even as close as family. I jumped through this book, needed to know what tragedy could have happened and how it happened that drove this once close group apart.

I love the different personalities of this group and how each one not just brought strength and uniqueness but each one also brought a downfall to the individual person. And as I got further into the book I couldn't help but want happiness for each woman, the happiness they all once thought they were so likely to achieve.

This book is about the past and the future, and it's about how friendship can overcome even the darkest of times.

If you're struggling right now, this may be a book you'll want to read.