Member Reviews

I love the way Kletter tells a story, and I thoroughly enjoy how she turns the setting into a character in and of itself. But for some reason, I really disliked Blue’s storyline (especially the ending). A good beach read, though!

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I thought this book sounded so good but I was pretty disappointed by all of it. I didn't DNF it so I read until the end but I was tempted many times. I supposed I expected more drama and fast paced moments. This would be the perfect beach read for someone who wants little drama.

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I didn't love this book. I felt that the writing was strange and I didn't care about any of the characters. I can't stand when people live in the past and let events that happened years ago dictate their current life state. Yawn....pass.

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A truly fantastic story about the trials and tribulations of friendship - the ups and downs - the happiness and tragedy. Four friends carrying a lot of emotional baggage reunite after 20 years for a weekend to try and relive their teenage years. In the end they all realize the friends "are your first responders" and always there for you.

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This book was sooooo good. Just a really, really fantastic book about heartbreak and tragedy and four friends who get together 12 years after graduation, and a life changing event that is still difficult for them to overcome. It’s such a good book, I’m so glad to have the chance to read this early and I’m so glad this is my first completed book of 2020! What a great story to start the year out with! The ending had me ugly crying 😭 but it was just so good. I loved the characters and the dialog was so well done.

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Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the ARC of East Coast Girls.

Such a beautiful read! A coming of age story of the healing power of long lost friendships and reconnecting with family. KerryKletter's gorgeous writing makes you feel like you are sitting there in person in the Hamptons observing this story unfolding.

Anyone who has experienced a serious fall out with a long term friendship due to a bad event will find themselves reflecting on their own experience while reading Hannah, Maya, Blue and Renee's story.

East Coast Girls is a perfect mix of emotions as well as laugh out loud moments. The minute I finished this book I went to research what other books Kerry Kletter has written. I immediately put The First Time She Drowned on my TBR list. Do not wait to make this a summer read due to the subject and location of this novel---read it the moment you can get your hands on it no matter what time of the year it is!

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Excellent writing, beautiful prose, well fleshed out characters and relationships, and funny at times. The kind of book you're sad to finish because you'll miss the writing, the story, the characters and the world they exist in.

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This is a book of friendships, the ones we think will last forever and that nothing can change them. We are wrong.
These 4 friends haven’t didn’t a summer out at Montauk in 12 years. That is about to change. I love books about friendships and nostalgic summers and escpecially Montauk. I did laugh and cry but the characters sometimes made it difficult to like

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When women have a bond that strong, it is not friends but rather family. This relationship between the four personified this. Despite a traumatic event that tore them apart mentally and emotionally, they knew they needed each other in order to be complete. I loved the line regarding the sea otters.

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This was an easy read. There was enough of a plot to keep me interested. The characters were a bit overdone. Too immature (Maya) too angry (Blue), Too damaged( Hannah). It lacks the intelligence that a believable novel has. Thanks for my advanced copy.

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This book wasn’t as good as I was hoping it would be. It had a great concept and plot with a good character development but I just found it ok. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book for my honest review.

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I wish I could give this book a better review, but it really didn't resonate with me. The characters were not very realistic, and quite annoying at times. Each one had their faults - as people do - but it seemed that they were over the top with them. While I did enjoy the premise and the story throughout, having stronger characters would have made this story better and perhaps more realistic. Also, a times, the writing didn't make a lot of sense: "Renee was sleek-haired, and thin as an hour". Also, "A hush over the group like a winter." are two prime examples.

While it didn't work for me, I'm sure it will for others.

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Accidentally sent the wrong review on another book, please ignore previous review. I have not reviewed this book yet.. When i read the book, i will send the review.

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I had a slight preconceived idea of were I thought this story was going to go...I was very wrong, but in a good way. The main "reason" was strung out to keep you from guessing, done in a way that made you want to not put the book down!

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‘East Coast Girls,’ is a beautifully written story about the power of friendship. Four best friends: Hannah, Blue, Maya, and Renee “on the cusp of their lives” took their yearly trip to Blue’s grandmother’s house by Montauk Beach. With the warning of a beach psychic, which the four best friends quickly ignore. A few hours later, a tragedy strikes so horrific it kills their innocence, tests their friendship and forever changes their lives. Twelve years later, the four best friends reluctantly arrive at Blue’s Grandmother’s house with bags of emotional luggage. Together, the four best friends must learn to forgive each other, confront their past, rebuild their friendship and reclaim their lives back.

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4 girl friends enjoyed time at the beach as teenagers, and while they made a pact to return every year as adults, life happened and those visits failed to occur. Finally, an effort is made, and the 4 women are all back together, though with some fractures in those friendships. This book is focused on the issues each woman is dealing with, either individually or as the group. A good amount of the book is recalling memories from their youth, and I found myself starting to skim through those sections more quickly.

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I really enjoyed this book! The author did a good job of grabbing my attention at the beginning and keeping it throughout the book with the way it was laid out. There's just a touch of the mystery to keep it interesting and keep you wanting to find out what happens! I would definitely recommend this book for a quick read.

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This was a really good story that I read in one sitting. It centers around Maya, Hannah, Blue, and Renee, who were close childhood friends but have become disconnected from each other over the ensuing 12 years after finishing high school, and after an event that changed the course of their lives. They reconvene for a last weekend at Blue's family's beach house in the Hamptons before it is sold, and reveal some of the secrets that had fractured their friendship over the years.

Each character was very different but the connections between them were believable. They were alternately funny, strong, vulnerable, and frustrating in a way that felt authentic. Though flawed, I could easily empathize with them, and felt that the author did a great job of really making the reader "know" them.. They dynamics between the characters, as well as the less prominent characters in the book, felt real. The story itself was fast-paced and kept me reading as the secrets unfolded.

I have only a couple minor nits with this book. One is around how Hannah was described as having a crippling germ phobia in the beginning of the book, but as the story continued, she is at restaurants, the beach, on a train, on a boat, and at a carnival with no real symptoms of this terrible phobia other than a need to take xanax. This felt unrealistic to me based on how she behaved at the beginning of the book. I assume the author was trying to portray the gravity of Hannah's situation from the get-go, but think that it came on too strong and left me disconcerted by Hannah's actions over the rest of the book. My other (even smaller) nit was that there was never any allusion to how Blue got her name, which I think we can all agree, is a very unique name. I wanted to know what the story was behind it but the book never goes there.

I would definitely recommend this book- a fast read with just the right amount of humor and pain that endears you to these unique characters.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Thank you to Harlequin and Net Galley for an e-ARC for this title in exchange for my honest review. This was a title that caught my interest from page one. Four friends, all different personalities and lives, but pulled to the place they all loved as young women. Trying to "recreate" those times, but with a shattering event that altered the course of the lives of each of them is not an easy task. Sometimes you have to face your fears, face those you are most worried about losing and turn it into something new. The characters were interesting and complex. I highly recommend East Coast Girls.

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‪Oh wow. No one writes as beautifully as Kerry Kletter does. I repeatedly went back & reread many lines (& also read them to coworkers) because EAST COAST GIRLS is gorgeous. & powerful, & heartbreaking & funny & so very compelling. (less)

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