Member Reviews
For a women's fiction book I found this rather complex and a little different. The story is about a struggling mother/daughter relationship (Hazel/Jane), step siblings, half siblings and so much drama. Without giving too much away Jane is reluctant for Eve and Hazel to meet up with a man named Silas she hasn't seen in over 16 years in his cabin in Maine. Jane is remarried to Cam after being a single mom for so long, Does this sound mundane? It certainly was not.
I wanted to smack the heck out of a few characters for different infuriating reasons. This book had a surprising amount of depth for a women's fiction book. Not my usual women's fiction read but an author I would love to read more from. Definitely a nice summer read.
Thanks to Netgalley, Brianna Wolfson, and Harlequin Trade Publishing Mira for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Available: 6/23/20
It was okay. I didn't particularly connect with the story or characters and didn't find it to be too memorable.
Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was refreshing in that it was a different exploration of relationships - the struggle of a connection between Mother and Daughter, half siblings, step parents and more. It navigates the trials and celebrations of blended families with great style and creativity. Characters that you love and want to slap in equal measures are hard to describe in the written word, but Brianna Wolfson does it well!
A different read about relationships. A mother and daughter struggling to connect. Add to that a new family along with a half sister and an unknown birth father, the story had its share of complicated relationships.
My first book by this author, I loved the emotions evoked by the mother-daughter duo. The story was different enough to keep my interest flowing. Certain parts were a tad far fetched in this time and Era.
Overall, a good read.
I have read a lot of Women's fictions books, from women starting out on their own, new business and second chance love, but I think this is the first book I have ever read about a woman and her daughter and a struggling relationship, from the Mother trying to cope, and the daughter trying to find her place in a new family and discovering her birth father and a sister she never knew about, and it was an eye-opener to be sure!
That Summer in Maine doesn't start out in Maine at all, or even with a simple plotline, but with a woman called Jane, who is exhausted! After many years of being a single mother, Jane now has a husband and twins to add to her daughter Hazel. Hazel is struggling, she loves her new siblings but is struggling to find her place in her changed family and the loneliness she felt. But that all changed with one simple message, from a girl called Eve, who claims that she is Hazel's half-sister.
This tale is a little bittersweet for me, as someone who struggled and still somewhat struggles with her place in her own family, I'm like Hazel in the fact that she wants to know her father and half-sister, to connect with someone else over similarities, but I also understand Jane, in the fact that she raised Hazel and doesn't want to share any part of her, but also realizes her actions in taking her daughter for granted and that leads to resentment. Overall the book was a stunning read and one that I would recommend to single parents everywhere.
This was a 3 1/2 star read for me. I didn't care much for the story line, or one aspect of it, I should say. But the words, wow. I really enjoyed this author's style. I'm not really one that loves or needs extra words to describe things, I even sometimes find them to be annoying.
Every single word in this book is beautiful, and well chosen, not wasteful at all. I liked the stories of the Mothers, and of Hazel, but Eve, oh Eve, I wanted to slap you. Ha!
Will definitely read more from this author.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the ARC.
I unfortunately was not a fan of this book.
I really wanted to get into the story, but when the mom sent her daughter off on a train to spend weeks with her father even though the mom hadn't spoken to the man in years, I just lost the believability. She turned her daughter over to a man who didn't ask for her, didn't try to be in her life, and didn't seem to concerned with her. She asked a couple of questions, went to a dinner with the newly revealed half sister, then sent them on a train alone together.
I lost interest in the story when I couldn't see how any mother could do that. The writing did not flow very well. There were a lot of repetitive words and short sentences.
Brianna Wolfson showed a lot of talent in describing emotions, so I would be interested in trying an edited version of this book or her next book. Thank you for letting me read the novel, and I'm so sorry I wasn't a fan