Jennifer Weiner is an amazing author and each time I finish a book by her, I think "this is her best one yet!" Big Summer did not disappoint!

I really enjoyed this one! If you are looking for a beach/poolside read this would be perfect. A plus size social media influencer finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery. Social media plays a big part in this book and makes it fun. If you liked "Dumplin'" I think you would also like this one as well. This more of an adult version of that and has a mysetry aspect. (I liked it a lot better.) I love how this book has the pride of one's own body battle going on.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. You can pick up a copy of "Big Summer" now.

I really liked the writing style and format of this book, it’s a story of Daphne a smaller Influenster who’s journey into blogging and the world of social media is just taking off. After many years an ex friend who hurt Daphne renters her life to make amends. But everything is not quiet as it seems.

Don’t be fooled by the summer feel of this book title and cover. I went into this read thinking it was a light and fluffy beach read but I was surprised to find it actually borders more on the Thriller Genre. Very exciting read and I felt very connected with the characters and the story line.

Better than I thought it was going to be and sure glad I didn't waste $14.99 to get the kindle version, but the long wait at the library was not worth it for what this book is. Yes, the cover is cute and the premise is alluring to make you think it is a beach read. It ends up being a beachy women's lit book then turns mystery with no warning. There is also much body shaming of the main character against herself because her ex-BFF comes back asking her to be a bridesmaid. The x-friend, Daphne is successful while Drue, our main character is still struggling with her looks and career.

The genre switch with no warning annoyed the hell out of me and Drue was just too self-deprecating for me. If you don't like something about yourself, there are ways to help yourself without 300+ pages of whining. GAHH!

I like Jennifer Weiner books and her other novels, but this was a heck no for me!!

Thanks to Jennifer Weiner, Netgalley and Atria for an ARC but I got this from my library quicker. I still appreciate a free copy

I liked this book a lot! I'm not really a "who dunnit" girl, but I found the story interesting and the characters very likable. I really enjoyed the commentary on self love/confidence, wanting what you can't/don't have and not appreciating what you do, and how everyone can change. Daphne is a strong confident heroine, but she does have her moments of weakness - she is very real and relatable. I think it's a great summer read. 3.5 stars.

I tried and tried to pick this one back up several times. But on the five millionth time she characterize someone by their looks and then in her mind criticized them for what she thought they were thinking of her, I had to put it down. I mean a good looking guy at a wedding is being nice to her and all she thinks when he suggests the oysters is "does he have a fetish to feed fat girls." To have a influential Instagram and blog and have a designer wanting to her showcase her clothes, Daphne still whines every time she's around people that aren't the same size as her or have more money than her. She wants to be accepted for who she is but seems to judge other people very quickly. This story just came off as a whiny young girl.

I had high hopes for this book, but ultimately it failed to deliver. Daphne and Drue were best friends in high school until a very, very public fallout. Fast forward to now, picture-perfect Drue has come back to Daphne, our beloved protagonist who's become a successful plus-size influencer, asking her to be a bridesmaid at her wedding because she doesn't have any close friends. Thus, the first half of the book is more classic women's fiction about these two former friends and preparations for Drue's lavish wedding.

Then, things take a sharp turn when Drue is discovered dead the morning of her nuptials, and the plot shifts to a light mystery. Drue's character is revealed is more depth (she was known to be a selfish bully), the suspects are many (no, there are SO many possibilities), but of course everything turns out perfectly in the end.

Honestly, I preferred the mystery portion of the book better -- the first half of the book had such lengthy, detailed descriptions that I found myself skipping paragraphs at a time. Overall, this was lackluster for me, the characters didn't really have any depth, and it started off promising but ended up as a disappointment.

It's been awhile since I read one of Jennifer Weiner's books and this one didn't disappoint. The characters are very realistic and you understand them, even the one you hate. I would recommend this new novel by this wonderful author.

I love Jennifer Weiner so I was super excited to read this book. It did not disappoint! I loved it so much I bought it in hardback too!

3.7 - vastly improved after Part 1; enjoyed the mystery and family drama/intrigue in Part 2; almost like two separate books

Big Summer is almost two books in one: partly a story of female friendship and the way they evolve over time, and partly a murder mystery. Both storylines are compelling, albeit a little odd mixed together. Either probably could have been it’s own book, but then again it made for a nice length with the two intertwined.

Come for the body positivity storylines and a young woman finding her footing, stay to figure out the murder mystery.

I’ve long been a fan of Jennifer Weiner’s books! My favorite is In Her Shoes, I just loved it and the characters were flawed and relatable and you really cheered for them to succeed.

Since then, I think I’ve read everything she’s written. You really cannot go wrong with any of her novels! Big Summer is Jennifer’s latest, and this too was a wonderful story that you are pulled into right away!

Check it out:

Six years after the fight that ended their friendship, Daphne Berg is shocked when Drue Cavanaugh walks back into her life, looking as lovely and successful as ever, with a massive favor to ask. Daphne hasn’t spoken one word to Drue in all this time—she doesn’t even hate-follow her ex-best friend on social media—so when Drue asks if she will be her maid-of-honor at the society wedding of the summer, Daphne is rightfully speechless.

Drue was always the one who had everything—except the ability to hold onto friends. Meanwhile, Daphne’s no longer the same self-effacing sidekick she was back in high school. She’s built a life that she loves, including a growing career as a plus-size Instagram influencer. Letting glamorous, seductive Drue back into her life is risky, but it comes with an invitation to spend a weekend in a waterfront Cape Cod mansion. When Drue begs and pleads and dangles the prospect of cute single guys, Daphne finds herself powerless as ever to resist her friend’s siren song.

On a perfect summer night, as generations of Cavanaughs descend on the family beach in Cape Cod, the cute guy materializes and a family feud erupts. With rumors swirling about everything from a failing business to infidelity, it’s clear why Drue wanted Daphne by her side. When Daphne wakes up the morning of the wedding to find that her crush has vanished and that something terrible has happened to her friend, it’s up to her to dig deep into Drue’s past, to unpeel the layers of illusion, and to find out the complicated truth about perfect Drue Cavanaugh.

Daphne is a terrific character, I loved her arc. And I appreciated how this story slowly turned into a mystery. Read it and see what I mean!

Grab this right now! Get it here.

Rating: 4 stars
Recommend? Yes! The perfect vacation read - even if you can't go on vacation this year!

I have always been a fan of Jennifer Weiner, but after Who Do You Love I felt very comfortable in what her style was. Similar to writers like Sarah Dessen or Jodi Picoult, I felt like I always knew what I was getting when I picked up one of her books. But her last three books - the memoir Hungry Heart, historical fiction novel Mrs. Everything and now Big Summer - all totally (pleasantly) surprised me and showed me just how expansive her range is. This book is so different from her other books but like them, it totally sucked me in.

This book is very fast-paced and easy to read, and I loved the twist at the end of Part 1. It managed to discuss some big themes like body image and female friendship, but those themes didn't overtake the story. Also loved that this book acknowledges how big of a part of our lives social media has become. Thought that was very well done!

I have two gripes - first, there was just a lot going on, and I almost felt like it needed to be longer to give every aspect of the story its due. Second, the love interest is a perfect male specimen - tanned, tall, strong, handsome - and with such a diverse set of female characters, I think he could've been a little more well-rounded.

This book was really not at all what the book jacket made it out to be (I hadn't really read much of the pre-release info) and I really enjoyed it! There was definitely some more complexity than I expected and in the end, it was still a perfect beach/patio/holiday weekend book. I really enjoyed the perspective of a "plus size" model/influencer and it didn't seem like she was being pitied by the author. Further, the story was a full story - several elements came together to tie together multiple story lines and make this memorable!

This unfortunately was not my favorite Jennifer Weiner book. It really felt like two different books comparing the first half to the second half. It's unfortunate that Ms. Weiner went the direction she did with the second half of the book because she had a rather good thing going.

This is a Women's Fiction/Chick-Lit/Mystery/Romance. I requested this a long time ago, but I just got approved for it on Netgalley. I also had already borrow the audiobook for Libby, so I read the kindle edition I got for Netgalley and listen to the audiobook at the same time. This book really surprised me in a good way. I have to say this book did not pull me in for the beginning, but I got so pulled into the story I could not put this book down if I wanted too by the middle of the book. I am having trouble putting this book into a genre because I feel this book is a little bit of several genres. I love that this book is not the normal book you will read. The main character I did not love at first, but by the end of the story I really loved her so much. The mystery part I really enjoyed, and I did not see the ending happening how it did. Overall, this is a really well-written story with great characters and twists. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Atria Books) or author (Jennifer Weiner) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review about how I feel about this book, and I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

I would like to thank the author, publisher and Net Galley for providing a free ebook in exchange for my review.

I really enjoy Jennifer Weiner's writing, and have enjoyed all of her books to date. I was excited when I saw she had a new book out this year and was excited to get a copy of the book. I really enjoyed this book, it was a 4 star review, no doubt, for me. It's hard to give details without giving away too much of the story line, though.

While waiting for a copy of this book, I read several reviews for the book, and I noticed that some really don't enjoy her writing, but I can't understand that. I feel that Weiner writes REAL people, REAL problems. Her books aren't fluffy summer reads, this is real meat and potatoes type of discussion. She addresses things and situations that few others do. So I will most certainly continue to read her books.

This was my first Jennifer Weiner book and I don’t think it’ll be my last. I really enjoyed this book overall. The story was fun, the characters were quirky, and I was not expecting there to be a murder mystery involved in the rom-com. Weiner has been able to put together a fun story that floats within the realm of mystery and women’s fiction at the same time.

Daphne Berg is a plus-size Instagrammer and prompts body confidence and self love. As much as I loved Daphne’s character I found myself annoyed with her continuous self-shaming. I understand Weiner’s goal with the character and the way she was showing the internal dialogue’s we all have in ourselves, but I found Daphne it really hurt her character. I’ve struggled with my own weight recently, and I think I’m a very critical person, especially about myself. But even with that some of the things Daphne would think didn’t seem realistic or at least way to harsh. The fact that ever paragraph seemed to over emphasize Daphne’s flaws stressed me out.

Overall, I loved this story. I really enjoyed Weiner’s writing but I just think she could have been kinder to Daphne’s character. Even with that, this book is the perfect mix of substance and fun reading. It’s perfect for the beach, summer, or even if you just want a fun escape from what’s going on in the world right now.

I hope you enjoyed my thoughts on Big Summer. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof_books. Huge thank you to Atria Books for my advanced copy!

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The reviews were all over the board for this one. Funny story. I related to all of them. Let’s unpack a bit shall we?
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I enjoyed this novel. I really, really enjoyed it. I would say I would have enjoyed it more had it been two separate novels 🤷🏻‍♀️. I would have given them both 5 stars.
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I can’t say too awful much because....riddled with spoilers would be a real live thing with this one.
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At the end of the book I realized. I liked it. I really did. Jennifer’s way with building characters is incredibly well done. I felt like I wanted a bit more from certain characters...if it had been two books. That would have been possible.
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I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about how much I loved Daphne and the peek into an influencers world. It felt very spot on to me.
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I would recommend this novel...but I would be very specific as to who I would recommend it to.
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I’m ending with 3 1/2 stars. I might end up moving to four 🤔. No, I’m sticking with 3 1/2. In other words. Read the library version...

Daphne Berg is shocked when her glamorous once-upon-a-time-best-friend, Drue Cavanaugh, begs her to be the maid-of-honor at her upcoming wedding. It’s been six years since the traumatic fight between them that left Daphne mortified…and then weirdly empowered by the very public fallout. Since then, she’s become an Instagram influencer and style icon, and she has no intention of going back to being Drue’s lesser-than sidekick. Daphne doesn’t want Drue back in her life, but when Drue seems so remorseful, sincere, and changed, Daphne reconsiders. It helps that the wedding will be the most extravagant and gorgeous event Daphne’s ever attended—and that she’ll be able to get weeks of Instagram material from the million-dollar affair. Finally, she relents and allows herself to be swept away in the magic of Drue’s luxurious (but secretly chaotic…) event.

MY THOUGHTS
I don’t want to give too much away about this book, but I do think it’s important to go in understanding that this is a murder mystery. The first half is so beautifully developed and layered—truly, the book could have gone in a completely different direction. I almost wish it had. But I was so surprised that the second half turned into a classic whodunnit. True, it wasn’t what I was expecting (and maybe even not what I wanted?), but I didn’t hate it either. I actually loved seeing Daphne transform through such a traumatic experience. I also loved seeing the truths about Drue’s life surface. It’s such a cliche, but it’s so true that we never know what other people are going through. The masks we wear are thick, thick, thick.