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.

BIG SUMMER is a terrifically entertaining story. At first, I was expecting this to be a light read about the fashion world and social media. However, once the plot got going, it turned into a murder mystery, which was a delightful development. In this way, BIG SUMMER reminds me a bit of GOODNIGHT NOBODY, a backlist novel of Weiner's that I also enjoyed. I appreciated how the love story is not the central focus of the book. If you're looking for a light page turner for these unsettling times, BIG SUMMER belongs on your nightstand,

[Received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review]

Synopsis: Daphne has a growing career as a plus-size Instagram influencer when one day, her old friend Drue walks back into her life looking as lovely and successful as ever. Daphne was shocked, especially when Drue asked her to be her maid of honor at her wedding. She was also invited for a weekend in a waterfront cape cod mansion when things started to get complicated.

Let's all face it; at one point in our life, we all have met a Drue, a person who knows how to make us feel good and bad (more of bad) about ourselves, and yet we are drawn to him/her. And at one point we might have been a Daphne, a girl who just want to fit in and be accepted. This story gave all the pros and cons of social media that some care about popularity and numbers and what pushes them to that direction but what I like about the story is it features a person who fails to realize how good of a life she has already because she’s to focus on things that are not important. The story is very inspiring and cute. I really like it.

I just reviewed Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner. #BigSummer #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]
I really enjoyed this wonderful read!!!

This book is another winner for the author - has been popular at the library, resulting in order multiple copies and lots of happy patrons.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This book was a real surprise. The first half was very much a women's fiction novel while the second half was a classic mystery. The transition from one genre to the other was abrupt and I was not prepared for it at all.

Although I don't read mysteries, I found this one compelling. Having already invested in the characters, their relationships to eachother and the setting of a beautiful wedding on Cape Cod, I was very curious as to what had happened.

I enjoyed the romantic elements with Nick and wished there had been more.

As a long-time reader of Weiner's and enjoyed the usual elements she brings to her novels, like social media and body positivity.

I did not enjoy this book. I’ve read several books from this author, including the terrific Mrs. Everything. Big Summer reminded me of a teenage romance book- it didn’t have the depth of characters or strong plot lines that I expected. I ended up skimming the second half, hoping to find a redeeming plot twist at the end. Sadly, it ended with a whimper no more interesting than the rest.

The cover and the title of Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner imply a summer beach read about a "big" girl and the trials and joys that entails. Some of the story is definitely that. Much to my surprise and delight though, part way through, the book turns into a mystery. It is still a quick, easily read, summer beach read, just not exactly the one I expected, and that is a good thing in this case.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2020/03/big-summer.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

As a big fan of Jennifer Weiner from the very beginning, I was eager to get my hands on her latest. Sticking to her common theme of an outsider just trying to fit in, Big Summer introduces us to Daphne Berg, a plus-size Instagram influencer who found her fame by publicly sharing her video of being fat shamed.

While the theme is a modern day protagonist who finds validation in her online community. It seemed like a straight forward story of two best friends (the popular girl befriending the socially awkward overweight girl) who lost touch because of a wrongdoing, trying to find friendship again by repairing the mistrust. Straight up chick-lit, then comes the mystery. And it apparently needs to be solved by Daphne. I was not expecting the Instagram influencer to become novice sleuth. This story of attempting to repair a childhood friendship on the rocks became a mystery and I'm still not sure how I feel about it.

The book had a strong start with a woman finding her confidence and building a small empire based on not being a skinny model had a lot of potential until it took a turn that made me start to lose interest. But not enough to stop reading. Read it if you want a chick-lit turned mystery!

Thank you to the publisher and #NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. What a perfect novel with which to soak up the last rays of sun and relish the fleeting gusts of warm weather. Jennifer Weiner did not disappoint with this strong story, which balanced between a summer romance and a mystery thriller. The pivot was fantastically woven; it almost felt like picking up another book! I appreciated the progressive plus size positivity of the female protagonist. The locations visited were wonderfully narrated and the diverse cast of characters were meticulously developed. I would love to know if a few of the character names were ripped from not-so-distant news headlines, because if so, brava to the authoress for taking a stand! I learned a lot about social media through this novel, and I think that topic alone would offer any book group a great source of conversation.

I am a Weiner fan so not liking this one is especially disappointing. It could be that I know all the ins and outs of social media and influencers so reading about that didn’t interest me. I’m also a wedding photographer so I tend to be critical of a wedding setting. I just didn’t think this is her best work but I’m looking forward to her next book!

This book had a lot of unexpected twists and turns. At it's heart, it's a story about a friendship and what is real in our growing world of a social media presence versus our real lives. It's an interesting take on this story with a mystery thrown in as well. I really recommend it.

For a great family and friendship saga, you can’t beat Jennifer Weiner. This is a terrific story that involves wonderful atmosphere, set in Cape Cod and a mess of a wedding that seems to fracture friendships. We are able to follow the lives of these characters and see if they become more estranged or learn the importance of forgiveness. Beautiful story.

#BigSummer #NetGalley #Atria

While this actually really does make for the perfect beach read (like, literally), it came off a little Lifetime-y for my liking? There was a good amount there that I seriously enjoyed and just couldn’t get through fast enough, but in the midst of what I thought would be a woman/body-empowerment story, it just felt...out of place?

I really enjoyed this book! I never really imagined it would be a mystery more than a love story. The only thing I would be cautious about as a teacher is the fact that our main character has sex with a man she just meets. As a larger model, I'm wondering if this progresses the idea that she's fat and therefore desperate when it comes to choosing partners.

Absolutely endearing characters and a major twist, Jennifer Weiner wrote a book that’s impossible to put down.

My favorite work by Jennifer Weiner yet! I did not do a ton of research before picking this up to read, and I am so glad. I was pleasantly surprised by both the suspense and humor perfectly woven throughout. Absolutely loved this one!

Huh. This was...not what I was expecting. I really don't want to spoil anything, but I'll just say that I don't think it fits into the Beach Read category, which is what I was expecting.

Jennifer Weiner did an incredible of writing a story that was both entertaining and deep. I found the characters to be relatable and the setting easy to visualize. I did find that the plot got a little confusing half way through (the the mystery part threw me off) but overall I really enjoyed it.