Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Daphne Berg is a successful plus-size influencer who encourages her followers to love themselves. She has had to work on that herself, especially after an incident with her high school best friend that sent her spiraling years ago. When said toxic friend Drue enters back into Daphne’s life six years later, Daphne is shocked. She’s downright floored when Drue asks Daphne to be her maid-of-honor at her upcoming society wedding, but decides to give Drue another chance. Just how much can people change from their teenage days? Daphne is about to find out.

I’m going to be vague in my impressions of this book because it is truly genre-bending. I went into this book knowing nothing about it, so I was SHOCKED at where the plot went. I really enjoyed Big Summer! I would say it was a five star read up until the end, which I didn’t find to be as satisfying as I hoped. The ending didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the book, though! Highly recommend if you’re looking for a quick read... I couldn’t put it down! Thank you @atriabooks and @netgalley for my advanced readers copy. Big Summer is out now!

Wow! I have always been a Jennifer Weiner fan, and this one did not disappoint! This book centers around Daphne, a plus size Instagram influencer and her complicated relationship with her old high school best friend, Drue. Daphne lost touch with Drue years before, until she came to Daphne, asking her to be the maid of honor at her wedding. The twists and turns the plot took from the Cape Cod wedding onward was literary genius. I could not predict the end. Several times my jaw dropped while reading. Do yourself and favor and pick this one up! You won’t be disappointed.

FEMALE STRONG! Jennifer Weiner has masterfully woven together a beach read and a murder mystery and created the perfect summer read. Daphne has always struggled with her body image, and it didn’t help that even her BFF Drew made cutting remarks about her weight. But Daphne is older and wiser now and has extricated Drew from her life after she publicly humiliated her. She is also now a popular plus size Instagram influencer with tons of followers and opportunities. When Drew reaches out and asks Daphne to be her maid of honor Daphne doesn’t know what to do. Hopeful that this is an olive branch Daphne decides to attend the wedding and repair her friendship with Drew. A gorgeous weekend in Cape Cod at the social event of the year and then... BAM everything goes sideways! A lush beach read, a juicy murder mystery, a brilliant book.

Daphne was just a fabulous character! Her struggle with her weight was so authentic. I loved her inner dialogue and even though at times it may have seemed as though she excessively focused on her weight I think unfortunately that is so true of many women. We do get a lot of the backstory between Daphne and Drew, I really loved watching Daphne’s character evolve as a person. She has such a dazzling and dynamic personality and it was nice to see her begin to embrace that. There were a lot of great secondary characters in this book especially Daphne‘s BFF/roommate and her love interest. This was such a fun story that did a really good job touching on a lot of heavy subject matter. Another exceptional summer read from Miss Weiner. The perfect addition to any beach bag!

This book in emojis 🏖 📱 👰🏼 💵 🔍

*** Big thank you to Atria for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

I'm usually a big Jennifer Weiner fan, but this one really didn't feel like any of her other books. Comparatively with Mrs. Everything, which was just unbelievably good, I felt like this one fell short. I wasn't ale to finish the book. I found myself confused by disjointed character lines, not really relating with anyone, and also felt like this girl was just really digging down so low to be paid to be in a former friend's wedding. I DNF'd at ~30%.

I have to admit that for the first half of this book I was actually becoming bored with it. It seemed like just another chick lit book and one I really had no interest in reading. But I never give up on a book so I kept reading. And I'm glad I did. The second half of the book made up for the (to me) lackluster first half. There was murder and secret kids and plots and plenty of suspects to go along with the inevitable romance. And I have to confess, the unveiling of the killer was a total shock to me (I love it when that happens in a mystery!)

A great beach read for the summer. Or living room read for most of us in quarantine!

I have long been a fan of Jennifer Weiner. All the way back to Good in Bed and In Her Shoes, I've always wanted to snatch up her newest offerings as soon as they became available. And Big Summer did not disappoint. Fast-paced, easy flowing, and hard to put down. I didn't love the whole "murder" aspect and could have done without the "whodunit", but I'd still rate it highly as a fantastic beach read for this summer.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed the first half of Big Summer and was immediately drawn to the main character, Daphne, as she worked hard to become a plus-size social media influencer. As always, Jennifer Weiner's ability to create realistic characters and describe settings in a way that makes me feel as if I'm right there was spot on.

But then came the second half of the book, and the direction of the book shifted. Instead of a young woman's struggles with overcoming her past insecurities to feel better in her body, the second part of the book was more of a murder mystery. Daphne morphed into an amateur sleuth and together with her new romantic interest Nick and her best friend Darshi, sought to solve the murder for fear that she would become the prime suspect.

A lot of the sleuthing seemed implausible, as the Daphne literally just walked up to people (even knocking on their doors) and got perfect strangers to spill all of their secrets. The end was also kind of a leap, and I can't get into details without giving it all away, but I'm still not exactly sure how the leap was made. There were also some really cheesy lines, especially in the end, that were very much cliché.

This wasn't a terrible book at all, but I was just disappointed that what seemed like such a promising book went in a completely different direction. I enjoy a good thriller/mystery as much as anyone, but I also expect it to be well executed, and that part of the book was average at best. This book deserves 4 stars for the first half and 3 stars for the second half. I rounded up to four stars only because I like this author overall.

I always love Jennifer Weiner's takes on body image and women's friendships, so this book did not disappoint. She always manages to sneak in serious issues into what appears to be a fun, fluffy story. I really enjoyed being in the brain of the main character, who was brave and likable despite being a social media influencer (people I generally have a negative opinion of). I was expecting a fun read, which I got, but it was packed with a lot more (including a mystery) than I didn't expect.

I thought this book was ok but it did not really engage me. I have read several of weiner's books but did not feel that this one was a great book.

Daphne Berg is a plus sized influencer who is hitting her stride in growing her audience while also being a nanny for a family. Drue Cavanaugh has always had the easy life, coming from a well known affluent family. Daphne and Drue were friends in college, but with drama one night the friendship quickly ended. Six years later Drue reenters Daphne's life with an ask that she can't refuse, paid vacation, a wedding and some good photo opportunities!

I went into this book very blind and I am so thankful I did. There are things in this book that I felt as though felt so new and different for Jennifer Weiner and I just don't want to spoil any of it for you.

I can honestly say this book was just the right book to read right now. I read this book at the beginning of quarantine and it was so engrossing that I forgot about all the mess that was going on outside of my little library. With great characters that were easy to follow and that made me care for them and their journey, this book was a two sitting read where I couldn't put it down without knowing what was coming next.

I went into this book already a Jennifer Weiner fan and after reading this one, I am now even more so! I would love to see more like this from Jennifer Weiner.

I loved this book and couldn't put it down. Jennifer Weiner does a wonderful job of capturing internal dialogue of a plus-sized [insecure] person, the drama/trauma that accompanies high school, and the automatic privilege afforded attractive and wealthy people. The main character grows from self loathing to acceptance and believing that a wonderful man could care for her. Definitely worth the read!

This was a great book. I didn't realize it was related to Mrs. Everything. I haven't read that book and was not confused by this book so don't feel like you need to have read it. I was very impressed with the way Instagram culture was described and how female friendships were portrayed. Such a realistic story. The murder was a complete surprise, I made it 20% of the way through without even realizing a murder was part of the story!

** spoiler alert ** I wasn't really expecting a mystery in my beach read, but Jennifer Weiner delivers a cozy-ish mystery in her latest. I say cozy-ish because the victim is a nuanced and sympathetic character, but this follows the usual cozy mystery pattern: suspicion falls upon the heroine, so the heroine employs amateur sleuthing to unmask the real killer, who appears just as s/he is figured out and desperately attempts to do away with the heroine before s/he can be brought to justice.

Of course you know how the story ends. Happy endings all around -- except for the killer and the deceased, that is.

All in all, an enjoyable read.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

A summer wedding, old frenemies, a mystery, and a chance to learn to love yourself and be loved by others- a simple recipe for the perfect, cozy summer read.

“Big Summer” follows Daphne Berg, a once nobody turned instagram influencer overnight. Daphne had always felt in the shadow of her best friend Drue Cavanaugh until one night at a club their friendship crumbles. In front of a crowd of people, who happen to be recording, Daphne discovers that Drue has never truly valued her as an individual and has quite honestly looked down at the fact that Daphne is plus sized. Daphne, tired of always being seen as second best and underappreciated, stands up for herself, the fact that fat is beautiful, and that she is worth more than pity. With a lost friendship and a broken heart, after that night Daphne reclaims her identity and never looks back.

6 years later, out of the blue, Drue reenters Daphne’s life. Swearing that she has atoned for her terrible behavior towards Daphne and many other people in her life, Drue begs Daphne to forgive her and be one of the bridesmaids at her wedding. Daphne, who has left the unconfident, weaker version of herself in the past is weary. She has built a life with friends who appreciate her and a job she cares for as a plus-size influencer. Remembering the memories she once had with Drue, and also that fact that saying no to the perfect and dazzling Drue is never easy, Daphne says yes. With the hope of a wonderful weekend away at the cape for a glamorous wedding, Daphne feels hopeful that nothing could go wrong...because what could possibly be as bad as that night 6 years ago?

Funny and heartwarming, “Big Summer” is the perfect book for those who need either an easy read for a summer day or a gentle reminder that regardless of hard days, telling yourself that you’re amazing, regardless of imperfections, is pretty extraordinary.

I did not care for this one. Too much fat shaming the main character, Daphne. I wanted to like it but I had to quit because of this.

I intentionally had not read the synopsis and therefore after a couple of chapters I was not sure where this was going to go. But I kept going, and a quarter of the way in I was hooked, and think I got though this in a couple of sittings as I had to know how it was going to end.

Daphne was a loyal friend to Drue, until it backfired on her and she walked away from her and never looked back. Fast forward six years later and Drue needs a maid of honor and calls on Daphne. She is shocked and rightfully so (I mean, who wouldn’t be). I kept waiting on the ‘catch’, as does she, but then the story takes a completely different turn that I didn’t see coming, and that was the point I could not stop listening until this was over.

As noted above, I did this via audiobook and it was so good. I loved that Daphne did not just jump back into a friendship that wasn’t healthy but instead was cautious. I was happy to see that this wasn’t the same friendship trope that we usually see, and that you might guess based on the above. The twist was great, the book in fact pivots after that and is almost a different book, which I really enjoyed, almost more so than pre-twist.

I don’t know that I would call this a ‘light beach read’, but I definitely would recommend adding this one to your summer TBR. It had all the elements that make a great story for me, but alas, I cannot name them here or else I will reveal a huge spoiler. Dun Dun Dun….
A huge thank you to @libro for the ALC and to @netgalley and @Atria for the free copy to review!

I was excited to receive this e-galley. From the cover and title, this looks like a great beach-read, summery book. I'd say it's anything but. Ultimately Big Summer is a story of friendship - which are true, which are meaningful, and which are worth holding on to. But it hits you with a whopper in the middle with a murder at the wedding. That could have come a little sooner for my taste. The victim was surprising, but I was all in to find out who the killer was. I did end up guessing, but not until near the end. I enjoyed all the little tangents where Weiner tried to make you suspect certain people. Of course, the killer is always the one we don't have so much information on until the end, sneaky. The ending was done well, except I was a little turned off that the way Daphne saved herself was by being a big girl. I would have enjoyed more fight in the end. I also appreciated the dialogue about real lives versus created lives on social media. It is very easy to get swept up into what people think of you online. Ultimately, I really enjoyed this title, and I would read other titles from this author.

I am a huge fan of Jennifer Weiner’s books so I was beyond excited when I was given Big Summer!
I loved loved loved Daphne! It was so refreshing to read a chic lit with someone who is self concision about appearance and weight. But even with her self doubt she was still a super strong and amazing person! Like sooo many women! I loved how Jennifer stressed that through out the book. Usually there is a chubby best friend who is “poor me” but then by end of story she looses weight and is happy. Why can’t people be happy just the way they are?!?
Big Summer is an amazing chic lit that you need to get today and let it be your escape!!!

This is a great book. I originally thought that it was going to be a standard chick-lit title. However, mid-way through it changed into a murder mystery and I was HERE for it! The clues were well laid out... sparse enough that it was difficult to figure out, which was fantastic. The character of Drue caused a lot of cognitive disonance as we're used to literary characters being good or bad. Having a character as complex as Drue really made the book have a nice round quality. Thank you so much - this was a fantastic read.

As a long time fan of Jennifer Weiner, I loved this book as much, if not more, as her other books. This book has it all, comedy, mystery, sex, girl drama. During these uncertain times going on in the world, this was the book that took my mind off things. I couldn't put it down.

5 🌟 for me. This book definitely did not disappoint.