Summer in the Bluffs is about a childless African American power couple, Ama and Omar, and their three goddaughters. Omar is gone and Ama wants the goddaughters to spend the summer with her one last time on her estate on Martha's Vineyard, before she gifts one of them the house.

First of all, I really liked the characters in this book. Yes, all of them were flawed, but they were interesting and passionate and each had a good story.

Then, as a white woman, especially reading this book in this particular week in our history, I felt that I was able to at least take away a bit of insight into this African American author's life experience: The ability to only truly relax and be oneself when around those with the same life experience, the need to constantly be better than a white person to be treated as less than them but passable, and even the particular shade of one's skin being judged within the African American (and white) community.

However, while I liked the characters and the story, I had a lot of problems with the writing. Between the cliches (the sex scenes read like they were out of an old-school romance novel) and the inconsistencies in events in the plot, I was constantly distracted from the story. From characters who saw someone laughing on the phone when they didn't wake up until hours later to someone being adamant that she wasn't ready to introduce her girlfriend to her family to suddenly having the girlfriend meet the family the next day without any explanation or acknowledgement, it drove me crazy. I started trying to find all the mistakes instead of being able to fully immerse myself in the story. The name dropping was also a lot throughout, although it did introduce me to a couple new jazz albums, so that's a good thing to come out of it.

Thank you to The Book Club Girls, NetGalley, and William Morrow with providing me with an arc of this book. It has not influenced my opinion.

I enjoyed this easy read and found myself quickly drawn to the characters and storyline. Unlike many books I have read, this one surprised me with how the characters were woven together. I did not suspect several of the twists toward the end of the book. I think this is a good summer beach read.

Summer on the Bluffs is an interesting read on a rainy day at the beach. Alma brought her three goddaughters together with the intent of deciding who she was going to give her cottage to at the end of the summer, over the summer we learn her secret and secrets that each of the girls have. There were times that I felt there was just too much name dropping and not a complete buy-in for me to like the characters in the story. Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Contemporary literature is a fairly new genre for me. I love the portrayal of life and growth that comes from a read like this. Each character is battling their own inner demons and what I love most is that this isn’t just a happy fairy tale ending. It is life. It is up and downs, fights and make-ups, struggles and victories.

This novel looks at the life of Ama, her rise as a successful African American woman and the decisions she made that affected the lives of those around her. Ama and her husband Omar have lived a wonderful life and during that life they had three god daughters brought into their lives. Ama decides that her infamous house on Oak Bluffs will be inherited by one of her three god daughters. But who will inherit this childhood home? All of the females in this novel have a fiery inner strength. They come from backgrounds of oppression, loss and struggle. Learning about each of their childhoods, how they were connected to Ama and each of the secrets they held kept me intrigued throughout the story.

I did enjoy this novel with its uplifting feel but outside of the unique connections each god daughter had with Ama and Omar there wasn’t a lot that made this completely stand out for me. Some areas in the beginning do drag and the climaxes at the end left me feeling rushed instead of satisfied. Don’t let that dissuade you. This would make for a great beach read, especially for the underlying themes.

Thank you to the Book Club Girls, HarperLux and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this novel for an honest and unbiased opinion.

I will have to admit I did not finish this book. After 6 chapters I had completely lost interest in the characters and the story itself. To be honest I wasn’t even certain there was a story. The narrative style of writing with very few statements or conversations from characters just made me feel that I was being schooled in how elitist this woman’s life was. This book was definitely not for me. Thanks for the opportunity.

I really wanted to like this book. It had everything I love in a book - fashion, fun, wealth, multiple points of view, and even an alternating timeline. Sadly, though, not a single main character in the book Is actually likable. The women are pompous, self-centered, egotistical, and, frankly, assholes.

The author, who I hadn’t heard of prior to reading this book, comes across as trying to show off her vast amount of knowledge on a wide variety of subjects, rather than a storyteller. Unlikable characters can be redeemed by great writing, and Ms Hostin just couldn’t do it in this book. The book showed such promise in the first chapter, and, after finishing it, I don’t even want to know why Amelia made so many horrible decisions. I’d rather not know what happened than have to suffer through any additional novels featuring these horrible women.

Thanks to NetGalley & Harper Collins/William Morrow for a digital advance reader's copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

This was a well-written debut novel about family relationships: marriages, parenting, sisters, competition, and communication. Told from a few different characters' perspectives and spanning 60+ years, what makes this story distinctive is the authentic viewpoint of an upscale African American lifestyle. Music plays a role in setting the scenes, as well as food and fashion. Hostin writes descriptively, using these elements to enrich the plot and develop the relationships of this family. Several characters hold secrets that are slowly revealed throughout the book, with a few surprises at the satisfying conclusion. As this is subtitled "Oak Bluffs #1" I'm looking forward to another novel that continues the story of this family.

I love the cover and the description of the cottage! This has a lot going on - female/ family relationships, the characters are like able and definitely relatable. They all have secrets and it’s interesting how it all played out. This is a good debut, it’s entertaining and a quick read. Thanks to Book Club Girl, William Morrow, and NetGalley for an ebook ARC. This is my honest review.

The characters were wonderfully complex and relatable for the most part. However (possible spoiler ahead) I have read a string of books lately that "normalize" cheating from a "but everybody does it!" point of view, and this book skirts the edge of that mentality as well. The various viewpoints were intertwined and balanced well, but parts of the book felt rushed, as if there was too much to say in too short of a novel! Overall enjoyable, this book pulled me out of a "did not finish" rut because it was a quick, satisfying read!

I received this book through Book Club Girls and NetGalley as an ARC. I really enjoyed this book about Ama and her three god daughters who she and her husband Omar cared for over many years. There is a gathering at the beach house which Ama intends to give to one of the three girls. We get to hear Ama’s story through the course of the book along with the history of the three god daughters. This book is the first in a series of three.

This story of strong black women with a touch of intrigue thrown in kept me reading. It reminded me that family is who we decide it to be.

Summer on the Bluffs was a mixed bag for me. In one regard, the four women at the center of the story are the pinnacle of strong women that have worked hard and achieved success. They each have demons they struggle with in their life that makes you not hate them for being successful. But I never really feel like I get to know any of them - I just float along the surface of their lives without feeling their struggles with them. And the book doesn't really feel like it builds a strong relationship among the women, their stories are mostly told as if they coexisted instead of being intertwined, and it turns out that there is more to their relationship than really seems. And while I love Billie (maybe because she's the free spirit I'm not), Olivia seems angry at the world and so desperate to prove herself that she never sees her own potential. Perry is a perfectionist in an unhappy marriage, and I can't say that I would make the same choices she did. While I can handle all of those things, the one thing that drove me crazy about this book was the name-dropping and excessive background building. I'm pretty sure I lost track of the number of artists, actors and musicians that are casually bandied about, along with fashion designers and politicians. It felt like the author did it to try and elevate the circles these women circulated in, and it wasn't necessary.

I really enjoyed this.
The writing style was spot on. Don't be intimidated by the amount of chapters. It works.
The characters are awesome! I feel like they are a part of me.
Beautiful story of secrets, guilt, forgiveness, maturity and being human.


***I have received a complimentary copy of Summer on the Bluffs. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion, as I have done.***
#SummerontheBluffs #NetGalley #HarperCollinsPublishers #MultiCulturalInterests

Perry, Olivia and Billy have benefited from the generosity of their godmother, Amelia, the Witch of Wall Street. I quick beach read but I felt the characters weren't well developed and were a bit shallow. While the young womens' connection to Amelia were eventually revealed, I felt it should have been revealed earlier. Rather than being intriguing, it was just annoying.

Summer on the Bluffs was an easy and entertaining read with a captivating story.

Ama and Omar, an affluent couple who lived in NYC and spent their summers at their “cottage” in Martha’s Vineyard decided to take under their wings 3 girls as their godparents. Omar and Ama gave Perry, Olivia, and Billie a life they could never imagine, the best education, vacations, designer clothes, memories at the island. After Omar past away, Ama decided to give the house to one of her goddaughters not before reveling some obscure secrets that would potentially change the dynamics in their relationship.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book, I enjoyed every minute I spent reading it. What I liked the most is the fact that it took me back to the times I lived in NJ and I used to go to the city and get lost among its people, buildings, subway stations, monuments, and streets.

This is probably the first book of a series based on what it says in Goodreads. I can’t wait to read the next.

I was expecting a light and easy beach read, but there was a lot more substance to this book than it appeared at first glance. At first, we believe that Ama and Omar have a perfect life that they share with their 3 goddaughters. But as we get to know the characters, and their back stories, things get a little more complicated. I never grew to really like any of the characters, so found it a bit disappointing.

This is a great story with strong women lead characters. It was interesting to see the history of their relationships tie together in the last few chapters.

This book starts with a couple Ama and Omar. Such a loving, rich couple that has exceeded their every dreams in each of there careers. Finding themselves in a position to share their fortunes, they choose to take 3 young girls to share in their summer home. Give them a taste of life with no boundaries. To be loved like their own children.
This is the year, Ama decides she needs to leave this place and give the house to one of these "goddaughters", but not before she has to reveal to each of them the reason they were chosen to share in this lifestyle. The amazing messages each of these girls gets from Ama is shocking and life altering.
I was very fortunate to get an Advanced Copy of this book from Netgalley. I found the beginning of this book to be a bit slow, but knowing how it turns I see the pace at which it started was a necessity. Once the "sisters" start to get the reason of their fortunate love from Omar and Ama, things get crazy. Each of them are struggling with their own life issues, let alone learning new things about their "godparents".
I love the life lessons Ama doles out. She's extremely mindful of not overstepping that precious space. Yet she gives each of them a chance at living their lives the way they need to. Processing the information on their own and in their personal way. I'd give this book a 4 out of 5 because of the beginning mainly. But I loved the ending!

This book was...fine. I really wanted to like it, but couldn't connect with any of the characters. In fact, I disliked most of them, largely because I think they were two-dimensionally drawn. I also found it frustrating that the story really didn't match the description of the book at all. In fact, the story itself was fairly sprawling, and in between the spread, I just lost all care for any of these people.
It seems that this book could have started about halfway through, and still would have accomplished the same objective... which I'm not entirely sure was clear.
All that said, I finished it, but probably wouldn't recommend to someone else.

Summer on the Bluffs was a pleasant, easy read. The plot followed several characters through their own personal turmoil and upheavals. The story moved along smoothly and came to a satisfying end, where all the problems were resolved and all questions answered.