What a delightful diversion from the daily grind of social distancing during a pandemic! I loved diving into the lives of Amelia “Ama” and her three goddaughters Perry, Olivia and Billie. All of the women are successful, intelligent and beautiful. They are connected to each other through Chateau Laveau, Ama’s summer cottage on Martha’s Vineyard. I’ve heard about The Inkwell on the Vineyard from friends and was pleased to learn more about this vacation haven for people of color.

Ama summons her three adult goddaughters for a final summer at her home before she deeds the property to one of them. As the weeks pass, we learn how each goddaughter is connected to Ama, what the house means to each of them and what they all mean to each other. I was sad to say goodbye to these characters. This book will appeal to readers who enjoy Elin Hildebrand’s books or reading about exclusive summer enclaves. Enjoy!

I was actually very excited to get this book and review it. I am a fan of Hostin on The View and hoped that her intellect and thoughtfulness would translate nicely to the page. This book was a breath of fresh air when it comes to beach reads. Hostin definitely writes about what she knows and I had a hard time suspending belief and not putting Hostin, her family and friends as the main characters.

I am in love with this book and look forward to future titles in the series. It has just the right mix of fun, lightheartedness with drama and heartbreak. I also enjoyed the added little historical tidbits that were woven in to the story. I couldn’t put my kindle down!

I love watching Sunny Hostin on The View and enjoyed reading her first book. Loved reading about summer on Martha’s Vineyard for the super rich., but didn’t particularly like any of the characters.
Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC

I really liked hearing about Martha’s Vineyard and it was interesting to learn about the Vineyard from the black perspective.

Summer on the Bluff Arthur is by Sunny Boston she is also a Cohost Of the view.This is a story about for strong Beautiful Women And 1 of them holds secrets Of all of them .

I received this ARC through Book Club Girls. I enjoyed the book but didn't agree with some of the choices the main character, Ama, made in regard to her "girls". Overall, it was an easy read and I would recommend this book to others in the book club.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Publishing for the ARC. This is a debut novel about 4 African-American women with a beautiful home on Martha’s Vineyard as the setting. It is a story of love, grief, and “family”. There a few plot twists and the author does a great job of building these chapters so that you find yourself rooting for them. I really enjoyed this book. It was a great light-hearted read with substance that kept me engaged during these trying times.

This book was not at all what I had in mind when I started reading it. Sunny Hostin does a phenomenal job in her debut, Summer in the Bluffs. You meet Ama in the beginning and learn of her early struggles making it as a young black woman in the finance business. After she meets and marries her love, Omar, you learn of the three godchildren she took under her wing and help mold into the amazing women they become. Each "goddaughter" had their own story and past that is uncovered as the story unfolds. One of them is being left their Godparents summer home. I, myself, fell in love with the house and surrounding town. This was a book that i wish had pictures so you could see what Sunny Hostin wanted those houses to look like. Sunny Hostin did an amazing job with this book! I would love to see what happens in the future with these three women and what the future holds for Ama and Carter.
Special Thanks to the Book Club Girl Early Read Program and Harper Collins- William Morrow books for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

#SummerontheBluffs #NetGalley

I was really excited about reading this book but I didn’t enjoy it as I expected. I found the characters difficult to relate to. The setting is lovely but I didn’t feel drawn in.

So, this was disappointing, but a decent beach read.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

Summer on the Bluffs is a great summer read. This book is about four successful African American women, Ama Tanner and her three god daughters, who live/work in NYC and spend their summers at Martha's Vineyard. It tells the story of a power couple (Omar and Ama Tanner) who bring 3 girls from different parts of NYC into their lives and expose them to the life they have worked so hard for. Omar passes away and after five year, Ama has some secrets to reveal. You can't stop turning the pages as you find out the background on how each woman became a goddaughter in the first place, the current struggles they face and the effects of the secrets that are revealed. The writing was excellent. I felt every emotion these women felt and I appreciated all the references of the African American culture. I did want a little more at the end but maybe it was left as is to leave the option open for a series of books.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Publisher for ARC copy. I am posting my unbiased review here and on Goodreads. I'll add my review to Amazon once the book is released.

Summer on the Bluffs
A Novel
by Sunny Hostin
HarperCollins Publishers
William Morrow
Multicultural Interest
Pub Date 16 Jun 2020 | Archive Date 16 Jun 2020

Quick read!! I enjoyed this novel. Thanks to Net Galley and Harper collins for the ARC.

Summer on the Bluffs by Sunny Hostin is a great, refreshing, heartwarming book about heart, love, relationships, family, and secrets.

This is an excellent book that centers around Ama and Omar and their wonderful life and summer house together in Martha’s Vineyard. The reader then gets to see a mystery unfold in the “adoption” of three goddaughters: Perry, Olivia, and Billie. We learn of their relationships with each girl, and with each other.

Fast forward to current day, all the girls are brought to the summer house one more time to find out which one may inherit the gem will Ama takes the next step as a widow into staying abroad with her new love interest.

We learn all the girls have their own secrets as well as Ama and the late Omar. Will the unearthing of long-buried secrets bring the women together, or push them a apart?

A great, relaxing read with a great ending. I loved the female characters. They were real, flawed, like able, strong, and fierce.

This looks to be the beginning of a new series. I look forward to additional books if they are as amazing as this read.

5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow/HarperCollins Publishers for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.

“Summer on the Bluffs” is a fun beach read, which immerses the reader in the glamorous lives of four strong, wealthy African-American women who split their lives between New York City and Martha’s Vineyard. The protagonist is a 67 years old Wall Street Matriarch, Amelia Banner (Ama) recovering from the grief of losing her husband, Omar, five years earlier.

Although childless, Ama and Omar shared their summers at the Vineyard with three young girls, whose only link to each other is their summers on the Vineyard. Despite their different backgrounds, the three grow to become like sisters. The book details the struggles the three strong independent women endure as they each try to emulate Ama in their own ways.

Throughout the years, each girl wonders why Ama and Omar chose each of them in particular to share their love and home. One summer, as they all gather at the Vineyard for Ama to disclose which of them will be given the house in the Vineyard, they will discover the secrets that Ama and Omar kept from them, with shattering results. The question is whether or not the “power of lies to destroy” will ultimately tear apart the carefully constructed family created over all those long summers on the Vineyard….

The Bluffs
Amalia Vaux left her family in New Orleans and came to NYC to start work as a secretary. She attended college part time and finally was able to become a trader on the floor of the Stock Exchange. She continued to rise through the financial world until she was known as the Witch of Wall Street partially because of her Creole heritage but mostly because of her expertise.

She married Omar Tanner, a successful lawyer who was also self made. Together they were the ultimate black power couple. So it was no surprise when the couple bought a large piece of land on Martha’s Vineyard and built an impressive house. The Vineyard has an area called Oak Bluffs where black people have had vacation homes for many years. Ama, as she was now known, and Omar became popular hosts to other successful blacks who journeyed to the Vineyard.

The couple had no children but instead became the godparents to three teen aged girls. The girls spent summers at the Vineyard with the couple who also served as their mentors and benefactors year round.

Then Omar died and Ama decided it was time pass her beloved Vineyard on to one of the god daughters as well as divulge secrets that she and Omar had concealed from them for all their lives. So she invited the girls, now successful women, to spend the last summer with her at the house.

This story exposes the reader to the world of upper class black society. The guest list at Ama’s Vineyard cottage reads like a volume of the Black Who’s Who. The author also uses fashion and cultural name dropping while describing the characters’ clothes and the interiors of the homes. However readers of any ethnic group will be able to understand the problems and struggles of the characters.

I received this ARC from the publisher and Net Galley in exchange for a fair review.

Admittedly, I read this book because the author is Sunny Hostin. I am a View fan and I always find her to be intelligent and thoughtful. I will say the same thing about Summer on the Bluffs. Essentially, this is the story of four affluent, strong black women. Amelia, or Ama as she is know to her goddaughters is a self made multi-millionaire. She is the widow of a multi- millionaire lawyer. They never had children but chose three girls from different backgrounds to become their goddaughters. Every summer Billie, Olivia and Perry would spend time with Ama and Omar on Martha’s Vineyard, living lives of privilege. For the rest of the year, Ama and Omar would come to them in New York City, where the girls were immersed in the arts and activities of the big city. This summer, all the girls are grown women, nearing thirty. Omar has passed away and they know that Ama is going to give one of them her beloved beachfront home. As they prepare to visit Ama, the girls each have something they would rather not share with the others. Ama has secrets she knows she finally has to share. Will their relationships with Ama and each other survive the summer? And how will their new-found knowledge shape their futures? I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even though I had to look up some of the brand references. Well worth reading.