A Summer to Remember by Erika Montgomery is a book meant for beach blankets and poolsides. It's a book that just screams summer. And, it's a book that reveres and delights in Old Hollywood.

When a mysterious pair of letters found in her mother's belongings send Frankie to spend the summer in Cape Cod, she is left with a mystery to uncover, a chance at love, and possibly a new beginning.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

I love fairytales for grown up girls and A Summer to Remember is just the right one. It reads well, enjoyable and light. Yes, it is about family secrets and past hurts but it is about love and devotion, passion and finding your own voice, feet and place in the world.

Frankie Simon finds herself lost and confused. Her mother passed away. She broke up with her boyfriend who just happened to be her landlord and raised the rent on her shop. Thus, Frankie needs to decided what to do: stay or leave. And leave she does.

Frankie goes searching for her mother, traces of her mother in other people and other places. And Frankie is hoping that may be, just may be, she will be able to find out who her mysterious father was. What she finds is love, family and purpose.

This book is filled with sun and movie magic, strength of its characters and depth of human love and sorrow. I enjoyed this read very much. It took me to the places I've never been. It showed me the world of movie memorabilia and film festivals from inside out, from the angle of its creators and organisers. It was an amazing journey.

And yes, the happy ending was a cherry on a cake.

Well this debut novel is bound to be a Summer 2021 #1 beach read. The book is exceptionally well written and kept me engaged from page 1. This is a story of friendship, love, loss, Hollywood nostalgia, family secrets and finding oneself. When Frankie discovers an old photo and 2 sealed envelopes in her mother's things, she leaves Hollywood in search of her father and discovers so much more.

A Summer to Remember, by Erika Montgomery, delivers a light, glitzy beach read set in a a New England beach town, but peopled with Hollywood characters with complicated pasts. It is both romance and mystery. It is a quick, fun story which will make a wonderful Hallmark movie. Almost all of the characters are engaging, although only the protagonist felt authentic. Pick this one up for its entertainment value!

Thanks to NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for the opportunity to get my summer reading off to a great start.

This will be in my top ten of 2021
The perfect beach read I loved the old time Hollywood nostalgia and Garbo the dog!!
My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis
For thirty-year-old Frankie Simon, selling movie memorabilia in the shop she opened with her late mother on Hollywood Boulevard is more than just her livelihood--it's an enduring connection to the only family she has ever known. But when a mysterious package arrives containing a photograph of her mother and famous movie stars Glory Cartwright and her husband at a coastal film festival the year before Frankie's birth, her life begins to unravel in ways unimaginable.

What begins is a journey along a path revealing buried family secrets, betrayals between lovers, bonds between friends. And for Frankie, as the past unlocks the present, the chance to learn that memories define who we are, and that they can show us the meaning of home and the magic of true love.

Experience the salty breeze of a Cape Cod summer as it sweeps through this sparkling, romantic, and timeless debut novel tinged with a love of old Hollywood.

Frankie has continued her mother’s legacy of selling movie memorabilia, but when a package comes with letters addressed to people she doesn’t know, Frankie embarks in a journey to find answers. Leaving LA, she flies East, hoping the recipients of the letters will be able to tell her more about her movie loving Mom, as well as find out who her father is, a secret kept by her mother. The story alternates with the story of Glory and Mitch, film stars whose lives intersect with Frankie’s mother, Maeve. Another good vacation read, with a touch of romance. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Frankie Simon lives in Hollywood, where she operates the small movie memorabilia shop that her late mother started. She receives a mysterious package in the mail with a photo of her mother and an old time movie star. After discovering a link between her mother and the movie star and his wife, Frankie decides to travel cross country to Cape Cod with two unopened letters from years ago ... and many unanswered questions.

I wanted to read this novel because the movie memorabilia shop sounded so interesting. It was! I loved the details of items in the shop, and stories about collectors.

I also enjoyed the setting, both in Hollywood and later in a small, picturesque Cape Cod town during summer. There is even a character who lives on a boat!

This novel started off slowly for me with Frankie's present day story. When the story of the past with movie stars Mitch and Glory, and their friends from the Cape, Louise and Russ, began, then the story really became interesting to me. Surprisingly, the storyline that interested me most was Louise, a doctor's wife in the 1970's whose life changed when she became friends with movie star Glory Cartwright.

The novel moves between present day and 1970's - 1980's Cape Cod seamlessly. I especially liked the retro time period story.

As Frankie learns more about her mother's history from years before, she also learns more about herself and discovers a new community of friends - and a sweet love story.

I recommend A Summer to Remember for anyone looking for a beach read with a retro twist.

This novel has gotten such fantastic reviews so I hate that I am even writing this, but for some reason, I just didn't click with Frankie, the plot, or anything else. Keep in mind that almost everyone else that has read this has given very positive reviews. For me personally, a book needs to be fairly fast-paced for me to enjoy and I especially need to love the main character(s). Frankie's character didn't seem well-developed to me and the pacing of the novel was just too slow. I almost didn't finish it, but eventually pushed through.

*Thanks to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I thought the writing in this book was so fantastic. It grabbed me from the beginning. The middle lost me for a little bit, but there were a lot of interesting twists that really surprised me! I liked the ending, though there were some loose ends I wish were tied up a little more. Overall, it's a great summer read!

A perfect book for movie buffs. The story is heavily about movie star, film festivals and film memorabilia. The story is also about selfish adults and interpersonal skills. Tho the story appears to be about 2 young people and their romance, the deeper story is about 4 adults and the fallout of that friendship. The book was interesting and at times a bit sad.

Great beach read and very good as a debut book. Jacket cover gives good description, so I won't repeat plot or any storyline. Characters are slowly built, interesting and mostly believable. Watch to be sure if you are in current time or reading an incident from the past. as not all chapters were marked for time but you can determine by the character voice. The romance happens a little quickly and is easy to see it coming but it doesn't deter from the long backstory and little bit of mystery that is contained within the book. Read and enjoy. I was provided an advanced reader copy but was under no obligation to provide a review. The opinions expressed are my own.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

An easy beach read that is perfect for this summer. It took me a little while to get in to the story, but once I did, I didn’t stop until I finished! It was a sweet story line with some unexpected twists and turns and a nice ending. Definitely pick this one up for your next beach or pool trip.

I received this book from Netgalley and St Martin’s Press in exchange for my honest review.

After her mother, Maeve's, premature death, Frankie continues to run her Hollywood memorabilia business, but when the landlord raises her rent and she receives a mysterious package in the mail, she decides to travel to Cape Cod and try to learn who her father is. The package contained a photo of a very young Maeve with film star, Mitch whose more famous wife, Glory, started an annual film festival.

Frankie learns that Maeve spent longer than a summer there and was more deeply entrenched in the lives of Mitch, Glory, and their couple friend. Gabe, Mitch and Glory's adopted son, makes it clear that he has no interest in Frankie's voyage of discovery--until sparks of a different kind start to fly between him and Frankie.

Erika Montgomery has crafted memorable characters and an evocative setting. She expertly weaves the past and present together in a page-turning novel that is part romance, part mystery, and part coming of age. The only thing that bothered me was Frankie's seeming loss of interest in learning her father's identity. #ASummerToRemember #NetGalley

What a perfect summer read! Good characters, good storyline, and good writing. The transitions between time/characters were abrupt at times but fairly smooth most of the time. I loved how the details were gradually revealed to complete the story -- and that the ending showed a lot of promise for family and love to come.

A wonderful first work from this author. Women’s fiction that includes a lot of mom drama, some mystery, discovering some deeply held life altering family secrets and investigating them, a little romance, travel. grief, new friendships and the hope of family connections. Really nothing major! Frankie is grieving the loss of her beloved, but controlling mother. She dies without ever having revealed what Frankie wanted most, to know the identity of her father. She abided by her mothers rules because it was what it was. When a package shows up with a picture of her mom and others it is the beginning of a mystery that Frankie feels she must unravel and solve. The story toggles between the past and present, evokes a bit of old Hollywood and forces Frankie to get out of her comfort to find out who she really is. It's a beautiful journey with some really interesting and wonderful new people and experiences along the way. Not always easy and definitely emotional and life altering, but wonderful Perfect summer read with a lot of heart.

I was really excited to read this book, as it sounded really interesting and like a nice light read compared to what I normally read. However, this book definitely disappointed me. I thought the book was really slow, and it really dragged on in some parts and it just couldn’t grab my attention. I liked the characters, but I just didn’t feel connected to them in any way nor did I feel like I could relate to them. However, for this being a debut novel I thought it was pretty good. This author is definitely a strong writer and seems to have a bright future ahead of her. Overall the book was good but it just wasn’t fully for me.

Maybe I’m not fit to read fluffy stories anymore?

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This debut was a delight! I enjoyed the Cape Cod setting which brought a great summer feel.

I thought this was a beautifully written story that included family secrets, romance and mystery. I couldn't put this one down and would highly recommend it!

A Summer to Remember is the story of Frankie Simon. The story begins after Maeve’s unexpected death. Frankie and her mother ran a movie memorabilia shop in Hollywood. Maeve would change the subject when Frankie asked about Maeve’s history and their family. Frankie receives a package containing two unopened letters and an old photograph. Frankie recognizes two of the people in the photograph. They are deceased Hollywood A Listers – Glory Cartwright and Mitch Beckett. As much as the sale of these letters would help Frankie save the shop, Maeve always told Frankie she shouldn’t open someone else’s mail. Using the internet, Frankie tracks down their son Gabe. She decides to attend Glory’s film festival in Harpswich, Massachusetts to deliver the letters personally. Frankie finds that Maeve’s past and her own destiny lie in that small Massachusetts town.
This story is well crafted. It keeps you interested in what is going on. The story is told both in the present and in the past. You can easily make assumptions on the information Frankie will find but, in the end, you discover that the obvious isn’t what happens. This is an excellent first novel by an author that I will follow.

Frankie and her mother sold movie memorabilia from their store in Hollywood. Now her mom is dead and Frankie has received several letters and photos addressed to several big name stars. She hopes that if she delivers them she will discover who her father is and what secrets her mother was hiding. This is a story of friendship, love and discovering one's past. I had a little trouble getting into the rhythm of this book but I persevered and enjoyed the book. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A Summer To Remember
By Erika Montgomery

Hollywood Nostalgia + Family Secrets + Tale of Love = Perfect Beach Read

Thirty year old Frankie was still reeling from the death of her mother when she received a package containing a photo of her mother and a movie star. For as far as Frankie knows, it had always just been her and her mother and their movie memorabilia shop on Hollywood Blvd. In a story told in multiple timelines, Frankie begins her journey of unearthing family secrets in the beautiful setting of Cape Cod in the summer.

The story was beautifully told and written that is the perfect escape read that you could get lost in for hours. I highly recommend this book.