Summer Island Book Club by Ciara Knight is a perfect fit for readers who crave a lighthearted, emotional, and romantic escape, as it weaves a tale of self-discovery, second chances, and the power of friendship and love in a sun-kissed small-town setting.

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

~~~ I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ~~~

I unintentionally read the next book in this series first and didn't find it super great, so I put off reading this one. However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I enjoyed this book a lot more. This is the story of Julie and Trevor who are opposites in a lot of ways but both share the ending of their marriages. They both need healing and friendship, which they find at, of course, Friendship Beach! This is a cute romance story. If you're looking for a HEA and light-hearted read, this will do the trick!

This was a fun and quick read. Not much of a book club element so the title is fairly deceiving. That aside though, I really enjoyed the story of childhood best friends getting back together.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. There is a story of friendship that lasts decades, along with some romance. Julie Boone lives in Summer Island, Florida. The town is a quiet, laid back beach town as the backdrop to this story. Julie is a widow who has kind of lost her way. When her adult daughter invites her three best friends from high school back to town to stage an intervention, of sorts, she remembers the value of their kind of friendship.

Trevor Ashford has recently moved to Summer Island to get away from his life. He is recently divorced and wants nothing more than to start a charter boat business operating from Summer Island. When he meets Julie, he is instantly smitten, and frankly, so is she. As their relationship develops, there are forces at work to keep them apart. It will take trust and the promise of true love to keep them together.

All the characters in this story were so well developed and wove a truly beautiful story that I was completely caught up in and was sad when it ended. I can't wait to read more in the series.

I was given an arc copy of this book and I willingly offer my honest review.

Lovely feel good book to read. It was a joy to read. Lovely characters. Great plot. The book was charming. Very well written. I’d definitely recommend this book

Just finished the first book in the Friendship Beach series and lovvvvvedddd it. Was in awe over the chemistry between Trevor and Julie, inspired by the close friendship between Trace, Wind, Kat, Bri, and of course Julie. Was hooked right when I started the first chapter and didn’t want it to end when I finished the last chapter. Can’t wait to continue to read the rest of the books in the series.

This is lovely, warming short story about love, loss and friendship. Definitely recommend to read in summer. The story is about her losing her husband and trying to find herself again and love.
Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this book.

I enjoyed reading Summer Island Book Club by Ciara Knight - treat yourself to a new book!

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and the publisher ~ Thank you ~ !! This is my honest and personal review.

I received an eARC of Summer Island Book Club by Ciara Knight from Author Collective 20 and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
4 stars! This was a great beach read about lifelong friends, new chapters, and a second chance romance. Well done, Ms. Knight!

Lovely book with a heartwarming message. Loved the relationships and the never-breaking bond. Great read.

Really great read. 4 old friends reuniting and realizing they were all missing their friendship. Good characters and an easy summer read

I really enjoyed this book. It described the feelings we experience as we grow older, loss of loved ones and regrets of old friendships and how we can overcome them. We all have issues but with opening ourselves we can see it is easy to rediscover what we thought was lost forever. Looking forward to the stories of the “book club “ group in the future books!

Loved this book! It’s a great book about friendship and how even the test of time can’t break this friendship. It’s also about opening yourself up and finding love when you least expect it. A great summer read.

EXCERPT: 'What's this?' Julie eyed her daughter's handwriting on the front of the envelope.

'Open it.' Bri took a large bite, but Julie wasn't hungry all of a sudden.

She opened the first envelope and read the single sheet.

A call to Summer Island Book Club January 14th

Julie shook her head. 'I don't understand.' Her words were hollow because her brain was processing a thirty two year old message. The last time she'd seen those words, she was graduating high school. All her friends had moved on with their lives, leaving the slow, dyslexic, artsy girl behind to marry young because that was her only choice. Not that she regretted her years with Joe, not at all, but she had envied her friends worldly lives after graduation. Kat went Ivy League. Wind landed a part in a Broadway production. Trace joined some world renowned ocean conservation company and made headlines cleaning up oil spills and inventing new ways to combat the plastic problem in the oceans.

Julie had stayed in the same town, doing the same thing, for three decades. 'No,' she mumbled under her breath. 'I don't want to see them.'

ABOUT 'SUMMER ISLAND BOOK CLUB': Widow Julie Boone has lived her life and is content, so she thought until her daughter gives her the perfect nightmare of a fiftieth birthday gift-her three childhood besties. The arrival of her wildly successful, buttinski friends, overwhelms Julie when her life goes from peaceful to melodrama, makeovers, and matchmaking. Especially when they make her believe there is still life to be lived with one handsome sailor who’s just moved to town.

Trevor Ashford retreats from big city life to sunny Florida after a failed marriage and damaged reputation. His only wish is to open a small boat charter company in peace, but when Houdini-a mischievous pet ferret-steals an engine part and leads him on a merry chase into the arms of Julie Boone, he has to choose between being a recluse or embracing a new love.

MY THOUGHTS: Summer Island Book Club by Ciara Knight is a quick, easy, sweet and entertaining read, but it's very little to do with a book club, other than historically.

I like the characters, and I like that they are an older age group than what is usually found in a romance novel. I found Julie really easy to relate to, probably because we share a lot of the same personality traits.

I liked that the love interests don't immediately jump into bed, but I did feel that the whole 'romance/falling in love' scenario was extremely rushed, happening over a very short period of time, approximately two weeks, give or take, by my calculation. That was a negative for me.

And, as I mentioned, there actually isn't a book club, or any books read, or discussed. In fact, until right at the end, there isn't even any mention of books. Julie never sits down with a drink and a book, never reads a book on the beach . . . there's no mention of books in her house! And I do love the cover. I could easily insert myself into it.

But, this was a fun read and one not to be taken seriously. I enjoyed it, but it is not one that I will remember for long, although I do have it's follow up, Summer Island Sisters queued up to read.

⭐⭐⭐.5

#SummerIslandBookClub #NetGalley

I: @ciaratknight #authorcollective20

T: @ciaratknight

#contemporaryfiction #romance #womensfiction

THE AUTHOR: A friend once told me that I live eighty percent of my life in my imagination and twenty percent in the real world. I can’t deny this. I'm Ciara Knight
USA Today Bestselling author of sweet contemporary and southern romance. I've written almost fifty novels.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Authors Collective 20 for providing a digital ARC of Summer Island Book Club by Ciara Knight for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

Nothing like a group of friends s to get you up and out of the house. Throw in a great romance and you have the perfect summer read.

This was actually a great beach read if you like that type of book. Very easy to read and enjoy. I would read her again.

I loved this book. We begin the story with the protagonist situation. Her situation being that she is a widow and cannot move forward. We learn about her struggles and the support she receives from her loved ones. There is also a male protagonist that we read about, and their lives intertwined. It is a slow-paced romance that talk about second chances, forgiving, letting go and friendship. This was a wonderful book, and I was happy to be able to read it. The author did an amazing job in creating and developing this story. This is such a great beach/summer reading book. Oh, it also contains a book club in the beach with friends.

Such a cute little beach read! The author did such a great job depicting Julie and her friends, I felt like I was living vicariously through the last page.

Easy summer read, great for the beach. Loved it! I have recommended it to all my reader friends who are fans of the genre!