Wow. This is one of those thriller/suspense books that you don’t figure out who done it or think you have it allllll figured out…and you don’t. Looove these.

There’s something about Mary Will.

Will Harding is the hottest thing to hit East Texas since, well, forever. The new stranger instantly makes heads turn with his European accent and brooding good looks. Jen gets the vapors when she thinks about him, and is thrilled when she finds out her new neighbor is smitten with her too. She’s had a hard time, recently divorced and with a teenager who resents that they moved back to her hometown.

Jen’s friends, Kittie and Cynthia, also have their eye on Will. They discuss him during their weekly wine nights, and they’re super happy for Jen to have found someone...or are they?

Will has a way of seducing women. By the time anyone figures out how sleazy he is, it may be too late...as danger lurks.

This was such a fun read. I was instantly engaged with the main characters and the “gossipy housewives” vibes. I really enjoy reading these soapy books, and author May Cobb has a knack for writing them.

While there’s nothing Earth-shattering in the story, it’s still vibrant and suspenseful, with moments of dark humor and biting dialogue (I just adore F-bombs!!!).

This is a fast-paced neighborhood thriller that really benefits from the relationships of the three main characters, and I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen. The one little letdown was the epilogue. While I thought one was necessary in this book, I didn’t love the one provided.

Thank you to Berkley and Edelweiss for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected Publication Date: 5/17/22.

Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com

ɪ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ɪ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ʟᴇғᴛ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇɴ, ɪ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ɴᴏ ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇᴘᴛ ᴏғ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴀɴʏᴍᴏʀᴇ...ɪ ᴄᴀɴ’ᴛ ғᴇᴇʟ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴇʟsᴇ, ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴍʏ ᴄʜᴇᴇᴋʙᴏɴᴇ sᴛɪʟʟ ᴛʜʀᴏʙs ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴘᴀɪɴ. ɪ ᴡɪɴᴄᴇ ᴡʜᴇɴ ɪ ʀᴇᴍᴇᴍʙᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛʀɪᴋᴇ ᴏғ ʜɪs ʜᴀɴᴅ, ғᴏʟʟᴏᴡᴇᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇʀ ʙʏ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛʀɪᴋᴇ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ sʜᴏᴠᴇʟ ʙʟᴀᴅᴇ, ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ᴏᴘᴇɴᴇᴅ ᴜᴘ ᴀ ɢᴏʀɢᴇ ᴀʟᴏɴɢ ᴍʏ ᴄʜᴇᴇᴋʙᴏɴᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄʀᴀᴄᴋᴇᴅ ᴍʏ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛᴡᴏ.

MY SUMMER DARLINGS was everything I hoped for and more! It's the perfect blend of the immorality that runs rampant behind the closed doors of suburbia mixed with vibes of John Tucker Must Die.

Three lifelong friends spend their summer in Texas sitting by the pool, having wine night, bitching about their husbands and kids, and feeling insecure while simultaneously, surreptitiously, trying to one-up each other, as women often do. Everything changes when Will Harding moves to town. He's sexy and mysterious, and to the one single woman in the group, an obvious catch. But hold up...the married ones want him too, and before you know it, everybody is sneaking off to Will's house where he uses the same tired lines on each one. The characters just came off the page (no pun intended 😂) and even though you may think their behavior is trite and stereotypical, most women turn into backstabbing middle school b*tches when a hot, available man is involved. Case in point:
𝘈𝘴 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦, 𝘐’𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘊𝘺𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘢’𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭.
Aaaaand...
𝘈𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳: 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘺𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘢 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘴? 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘶𝘮𝘣 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴.

The ending left me slack-jawed with all sorts of scenarios running through my head. Pick up this summer blockbuster May 17, 2022.

Forever grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for this early access!

Thank you to Berkley and Net Galley for my advanced reader copy of My Summer Darlings!

Holy wow hold on while I pick my jaw up from the floor. In the wonderful May Cobb’s latest page-turner, she combines sizzling romance with heart-pounding tension.

In My Summer Darlings, a handsome stranger moves into a small East Texas Town, wreaking havoc on three women’s lives. Jen, Kittie, and Cynthia love to drink Pinot Grigio and gossip about their neighbors. They grew up together in the same small town where they now live. When Will snakes his way into their lives, he pits the women against one another, lying and seducing each one.

This one was absolutely gripping! It is 75% romance/drama and 25% thriller. If you enjoy Colleen Hoover or Lauren Weisberger, and are looking for a steamy summer read, this is for you. Bring it to the beach with a glass of chilled wine and prepare for a wild ride!

Hmm… I can hear: choo choo sound of disappointment train: oh boy somebody cut this noise! I truly wanted to love this book more! Especially after reading Hunting Wives and getting quick glimpse of promising blurb gives me Desperate Housewives meet Real housewives of Atlanta vibes, I was intrigued to jump into this!

Pros: I loved any kind of craziness, extremity, absurdism, darkness, over sarcasm: so second half of the book was somewhat okay for me in the beginning. But in a sudden, things have gotten too far! It even passed my crazy stuff endurance limit!

Pros: at least Jen: cheated by scumbag Felix, trying to start a new life, raising her teenage boy with help of parents is tolerable character from the beginning. Yes, her obsession about Will is still over exaggerating but it can make sense. But I cannot say the same for those fancy bitchy friends of hers who look for adventure, chasing a guy for thrill, suffering from extreme selfishness!

Both Cynthia who is worst version of Sex and City’s Miranda, pouring her sex fantasies to her journal and Kitty with emphasized cleavage and shitty spoiled daughter were inspiringly despicable and adoringly punchable characters I like to scream at their faces to go to hell!

Yes: the plot is tempting and attention taking. Three suburban friends: Jen: divorced, other two are richer and married, targeting the new guy Will Harding to seduce who got looks of Bradley Copper meets Zach Efron. I understand the reasoning why Jen chases over that guy but I still don’t understand why those other women are so competitive to drool over him. But somewhat I understand their motivations and focus on the mystery parts.

Well: the conjecture and development were a little derailed and I couldn’t empathize with any of the characters including Will!

It was still entertaining, fast popcorn read! I can never say it made me bored but I enjoyed the first book of the author a little more. Hunting Wives’ heroines we’re also despicable but at least story’s development and conclusion were more promising!

So I decided to give three neither I hated nor I loved it stars!

I’m still interested to read new works of the author but unfortunately this time, this book was not a hit for me!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Jen, Kittie and Cynthia have been friends since they were young. Jen recently moved back to her hometown after her divorce. She is excited to meet the new handsome neighbor Will and is thrilled when he seems to be interested in her. The friends meet by the pool drinking wine and giving advice to Jen. What starts off as a light hearted romance soon becomes more sinister when a few chapters tell of a mysterious person who is alone, hurt and afraid they are going to die. Who is the mysterious person and who has done this to them? And are Kittie and Cynthia as good friends to Jen as they claim?

Desperate Housewives revamped.
Jen, Kittie, and Cynthia are childhood friends who live in an East Texas town. Jen is recently divorced. Kittie and Cynthia are married, but that doesn't stop them ALL from lusting after their new neighbor Will.
It started out slowly, then got steamy, then weird at the end. There's really no explanation as to why Will does what he does. It's a lot of sex and wine drinking.
Similar to The Hunting Wives, although I liked that one better.

I read May Cobb's last book, so I was thrilled to get approved for this one. I began reading immediately and practically couldn't stop until I was finished. First, some pros: I really liked the character of Jen, even if she seemed a little obsessive over Will too soon. I was rooting for her. (And proud that she essentially became the hero in the end). Next, I really enjoyed having multiple narrators, so you could understand each character and make opinions based on more than just conjecture...what I didn't like, however, was pretty much every other character. Will was awful, Kittie was self serving, Cynthia was willing to walk away from her child for a man she didnt really know.... they were just gross. I didn't feel that they took anything away from the book or its plot, but I just wished, from time to time, that I had someone else in the book I was hoping to see succeed.

A great follow up to Hunting Wives. This book is an incredibly steamy great story about three friends in a close knit community. I absolutely enjoyed it and highly recommend it.