My new guilty pleasure: Watching the Real Housewives of East Texas...I mean reading the newest May Cobb book - My Summer Darlings. Or should I say, Darlins??

If you are looking for a wholesome book about powerful women, this ain't it. These women are flawed and Toxic with a capital T, but I. Am. Here. For. It. This is popcorn reading at its finest.

I was worried I'd get lost in the multiple perspectives, but the women were so distinctly different it was easy to distinguish quickly. I was addicted to the manipulation happening to every character, from every character. This gave such complexity to the plot.

Although the twist isn't mind-blowing, I was fooled a few times. It. was the perfect trainwreck. I saw it coming at the end, but couldn't look away from it. I was SO frustrated with every single character by the end of the book, but those emotions kept me on the edge of my seat. I think readers could easily binge this in one sitting. It's an evenly-paced neighborhood thriller with lots of action and even a little bit of steam.

If you enjoyed The Hunting Wives, you will definitely enjoy My Summer Darlings. I can't wait to see more from this author.

After reading The Hunting Wives by May Cobb I knew I had to get my hands on another book by this author. When I saw My Summer Darlings available on NetGalley, I nearly screamed 😌

May Cobb is back with another highly entertaining novel that captures the phrase "everything is not what it seems". Jen, Kittie and Cynthia are three of the best friends you'll ever meet, but what will happen when a new, rather handsome and single man, is welcomed into their neighborhood. How easy is it for one person to wiggle their way into a solid friendship that was formed in their childhood?

This is novel is no stranger to the family drama club and also is part of the domestic thriller genre. May Cobb has a way of making her books so entertaining and engaging to read, regardless of what it's about. This book honestly made me feel like I was watching a reality TV show, and I absolutely loved that. There were some parts that I questioned in terms of how realistic certain events were, but overall I enjoyed this read.

Thanks NetGalley and Berkley for this advanced copy!

I had mixed opinions on this book. I really enjoyed the first half and all of the drama between the ladies. However, I found all of the characters very unlikeable. The further along I got into the book, the more far-fetched it seemed, and I just wanted it to be over. :(

I really wanted to like this one as it sounded right up my alley but unfortunately it was more about 4 friends complaining than any kind of thriller. I wanted them to get lives instead of sitting around waiting for something to happen.

By the time I got to the action-packed part it flew by so quickly and wrapped up even quicker.

After reading and loving The Hunting Wives I was really excited to see what May Cobb had in store for us next. I loved the wild and crazy drama from that book and was hoping for much of the same in My Summer Darlings, especially considering the synopsis made it sound like there would be. Well, there was definitely drama, and every single one of these women (Jen, Kittie, and Cynthia) was basically despicable. The only one that had any redeeming qualities at all was Jen but that was not enough to hold up the story for me. If there is one thing I hate, it is weak women and that's exactly what all 3 of these characters were, weak. I was hoping someone would learn something by the time we got to the end, but nope, it only got worse. I saw someone call this a popcorn thriller and I would definitely agree with that description.

If there was one thing I did enjoy, it was the audiobook, and I loved the full cast of narrators. Karissa Vacker, Amy Gordon, Nan McNamara & Kristen DiMercurio were each wonderful for their corresponding character, and they did such a good job that they probably made me hate these people even more! It took me a while to get into this one, but things were way better once I became invested in the story. Then we all know what happened when I got towards the end.... nothing good. It was really just the plotline at the end and the characters that killed this one for me, but it would certainly make a great beach read. The cover screams summer, and the story completes this feel with all the drinking these ladies do. My Summer Darlings did get me at the VERY end, and while it wasn't fully my cup of tea, I will always be looking forward to Cobb's next book.

Thank you to the publishers for my advanced listening and reader copies of this book. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

I have been excited for this release ever since I read The Hunting Wives and this follow up from Cobb definitely did not disappoint! I was enamored with the summer vibes, catty characters and domestic drama. If anything is a deliciously devious poolside read, it’s this one! The twists unfolded beautifully at the end, and the novel offered just enough information to convince me to care about the characters without overloading me with info or dragging the plot. Perfect summer thriller. 4.5/5 stars!

I enjoyed this soapy thriller, which went from sexy to scary very quickly! In the opening lines of the book, you learn that someone has been hurt and left in the woods, and the mystery of who it was and who did that to them starts to unfold as we go back six weeks to see what led to that event. The only thing I didn't like was Cynthia's POV being told from diary entries... They were very descriptive and didn't sound at all like something that would be written in a journal. Overall a fun book with unlikeable characters and a slightly twisty ending.

Kittie, Jen, and Cynthia have been friends since childhood. When Jen’s divorce has her moving back to the area, the three reconnect. What nobody expects however, is for the new neighbor to come between them, especially since Kittie and Cynthia are still married. As Will goes hot and cold with each women, their lives and friendships begin to fall apart.

So let me start by saying I didn’t hate this book. For some reason when I give 3 stars people assume I hated it. One, if I hated it you would know (Rooney anyone?) Also, it would get 1 or 2 stars, but more than likely I would DNF it and you would never see it. So, with that said. I really enjoyed The Hunting Wives last year so I was excited for this one. While it pulled me in to start, it just felt a bit too far fetched for me. There were so many times I just wanted to scream at the characters and be like “Come on really? This is the choice you are going to make?” I also didn’t really get Will’s immediate appeal? Overall this one was just ok for me. I didn’t hate it, but it didn’t do much for me either.

🔊Song Pairing: Womanizer - Britney Spears (queeeeen)

💭What I thought would happen:

A suburban drama. Bored housewives…is this a trope. If so I am always here for that

📖What actually happens:

Jen has moved back to her childhood suburb of Texas where people have too much money and free time. Newly divorced with her teenage son, she is reunited with her 2 best friends who never left.

A new man moves to town and every woman is intrigued as the hot new European man has an allure of mystery and sexual appeal with that hint of accent…his presence starts to create a battle royale of the housewives.

🗯Thoughts:

The women in this book are assholes and for once (and one time only) the poor husbands are the innocent bystanders to the crazy drama goings on. I ended the book and thought did anyone learn a Friggin lesson 😂

If you don’t like petty drama, rude bitches or adulterous behaviours…perhaps pass on this one but seriously, this one is a GREAT summer read, pick up poolside.

I have yet to read The Hunting Wives because well there were some mixed reviews but I think it for surely will be a book for me and cannot wait!

So throw your petty panties on and pick up this diabolical read.

I adore a good domestic thriller and My Summer Darlings did not disappoint. A thrilling page turner that hooked me from start to finish. Dark, steamy, with complicated characters. A captivating, entertaining good time.

I wanted to like My Summer Darlings By May Cobb so bad but unfortunately I'm underwhelmed. I love a juicy domestic thriller as much as the next person but this felt a bit like empty calories. I really had to push to read this and wanted more thrill.

OK. So I really loved The Hunting Wives and was very excited to pick this book up, expecting to be immediately drawn in like I was in THW. Unfortunately, I think the pacing of this book was a bit slow. I found myself not really interested in picking it back up for the first 60%....

Once we hit a little over half way, the plot definitely picked up and I read the rest in one sitting!

The twists are PRETTY WILD. There were times that I nearly forgot it was a thriller of sorts and just focused on Rich Mom Drama, but then we would get a “present” scene and I would remember that there is something more sinister going on.

3.5 rounded up to 4

Jen moves back to her small TX town after her divorce and back to the house she grew up in. It’s in the neighborhood with her two best friends, Kittie and Cynthia. When Will Harding moves into a mansion in the neighborhood, all the ladies lose their minds. He is handsome with a Danish accent and apparently that is all they need to be completely obsessed. The present day shows that things have gone completely off the rails and the alternating POVs show how we get there.

It was a pretty slow moving story especially in the beginning but the ending picks up and I had to know what happened. The characters are all very unlikable if that matters to you😬 I also really wish Will had been fleshed out as a character. We didn’t know hardly anything about him or his motives for his actions. If you like woman behaving badly and some steam in your thrillers, I think you’ll enjoy this. It’s like a train wreck that you can’t look away from🍒

Thanks to @netgalley and @berkleypub for the arc for review!

My Summer Darlings is essentially a book that’s been created in a lab to be read poolside with a Black Cherry White Claw close at hand—and I mean that in the best of all possible ways—while you gasp your way through several hundred pages of the bad choices and messed up relationship decisions that only ever seem to get made by well-off suburbanite women with little to lose. It is a book that is the definition of a guilty pleasure, and there is absolutely no shame in that. It is summer, there is a reason thrillers of all stripes are so popular this time of the year, and Cobb taps into the indulgent, escapist vibe of it all perfectly.

I had an immense pleasure reading The Hunting Wives and felt the same for My Summer Darlings by May Cobb

My Summer Darlings is your perfect summer guilty pleasure read!! Jen, Kittie and Cynthia are three lifelong friends attracted to a mysterious handsome stranger Will Harding. Full of drama, dark story line, intense plot and some deep secrets make this book irresistible and hard to put down!

Thank you Berkley Pub and NetGalley for the gifted copy in exchange of my honest review!

The synopsis had me so excited for this book, I was ready to dive right in. Unfortunately it wasn't as good as I was hoping. It was bad, it was just lacking in a couple areas. There were some things I did enjoy. I loved some of the ridiculousness of the book, I enjoyed the dark tone of the book and I am always a fan of some good sarcasm. The thing about this book though is there isn't a lot of substance there. Sure its a great popcorn book and at times its pretty entertaining but for me anyways I couldn't connect to the book at all. Its like a tv show you through on in the background. I also did not like any of the characters. The story was also a bit steamier than I was looking for. Steamy isn't bad but I just wasn't here for it this time.

What to Expect:
Messy characters
Unlikable characters
Frenemies
Drama


My thoughts:

If you’re looking for a fun, messy and entertaining read for the summer look no further. Pretty much all the characters except for one are trash. The way the women treated each other in the book and then had the nerve to call themselves friends.
😩🤣
Either way as messy as this book was it definitely helped with my reading slump!

School ends next week around here and everyone is making some great summer plans. Nothing like the plans these three life-long friends have, thank goodness.
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My Summer Darlings by May Cobb stacks up to be a summer filled with intrigue, jealousy, secrets, mystery, and so much steam. Oh, and just a little murder in the mix.
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This is another women behaving badly book by Cobb, who also wrote The Hunting Wives. Women in East Texas are going to get a bad reputation or at least a Desperate Housewives spin-off if they are at all like these characters.
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I happily fell into the craziness surrounding the three women, their teenagers, and the sexy, single new neighbor. It was a quick read, perfect for reading poolside with a fruity alcoholic beverage or curled up in your cozy spot with a glass of wine. This book will make you want a drink, or swear off of alcohol in fear of becoming like these moms.

Huh. I'm not even sure what to say about this one - it was a complete rollercoaster. I didn't know what I was getting to each time I turned the page! It was definitely intriguing, but also sort of a shocker.

Man. I had seen people so excited about this one, and despite finding The Hunting Wives just meh, I bought into the hype and let myself get pumped for it. Sadly, this was another meh. I gotta say, the last 25% picked up and saved it for me, but I came thisclose to DNF up to then. I think if it hadn’t been a NetGalley buddy read tour, I probably would have if I’m being honest. I’m guessing maybe this author just isn’t for me. Once again, the hype crushed the book for me lol
The women were the absolute worst kind of humans! There’s several triggers so be aware going in, and the “twist” was 100% predictable. I’ve never seen desperate housewives but I feel like this is the kind of thing that happens on it.