There is something about a story that takes place in Cape Cod that makes it a perfect summer read. Weiner's writing made it feel like I was right there in her scenes. She was just descriptive enough to make it feel real but not so much that it felt made up. This novel is told from multiple points of view, and there were a lot of people to keep track of, which made it a little challenging in the beginning, but as you get to know them and their individual voices, it became a lot easier. This was a complex story about complex families, the secrets that we keep, and how our deceit affects our relationships. I really liked the theme of self-realization in the later years of life that Weiner explored in this book. There were a few characters that felt like afterthoughts, as they weren't as well-developed as the primary ones, and I think the book would have been just as good if not better without the drama they brought to the story. *Advance copy provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

If you’re looking for a summer read that pushes family drama to the absolute limits, The Summer Place is for you! Holy moly, does shit hit the proverbial fan and it was super satisfying to watch play out.

It’s told through multiple POVs, including Sarah Danhauser, her mother Veronica, her stepdaughter Ruby, her brother Sam, and her husband Eli.

The layers of this story are wild. There are more plot twists and surprises than some of the best thrillers I’ve read. I’m pretty sure my jaw dropped more than once. This is one of the first books that talks about pandemic life that I’ve been able to read. Ruby and her boyfriend had only been together a few months at college when the pandemic hit, and they moved in with her dad and stepmom in Brooklyn when the world shut down. A year later, the pair announces their engagement, and despite the family’s shock (their age, their short-ish relationship, etc.), plans move forward for a wedding at the family beach house on Cape Cod. Veronica, who’s living in the house , is thrilled to host a big celebration there before putting it on the market. When the wedding weekend hits, secrets come to light, and plans quickly go off the rails.

These people are flawed, with real problems, a million secrets, and so many poor decisions. Jen has an uncanny way of writing characters that I would normally despise, but she somehow humanizes them enough to not necessarily be likable, but easily digestible. While the subject matter is not light and fluffy, this still feels like an incredible escape read that will satiate your summer reading appetites.

Thanks to Atria books and NetGalley for the review copy!

Sooooo good! Oh my goodness, Jennifer Weiner did it again. I LOVED The Summer Place, full of incredible characters, intense, current, deeply tangled and complex. Impossible to put down, until the book arrives at a very satisfying conclusion. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the copy for review. All opinions are my own.

In The Summer Place, Ruby is set to marry her "pandemic boyfriend" in just 3 months time, at a family beach house on Cape Cod. The pandemic brought them together perhaps a bit quicker than usual, and at their young age (early 20's)-- are they really ready for marriage?
Leading up to the wedding, every family member has something they are hiding and their own story unfolding.

To be completely honest, this book just wasn't for me. I did not totally dislike it, but it felt slow and fairly anticlimactic. If you enjoy family dramas and lots of character development, this may be for you. This family was the definition of "dysfunctional".
I wish there was more of the present day story line, because that was more interesting to me. There was a TON of backstory. There were a lot of characters to keep up, and most of them were fairly unlikable. Almost every character was unfaithful or selfish.
Jennifer Weiner has written some of my favorite books, so I'll just admit this one wasn't for me! I know plenty of others who have enjoyed it.

I absolutely love Jennifer Weiner and this book was no exception. I loved how Diana made a return from the last book Weiner wrote! The story was incredibly intriguing, and at times dark and sad, but overall rang with Weiner’s signature writing style and gift of storytelling.

When 22 year old Ruby announces she's getting married to her pandemic boyfriend, Gabe, everyone in the family is a little taken aback. I mean...she hasn't known him that long. And she's so young! But Ruby has always known what she wants, and she's set the date and place. The summer home on Cape Cod where her step-grandmother lives.

The engagement churns up a plethora of secrets, lies and misunderstandings that are festering in this family. Veronica, the grandmother, once had a whole other life as a novelist, and is currently keeping a serious secret. Eli, Ruby's dad, has a secret from when he was married to his first wife. Sarah, Ruby's step-mother, has regrets she's never let herself face. Sam, Sarah's twin brother, is feeling lost and confused.

But what the old Summer Home knows is that this family needs to get together one last time. The house wants the family to remember all the good times, and what they mean to each other. It certainly doesn't want to be put on the market and sold. So the house does what it needs to do to keep the family together, and spill the secrets that are being held within its walls.

Clever story, good twists and turns, and a family you root for despite their many issues.

This was a fun, quick summer read. There are some sad elements to the plot, but nothing that will prevent you from taking it along to the beach. I really enjoyed the different character perspectives and LOL-ed a few times because like all Jennifer Weiner novels, there's a great deal of humor within the pages.

Perfectly divine and I wish I had read it sooner! It is not only the quintessential summer read, but a great post-pandemic display of the what-could-happens. Weiner's titles always manage to be a beautiful blend of soul-searching and hilarious and this did not disappoint!

Jennifer Weiner fans will enjoy this new summer-themed story focusing on an intergenerational family story set in Cape Cod and including the beach house as one of the characters.

She invites us into the story of 3 generations, the secrets we keep, first loves, discovering yourself and family. I enjoyed the story but found the first half a little slow as you were learning all the characters, their individual stories and setting the stage for it to come together.

Great for fans of family dramas and intergenerational stories.

This is a great Summer beach read plus more! The characters are so well developed and there are so many twists and turns. Hard book to put down. This author is becoming a definite favorite.

Seeing some not so good reviews shocked me after finishing this one. I became a fan of Weiner’s work with Big Summer, felt okay about That Summer, and now felt she did an amazing job again with The Summer Place. I thought the mix of characters was going to be a bit much when I discovered that we’d be cycling through their POVs, but once things start developing it’s a little easier to keep track. The house, oddly enough, has its own point of view but felt a little out of place when it does pop up. The coincidences, pasts, and actions of the characters are a bit of a stretch at times but it gave it that soap opera feel that made me gasp a few times with a few heart felt giggles thrown in; every family member gets their own dose of dysfunction and piping hot tea. Weiner once again takes us on a journey to Cape Cod, that cycles the reader through various emotions by the end of the book and gives us a delightful epilogue that wraps things up.

Weiner’s latest was the perfect beach read that dived into deeper topics! When her twenty-two year old stepdaughter announces her engagement to her pandemic boyfriend, Sarah is shocked. Ruby has already set a date to get married at her grandmother’s beach house in only three months, and she’s known for never changing her mind once it’s made up.

I love reading about dysfunctional families and their intertwining plot lines but this book asks me how much backstory is too much backstory? Almost 90% of this book is based on the past and the wedding only comes up during the very end. This book was MULTI-POV and each chapter focuses on a different family members story, so there was a lot of characters to keep track of.

Overall I did like this one! Weiner is a great writer who really knows how to tell a story. But my biggest complaint would be too much backstory and none of the characters were faithful to their partners. I hate infidelity as a plot line, especially when it’s just brushed off as no big deal.

I listened to this one via audio and thought it was really good this way. This is a character driven three generational family story, and each of the characters have some kind of drama that we learn about though their POVs both in current day along with flashbacks to the past as we lead up to Ruby’s wedding day in the Cape at the family’s beach house.

The only issue with doing this via audio was that it was a bit difficult to keep the characters straight in the beginning while getting to know them, but once I did, I settled in and really enjoyed this one. I loved the slower pace and how it felt as if each of the main characters were able to be fully developed with their stories, but yet the book did not feel too long. I will say I think the audio helped with this and had I read the physical copy that may not have been the case.

I enjoyed each of these characters, and while not perfect or ‘likable’ by any means, I was able to empathize with them and where they were coming from. There were a couple of curve balls in here and I thought they were done well, and by the end everything came together nicely so that on the wedding day secrets were revealed, and believe me there were plenty to go around.

I definitely recommend this one, it was entertaining, kept my attention throughout and overall it is a fantastic summer read! Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the advanced digital galley to review.

An alternating perspectives family drama with a bit of a mysterious edge- this was one I flew through because I wanted to know what happened. The characters were real, the dialogue was on point, and the plot twists kept me going all the way to the last page. I have loved seeing the evolution of Jennifer Weiner's writing over the years, and this one is my favorite yet.

Jennifer Weiner is the queen of summer, beach reads!! I have loved the other Summer books and had to have this one! These books give me such a warm, fuzzy feeling, but also bring the drama!! I love the story and overall message. This one had multiple POV and would go into background stories on character that made them so interesting to me! Thank you so much atria and netgalley for this ARC!

I hate to say it because I do (usually) love Jennifer Weiner's books, but this one was just cringey for me.

This book goes heavily into each character's backstory for what seems like most of the book. It was hard to keep focus on the actual main story line because these backstories were so long--I'm talking chapters that would take an hour of reading time. It was exhausting to read and then have to remember what was going on in the main storyline before the next long backstory took place. This book also deals heavily with COVID-era flashbacks, which may be triggering for some.

On top of that though, I just didn't like the story. It seemed like every character was hiding some heavy issue or personal drama that could be easily resolved through communication. And, I'm sorry, if you suspect your daughter may be in an incestuous relationship without her knowing, you SHUT THAT DOWN RIGHT AWAY. Hence, the cringe-fest. I guess I will be marking this review as a spoiler, but I can't hold back on that plotline. It realllllyyy turned me off from this one.

I'm hoping for much more from Weiner's next book, but appreciate the advanced copy for my honest review.

Jennifer Weiner knows how to write a deeply compassionate, charming, character driven story. Her writing style is so effortless it feels like coming home to a safe and comfortable place to explore. Her novels are a journey through relationships with all their secrets and successes.
I devoured The Summer Place in one sitting and you should too.

Talk about a modern family! When we meet Sarah, she has some issues with her marriage. And she’s upset that her stepdaughter has gotten engaged so young to someone that doesn’t seem like her best match. Weiner strikes a comfortable tone writing about this family and I found myself really enjoying the ride through all the wedding planning and family logistics.

But oh the drama! Sarah’s husband drifts farther and farther away for no real reason she can see, there are issues with the soon to be inlaws (big ones!), Sam, Sarah’s brother is also hiding a secret, and it’s all set against the idyllic summer backdrop of the Cape.

The Summer Place really plays out in the best possible way like a Shakespearean comedy. It’s the perfect beach or vacation read when you want something light, but juicy! Special thanks to Netgalley and Atria books for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review.

I keep trying to figure out what to say about The Summer Palace. While I didn't dread reading it I also wasn't in a hurry to get back to it. There were so many characters and for about 70% of the book we get their full life stories. By the end it all comes full circle and we figure out how everyone is connected. Oh, and the coincidences were in full abundance. Unfortunately there were just too many to be believable. Nice beach read with fully developed characters.

Really not my thing. I read Big Summer a couple years ago and really enjoyed it. This one was too much drama. Everyone had a secret, or two. It just got a little over the top for me.