We all have secrets and family events have a way of bringing them to the surface. Intriguing situations and resolutions. Jennifer Weiner has done it again!

I love Jennifer Weiner, but….the storyline was random and felt like she created unnecessary conflict for every character had conflict. . There were so many main characters and her attempt to weave them together felt unrealistic and very forced. This was not one of my favorite books of her books. 3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4

Jennifer Weiner is just one of those authors that, as a reader, I connect with. I appreciate the beauty she breathes into her characters and the details she uses to bring her locations to life. As a long Cape Cod vacationer, you can tell that she has not only spent a great deal of time there but how much she loves it by the care she puts into every description. The Summer Place has a lot of characters BUT they all fit- they all connect- and they are all important to the story. There is never a feeling of confusion or overlapping with personalities or traits. You can uniquely envision each one in your head. I appreciate that- it takes a great deal of experience and work to achieve that. I was thrilled to be given this ARC of The Summer Place and will eagerly await her next release. This is the perfect summer (or anytime!) read and you will instantly feel at home with this fictional family and gorgeous Cape Cod setting. I loved this book so much that I went out and purchased my own hard copy for my bookshelf! Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have been a fan of Jennifer Weiner’s books and her writing since picking up “Good In Bed” many years ago and I was really looking forward to diving into her latest book. However, this book – The Summer Place – just didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Don’t get me wrong the writing lives up to the “queen of the beach read” reputation and I did enjoy the book but the story felt a bit like a train-wreck you just couldn’t stop watching. This book tells the story of a multigenerational family just as the world started to shut down due to the Covid pandemic. families who have been used to going to school, work and social activities suddenly spending all of their time together under one roof and homes that previously felt spacious starting to feel a little cramped.

There isn’t a main character per-se, each chapter is told from a different family members perspective but it was easy to follow and I found it added more substance to the characters to get their point of view. Some of the chapters are on the longer side which really helps to get to know them and also provided at lot back story. I really like books that are written from different perspectives for exactly that reason. This book however had so many storylines that were all intertwined, for me this meant I didn’t really connect with or root for a particular character. I suppose the intent behind the book wasn’t for one character to be the main but rather for the family and the summer place to be the centre of the story.

While there were some parts of this book I could not get on board with (cheating) I loved the suspense created by the characters secrets. It kept me interested and not wanting to put the book down. I found one particular storyline hard to accept, while I understand Eli’s hesitancy to come clean it really felt icky that he let it go for as long as he did. I think had this been addressed earlier my overall impression of the book would have been more favourable.

I received this book for free from NetGallery in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

3.5 Stars rounded up: The Summer Place was a book I was highly anticipating for my 20 Books of Summer, and although I enjoyed the story, it wasn't the summery, beach read I was expecting. This is a story about family, their trials and tribulations that is set in many places, with only some set at the beach. It flashes back and forth as we learn the backstories of Veronica Levy, her children Sam and Sara and Sara's husband and step-daughter. Ruby brings it all to the head when she plans to get married at Ronnie's summer home with all the family together for the first time in a long time.

This was more of a family saga with secrets that could have destroyed a lot of lives depending on how they were revealed. The main characters, Ruby, Sarah and her husband Eli, and Sam are all likable, but all have flaws. They need to evaluate their lives and what they want for the rest of it, in order to be happy. I did like all the main characters despite their flaws, and I wanted them all to be happy. There are some secrets that need to be revealed and things to be resolved that direct their actions, but all is sorted by the end of the book. Part of the story is set during the covid crisis, and while it is not a huge part of the story, it does influence some decisions made. There was infidelity, child abandonment, and hidden homosexuality, but also family love, loyalty and decisions to make as you grow up. There were parts of the story that dragged, but for the most part this was an enjoyable women's fiction story, but don't expect a light and easy beach read.

I wanted to love this book but it just fell short for me. Being hyped as a great beach read, I felt it was a little more dark and complex than expected. The story frequently switches point of views and switches between flashbacks and present time. There are many characters that you need to keep track of and all the stories intertwine in a large, messy web. Parts of the story I could relate to but others seemed a bit more out of touch. The plot twists kept you interested in reading more but if you're looking for a lighthearted, easy beach read this probably is not it!

Thank you so much Atria Books for gifting me an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. I typically try to read a Jennifer Weiner book every summer. She brings life to her characters in such a deep way. She always has underdogs that make questionable choices but you can't help but root for them anyway. This was the perfect book to start summer reads off with. This book contains pandemic times and also has long chapters!

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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.