Absolutely implausible, but extremely addictive. All of these characters are miserable and make terrible decisions but I wanted to keep reading.

This wasn't my favorite of Weiner's, but it was an okay book to start off my summer reading with. It flowed along fine and was a fun read, but it wasn't AMAZING and the ending was kind of meh. Just an okay read.

Jennifer Weiner writes the books I want to take with me on every vacation, the perfect beach or travel read. I love the complicated, but real, family dynamics and the love that shines through. I think I'll also recommend this as a book club read.

4/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I think that The Summer Place is the funniest book I read by Jennifer Weiner and amongst her best.
There's plenty going, there's a lot of crazyness and humour.
I loved this story that made me laugh and kept me hooked.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Jennifer Weiner's The Summer Place is set in Cape Cod and follows as extensive family and all their secrets, changes, and plot lines. Because of the number of storylines you're never bored and the story takes place following Covid so you witness the impact of Covid without having to live through all the messy parts. For me I could have done with a few less trials and a bit more character exploration but it does keep you turning the pages. It's a good beach read and I appreciate NetGalley and the author providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review..

The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner was a highly anticipated read for me. I read and enjoyed Mrs. Everything and That Summer.

This book was a miss. It is filled with run on sentences of extraneous details. I found myself skimming through all the excess and several of the chapters at the beginning of the book were entirely too long. With multiple points of view there were times when I had to reread the same scene multiple times even though nothing much was added.

The plot is filled with highly improbable coincidences and tension based on lack of communication.

The premise of the story was interesting but I think it could have been both paired down and a bit more focused.

This was such a great read. I have only read a few of Jennifer Weiner's books so far but really enjoyed them. I can't wait to read more.

I had both the audio and ebook for this and I really liked being able to switch between the two. Flew through it in no time.

An excellent domestic family drama that held my interest from start to finish!

A great summer read from Jennifer Weiner. This is my new favorite from her. It’s deep and thoughtful, but has a lightness and joy that was a huge relief to experience as a reader. I enjoyed the multi-generational dynamics and the well drawn characters. And even though by the end of the book the impossible coincidences the plot turned on were so numerous that it felt a bit like Alice In Wonderland, the story was so good that I didn’t care. Definitely recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book.

For fans of novels with dysfunctional and dramatic family dynamics, The Summer Place might just be for you. To me, this book would best be described as a combination of a dramatic ‘This Is Us’ episode with a guilty-pleasure, trashy reality TV show. Some of the plot likes/overall directions the story went into were so odd/far-fetched (and frankly unbelievable they all happened in one family) they actually seem like they could happen in real life. This novel’s major storylines include (**spoiler**) excessive lying between partners (not to mention cheating), multiple family secrets (including paternity) and overprivileged characters that have no sense of reality. I honestly couldn’t decide which of the multiple characters I disliked more as the chapters flipped back and forth throughout the course of the book.
My review is a bit harsh, but if any or all of those plot lines in fiction don’t bother you, or if you read Jennifer Weiner’s books regularly, you may like this one more than I did.
Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC!
2/5

I’m sticking with a mini review on this one because it just really didn’t work for me and I ended up DNFing at 44%. I’ve read a few books by Jennifer Weiner in the past and have enjoyed them for the most part but this one was just beyond me. To say this family is dysfunctional would be an understatement and to me that doesn’t really fit the summer beach read mood. I also was not keen on the way the story was told. There are so many characters and having to go back to each character’s back story and how it fits in with the end game got really old. I also have a hard time reading books that have a lot of adultery. Multiple characters played that game in this book and I was not into it at all. There was just SO MUCH deception on all sides and it got to be more than I could handle. But like I said, this just did not work for me personally. If you’re a big fan of Jennifer Weiner or big family dramas featuring dysfunctional families with secrets galore than you might enjoy this one.

Ugh. I usually enjoy her books. This one was tedious. Every possible family drama in one book. Just so preposterous I couldn’t connect with anyone in the book. And I’m so sorry and disappointed.

The Summer Place is the third in Weiner’s ‘Summer’ titled series. I loved the previous two, and Weiner has become an auto-buy summer author for me. I was excited to read an advanced copy of this title. I also listened to the audio, narrated superbly by Sutton Foster, who has also narrated the others in the series, and I highly recommend this format. Each title fully stands alone and only loose references to other characters tie the books together.

While this title held my interest throughout, I found myself lost at times amidst the vast cast of characters. A few characters had multiple names or nicknames, and that added to the never-ending web. Keeping track of who was related to who, and how, was a bit tiresome.

Weiner’s characters are always solid, and I enjoyed the different story threads, despite having to reorient myself as they switched back and forth. As a result, the book would have benefitted from a more narrow focus, allowing Weiner to sink her teeth into some of the characters more deeply. Her strength is always capturing women grappling with the expectations put upon them by society or with the many internal conflicts women face of confidence, body image or the road not taken in terms of career vs children and family.

This is a solid beach read and I will continue to pick up Weiner’s summer offerings. I do feel that the previous two in the Summer series are stronger.

Another knockout from the summer queen Jennifer Weiner. What I love about her is that each of her summer reads follow a completely different formula but give us realistic perspectives of women.

The Summer Place is a multigenerational novel following.3 generations of family as they navigate their relationships and secrets in a post-pandemic work.

I love that this book gave a realistic take on motherhood in so many of its forms: mother/daughter, grandmother/step grand daughter, mother/stepmother, birth mother/daughter and touches on those who don’t want motherhood to be part of their journeys.

Complex and nuanced, I enjoyed this book immensely though I will say it was a tad long for the storyline.

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This was a sweeping novel about a family and their lives, especially their loves and the losses. Without spoilers, the characters face issues like paternity, sexual orientation, old lovers, death of a family member and more. Jennifer Weiner handles these issues with grace and restraint.
The characters are very well done, they’re authentic and true to life. I also liked the descriptions of house and Cape Cod. I really enjoyed this book a lot even though it went a little long, 4 stars.

Synopsis

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of That Summer comes another heartfelt and unputdownable novel of family, secrets, and the ties that bind.

When her twenty-two-year-old stepdaughter announces her engagement to her pandemic boyfriend, Sarah Danhauser is shocked. But the wheels are in motion. Headstrong Ruby has already set a date (just three months away!) and spoken to her beloved safta, Sarah’s mother Veronica, about having the wedding at the family’s beach house on Cape Cod. Sarah might be worried, but Veronica is thrilled to be bringing the family together one last time before putting the big house on the market.

But the road to a wedding day usually comes with a few bumps. Ruby has always known exactly what she wants, but as the wedding date approaches, she finds herself grappling with the wounds left by the mother who walked out when she was a baby. Veronica ends up facing unexpected news, thanks to her meddling sister, and must revisit the choices she made long ago, when she was a bestselling novelist with a different life. Sarah’s twin brother, Sam, is recovering from a terrible loss, and confronting big questions about who he is—questions he hopes to resolve during his stay on the Cape. Sarah’s husband, Eli, who’s been inexplicably distant during the pandemic, confronts the consequences of a long ago lapse from his typical good-guy behavior. And Sarah, frustrated by her husband, concerned about her stepdaughter, and worn out by challenges of life during quarantine, faces the alluring reappearance of someone from her past and a life that could have been.

When the wedding day arrives, lovers are revealed as their true selves, misunderstandings take on a life of their own, and secrets come to light. There are confrontations and revelations that will touch each member of the extended family, ensuring that nothing will ever be the same.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is a wild three generational family drama story. There are a lot of characters and a lot of dysfunction in this family. Be prepared for some infidelity if that is something you don’t like in your reading! All the characters had such different personalities and that definitely made it more interesting. This one had me quickly turning the pages to see how everything was going to turn out. A perfect summer book with the Cape Cod setting. Overall I really enjoyed this one!

***4.5 Stars On My Instagram Account***

"For forty years, the house had stood...had waited, patient and steadfast...the house had only ever been able to watch. All the pain, all the mistakes - no, no more to drink tonight; no, not him, no not her; no, don't open that door; don't answer the phone; do not let that man back in your bed..."
"And now, another summer was approaching...changes were coming."

From these first words of the family drama The Summer Place from blockbuster author Jennifer Weiner my heart was overwhelmed with emotions. I knew this literary journey was taking me on an emotional ride filled with over the top drama, sweet remembrances, and life altering decisions.

Ronnie, the family matriarch, lives year round in the family's summer place. She once was a best selling author but has chosen not to publish anymore. This doesn't mean she no longer writes. There are hidden manuscripts in the house. Another secret it holds for her.

Her daughter's family is coming back for Sarah's stepdaughter Ruby's wedding to Gabe. The thing is this relationship is on fast forward since the Covid lockdown. Now Sarah's husband's Eli has been distant since meeting Gabe's mom over Zoom.

Sarah's twin Sam is a people pleaser conforming to others but now a single father maybe it's time to find his authentic self.

There are characters and issues not mentioned but you get the idea. This family has more drama than years of General Hospital. There are a few too many convenient coincidences but that is part of the juicy soap opera theme throughout this book.

I really enjoyed the audiobook narrated by multi talented actress Sutton Foster because of her compassionate tone as this family keeps too many secrets protecting loved ones when they are just protecting themselves.

I received a free copy of this novel/audiobook from the publishers via #netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Part family drama, part comedic relief, part young love, new love, long-lost love, all mixed together with a COVID wedding. What more can you ask for in this perfect summer beach read?! I've read a couple novels that take place in the COVID pandemic and felt they were 'too soon' but this one takes place emerging from the pandemic and there are some witty one liners about the experience that we can all empathize with and chuckle at. That twist at the end though! I had to go back a couple chapters and reread. I can't believe this is my first Jennifer Weiner novel, it definitely won't be my last!

Whoa! What a ride. It was very fast-paced. The writing style kept me hooked and I didn't find myself losing any interest. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and how real the story felt. The author did a great job painting the setting, so it was easy for me to visualize the scene played out before me. I recommend giving this one a chance!

I love Jennifer Weiner's beach reads, but this one was a little too much drama for my taste! There are some really sweet moments with the family together, but too much duplicity from nearly every character to actually like any of them.

I love a Jennifer Weiner book in May. High drama to kick off the season. Lots of characters made this feel full in a good way, redundancy of events from different POVs made it feel full in a bad way. Overall quick and enjoyable.

Thanks to Netgalley & Simon and Schuster for the ARC and Jennifer Weiner for another great read