I have read every book Jennifer Weiner has every written, and besides In her Shoes, this in my favorite. I love multi generational family stories. I love complicated characters. I love how this weaved in “the summer” trilogy so nicely. This was an excellent book.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this incredible arc!!!

I really loved this read! Speaking on a large family during the pandemic and after which was so relatable. I think everyone can remember this beginning time. Quickly, the reader learns of Eli's daughter Ruby's engagement. However things are not quite so cut and dry. Eli has a big secret that could ruin everything and it's intense and entertaining to see how this plays out.

This story is character driven and it's within these characters that the true beauty of this author's storytelling lies. So unique and vivacious, I felt like I intimately knew some of these people by the end.

I highly recommend this! Out May 10th!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for this advance copy. I have loved this author’s previous books, but this one just wasn’t for me. I think the pandemic heavy start to the book set a bad tone for me personally. I just wasn’t ready to revisit that time quite yet, and I think if I picked this book up again in another year or two, I might feel differently about it. I liked the different POV chapters (although if the chapters were shorter, it might have helped the pacing a bit). I think this was just a case of bad timing for me, and I will still be excited to pick up whatever Weiner writes next.

The SUMMER PLACE is a classic Jennifer Weiner beach read, but with a shifted perspective, a depth I think that not all of her beach themed novels have held. A direct result, I feel, of the pandemic and how it has changed all of us, even the characters within the story. It’s an escapist story with deep layers. I felt it had a bit of a slow start, but once it hit its stride as the family all came together on the Cape, I really enjoyed it.

I enjoyed the book for the most part, I liked the characters, and they were well written, there is just a lot going on all at one time and with quite a few characters it was a little hard for me to concentrate and keep up. I think if you don't overthink the book then this is a good beach read.

Jennifer Weiner always writes highly anticipated summer reads, but this one seemed more similar to Mrs. Everything, an older book outside of her "summer set." I enjoyed it, but would have loved more time in the summer beach setting (this really is not a beach book, regardless of the cover!). The pacing in general felt a little off--the wedding really didn't come into play until the less 10%, and there was about 100 pages too much build up before hand. Overall, a solid family drama, but truly not the beachy, wedding read it was marketed as.

This is a completely crazy family drama story, which requires a lot of background info in the beginning, but all necessary to connect the dots. I thought my family was effed up, but this family is worse and it is SO entertaining! An almost-perfect summer read! My only criticism is that the ending felt repetitive.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Summer Place is definitely a beach read -- it's a light, quick read with twists, turns, and secrets (lots of them). When Ruby Danhauser announces her engagement, we're introduced to all of Ruby's family (both blood and step) as well as those individuals tied to the family through various situations.

And pretty much everyone has a secret (some new and some decades old), but like most beach reads, you know that eventually all secrets will be revealed or at least the situations will be resolved. I'd have to say that many of the characters weren't the most likeable and relationships definitely got complicated -- with a fair amount of sex thrown in -- but with each chapter devoted to a particular character, it was easy to keep everyone straight.

While not the most satisfying read, it was fun, nonetheless. I'd like to thank #NetGalley and the publisher for providing an electronic ARC for my review.

This one was just a no for me. There were way too many characters to keep up with. Each chapter, a new character was introduced. And if they already appeared in a previous chapter, I had forgotten about them. I didn’t like the writing style, it felt like nothing really happened for most of the book. Thank you Netgalley, unfortunately I would not recommend this one.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Another winner by the author. I really enjoy Ms. Weiner's novel's and this one did not disappoint.

The story follows a blended family and their issues that they have endured over the years. There were a couple of aha/twists during the story so it really kept things interesting.

Would recommend to anyone who has enjoyed this author's books in the past and a good story about family.

Like many readers, I am a diehard fan of Jennifer Weiner’s. I have read all of her other books and this one did not disappoint. There are many twists and turns and a boatload of secrets. The perfect beach read! I love Cape Cod and this brought it a bit closer since I live thousands of miles away on the west coast. Any of Weiner’s readers will welcome this next installment of the Cape books. They are fun, a little sad and hugely entertaining. Two thumbs up from me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read the ARC. A very enjoyable read!

This might be my favorite Jennifer Weiner book.

The Summer Place takes place at the end of the first covid year, when life started to find a "normal" again, and for this family, that "normal" was going to start with Ruby, the daughter in the family, getting married.

The story is told from multiple viewpoints: Sarah, Ruby's stepmom, who is trying to figure out her marriage to Eli, who is too distracted to notice his marriage is falling apart; Ruby, who thinks her fiance is good enough; Sam, Sarah's twin brother who was recently widowed and is rediscovering himself; Ronnie, Sarah & Sam's mom, who lives on Cape Cod, and is looking forward to hosting the wedding before she sells her house; as well as a few others. The author does an exceptional job developing the characters in this book in a way that even when you disagree with them, you can't help but love them. The Summer Place shows us that every perfect person in every perfect family isn't as wonderful as they seem, and we all have something that we aren't sharing. Some of those "somethings" are bigger than others.

This was the perfect summer read, family drama, and it has plenty of steamy scenes. I read most of the book in one day because once I got started, I couldn't put it down!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Summer Place was about a family preparing for their daughter’s wedding. Each of the characters harbored a deep secret. At times, the way the characters lives intertwined was so outlandish it was almost comical or zany, but yet the issues they were grappling with were very deep. This read very much like a modern retelling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

In the acknowledgements section at the end of the book, Jennifer Weiner revealed that this book was in fact inspired by Shakespeare in part. She also mentioned that she wrote this book in late 2020-early 2021, and that sadly, in spring 2021 her mother passed away. This all gave me a lot of context as to what she was going through while writing this book, and explained why it read differently than her other books. I am a Jennifer Weiner stan, and I wholeheartedly recommend this book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

the crux of this novel is no one is truly who you think they are — everyone contains multitudes — and everyone carries secrets. Jennifer Weiner who is my neighbor here in Philadelphia writes these compulsively readable novels about people’s lives. I wouldn’t say she writes about the minutiae (which I find most interesting); she excels at describing the choices people make when faced with something deeply alarming or life-changing.

The Summer Place is great because every character is facing a big change, of their own design or one that comes up and bites them. The use of various perspectives gives texture to the story about several generations and branches of a family as they prepare to converge for a wedding on Cape Cod. I won’t say much about the issues they’re facing, but they run the gamut from compelling to unbelievable (and I mean unbelievable: there are two coincidences to top all coincidences that I struggled to get on board with).

Overall this was a great summer read, lots to chew on, and Jennifer very accurately captures some of the pandemic times stressors. Not everyone can go out and rent a studio apartment to get some “me time” so some of these details aren’t relatable to most.

On a persona level I appreciated all the Cape Cod details because my family spent summers there while I was growing up. We weren’t richies or Pond People. #truroforever I’m glad the author didn’t mention Jams, my family hates that place.

The Summer Place followed a multi-generational family who had spent various summers at their house on the coast. Like the rest of us, this very relatable family has struggle through the last couple of years of the pandemic, but are looking forward to getting together to celebrate a wedding. The author does a great job developing the characters into relatable and flawed humans, as well as weaving together their dramas. I really enjoyed the occasional pages told from the houses point of view and wish we could have heard more from her perspective.

There are a few author's books I automatically read as soon as they are available. Jennifer Weiner is one of them. I was excited when I saw that she had a new book.

The story revolves around one extended family and one particular locale, Summer Place, which has been a meeting place for everyone over the years. A beach house. There is to be a wedding at this home, which (unbeknownst to most) is to be a farewell also, as the matriarch of the family feels that it is time to sell.

The format of the story is different…..each chapter (or section) is from the point of view of a different character. But, it is easy to follow, very cohesive. They are long chapters, lots of time to get involved with the characters' stories. We learn backstories.

The characters are all interesting. Some are likeable; some, not so much. And everyone has a (gasp!) secret!!! In fact, there were a few moments when I couldn't keep the secrets straight. It was fun trying to pre-guess what each secret might be. The Summer Place is a limited character too, with thoughts and opinions.

When the time came for everyone to get together at The Summer Place, the story started to come apart for me. Some parts were a little far-fetched. Two of the characters became unlikeable to me. So much happened in a matter of a couple of days that, to me, it felt forced. The secrets were all divulged but that part almost seemed anti-climactic.

I appreciate that some of Ms Weiner's life experiences factored in the story. She spent time at Cape Cod as a child, then she brought her children there when she became a mother. The fact that the matriarch had a health crisis mirrors Ms Weiner's recent experience with her own mother. I think that including this in the story would have been cathartic and a tribute to her mother.

I thought that this book would be an automatic home run for me. The first 2/3 of it was good. But, the last part let me down. Judging by the reviews I’ve read, this has not been the case for everyone. I'm glad. Ms. Weiner writes excellent books, hopefully the next one will again hit it out of the park for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an Advance Readers copy.

Thanks so much Atria books and NetGalley!

I really struggled with this one. Too many characters and too much going on. I couldn't finish it. I am so bummed. I love, love, love Who Do You Love? and keep wanting Weiner to recapture that for me. I hope to like her next one!

I love Jennifer Weiner's books. They are well written and weave humor through out, which is always fun. At it's core it is a book about family, and how that family interacts with one another and the secrets they keep. In this book each member of the family has a secret: one discovers his sexuality, one was dx with cancer, one lies about the paternity of a child, another engages in a brief affair before realizing what she thought was love 20 years ago does not stand the test of time. But they manage to discover things about themselves, and this kooky, crazy family that all comes to a crescendo at a family wedding on the Cape. Jennifer manages to wrap up all the loose ends to a satisfying conclusion. Oh and a talking house? What can be better? Recommended for all public libraries.

Is it even summer if you don’t plan on reading the latest JW book? It’s not if you’re me, she’s an author I’ve adored for years and I’ve really enjoyed her past few releases as they’ve been the perfect blend of beachy fun and darker family drama. No one does characterization as well as she does either, I always feel like the characters are real people I know by the time I finish and this was no exception. If you like multigenerational books with depth, flawed and authentic characters and dysfunctional family drama this is a must! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️I did alternate between print and audio but ended up mostly doing audio because Sutton Foster narrates and wow she was amazing! 🤩

Also wanted to add that her previous release, That Summer was recently released in paperback and that one was really good too!

4.5 STARS - Jennifer Weiner is back again with an engaging, character-driven story about the wonderful and emotional messiness of family! The Summer Place is a hard-to-put down, dramatic beach read with juicy secrets, great topics, and well-developed characters.

This is a story about three generations of a family - grandparents, husbands, wives, children, and significant others who all have a connection to Ronnie, the matriarch of the family. Ronnie is the owner of a beautiful home on Cape Cod where many family memories were made and a place that has a secret or two of its own. With Ronnie's granddaughter's wedding soon to bring the family together, secrets and lies, self-discovery and scandal, will abound in this once tight-knit family.

Weiner sets her story in Cape Cod with vivid descriptions of the area, and I liked how she subtly included the impact of the Covid pandemic at the beginning. The story is rather on the long side, but Weiner uses this page time to delve into her characters' lives by providing her readers with backstories on several of the characters, many of whom share their POVs. We get clear pictures of their motivations, foibles and strengths and that detail helped me keep them straight in my head. Granted, readers will have to suspend disbelief with some of the coincidences, but that was easily done and made for some interesting reveals.

Add The Summer Place to your must-read summer book list! I'd suggest going into it blind and letting Weiner unfold her well-woven story and her cast of intriguing characters that will keep you eagerly turning the pages.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Atria Books for my advanced digital copy provided in exchange for my honest review.