Does everyone have a secret? Something they have never, ever told anyone? Has just about everyone had an affair? In The Summer Place, it seems like it.

After the pandemic eases, Ruby, a 22-year old headstrong young woman announces to her family that she and her boyfriend Gabe are getting married--in 3 months. At her step-grandmothers house in Cape Cod. While Sarah, the stepmother is shocked, she is not surprised. Just surprised that Roby would tell her mother first.

We then go into everyone's previous life. Eli is with Annette, Ruby's mom. Annette is not happy when they stop traveling and she is pregnant. She ends up leaving while Ruby is still a baby. Eli raises Ruby the best way he can, and then he meets Sarah. Sarah is a twin who hoped to become a musician. She and Eli have two children of their own, Dexter and Miles, and Ruby is in their life, because no one has seen or heard from Annette. However, when COVID hits, Eli is distant, Sarah is restless, and life goes on. Not without a few hiccups.

Sam is Sarah's twin, and while he lives in California, something is missing. He talks to his sister and mother frequently, but there is just something.

Meanwhile, Eli is not having an affair or anything, he's just trying to figure out if something that happened a long time ago could be rearing its ugly head and how to deal with it. While protecting (or ignoring?) his family.

As the backstory continues, it seems everyone has had at least one illicit affair! Unfortunately, at one point I almost needed a scorecard! Because everyone's circle intersects again.

I generally LOVE to read a Jennifer Weiner novel. I love intricate family stories. But there was something missing in The Summer Place. I wanted to keep reading this one to get to the good, happy place at the end. To get to The Summer Place. But we never quite got there. We were just at the sort-of-happy place. in Cape Cod. And while some questions were answered, too many weren't.

Jennifer Weiner never disappoints! I can never get enough of the settings in Cape Cod. I have never been and it seems like such a fascinating and mysterious place. I really loved all of the alternating perspectives in this book and how all the stories eventually wound together. The character creation and development is truly outstanding. This was quite the intriguing family story. Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.
I loved the story. The characters were believable and lovable. I loved how each had their own story, how their stories kept you thinking.. Wow!, Oh Boy! This is gonna be interesting!
Would definately recommend this book.

This was a very busy book with a lot happening to and involving many characters. At the core, it involved preparations for a wedding for an unlikely couple wh quarantined together over COVID. Personally, it was, at times, difficult to follow, and equally difficult to care about the many flawed family members, each carrying his/her plethora of secrets. In the end, I'm glad I did not pay for this one. Thank you to NetGalley for the preview copy.

I say this after every Jennifer Weiner book I read: This is her best yet! Such a timely family drama (with humor) taking place at the end of Covid, with flashbacks for character information. I couldn’t put it down, needing to find out what’s next or what bombshell is coming. I highly recommend this funny, heartwarming, tear jerking story. Put it on your TBR!

I am a huge Jennifer Weiner fan, and this book did not disappoint! We follow a family as they reunite in Cape Cod for a wedding. I love the different perspectives. The reader gets to dive into each character's life and follow as their secrets begin to unfold.

I so loved this book. If it’s summer it’s time to read Jennifer Weiner

A true storyteller and this book did not disappoint!

Thanks to the publisher, Atria Books, and NetGalley for the chance to read the latest book by Jennifer Weiner as an ARC. I was excited to start this but soon found it dragging. There are so many characters and so many storylines to follow. There are graphic sex scenes, both heterosexual and homosexual, just a warning. I, like other reviewers, felt that this book jumped around a lot and was hard to follow all the storylines. Too much COVID as part of the story too. I understand authors wanting to keep their stories relevant to the times, but it seems like every story I pick up lately has the pandemic as part of the storyline. Anyway, it was a good story, and I kept reading to see how it all played out. But not my favorite recent read, by far.

The first thing you need to know about The Summer Place is that it's meant to evoke A Midsummer Night's Dream. If I had realized that before reading it, I would have been more tolerant of all the coincidence, secrecy, and 1980s sit-com-style misunderstandings. I was prepared to complain about the overwhelming coincidence of Eli and Rosa, but I'm over it now. :) You will be too, if you know what you're in for on page 1.

I love Jennifer Weiner. I've read everything she's ever written, for better and worse, and this one is on the better end. It may even be my favorite of hers ever, and that's saying something. After a bit of a slow start, we find out that Eli, Sarah, and their daughter, Ruby, all have things to hide and things they've left unsaid. Sarah's brother, Sam, their mom, Ronnie, and many other characters all have their secrets, too, and all those secrets end up overlapping in ways that are both heartbreaking and humorous. In typical unlikely Shakespearean comedy fashion, all ends well, but not until we've endured some major misunderstandings and mistakes from everyone concerned.

I didn't love these characters, at least not in the way I've loved Weiner's characters in other books. They're all flawed, some are less likable than others, and they all make REALLY stupid decisions. But there was something about them that made me root for them, and be happy for them when everything ended up okay. Sort of like people I know in real life, I guess. You also have to really like character-driven books to enjoy this one -- it's all about back story and flashbacks.

One weird character choice that didn't work for me: the house itself. The "summer place" in question gets its own limited point of view, and it's weird and off-putting. I didn't mind it in the prologue, but when it showed up again later, I was annoyed. Not a big deal, though -- just a minor thing I found buggy.

A character I did love? Cape Cod itself. This is, I believe, Weiner's third book in a row set on the Cape, and although I've never been there, it sounds like a magical place. I've loved the way it plays such an important role in her books.

The ending is a bit rushed, and there's one loose end that never gets tied up. Not sure how I felt about that, to be honest. But ultimately all's well that ends well, and Shakespeare would be happy about that.

Thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me this sneak peek in exchange for my opinion.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ½
Genre: Contemporary

It is difficult to give a short synopsis for this book because a lot is going on there. The official synopsis makes you feel that Sarah is the main character and that the others are supportive characters. This is not true. This is a story where all the characters get the same importance. Each one of them plays a crucial part in the lives of the other. Sarah Danhauser in her 40s is a stepmother, a wife, and a daughter. She plays all these roles differently and as the story keeps progressing the different layers of her characters become more visible to the readers. This is true about all the other characters as well. The catalyst of this story is the wedding of Ruby (Sarah’s stepdaughter) and her friend Gabe.

Everything revolves around this wedding initially. All the involved characters have something to do with this new union. But as we progress in the story the author brilliantly unfolds all about the past and present secrets of these characters. All this goes on during the pandemic and months of isolation. Ruby’s decision to marry this boyfriend (Gabe) she knew for a few months during the pandemic seems to be a hasty decision that makes her have second thoughts. Does she even know Gabe well enough to tie the knot? Gabe himself has a secret that someone from the family gets to know!

Sarah’s husband Eli is a well-known dentist who is extremely nervous about this wedding due to a connection to a mistake he has done many years back! Will that secret come out? If it does, it might destroy his family!

Sam, Sarah’s twin brother has lost his wife. After years of marriage, the man struggles with his sexuality. He never thought that he would be attracted to men! He is not accustomed to the gay partying lifestyle. What will he do?

The book has many characters so you need to have some focus but believe me it is totally worth it. I feel the story could’ve been a little shorter than what it is but still, that does not take away from it as it is filled with drama. If you enjoy reading about family drama then this should be a must-read. The story is told from several characters’ POVs and fortunately, the narration is in a third-party style which makes it a lot easier to follow. The book is a mixture between a plot-driven story as well as a character-driven tale. However, I feel the characters’ influence on the story is much bigger. What I appreciate the author doing is including so many issues that are relevant to many families in this book be it, love, infidelity, trust, sexuality, grief, and friendship. There is a lot to read about here. A few years ago I have read Mrs. Everything by the same author and liked it a lot. I’m loving this book even more than that one. I think Jennifer Weiner has a winner here.

Many thanks to the publisher Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy of this book.

3.5 stars
While I like Jennifer Weiner’a writing style and think she does a great job with character development, I wasn’t a huge fan of this particular book. There were multiple characters’ POV, which sometimes made it difficult to keep track of certain smaller details & storylines. It also felt like there were too many coincidences or as if complex feelings and situations were too exaggerated.

At the same time, I did find the book engrossing as I wanted to learn what happened with each of the characters.

I received this book for free in exchange for a honest review.

Keeps me thinking

I read this book a few days ago. While the author is a favorite of mine, I had a hard time getting caught up in the plot. It is told in alternating views from many people and even a house. For me it was too many views and I found myself popping out of my app and checking the weather, etc. more than I would have liked. But now that I have had time to reflect upon it, I really appreciate the way it handled how we all change and how our memories of the way things happened may not be the same as how someone else remembers them and definitely mot the same as reality. It did make me look back on some of my horrible choices with a little more compassion.

The pretty wild coincidences were a bit much. The fact that the odds of one of them occurring were mentioned, but there were several unlikely events.

All in all a solid book.

I really loved this story about a blended family, planning a wedding during COVID-19. Their histories, their personalities, and the settings enabled me to suspend disbelief and be entertained. There are also a lot of sex scenes which were intriguing, few writers seem to incorporate this anymore. One of my favorite authors prevails again! Thank you Jennifer Weiner for writing this entertaining book and to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was exactly the fun, quick read I hoped it would be! Weiner wonderfully writes each of the characters and immediately draws you into their world. Add this to your list of summer reads.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. However I found there to be a lot of moving parts. The first half of the book I was having trouble keeping up with who was who. By the end things made sense, but I do wish there has been one less plot line. All in all, a fun, fast read!

This is a hard book for me to rate/review. I needed to sit with it for a few minutes. I also changed some of how I felt after reading the author’s acknowledgments at the end of the book. I usually love Jennifer Weiner’s books so I wasn’t prepared to struggle with this one. I thought it would be a light-hearted summer read. I didn’t like all of the cheating and lack of communication. It was just all encompassing for every character in the book. It was too much for me. But I respect the story the author wanted to tell and the characters that she created. It was like a Shakespearean comedy where everything starts out looking like it’s going to be a smooth ride, but then chaos erupts through the course of the play and you have to ride it out to see how everything comes together at the end. In that respect, the author succeeded at what she set out to accomplish.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this advance reader’s copy. The opinions expressed here are my own.

🏊🏼‍♀️Review - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5🏊🏼‍♀️

The Summer Place contains secrets, family drama, and takes you on a wild roller coaster ride of events. It primarily revolves around 3 generations of a family including Ronnie, the grandmother, Sarah and Sam, her twin kids, and Ruby, Sarah’s stepdaughter.

The story also follows multiple characters from multiple different point of views, but all the stories intertwine somehow. It is also based during the quarantine stages of COVID, but was handled in a very realistic and relatable way.

Everyone is getting together at the family’s Cape Cod home for Ruby’s wedding but each member of the family seems to be hiding some secret and it’s only a matter of time before they’re revealed. What is everyone hiding and how are they all connected? Will Ruby still end up getting married once they’re revealed?

I did find the story a little slow at the beginning, but it picked up toward the second part of the story. Like I said before, it does follow multiple view points (I think at least 7), which made it hard to keep up with at times. The farther into the story and the more I got to know the characters, it was easier to keep up with. While taking place during the quarantine phase of COVID, I found myself laughing at the different annoyances of everyone being confined to the same home, which made the story more relatable.

I did enjoy the story, but it was not what I expected. There were a lot of twists and turns and I found my jaw literally dropped a few times. This is a contemporary fiction novel and would recommend to all that enjoy that genre.

The Summer Place is set to be released on May 10, 2022.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Written during COVID, Jennifer Weiner wanted her new novel The Summer Place to be “a fun, lighthearted book,” a family drama “somewhere between a Noel Coward farce and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” When I read this in the Acknowledgments, I had a totally different reaction to the novel. It is so over-the-top with its twisted relationships and mispairings of lovers! When a character realizes his true sexual orientation thru sexy fan fiction, I burst into laughing for several minutes. Chapters alternated characters, revealing their bad choices, their inability to control their sexual responses to the wrong people.

Not my kind of novel at all, I was thinking. I had read Weiner’s last three novels and each had some issue that was explored through the characters. While reading, I puzzled over what the ‘point’ of this novel was. There was a whole lotta sex going on. A whole lotta secrets that were alienating people from those they most loved. There was a not quite believable resolution. Why did I read this novel?

Then I read the Acknowledgment statement.

Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream takes place before a marriage. By accident, lovers are realigned with very wrong pairings. And looking at The Summer Place this way, as a comedy about human frailty and the power of sexual attraction, how we all err and all need to seek forgiveness and forgive, is a gamechanger.

The pandemic impacted the romance between college students Ruby and Gabe. Gabe is drop-dead gorgeous, and bi, called an ‘angel’ by all who see him. Ruby has lusted after him for years and was thrilled when they finally hooked up. She intends to keep him, sure she will never have another chance like this. When Covid strikes, her parents want her living at home and not in the dorm. Ruby is unwilling to give up Gabe and asks if he can come with her. Her parents allow it.

Ruby’s dad Eli raised her after his first wife left, unhappy with the suburban mom lifestyle she never wanted. Years later, Ruby’s music teacher Sarah and Eli married.

When Ruby proposes to Gabe, her mother is afraid this pandemic romance won’t last, but knows to oppose it will only propel headstrong Ruby into eloping. Her dad’s reaction is quite different: he retreats into himself, distracted and shut down. His behavior harms his marriage, leaving his wife unhappy and open to romancing.

Secrets abound.

Ruby’s grandmother was a novelist who left publishing. She has her secrets, health related and past romance related that casts a shadow on the paternity of her twin children. Ruby’s uncle lost his beloved wife and now is secretly exploring his sexuality. Sarah lost her first love and gave up a career as a concert pianist. Then, there’s Gabe’s single mom who long ago solved an unwanted pregnancy through seduction and lies.

You think you know someone, then you’re locked in a house together for over a year, and it turns out, you never knew him at all. from The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner

The Summer Place is the Cape Code family cottage, which oddly has a voice in several chapters, a device that didn’t work for me. The house has seen a lot over the years, knows all the history and heartbreak. The grandmother had hoped it would be filled with children and grandchildren, but instead it has been empty every year but for a few days. She intends to sell it. The house is fighting for it’s legacy and future.

Weiner’s books are promoted as perfect ‘beach reads,’ and many will find this book fits the bill. Just don’t take it too seriously. It wasn’t meant to be highbrow. It’s a book to entertain.

I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

Eh, this one was not for me. Too many characters with too many unbelievable storylines all in one family. And not only that, but too much graphic info on some characters and not enough info about other, more interesting characters. This book felt all over the place to me. Also, who wants to read about Covid when we all lived it? No thanks.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria books for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley and atria books for the preview of The Summer Place. I’ve loved Jennifer Weiner’s previous books, and The Summer Place was a good add to her collection. The story follows a diverse blended family, coming together for the daughter/stepdaughter Ruby‘s impending wedding. Each person in the story has a secret, and as the book progresses, theses secrets reveal themselves and complicate the wedding. While the first half of the book is purely descriptive and character development, once the secrets start coming to light, this book picks up and keeps you hooked. I wouldn’t call it overly suspenseful nor would I call it very surprising, it is a beautifully written story and I really enjoyed reading it.