The Summer Place is exactly my type of read for when I want something a bit deeper than "chick lit" but not too complex. I love family dramas/sagas, and particularly ones that go back and forth in time. This is a rich saga of extended family. The characters were all well-developed, and most were at least somewhat likable. They were definitely relatable. The various story lines were different and exciting. I kept reading to see how the different situations would end! A couple situations were certainly unusable, but not entirely unbelievable. I loved how the relationships shifted and changed naturally, and the storylines were resolved nicely.

I would definitely recommend this book to almost anyone. It's a nice read, and you won't be disappointed. I wish I could give this book a 4.5. I try to reserve 5 star reviews for the few perfect books. For me personally, this could probably be a 5 star book, and at least a 4 star to the general reader.

22 year old Ruby has announced she is going to marry her pandemic boyfriend which results in her family having to confront long held secrets. Will the secrets shake the very foundation of the family or will there be a happily ever after? A story of family and the consequences of the choices made.

review ⛱🐚

Introducing, your next beach read! No but really, this was a very fun summer read. Lighthearted yet dealing with complex topics, an ensemble of fleshed out characters, lots !!! of family drama. The chapters jump between characters in this multigenerational read which made it hard to put down.

Some of the situations and connections characters had to each other were a little over the top and unbelievable but it’s a fictional story and if you enjoy the ride it takes you on rather than getting stuck on the implausibility of some setups — you’ll really enjoy the book!!

⚠️ This is my first book that takes place in a pandemic world, which I was nervous to read. However, it is not the main driver of the book and is more there to set up situations for the characters — a marriage strained from working in the same home for 1.5 years, a new relationship that sped up due to lockdown.

This comes out May 10, 2022! Thank you NetGalley and @arita for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

✨ my rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 432 pages
💗 read if you liked: The Most Fun We Ever Had or We Are the Brennans

A great beach read! Come along as the Levy-Weinberg-Danhauser clan gets ready for a wedding in Cape Cod.

Ruby is marrying her college sweetheart Gabe. However none of Ruby’s family have met Gabe’s family until the wedding!

The beautiful landscape is described so well you feel like you are there. I can imagine the gorgeous sunsets at Ronnie’s home and never wanting to leave.

My only real gripe with the book is with so many voices narrating, there was quite a bit of repetitive story telling. But better than mysterious gaps in the story!

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I don't think there is a book I haven't read by Weiner that hasn't been amazing.
Big Summer, That Summer, Mrs. Everything
and now her newest novel THE SUMMER PLACE.

I would read anything and everything Jennifer Weiner ever wrote or writes, when I received an ARC of "The Summer Place", I was so excited. I immediately jumped to open it up.
I was not prepared for how amazing it would be. And just how much I truly enjoyed this story. This book had my attention and heart from the first words.
This book was so brilliantly written, well-paced read with terrific characterization.
A story about family and what it means to let go. Forgive and forget.
Such a wonderful work of fiction... well-crafted and complex characters, relationships, friendships, and kept me interested from beginning to end.
The Summer Place just might be my top book of 2022.
Can't wait for the hardback copy to hit so she can sit pretty next to her sisters on my shelf.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Atria Books,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my platforms, blog, B&N and Waterstone closer to pub date.

This was a captivating multi generational story that showed people at their best, their worst, and their most vulnerable. Each of the many characters was so beautifully created, I will be thinking about this family long after writing this review.

The Danhauser extended family is brought together for 20-something Ruby‘s wedding, but many individual secrets begin bubbling beneath the surface and, to no one’s surprise, unravel during the wedding weekend. I absolutely loved that, for most of the book, each chapter focused on a different character’s perspective. Just when you thought you might be able to judge the decisions of one person, you would learn about why they are the way they are and it created a sense of empathy and understanding especially for so many different characters. Weiner brought these people to life in a way that was honest — We saw the joys and the challenges of marriage, the Pride and stress of parenthood, the loneliness of grief, the fear of illness, the longingness for youth. If you’re looking for a book with well rounded characters, this is for you!

At one point the plot to get a bit ridiculous and I had to suspend my belief, but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book overall. What a perfect beach read! Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year (JW’s books always are!), but I was sorely disappointed. Excessively long with very little plot, it took me almost a week to get through this, whereas I usually fly through her books. I found most of the characters to just be bad people, and with so many in depth backstories, I could hardly keep all the characters straight. This book is almost 500 pages, but the actual present day story probably took less than 200. The story relies on implausible coincidences that I just didn’t buy, and the amount of infidelity (and the hypocrisy surrounding it) didn’t sit well with me. And the fact that Eli let his secret get so far is just a giant YIKES from me.

As can be expected from Jennifer Weiner, the writing is lyrical, gorgeous, and vivid with a setting you can perfectly picture. I’m sure many will enjoy this book, but unfortunately it was a big let down for me.

Secrets, secrets and more secrets! I loved this twisty novel that kept me guessing! I couldn't put it down.

A multi layered story of a family, gathering for wedding, post covid. ( The story is not "about" Covid times, just that it happened & some time frame of how they coped)

The matriarch of the family has a home on Cape Cod, also the mother of adult twins. Parts of the story go back to a younger time at the home & most of it centers around the wedding planning, etc.

We learn the story of each twin, Sam & Sarah & their lives & how they get to where they are now. There are several other characters who tie this al together.

I just love how Jennifer Weiner tells a story & gives her characters such varied personalities.

The acknowledgments at the end of the book truly tied fictional & personal life all together.

I always look forward to a new Jennifer Weiner page-turner. She’s the perfect accompaniment to the start of summer. The Summer Place is another fast-paced, devourable story that has definitely earned a place in my summer beach bag.

Thank you for this free copy of The Summer Place provided by Atria Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. As a Jennifer Weiner fan I was very excited to get this copy for review but I was very disappointed and sorry to say that I did not like the plot or any of the characters in this new read.
There was nothing to hold my attention and get me to keep reading the story other than an obligation to an honest review. Each character was well developed but none of them were likable. Character were liars, philanders, sexual deviants or just overall unstable. I seriously regret having to be this honest but this is not a book that I could recommend to any of my groups of readers.

I’ll state my bias upfront that there is not a book Jennifer Weiner could write that I wouldn’t love and this was absolutely no exception. Family secrets family drama and a wedding on the cape , what could be better ?!? This book was graciously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Another great beach read from Jennifer Weiner. The story made me crave a summer vacation on the New England coast. It is a great family drama, with secrets, betrayals, lots of love and forgiveness. I recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Weiner’s other novels or is looking for a book to stick in their beach bag.

This was my first Jennifer Weiner book and I can see what the hype is all about. The book has a sophistication in its storytelling that caught me off guard (I am one of those people who judge a book by its cover, ashamedly).

With that said, as much as I loved the twisty-turny story, it all just felt like it was too neat. Each person making decisions that curled in on themselves in a way that is not really something indicative of real life. I, specifically, wanted more of Veronica's story and felt like, especially at the end, it was rushed.

Would I recommend this for a cozy read on a cold day? Or a fun beach read? Sure. Just set aside expectations for a story like this happening in real life and you'll have a blast.

I love Jennifer Weiner books, but I can't say this is my favorite. There is a lot going on in this book, but I will forgive her because if you read her remarks at the end of the book you will find that some of the things featured in the book really happened to her during the pandemic.

The main character is Sarah, whose husband has become distant during the pandemic. Then there is her step-daughter Ruby, who had shacked up with her new boyfriend during the pandemic and is now planning a wedding. Sarah's twin brother Sam is still trying to find his true self. Sarah's mother, who has learned some bad news and now is thinking of selling her house on the Cape. Eli, Sarah's husband, is going through his own crisis and can't talk to anyone about it for fear of making a mess of everyone's life.

Once again Jennifer Weiner has written a book that captures a complex yet loving family in a vivid portrait. Spanning 3 generations from the Grandparents who own a house on Cape Cod to the children and grandchildren who live in New York, she takes readers into the excitement of an upcoming wedding as well as all the drama that lies beneath the surface. This book is told from a different character’s view point each chapter and as you go further in the story you begin to understand the complicated relationships as well as hidden secrets from the past. This book is written in Weiner’s signature style that never feels too heavy and yet carries a very deep emotional depth. One of her best books I have read in recent years.
Thank you #NetGalley and #SimonandSchuster for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First, I have to say that I have been reading JW's books since she first published Good in Bed. I have been following her on social media for years and have been lucky enough to meet her twice at book signing events. I was thrilled to get an ARC from Simon & Schuster and NetGalley. For the most part, I liked this book. No doubt, JW tells a good story, weaves a good tale and is a master at character development. But at times, it fell a little flat for me. I appreciate character development and well-worded descriptions of people, places and things. but I wanted more of "something". I can't quite put my finger on what exactly that something was though. I think I got used to her last couple of books being more in the mystery genre, with twists. While there were some twists here, they just didn't do it for me. In particular, Eli's 'secret' really bothered me: not so much the secret, but the fact that he let it go so far. Um, gross. I don't want to post spoilers but that whole storyline was ridiculous. Overall it IS good and I'd recommend it, especially to JW fans. It will be a great beach read as JW really knows how to evoke summer vibes in her descriptions of Cape Cod. (BTW, when Gabe drives from Boston to the Cape, it is said that he drives "up" to the Cape - yeah, it's down; in MA, you always drive down to the Cape.)

Posted on GoodReads 2/28/22

The Summer Place is a high quality beach read! Jennifer Weiner is on her third book taking place on Cape Cod, each with the word summer in the title as well. I was so excited to spend time with her flawed and interesting characters at this place again! (While not a trilogy, readers are rewarded with glimpes of characters from the other books.)

The book opens with Sarah, a Brooklyn mother, learning about her step-daughter's engagement to her pandemic boyfriend. This event sends members of the family spiraling, for many of them have secrets that threaten to come out when everyone gets together on the Cape for the big event.

I highly recommend all three summer books, They are absolutely perfect for losing yourself into a season, a place, and a fantastic interwoven story of family.

The Summer Place follows Big Summer and That Summer as the third Jennifer Weiner novel with "summer" in the title. All are "stand alone" books tied with a narrow thread. The Summer Place is a grand, sweeping story with love, infidelity, family, lost chances, and the search for identity and purpose in life at its center-all themes Miss Weiner has touched on before, and which she excels. And like many of her works (especially Mrs. Everything and That Summer), the plot really isn't about cheating spouses, reluctant fiancees, or a young man questioning his sexual identity- although The Summer Place has all of them, they're just background for a bigger issue-Covid and the upheaval in our personal and work lives. Set mostly on Cape Cod, The Summer Place has the feel of a "beach read," but is so much more (not that a "beach read" is a bad thing-after the last few years we could all use some beach in our lives!). What The Summer Place does best is make you think-(and not just if Gabe & Ruby are too young to get married). Few authors tackle sensitive subjects with Jennifer Weiner's finesse- she makes the ordinary seem extraordinary, and even better-complex issues become crystal clear under her pen. The Summer Place has multiple story lines that keep you entertained and engaged from beginning to end. The place to be this summer is with Jennifer!