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!

This is a perfectly satisfying summer read and even reading it in February did nothing to detract from that aspect of it. Weiner tackles a COVID year and some of the impact it had on one family. Some of what she came up with for her characters was very astute and struck me as very true to reality for many folks. The story has so many twists and turns that you wouldn't be surprised to end up in the same place you started. I found some of them a little ludicrous and forced, but it's a summer read, so that's perhaps expected. With the requisite happy ending, readers will be quite satisfied with this book.

I would like to thank Atria Books for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of The Summer Place.

I think this might be my favorite of Jennifer Wiener’s books. I think that the characters were developed so well in this book. And I love the drama of the different family dynamics with some mystery weaved throughout the book. I also love that it wasn’t predictable, and really took you down a path. A perfect summer read!

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for an ARC of this book. I was so pleased to have early access to this title!

An enjoyable and engaging read, with many secrets, and surprising twists and turns. The setting is a purely wonderful escape, and prompted me to begin summer holiday planning. The characters were likeable and sympathetic. Complex social issues are broached but in a manner that compelled me to read on. Will be an excellent summer read for many.

#NetGalley #AtriaBooks

I have so much love for this book! As the third in a series of somewhat connecting books, this is by far my favorite. When Sarah's 22 year-old stepdaughter announces her engagement to her pandemic boyfriend, Sarah is more than shocked. But her step-daughter already has all the wheels in motion and will be getting married at Sarah's family home on the Cape. Told from the point of view of Ruby, the stepdaughter, Eli, Sarah's husband who has essentially all but shut down, Sarah's, twin brother who is struggling with his own issues and Sarah's mother who has some secrets of her own this story will have you flipping pages. Its early in the year but I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up being a favorite for the year!

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for an ARC of this book which I voluntarily read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Jennifer Weiner is one of my very favorite authors, one whose books I’ve been devouring for over ten years. THE SUMMER PLACE was no different.

The novel follows eight(!) different characters as they work their way towards the wedding of Ruby and Gabe at the family home (one of the characters, in a dash of magical realism!) in Cape Cod. And that’s putting it simply. Sarah is feeling a strain in her previously happy and healthy marriage to Eli, Ruby’s father, who’s been acting strangely since the family was all quarantined together. Sarah’s brother, Sam, has spent his life trying to find a piece of himself that seems to have always been missing, and their mother, Ronnie, a famous author in the eighties has some life-altering secrets of her own. Ruby’s mother left her when she was a baby to be raised by her father which has led her to be decisive about the decisions she makes in her life, including her marriage to a Gabe who was also raised by a single parent, but never knew his father.

These storylines are so tangled and expertly weaved that, despite how many points of view you’re getting, it was easily readable and puzzled together (think that Charlie Day meme with pieces of yarn criss-crossing from picture to picture, but in a non confused way) that readers will be able to immerse themselves in the story of this multigenerational family and the situations they’re in.

And though the characters often made choices I wouldn’t ever make in my own life, their actions result in a story that is both relatable to many and intensely thought-provoking. As I have for the past ten-plus years, I’ll be patiently looking forward to more from Jennifer Weiner in the future.

An interesting twist on how family dynamics can be intertwined in strange and complicated ways. It was kind of predictable at times.

Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books, for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
Jennifer Weiner returns with a multi-generational family saga set largely on Cape Cod. In the exposition, Weiner takes time to develop each character and allude to his or her secrets. As the novel unfolds, we see how their decisions affect one another and the ways in which their lives intertwine. Jennifer Weiner's prose are beautiful, and her descriptions are vivid. The novel's pacing is somewhat uneven, but the plot is heartfelt and highly engaging. It wouldn't be summer without a Jennifer Weiner novel, and The Summer Place does not disappoint.

So many twists and turns and awkward situations, another Jennifer Weiner classic! I loved the intertwined stories and family dynamics, but I hadn’t read a novel yet that included the pandemic in the storyline, and I’m not sure I enjoyed that part of it.
If you like her other books like I do, you won’t be disappointed.

Story of several generations with a focus on a summer house on the cape. Lots of characters, told from numerous perspectives. The main character is Ronnie, the grandmother/matriarch, who once published several books but then stopped writing. The other main characters is Sarah, Ronnie's daughter, and stepmother to Ruby/mother of twins. During the pandemic, Sarah senses something is wrong her her marriage while Ruby has announced she is getting married at 22. Chaos, of course.

I loved it b/c I like this kind of book.

Wow, I really loved this book! It was the perfect beach read (took it to Hawaii with me) and full of some twists that I didn't see coming. I'm typically not a Jennifer Weiner fan but this one changed my mind and I'll be checking out more of her books in the future! Thank you Netgalley!

I have read all of Jennifer Weiner’s novels and she is one of my favorites. All of her books feature people who are so familiar and relatable, and you feel like they are friends or neighbors. This book features complicated characters and backstories, including the Cape Cod house that is itself a main character. Definitely recommended.

Sarah Danhouser's 22 year old step-daughter comes home and announces her engagement to her boyfriend who she has not known for very long.. The book was told in many POV, with the possibility of Sarah's husband also being the father of his daughter's fiancée from a one night stand from 20+ years back.

Unfortunately, this book just did not do it for me. I felt that there were too many personal political references as well as "defund the police" comments. I understand that everyone is entitled to their opinion, but as the wife of a police officer, I was upset to see that by one of my favorite authors.

I think there should be somewhat of a disclaimer that this book has some very graphic sexual scenes. I am a big fan of Jennifer Weiner’s books but this wasn’t at the top of my list compared to her previous stories that had such depth. I did enjoy learning about each character’s backstory and how they ended up where they were when the story started. I was also invested enough to keep reading until the end!

I can't give this book a fair review or rating. It's got so much of the author's personal stuff intertwined that it would be too much like rating her or saying bad stuff about her and I will never be that person. Let's just say I thought it was very over the top and had a hard time with it and leave it at that.