Thank you so much to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the advance copy of this book. The thoughts are my own.

This wasn't a bad read but was a bit of a miss for me. It was cute at times and too uneventful at times for me. I will try other books by her.

A Summer Love Affair by Holly Chamberlin ⭐⭐⭐

My first book by Holly, and although I wasn't in love with this story, I will read another book by her.

A story about a mom and her daughters and lots of secrets between them all. Didn't understand why they kept them.

Kensington Books, Kensington and Netgalley forvthid opportunity. I like there are secrets and secrets are there for a reason. So anyway was an interesting and crazy read.

An interesting storyline that kept me engaged. The writing was atmospheric of the beautiful setting.
Many thanks to Kensington Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Interesting story about a mom, her daughters., and secrets. This wasn't my favorite book, but then with so many different personalities, I'm not sure if I was meant to really like these people. Families are layered. This book definitely proves that. Secrets are secrets for a reason. Do I really need to know everything about my family history? Will I understand my parents better if I know something they would rather I didn't know? I'm not sure, but if that works for some people, then I'm so glad it works. Perhaps this book was a bit too real for me, or maybe not realistic enough. Anyway, I'm glad I was allowed to read this ARC. Thank you, NetGalley and Kensington Books.

This is the first book that I've read by this author. I was not a fan. It's about a mother revealing a secret to her daughters about an affair she had while she was married. It was a struggle to read this book. The characters did not draw me in. One daughter is always angry and keeps popping in to be mean to her mom and then leaving. The other daughter is avoiding issues with her own husband and keeps leaving her kids behind to visit her mom. The youngest daughter is trying to find herself and come up with a meaning for her life. I got about 70% percent finish but then I just couldn't read anymore because there was no enjoyment in it for me.

This was my first novel by Holly Chamberlin and I really enjoyed it. It was light but also heavier at times. I think it would make a perfect summer book club read. There is certainly a lot to dissect and talk about. It’s set in beautiful, picturesque Maine and is full of family drama and decades old secrets. I will definitely look to read more from Holly Chamberlin!

This was a lighter read, and for the subject matter felt a little “glossed” over. This was a beach read for me and in that regard, worked out perfectly. I enjoyed the characters and found them all interesting and unique. The family drama, while a bit overdone, was realistic and relatable. This was a quick read and is perfect for a hot summer day!

Love that the book was set in Maine. A beautiful location for a Summer spent with family. 3 adult daughters and their Mother. All at cross roads in their lives, with decisions to be made. Lots of time spent in this book with their inner conversations. A bit slow moving for me. I was looking for more action and more conversations. Just not cup of tea.. I generally like the books by Holly Chamberlin and will continue to read her books though.

This book is full of family drama and emotions. It's well written with beautiful scenery, but I just couldn't get into the story. Please don't let my review stop you from giving this book this book a chance, you might love it.
I received a complimentary copy from Kensington Books via Netgalley and was not required to leave a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Beautiful! This is not simply a beach book, it's about love in so many forms,. Between sisters, mothers and daughters, friends and spouses.

Set in picturesque Maine, newly retired teacher and widowed Elizabeth decides to share her darkest secret with her three adult daughters, each handling the news and shock in their own way.

Truly a study in human nature and such a satisfying read!.

I feel awful, but I can’t get into this book. I’m at 25% and it’s just not clicking with. I’ve read Holly Chamberlain’s books before & have enjoyed them.
So sorry. Thanks for the arc.
Dottie Legatos

In A Summer Love Affair author Holly Chamberlin takes her readers back to the small coastal Maine town, Eliot’s Corner. Although characters do overlap from prior visits to this delightful town, this is definitely a stand alone story.

Widowed nine years ago and recently put out to pasture when the school where she had taught relocates and doesn’t need as many teachers, Elizabeth Quirk is having a bit of an identity crisis. Her bohemian youngest daughter, Petra returns home for the summer, also at loose ends. Her middle daughter, Jessica, though not talkative is clearly dealing with turmoil of her own, as is eldest daughter Camilla. In the disquiet of her mind, the finding of a special diary from 30 years ago, and the stress of a secret too long withheld, Elizabeth reveals her affair from that summer, and the alternate parentage of her youngest daughter, to her three girls.

This story is so well plotted and told with such heart it has taken a few days to let the story settle before I could write about it. Each character is so well drawn. The settings are depicted such you are certain you’ve been there. This disquieting summer may just be the catalyst the characters all need to move forward.

I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!

I love reading Holly Chamberlin’s books during the summer. It makes me feel like I am in Maine on the coast and enjoying a sun drenched day at the beach. This novel offered that warm feel of the summer sun, the constant changing of the water and tides, and the sureness that the ocean was still moving. For me the book, although not full of action and suspense, held my attention and made me want to know how it all ended. I have to admit, I could have figured out the end on my own, but I wanted to see how the author brought it to a conclusion.

Elizabeth and her three daughters are all questioning themselves and their futures this summer. Each is having a crisis of what’s next while managing to connect with each other. The book is one of long talks and reflections, feelings and questions. Elizabeth has lost her teaching position after many years and is uncertain what is next for her. She also has a secret that needs to be revealed to her daughters. Jess, while being prickly and negative, is at a juncture in her life where she needs to make some decisions about her boyfriend and her job. Petra feels like she is just floating through life with no course of action. Cam is doubting her husband’s love and commitment to their marriage. While all this is going on in the present, the book also visits the summer of Elizabeth’s secret and we meet another character Chris.

The book is like a slow reveal of what is going to happen.The story does meander at times, as each character reflects upon their current crisis. I enjoyed the characters, despite my dislike of the caustic nature of Jess. A Summer Love Affair by Holly Chamberlin was an interesting read.

Petra is spending the summer with her mother in Maine. Her online vintage boutique doesn't tie her to a place, and she's barely scraping by, so subletting her room in shared space makes sense. Plus, her widowed mother, Elizabeth, has just been downsized out of a job she loves, so might need the extra support.

What both women don't realize is that they're at a crossroads, as are Elizabeth's two other daughters, Jess and Cam. And when Elizabeth shares the bombshell she's been keeping secret for over 30 years, the downfall precipitates major changes for all four women.

This novel offers so many elements I love: Maine setting, vintage business, character over the age of 50. The pacing is occasionally ponderous, but the story makes up for it. This is a delightful women's fiction/family saga blend with a perfect setting. #ASummerLoveAffair #NetGalley

EXCERPT: Elizabeth stepped through the back door and into the kitchen. She was fond of the house, but it was far too big for one person, and she was growing tired of living there. For many years - all the years of her marriage and the ones after Hugh's passing - it had been her home. The house had witnessed familial happiness as well as domestic strife; it had listened to the wailing of babies, the babbling of toddlers, the whining of adolescents; it had seen tears of sorrow and of joy; it had enjoyed the laughter of a family who genuinely cared about one another. Still, it might be good to start fresh all around now that she was being forced to give up her career.

To retire. Definition: to withdraw. To fall back. To take out of circulation. To go to bed.

But Elizabeth didn't want to fall back. She wasn't ready to withdraw from an active role in the world, or,at least, her small part of the world. This forced retirement from her teaching career was almost as big a change in her life as Hugh's death had been. Suddenly, at the age of sixty-two, she found herself poised at the threshold of a new phase of her life, and she was scared, not so much of what challenges the future might bring as her ability to successfully meet those challenges.

ABOUT 'A SUMMER LOVE AFFAIR': Sometimes you sense something, deep inside, long before it’s proven true. Thirty-year-old Petra Quirk has always felt as if a vital element of her life is missing. It’s not until she moves back to the small town of Eliot’s Corner for the summer that she learns why. Rummaging in the attic, Petra comes across a diary. The discovery prompts her mother, Elizabeth, to make a confession to her three daughters. Decades ago, she fell in love with her husband’s best friend, Chris—and Petra is Chris’s child . . .

Elizabeth ended the affair before she learned she was pregnant, and Chris has no idea he’s a father. Hugh, who Petra believed to be her dad, was a good-natured but self-centered, blustering man. He and Chris seemed to have little in common, though their friendship was genuine. Elizabeth loved Chris deeply yet refused to tear her family apart. Even since Hugh’s death, she’s resisted contacting Chris. But Petra, floundering and unsure of her path, is compelled to search out her biological father, though she knows it will complicate her relationship with her family.

Over the course of two summers, decades apart, romance will be kindled and rekindled, life-altering decisions made, and secrets of the heart will come to light at last.

MY THOUGHTS: I loved the opening chapter of A Summer Love Affair and prepared to settle down and fall in love with the characters and their story. I loved the setting. I was excited! I liked Elizabeth's character.

But then Petra comes home . . . and secrets are revealed. Which is fine. But I really had problems with Petra's character. She, in her mother's eyes, is generally forgiving and understanding, empathetic and sympathetic. But honestly? I just didn't like her. She thinks that she is happy doing what she is doing, running an on-line vintage clothing store, but she lets everyone else's opinions colour her thinking. She doesn't have a business head. She lives from week to week, and has come home to her mother for the summer to save on living costs. There is A LOT of introspection and general whining on her part. I found it tedious and wearing. And then Elizabeth starts second guessing herself. And there's a lot more introspection. How many times do we have to read the same thing over and over again?

All the introspection and dithering and whining spoiled the read for me and I struggled to finish.

⭐⭐

#ASummerLoveAffair #NetGalley

I: #hollychamberlin @kensingtonbooks

T: @HollyChamberlin @KensingtonBooks

#contemporaryfiction #familydrama #romance

THE AUTHOR: Holly Chamberlin is a native New Yorker, but she now lives in Portland, Maine - the aftermath of stumbling across Mr. Right at the one moment she wasn't watching the terrain. She's been writing and editing - poetry, children's fantasies, a romance novel or two, among many other genres and projects - her entire life. She has two cats, Betty and Cyrus, and when she's not writing her hobbies include reading, shopping, and cocktails at six.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Kensington Books via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of A Summer Love Affair by Holly Chamberlin for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

Three sisters and a recently widowed mother reunite and a long hidden secret is revealed. A lovely story of family, loss and forgiveness. A little slow at times but still an enjoyable read.

.Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I started this book with enthusiasm. The idea was promising. But couldn't get through the end. Not my cup of tea.
I wish the best to the author. I'm sure she'll collect beautiful reviews.
Thank you NetGalley for the chance of reading this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an entertaining book. It was interesting and those interested in an introspective story that includes a great deal of self-reflection and inner dialogue will enjoy it. It was very slow-paced and did not hold my interest. It was not what I would consider to be a relaxing summer read. I may or may not read other books by this author.

I received a complimentary copy of a Summary Love Affair. This review reflects my own thoughts and opinions.

Elizabeth has three grown daughters and was recently forced into retirement as a schoolteacher. Plus, she is dealing with the recent death of her husband, Hugh. Overall, her world is a little unsettled.

Elizabeth’s daughter, Petra, decides to come home for the summer. As we get to know Petra, you get the sense that she has always felt like a lost soul and that maybe she didn’t fit in anywhere. One day, while searching through the attic, she stumbles across her mother’s wedding dress and a diary which she presents to her mother. These found items seem to create angst in Elizabeth’s as her past comes crashing back. What we learn is that Petra is not Hugh’s biological daughter but rather the result of an affair with Hugh’s best friend, Chris – a secret that she has kept her entire married life.

Elizabeth decides she needs to come clean with the secret and shares it with her children. Although her children are upset by this information, Petra decides to take her future in her own hands and meets and begins to build a relationship with her biological father.

The remainder of the story deals with how Elizabeth, Petra and the two daughters deal with the situation and their various emotions. What I really like about this book is that it dealt with messy situations, as dynamics are in most families. However, the drama was limited, and it explored family relationships in an open, honest, and reasonable manner. Overall, the characters treated each other with dignity and respect and took ownership for their actions. It was a very refreshing summer read.