Member Reviews

Katie Bishop has written the most intriguing book that I have read yet this Summer. The Girls of Summer is a non stop whirlwind of a ride that she brings to the most shocking finish! It is a fabulous summer read, actually an all year read. When I started the book, I had a pit in my stomach, simply from her writing with such an indelible tension..I almost knew what was going to happen. It was as if I had my hands over my eyes, and peeked out at intervals. What a story! It could be true, but I won't mention any spoilers or names that have been in the news in recent years.
Ms. Bishop writes with such a beautiful prosaic vernacular..that I had to write down some of her sentences so I never lose them. This is a must read, and especially a must read for any young girl who thinks she owns the world and goes off to places in the world with simply a backpack. I love this book because it is an eye opener, even as a fictional story; every young woman needs to read this book in preparation for a world they do not want to be part of. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin' Press for the ARC in exchange for this very honest review....I could not put this book down.

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At the age of seventeen, Rachel Evans and her friend Caroline decide to spend the summer months before her final year at school vacationing in the Greek islands. A chance meeting with Alistair an older man under the employ of an affluent businessman, marks the beginning of a torrid affair, with Rachel over the moon with the attention she is receiving from Alistair. Rachel and the other girls she befriends on the island, spend their days working in the bar Alistair manages, attending parties at the mansion of his employer and Rachel begins to dream of a future with Alistair. But the summer ends in tragedy and scandal, with Alistair abandoning her and leaving Rachel shattered.

Rachel, now in her thirties and never having gotten over Alistair, visits the island with her husband Tom where she meets one of the girls from that summer who stayed on, it triggers a sequence of events that has Rachel revisiting the past, trying to determine the truth behind what really happened that summer and dealing with the shocking revelations that come to the surface.

The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop is an intense read that ventures into dark territory. The pace is on the slower side in the first half of the novel as the narrative moves between past and present detailing both Kate’s state of mind in the present day and the events from that fateful summer. The author is unflinching as she touches upon sensitive topics such as predatory behavior, grooming, and sexual exploitation of vulnerable young women. The author does a wonderful job of setting the scene with vivid descriptions of the island and the upbeat vibe of the young vacationers. Seventeen-year-old Rachel, naïve and easily manipulated and the smooth-talking Alistair and with his shady dealings are well-fleshed-out characters though the present-day timeline with mature Rachel and her cluelessness is not convincing and much of what transpires in her life in the present day is difficult to justify. A seventeen-year-old dazzled by an older man and romantic dreams is believable and the long–lasting effects of trauma and betrayal are believable. But adult Rachel’s reactions, her unwillingness more than inability, to see what truly happened all those years ago for what it truly was and her subsequent actions were difficult to digest beyond a point. As the narrative progresses, I found myself unable to sympathize with Rachel and there really isn’t much mystery or suspense that holds the plot together. Overall, I really can’t call this a thriller. The premise of this novel isn’t quite original, and for those who follow the headlines for crimes of this nature, nothing will really surprise you as the story moves toward the ultimate reveal. I will say that the author has promise and I would be eager to read more from her in the future.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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Thank you @macmillan.audio @stmartinspress @netgalley for a copy of this book. I had a few issues with the story that made it a 2 star for me.
- the idea of a 17 year old traveling a summer in Greece by herself
- non-consensual sex
- manipulation of young women by much older men
- Rachel's behavior as an adult and how see treated her husband Tim

I did enjoy how all the author described that summer in Greece and can see how these young adults were so drawn to the lifestyle. Listening to the author's note also made sense as to why the story was written as it was and upped a star.

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Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this read. I can say this is a hard read as it contains heavy topics in this book but I found the book went a bit too slow for me. But I get it, it carries heavy topic matters and sometimes it is required to go a. bit slower but it needs to be interesting when it is slow as it was hard for me to keep reading it because of that.

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Girls of Summer is a novel of Rachel’s life today with her husband Tom and visions of her past wild love with Alistair while living for a summer on an island off of Greece for a gap year as a teen. The story seems to move along slowly, with Rachel eventually realizing she was part of a much bigger story when she thought she was just living a dream of a life with a man who was 20 years older than she was. The story unfolds as the veil Rachel has been hiding behind slowly lifts, and she and her friends stand up for themselves.
The story moved quite slowly and I found myself not quite enjoying just how slowly the story went along. The topic of Me Too and trafficking can be a tricky one to write about, though the author does this well with a delicate hand.
I can see why some might really appreciate this novel, though it just was not for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

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There are some things I think it's important to know going into this book. Despite the Booklist review that says "plot-driven tension will appeal to fans of psychological suspense" it was definitely not in that category for me, but wholly in the category of women's fiction.

This is a slow moving but beautifully written coming of age story about a 17-year-old girl who travels to Greece and encounters an older man who she falls in love with. It's not until she's older that she comes to realize the depths of the manipulation that occurred, not just to her, but to whole groups of girls who were recruited for more than work in the bar he managed. Yet she still clings to the fantasy of that time, when there were endless parties, little responsibility, and the hint of a future that might be.

The story only hints at the atrocities carried out on the island, and during one fateful trip to England. I wanted the author to just come out and say what we already knew. There are many TW for this book: Grooming, rape, abortion, suicide, drugs. It's not until the last 1/4 of the book that the pace really picks up. Despite that I gave the book 4 stars because of the beautiful language of the book, and the way it was able to evoke a time that many young women encountered during my generation, and maybe even today.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance reader's copy.

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3.5 gap year reconsiderations

Rachel and Caroline head off on some summer adventures the summer before they finish school. The last stop is a Greek island. The girls find a beautiful setting and parties with plenty of free alcohol. There’s even a place to stay in return for working at a local bar.

Rachel gets so drawn into this life that she stays on the island while Caroline returns to England. Rachel has fallen in love with Alistair, and she loves spending time with him. She just has to keep the relationship a secret from everyone else, he is twenty years older after all. There’s a terrible tragedy on the island that summer and we only learn the full story by the end of the book.

The book has an alternating timeline for 15 years in the future where Rachel is married, but still pining for Alistair and life on the island. She seems to remember only the idyllic times and not the truth of what happened that summer.

This one was a bit slower to read and I went into it blind. This book made me think about how often this situation must happen, men with power and money, enticing girls to “party” with them, and how often things get out of control. The interesting thing is that in today’s climate, more of these people are held accountable for their actions. However, it is still a difficult battle to prove in court. The title might be a bit deceiving, this is not a fluffy beach book.

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𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬💭:
After reading plenty of summer romance books, i needed a summer thriller to cleanse my palate. This was the perfect solution to my yearning.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for my copy and all the goodies included in my PR Box! Also to Macmillan Audio for my audiobook that I used to accompany my reading.

𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐛📝:
When Rachel was a teenager, she spent the summer in Greece. Here she meets Alistair, a much older man who captivates her and so begins their love affair. Years after, she is married to someone else but increasingly becomes obsessed with her past. She decides to revisit it, but secrets begin to surface.

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. I don’t wanna give too much away, but this was a heavy, yet intriguing one. With themes of power, sexuality and consent, this definitely wasn’t what I was expecting. You will need to proceed with caution. If you read the synopsis, it will give you an idea of what it’s about, which i didn’t do lol and ended up captivating me anyway. The complexity of the main MC’s experiences and how it affected her in the long run was recounted well by the author. The eeriness of it all was certainly compelling. Despite it being character driven, the audio made it interesting with the narrator giving a standout performance in her story telling.

𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚: 𝘊𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘤𝘦, 𝘔𝘺 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘝𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘔𝘦𝘛𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯

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I would not categorize this as a thriller as it is currently billed, however I enjoyed it nonetheless. The Greek setting was wonderful, and it is told in two timelines, current day when Rachel revisits the remote Greek island with her husband, and the past as she reminisces of a time in her late teens when she spent time there in love with someone else that was 20 years older than her. Her obsession with her past love continues as she reconnects with the girls she spent time with on the island, and secrets about her said affair begin to come to light, causing her to potentially see things differently than they were back then. I enjoyed going on Rachel’s journey with her, frustrating as it was at times given how stubborn she was, but understandable I suppose. This is a slow burn, character driven novel that was a little heavier than I thought, definitely not what I expected, but I liked it overall and it was very well done for a debut. The audiobook for this was great as well and I enjoyed listening and following along with the book.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the digital copy to review.

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When Rachel and Caroline are 17 they spend the summer traveling before they have to return home to start school. Their last stop is on a Greek island. Rachel falls in love with the island and Alistair, a much older man. Rachel decides to take a gap year and stay on the island while Caroline returns home. Rachel has never had much attention from men before and so the fact that Alistair is paying attention to her brings out feelings Rachel has never had before.

It's hard to say too much without giving away spoilers about the book. There are two timelines, Rachel from 15 years ago on the island and Rachel now. Rachel now is married and getting ready to start a family. However Rachel has problems dealing with her feelings from 15 years ago, although maybe she isn't dealing with the right feelings.

I wasn't crazy about the way the two timelines went back and forth. Sometimes in the current timeline things were exposed that hadn't actually happened yet in the earlier timeline. To me this gave away parts of the story earlier than I would have liked.

The Girls of Summer discusses some difficult subjects that not everyone will want to read. However, the author does a good job of describing Rachel at an earlier age and how she allowed this to happen.

Thank you to St Martin's Press & NetGalley for allowing me to review this book

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“Everything I am is because Allistair loved me”…

Rachel has been in love with Allistair for fifteen years…even though he is twenty years older than her; even though she was a teenager when they met and she is now married to someone else. Rachel is obsessed with reliving the past on that beautiful Greek island. In her efforts to capture the feeling of those days, she connects with other girls also drawn to that life on the island. In these connections, Rachel begins to realize that Allistair may have controlled more than she knew. As suppressed secrets come to light, Rachel begins to see the past in a different light.

This book was very different than I imagined when I first started reading! Told in two perspectives (past and present), it becomes clear that Rachel has been suppressing trauma that she never came to terms with. That perfect “love affair” she keeps remembering played out very differently than she tells herself. Though dark and a bit disturbing, I thought the author did a great job handling a very difficult topic. The setting of Greece was also a beautiful backdrop and practically served as a character itself. Altogether, this was a thought-provoking read that made me realize how easily a young girl is susceptible to thoughts imposed upon her.

Thank you to Netgalley, Katie Bishop and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC! This book is out now :)

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I gave this a four out of five stars. I really like enjoyed this read if you can really say that about these topics. Tw: suicide and sexual assault. I think all the characters need therapy.

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4 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

This was a hard read, but in the best way. It was much heavier and serious than I thought it would be going in, but I enjoyed that complexity and it made it hard for me to put this book down. I loved the switching timelines, and I think my favorite thing about the book was how elegantly and carefully the author displayed the feelings of the main character, Rachel, throughout both timelines. As an adult, and through adult Rachel's timeline, it was easy for me to see what was going on; however, at the same time, in teenager Rachel's timeline it was easy for me to understand how things were able to occur the way they did. Rachel was incredibly flawed but in a way I would consider realistic and I think this was expertly portrayed. I know this is vague, but that's because I don't want to spoil any of the story by saying any more. I just think the author did an amazing job in the way she slowly unveiled the story, giving us little pieces at a time so that we could see the way things were building but we were unable to look away at the same time. I loved the ending as well and thought the book overall was really well paced.

In my opinion, this book had vibes very similar to My Dark Vanessa (by Kate Elizabeth Russell) and Luckiest Girl Alive (by Jessica Knoll). If you liked either of those, I'd recommend this for sure. However, this book (like the books above) have some pretty significant triggers, so if you have certain sensitivities I would recommend doing some research before reading this story. I'll absolutely read anything else Katie Bishop decides to write.

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A digital copy of this book was provided to me by NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. The opinions are my own and freely given.

This book is told from Rachel's POV, THEN AND NOW.

Then Rachel was a 17-year-old on trip with her best friend Caroline. She goes to in island in Greece, and when Caroline goes home, she stays. Now is 16-years later, and she still can't forget the time she spent on the island or the man she fell in love with.

However, Alistair was a 30-year-old who along with his boss, exploited these "island girls".

The description of the island is beautiful, but that is where my positives end. There was too much in this book that I couldn't stand behind. Rachel (now) willingly went seeking Alistair out and had an affair with him, while her husband was laid up with a broken leg. Rachel (then) was drinking, doing drugs and exploited at parties, along with all the other girls that worked at the bar. This book was not for me. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press.

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A woman must come to terms with what really happened to her as a teenager when she went on an extended vacation in Greece. The story comes full circle and she must confront her past in the most disturbing way possible. The author does a deft job of handling a heavy topic and successfully illustrates how we don’t necessarily know that we are in an abusive or inappropriate relationship at the time it occurs.

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Rachel’s memories of Greece are bitter sweet. She loved and lost Alistair on the Island. Even though she was a teen and he was 20 years older than her, she still can’t let the memories of what they had go, not even for the man she married… all she can do is reminisce…

It was an ordinary Greek summer, the summer before school starts back for her final year of school. Alistair made her feel seen and desired. Something she never had before… His hold is so strong that when he offers for her to stay on the island and not go back to England, she jumps at the chance. Having to keep their relationship a secret from his boss, Rachel gets pulled into situations she isn’t ready for. Situations where teens girls are filled full of alcohol at parties filled with older men and the suicide of someone she cared for.

Going back to Greece with her new husband opens up a can of worms she isn’t prepared for because what actually happened with Alistair on the island isn’t the reality of what really went down.

YIKES. This book is yikes. The title screams beach read… The cover of Greece screams beach read. When you assume these things and don’t read the synopsis…. You find yourself on one heck of a tailspin and you won’t want to come up for air.

This book covers some pretty hot topics and again, TW…..

Suicide, abortion, rape, grooming, drugs

I’m not a fan of trigger warnings but I felt this book might be a bit much for some people. Alistair is the epitome of a groomer and as someone who was groomed by an older man, he made me angry. This happens more than you think and this book shows you what can happen and frequently does. The plot was well done and the fact Rachel had no clue she had basically been trafficked goes to show how little we know about the subject and naive Rachel truly was.

I did think the character development was quite where I would have liked it to be. There wasn’t much depth, even with Rachel it still felt a little one dimensional but I felt the storyline compensated enough for that. It was a page turner and for anyone not put off by the triggers and love women’s fiction, you will definitely enjoy it.

4 stars. Definitely an entertaining read. Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for my gifted copy

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This was a book that I tried to connect with but didn't, so I requested the audiobook to see if that helped and it didn't. The thrill is just too subtle and slow in the beginning.

Thanks for access to this arc!

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This was a very well written story about the ramifications of grooming. I had several problems with the story overall, but I can’t deny that it wasn’t beautifully written.

It’s hard for me to decide how I felt about this. It was dark, but considering its supposed similarity to The Last Housewife, I was expecting it to be darker. Rachel, the MC, doesn’t have much character development between the two timelines. Did she never think to seek out therapy?

I was forewarned about what kind of story this was, so I could manage my expectations, but I still found that I was expecting more. All of the characters were one dimensional, and I personally didn’t care for any of them. There are many depictions on page that made me very uncomfortable, and I cannot get behind cheating.

But I really want to emphasize that it was very well written and I found myself not wanting to put it down. If the characters were fleshed out a bit more, I could’ve gotten behind this story better. Even if several things gave me the ick.

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Rachel went travelling at 17 with a friend after high school and it was a summer that completely changed her life; this was when she met 30 year old Alister whom she fell in love with. At age 30 life didn't work out the way she wanted and even though she is married to Tom, her first love is the man who occupies her mind and her heart.

This story is told from past and present and is very well written. Looking forward to reading more work by Katie Bishop.

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and author for my ARC!

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This was one of the toughest books I've read in quite a while. Reading about the horrors of young women being used, tricked and trafficked through the eyes of Rachel was so well done and so terrifying. You just want to shake her and make her go home. But the striking thing is you can see how it happened to her without her even realizing it. The lies, the flattery, the manipulation. The way it damaged her life and she still didn’t fully accept what she had been through. The way her memories were manipulated and how her brain dealt with protecting her from the trauma happening.

This is marketed as a thriller and I do think it is, but it’s also just a stunning look into this horrible danger that women everywhere face and the disgusting abusers who take advantage.

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