I really tried to get into this book, but I just couldn’t. It dragged on so slowly. It was a lot of narrator thoughts that didn’t have much to contribute to the actual storyline. 50% in and I still couldn’t tell what it was actually about. The storyline was too loose, it lacked depth where I needed more.

Yet again I am here to tell you that a book marketed as a thriller is in fact NOT A THRILLER. I would say this is a literary mystery (but honestly it’s pretty light on the mystery). This book begins Rachel visiting the Greek island that she spent time with as a teenager. As the book progresses, the reader learns what actually happened on that island while Rachel was young.

Let me start with what I liked. Bishop’s writing is so atmospheric and beautiful. It made me want to be on a Greek island by the ocean sipping a beer in the cool breeze. It was very impressive for a debut.

Alright now for my issues 🫣: This is the ULTIMATE slow burn 😴 and I found that it lacked the suspense I was craving.

My main issue was that Rachel was gd insufferable. I understand her mindset as a young impressionable teenager. But her willful ignorance as an adult made me so angry. I just couldn’t understand how a grown woman she could be so naive. Also the way she treated her husband was absurd. She blew up her life and had no qualms about it. NOT to mention drinking and doing drugs while pregnant come on girl.

Honestly, I felt like this book has been done before also. Maybe it’s because I read BEFORE WE WERE INNOCENT recently but the dual timelines, the #MeToo plot, and the Greek island setting felt a bit tired.

Many TW in this one so DM me if you have questions.

Rachel’s life is changed forever after she spends a summer on a Greek island. What was initially supposed to be a short holiday with her best friend turns into an extended stay after she falls in love with an older man. Now an adult, she is struggling in her marriage as her feelings for Alistair never fully went away. When her past resurfaces, she begins to come to the understanding that maybe her love affair wasn’t as romantic as she thought.

I was initially drawn to this book because it was branded as a thriller. This is not a thriller. This is a story surrounding allegations of sexual abuse and inappropriate relationships, so please be aware before picking it up. I have seen some people comparing it to My Dark Vanessa. The writing in My Dark Vanessa is far more superb. The writing in this book at times felt plain to me, for such an emotional topic. It has a very slow pace, which makes it difficult to get into. The setting of the story was very well written and easy to picture. Rachel was very hard to like.

This is an unsettling book. The main character is very niave and does not understand what is really going on or that she is being exploited and manipulated. Very sad

This book is told in alternating parts between past and present, with the past being when Rachel and her friends were spending the summer on a Greek island, and they get mixed up with a much older rich man who gives them jobs at his bar and a place to stay, and then they are paid to "attend" parties with a bunch of older men, where they are drugged and given a lot of booze, and then the men take advantage of them. In the present day, Rachel, still in love with Alistair and unable to see that what he did to her was wrong on so many levels, is willing to destroy her marriage, rather than deal with her demons. I did not enjoy this book at all. The book was too slow paced and tedious, the subject matter gave me that "ick: feeling and made me feel like I was reading about Epstein and friends. I can not recommend this one.

#readpairsharereview
QOTP: Where do you dream of traveling?
AOTP: Ireland, Australia, Greece . . .

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, & Macmillan audio for the eARC and ALC copies and the chance to provide my candid review.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (0-5)
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥 (0-5)

What I’m Starry-Eyed Over:
🤩 I highly recommend the audiobook. The narrator did a fantastic job. I’m such a sucker for an English accent. Her voice and expression are so lovely and enjoyable.
🤩 Summer in the title and Santorini, Greece—that cover! Those two things are what got my attention.
🤩 I went in a bit blind having read the blurb so long ago. I wish I would have paid better attention to the last section of the blurb. It’s a serious book—check trigger warnings.
🤩 Coming-of-age, psychological thriller type book.
🤩 Then and now chapters written in such a way that you need to keep going and want all the answers and details.

What I’m Wishing/Dizzy About:
💫 A TBR full of romcoms because this reader can only handle so much of all the other genres.

Trigger Warnings:
🔬 human trafficking
🔬 on-page rape
🔬 off-page death of friend

I love a good character driven drama and this one has some mystery too. Much of the book takes place on a Greek island and at first it seems like this could be a light summery beach read. It turns out there are a lot of sinister happenings on this little island. Even though we realize early on where the plot is going the buildup to the main character catching on is a slow burn. I loved the atmospheric and descriptive writing. You could really envision the island and the settings there. The story is done with dual timelines which worked well. This a debut author and I’m interested in reading what she writes next.

Another summer mystery, this one following a group of gap year girls on the beaches of a remote, Greek party-island, and the awful men who inhabit it!
Broken into “Then” and “Now,” Bishop follows Rachel at 17 and 39, flipping back and forth between a teen girl hopelessly consumed in an inappropriate island romance, and a middle-aged married woman, delirious with dissatisfaction.
I found “Now” Rachel, and her sweet, crumbling marriage, to be the more interesting part of the book, but she’s never able to escape her 17-year old mindset. An outcome of trauma? Of course! Does it make for an engaging character study? Less so.
Rachel’s group of island friends is constantly shifting, the constant flux of summer jobs and gap year plans shifting the ground under her feet. It also means that we don’t get a good grip on most of the supporting cast – girls are relegated to tropes and single personality traits. Rachel (in her youth) isn’t a particularly fleshed-out character either, though that may have been intentional. A 37-year old guy shouldn’t look at a 17 year old and see a fully-developed, well-rounded person. He should see a teen, who is still finding herself, and doesn’t need him to come within 50ft of her.

Read If:
- You followed every development in the Jeffrey Epstein trial
- Your parents never forgave you for the stress you put them under as a teen
- You love “this paradise is actually Hell in disguise” narratives

Wow! What a journey! This book was filled with hope, dreams, secrets and lies. So many emotions on this ride. Such beautifully rich characters and expertly woven relationships. Katie Bishop does a great job of capturing the young heart.
Thank you NetGalley, Katie Bishop and St. Martin’s Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book

Living a summer in Greece with her friends is more than Rachel could ask for. She feels free, hypnotized by the country and in love. When meeting an older man that seems to hold her above everyone else, Rachel becomes entranced.

This book wasn’t for me. It had too many triggers of rape and grooming and infidelity.
If you loved Ashley Winstead’s book, The Last Housewife then I think you’ll love this one!

Rachel has always remembered her first love, Alistair. Having met him on a Greek island while on a summer holiday with her best friend, he took over her world. So much so that she decided to stay in Greece with him, working at a local bar and living with many other girls. But things aren’t what they seem on that island, and Rachel returns to England to pick up the pieces of her life. Fifteen years later, she is married and has returned to that Greek island with her husband to relive her past. But as Rachel reconnects with her former housemates and Alistair, she starts remembering things she suppressed. She also slowly realizes that her time in Greece wasn’t as carefree as she tells people. Can Rachel shake off her past? Will she do the right thing when asked? Or will she continue defending the man who consumed her during that Greek summer?

I was drawn to the cover when I got invited to review The Girls of Summer. The white-bleached building with a view of the ocean was stunning. Then I read the blurb and knew I needed to read this book. I had followed the #MeToo movement with interest and also kinship. Because I, too, experienced sexual harassment at a job and, when reported, was told to keep my mouth shut (FYI: I told that HR person to shove it where the sun didn’t shine and immediately quit. My mother didn’t raise someone who dealt with that crap.) I figured that this book would be something like that. What I read, instead, was something that made me angry for those girls and what was done to them.

The Girls of Summer is a medium to fast-paced book. The pacing of the book suited the storyline. There was some lag towards the end of the book. I didn’t mind it because it was the end of the book.

The Girls of Summer takes place on an unnamed island in Greece during the “Then” part of the book. The “Now” part of the book takes place in London. Both places (Greece and London) have been my personal places to visit bucket list. I have wanted to visit since forever.

The main storyline of The Girls of Summer is split into two parts, “Now” and “Then,” and both parts follow Rachel. The “Now” parts of the book follow Rachel and the downward spiral in her life. The “Then” parts of the book follow Rachel and what happened in Greece. Both parts of the book were well-written and could keep my attention. I will admit that I wasn’t initially a fan of the split storyline. But as I read the book and got to know the characters, it worked, and I liked it.

Rachel wasn’t the book’s most likable or reliable narrator. She was mean to her husband. Who leads their husband on when he wants to have a baby and thinks it’s a fertility issue (fun fact, it wasn’t)? And as soon as she got Alistair’s number, she was back in bed with him. Her husband didn’t deserve that. And when she got together with Helena, Priya, and Agnes to discuss what happened fifteen years ago? She was a colossal jerk. I have never wanted to smack an adult more than I wanted to hit Rachel in the “Now” section. Rachel, in the “Then” section, I liked her better. She was naive and thought the best of everyone. Rachel was also head over heels in love with Alistair (gag) and would do anything for him.

I wasn’t sure if I should count Alistair as a main character. But, seeing how his actions and lies influenced the Rachel of the future, I decided to include him. I hated him. He knew what was happening in Harry’s house. He helped procure the girls for him. He disgusted me, and I was stunned when he and Rachel hooked back up. I will say that he got what he deserved at the end of the book.

The secondary characters and storylines add extra depth to the main characters and storylines.

The drama angle of the book was well written. The author wrote it so well and kept it classy. It never descended into catfights. Instead, the author wrapped it in Rachel’s angst and let it fly.

The mystery angle of the book consumed me. While I knew what would happen (I guessed reasonably early in the book), it still surprised me. I was also kept on pins and needles, wondering when Rachel would get her head out of her butt and remember that things weren’t perfect in Greece.

The end of The Girls of Summer seemed rushed. The author was able to wrap everything up in a way that satisfied me as a reader. I still wasn’t a fan of Rachel, but I liked seeing where she was after the dust settled.

I recommend The Girls of Summer to anyone over 21. There is language, sexual situations, and violence. Also, see my trigger warnings list.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Katie Bishop for allowing me to read and review The Girls of Summer. All opinions expressed in this review are mine.

This is a DNF for me at around 50%. The main character doesn't seem to grow as a person from age 17 to the present. She is more than unlikable. But what made me stop was the explicit scene of non consensual sex. Rape is a definite no for me.

I think that the cover is very misleading. I thought this would be a lighter read but found it depressing and really a slow read.

Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this title

Rachel is in Greece vacationing with her husband, but she cannot help but think about the summer she spent in Greece with her friends years ago. This long ago summer Rachel started a secret relationship with an older man, and she still has questions about how that summer fell apart. 

Through dual timelines, we slowly find out what happened that summer and what the repercussions were. Rachel is such a complicated character. She is dealing with past trauma that she has buried deep within her. This book really hits on a sensitive subject but I feel like it was done well. This book felt more like a coming of age, literary fiction genre than thriller/mystery. 

I alternated between the print and the audio. The audio is definitely the way to go on this one. The narrator did a great job of bringing this story to life.

While this book wasn’t quite the right fit for me I’ve seen a lot of people loving it so I’m just going to keep this simple and quickly share what I did and didn’t like.

Pros:
Greek Island setting
Complex secondary characters

Cons:
Repetitive conversations
Flat main character
Felt like I’ve read this exact story already.

Maybe a 2.5 rounded up but as I said, I’m sure other people will love this one!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for the arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

The Naivete of Summer Love

Seventeen-year-old Rachel and her friend Caroline were on the trip of a lifetime. They were nearly ready to return home when they visited a Greek Isle. The scenery was spectacular, but so were the lavish parties where drugs and alcohol were abundant. Then for Rachel, there was Alistair, a charismatic older man who she feel deeply in love with and has been unable to forget.

Now fifteen years later she is married to Tom, a mild man quite different from Alistair. Their marriage is rocky and this trip to the same Greek island is an attempt to see if it can be saved. On the island she reconnects with a girl she knew that fateful summer. The island brings memories and a desire to reconnect with Alistair, but not all the memories are good and Rachel’s life begins to unravel.

This debut novel addresses interesting issues of young love, manipulation, and memory. I did not like Rachel’s character. I thought she was a woman trapped in the romantic fantasies of a young girl. However, that was what made the plot of the story. She was still trapped and still making the same bad decisions she’s made as a teen.

The descriptions of the island are wonderful. In fact, I thought they were the best part of the book. The plot is suitably atmospheric with a building awareness that things are not exactly as Rachel remembers. The pace is good. If you enjoy psychological novels, you may enjoy this one.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

Rachel is trying to renew her past. She fell in love with Alistar when she was still a teenager, and even though she is married to someone else, she cannot forget him. So, she goes looking for him through the girls she was with on the Greek island. Can you ever go back and get what you wish you kept? Rachel is in for more surprises than she remembered. Is Alistar worth all her trouble? Is he the man she remembers? I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

Wow what a fun summer beach read! Grab this book and pack a beach bag and you won’t want to leave the beach until you are done! It’s a great summer must read!

3.5 stars rounded up

"He feels like safety and suffocation all at once"

I was drawn into this book right from the beginning. I actually finished in three sittings which is surprising for me since it's so difficult to find time. Rachel is in love with a man Alistair for fifteen years now, meeting him at only 17 years old. Alistair is Rachel's first love and we all know how that feels at a young age... nothing compares and in the moment nothing else matters. The only thing is Alistair is nearly 40... making him 20 years older than her. Rachel doesn't see any problem, why should she with an older man showing her attention. Naive... so so very naive. The book jumps between "then" and "now" to give glimpses of what happened in the past and why she is not with Alistair in the present time.

I related to Rachel SO freaking much at a young age, I felt she was reacting the same way I would have at age 17 not knowing any better. However, present time Rachel irritated me a bit. her self-sabotaging behaviors, "dear in headlights" personality without any care of how others might react. Only I can understand why she was reacting the way she did... How are you supposed to believe the secrets that are deeply embedded? Rachel wasn't the only center of attention in the book, there was Julia as well who I really liked. I know the book revolved around Rachel, but I wouldn't have minded more of their friendship growing in the present time.

Overall, the writing flowed well and although there were parts that I felt were a bit slow and dry, it was a good read. At first glance with the title, I assume it'll be a sweet summer book but THAT'S NOT WHAT THIS IS!! BE WARNED.. this can be dark to some and I'd recommend checking out any trigger warnings before diving into this book. This is not a light book and I don't recommend for those looking for a cute summer read.

Rachel has been in love with Alistair for fifteen years even though she’s married to someone else. She was just a teenager on vacation when they met but she’s always held onto her love for him, despite their 20-year age difference.

Now that Rachel is older, she has become obsessed with reliving her vacation that happened so many years ago in Greece. When she heads back to the island, deep secrets about her first love affair begin to rise to the surface, including the reality of working for an enigmatic and wealthy man who controlled so much more than she realized.

This was such a heavy book. There was grooming, manipulation, sexual assault, and rape. So much happened. This was told in dual timelines, which I did enjoy. However, I felt the now timeline was a little weak, and the main character didn’t really grow, and I really didn’t like her. She still had her head stuck in the sand from when she was a teenager. The pacing on this one was rather slow, though it worked with the heaviness of the topics covered. Going with a fast pace with dealing with these issues just wouldn’t have worked the same. I was fooled into thinking that this would be an uplifting story, when in fact it is rather depressing. I do think that books like this are important, however it can be a bit much to take in.

If you are looking for a book that encompasses the #metoo movement, then check this one out – just be prepared for what you are getting into.

This book is out June 6th.

Thank you to the publisher St Martin’s Press, @stmartinspress, and Netgalley @netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I couldn't finish this book. It's very repetitive and I just don't understand what is supposed to be happening. I can't get behind the character because I don't find her likeable at all. The writing just doesn't excite me.