Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of this debut book by Katie Bishop and wonderfully narrated by Annabel Scholey - 4 stars!

Rachel is 17 years old and on holiday on an island in Greece. There she meets Alistair, an older man with whom she quickly becomes obsessed. She abandons her plans to return home to university and stays working at the bar with a group of friends, who spend their days and nights drinking and going to parties. In present day, Rachel is married to Tom and they take a holiday on the same island, where a chance meeting with one of the girls from her past reignites her obsession with Alistair and makes her rethink her past recollections of that time.

This was a wonderful debut that explored really tough topics. I liked the "then" and "now" versions of the story so that we can see what happened and how it affected Rachel in her present life. This should definitely be a cautionary tale to young women, who can be so vulnerable and find it hard to say no. Rachel was not a real likable character - her behavior when she was young is understandable, but her experience seemed to keep her in that perpetual state of bad decisions. Anxious to read more from this author!

Synopsis:

Rachel has been in love with Alistair, 20 years her senior, for fifteen years, even though she’s now married to someone else. Their story begins on a remote, Greek island when she was only 17, but as she becomes increasingly obsessed with reliving those drunken, wild nights, dark and deeply suppressed secrets about her first love affair begin to rise to the surface, as well as the truth about her time working for an enigmatic and wealthy man, who controlled so much more than she could have ever realized.

Review:

I had trouble putting this book down. It is set in the split time line that I LOVE for suspense. We travel between 17 y/o Rachel and currently, early 30's Rachel. Every so often, we'd get a little tidbit that would make it clearer what was happening and I couldn't wait to find the next one as I continued to read. I thought Bishop did a great job demonstrating the power of grooming when girls are young and impressionable - otherwise I find it sometimes hard to understand how people can get caught up in unsavory situations. I want to say more but I won't so that you enjoy it as much as I did!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

The story is told in two different timelines through Rachel's POV. The past where she is 17/18 and is feeling what independence feels like for the first time being away from home, school and everything else. She meets an older man who she falls in love with and she thinks hung the moon. The current timeline she is in her early 30s, married, but wishing she could go back to that one summer. The summer where she thought life was basically perfect. But sometimes we see the past better than it was.

This book was a debut....what?? I'll be honest, the first little bit of the book I was struggling with it. I wanted to shake the girls, especially Rachel, then I had to remind myself that they are young. At 18 years old you think you have everything figured out and when a cute boy comes along you become blind to everything else. It honestly made me think about a few things I did at 18 that I wish I never did. And I thought about one summer I think of more than I should, and questioned myself if it was really as prefect as I thought it was? Thankfully, it was nowhere like the summer they had. Once I got hooked in the book, I was hooked. I needed to know how the story ended. I don't want to give anything away but it made me think of a famous case that happened not too long ago here in the states. If you read the book you'll know who/what I'm talking about.

I listened to the book as I read. The narrator did a fantastic job!

All in all I thought this was a great debut. I am looking forward to what the author comes up with next. Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillian Audio and St. Martin's Press for the copies of this book in exchange for my review!

Rachel and Caroline are on summer adventure before their second year in sixth form, and Rachel's funds are running low when they arrive on a remote greek island. They were only supposed to stay a week or two, but at the end, Caroline leaves alone because Rachel has fallen hard for the much older man that appears to manage one of the local bars. Told in dual timelines of that summer long ago and current times, Rachel grapples with unrequited teen love with a much older man and how it affects her life as an adult, leading down a very dark path of what can happen to naive young girls when faced with very adult situations.

This was...this was an excellent book grappling with very timely and heavy topics, about how older men groom teen girls, and how dangerous that can be when that leads to sex trafficking, teen pregnancy, and drugs. It was well told, and a book a lot of people really should read.
But also, it's being billed as an atmospheric thriller, and it's really not that at all. There's no edge of your seat twists and turns you expect in a modern thriller. You can see what's ahead around that curve easily, and that's not a bad thing in the type of book this really is, but if you're expecting a thriller, you'll be disappointed (as I was for about the first half of the book, waiting for the mystery and suspense to start).

4.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Katie Bishop and St Martin’s Press for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Slow paced. Not loving or feeling any attachment to the characters. It felt like nothing happened for so long that I felt like when something did happen, I didn’t really care.

I’ll be honest and say that the beautiful cover of this book drew me in, and I requested it without reading the synopsis. This book was not at all what I was expecting, but I thought it was written very well and touched on tough topics in a sensitive way.

I don’t want to say much about this book because I really do think it’s best going in blind. It is categorized as a thriller, but I’m not sure that’s the best genre to describe this book. It’s more contemporary fiction with a coming-of-age story. There is a bit of a mystery aspect to it, but I don’t think that’s the main focus.

I love dual timelines and books set in Greece (probably because that’s my dream vacation destination) so I was pleasantly surprised that’s where the past sections of the book were set. The present is set in London 15 years later. I preferred the past sections, although at times they were hard to read. Although this book won’t be for everyone, I enjoyed Bishop’s writing style and was impressed that this was a debut.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for advanced copies in exchange for my honest review.

As the synopsis indicates this book is dark. That said, I found it very compelling and thought the dual timeline was well-used as a strategy to show how the main character was abused and assaulted and the emotional fortitude and resilience required for her to finally come to terms with it in the present. I enjoyed the book and could not put it down once I started. Would recommend if you like a dark psychological book.

📚: The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop
⭐️: 2.5/5 (rounding up on #Goodreads)

Rachel & Caroline head off to a summertime Greek island hopping adventure before the school year. At 17, they’re on the cusp of young adulthood, envisioning themselves older than they are, and making new friends - some of whom are questionably older (with even more questionable motives). 15 years later, Rachel finds herself married, filled with secrets, and still thinking about that summer that ended traumatically and irrevocably changed her.

A slow burn of a book, the first half of this read dragged on without a solidified plot so much so that I nearly DNF’ed. As the story picks up, so does the pace, and the darkness of the #MeToo driven plot. This is a heavy read with a time-jumping final chapter that honestly could have used just a drop of the first half’s drawn out nature.

Thank you to @stmartinspress via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Girls of Summer is out this week on June 6th.

Thanks to the publishers for an advanced copy of The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop
This was darker than I expected and I didn't like the dual time frame.

I'm not sure if Rachel is meant to be such an unlikable character but the themes of memory and trauma years later and what it takes to reclaim your story were strong. It did make me think, but overall this book wasn't for me..

It’s hard to put down my feelings and thoughts about this book. It was a very difficult read for me. My first thought was this is a 2 star read. After reading the complete book, I was torn between liking the story and wondering what the heck did I just read.
I think the wishywashy personality of the main character was one of the reasons I had a hard time finishing this book.
Overall, this was a ok read for me. I did read it to the end which I didn’t think would happen.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Rachel never really left the island of Santorini where she worked for a summer and fell in love w/ Alistair. Even though she was only 17 at the time and he was at least 15 years older, she never quite got over the entire thing. As you read this book, it alternates between Rachel on the island then, working with other girls at the bar owned by Henry Taylor, a British businessman and Rachel in the present. You begin to see that Rachel was quite thoroughly manipulated when she was 17 and the bar and island take on an insidious air. Henry Taylor and Alistair were not good guys and once Rachel is in contact with some of the other girls on the island, she begins to see the horrible truth of their time there and that the past isn't quite as idyllic as she remembers.

*Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-arc.*

Well written and thought provoking, this story is a great combination of some of the stories that have made headlines since the #metoo movement gained momentum. The way the author explains the mindset of a trafficking victim is raw and makes the reader feel that anguish and confusion that comes with the uneven distribution of power and manipulation. Definitely recommend.

Katie Bishop’s impressive debut “The Girls of Summer” will be one of summer’s most talked about novels. “Girls” is complex and disturbing tale of one woman’s affair during a vacation with her girlfriends that turned into tragedy after the death of one of the girls. This seems like the plot of many current thrillers, but Bishop wisely chose to use a narrator who isn’t the usual unreliable narrator, but instead is driven to find the truth about what happened during her most memorable summer.

I’m already looking forward to Katie Bishop’s follow-up.

I was really looking forward to this, however, in the end it wasn’t for me, although I have a feeling it’s going to be a popular read this summer!
While the Greek setting is gorgeous, I found the main character, Rachel very unlikeable, especially in the now POV.
This was a fast read, but a slow burn - I highly recommend checking out content warnings (specifically related to the #MeToo movement)
While this wasn’t my cup of tea, I did like the writing style and will certainly pick up more from Katie Bishop in the future!

This book was amazing and really started off giving me warm mama main vibes however that might have just been because it was about two girls on an island however the case it hooked me instantly. It wasn't very long in however that the book took a darker turn and I found myself desperate for answers. Our main character Rachel is living the dream as she gets to spend her summer on a Greek island all alone with her best friend. What could possibly be better? Flash forward and now Rachel is back on the island she once lived but vowed to never return to with her new husband. When the secrets from the past start to unleash themselves Rachel is forced to come to terms with things that she has long since buried. And that magical summer when everything went wrong comes back up to the forefront again. This book switches back and forth between the incident that happened in the past and how the main characters are dealing with the aftermath in the future. I like the way that it was presented because it really let the reader tried to guess what happened at the same time as it was being revealed. When Rachel meets Allister her whole life is rocked. Unlike the boys her age, he is more mature and really understands her. At least that is what she thinks. It isn't until years later looking back that Rachel really sees their friendship for what it was and her whole look on life starts to change. This book pulled me in and threw me for a loop because it pulled off such a dark story line but it made lots of it feel super breezy and light hearted even though it was anything but. Great read so original and I loved the way that the author wrote this she is truly talented and I don't think I will ever be able to read anything even remotely close to this ever again because the story and her flow were so unique and mesmerizing. If there is one criticism that I have is near the end of the book I found the plot to be a bit chopy and hard to follow unlike the first part.

We get to experience The Girls of Summer in alternating past and present perspectives. Rachel in the past is young, so it’s understandable that she would be selfish and naive. Rachel in present time is atrocious. This made it difficult for me to connect with her character and ultimately the story as a whole. I didn’t find much redeeming about her until maybe the end when she seemed to finally consider other people’s feelings.

I also felt the pace was incredibly slow. This story is heavily character driven and some parts seemed to drag on while Rachel was trying to figure stuff out. Unfortunately, because of the pace and my dislike for Rachel by the time we discover what is even propelling this story forward I had already lost interest (around 50%).

I think this book has very important messages and was well written, but I didn’t enjoy the story for entirely personal reasons. I found it lacking and almost boring. That is mostly because I prefer more action and faster paced books.

If you like character driven novels that discuss difficult topics, you will likely find this enjoyable and as always- I suggest giving it a chance and deciding for yourself.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for my advanced reader copy.

Let me start by saying that I am 100% behind the Me Too theme of this book. I’m really sad that I didn’t end up loving this more. There were a few big problems for me, the biggest one being Rachel. She was such a selfish and immature character that I immediately disliked her. The second issue for me was that it literally takes 75% of the book before the story takes a turn and gets interesting. I seriously contemplated DNFing this at least a dozen times before that point. Had Rachel been a bit more endearing and done something other than obsess over creepy Alistair for 200+ pages, this could have been so much better.

My rating: 2.5/5

Thanks to Netgalley, St Martins Press, and Macmillan Audio for my gifted copies.

This was a slow and atmospheric read. I wouldn't call this one a thriller but more of a suspense with some mystery elements. I felt like the dual timeline worked well for this book but found myself gravitating to the POV in the past because I wanted to find out what happened that had impacted the characters so much. You do have to read between the lines for a while before you finally start to grasp what is really happening but you have this building sense of wrongness as you read and the betrayal when what really conspired is revealed! Ouf! This book tackles some tough subjects and I appreciate what the author tried to accomplish with this book.

Content warnings: adult/minor relationship, rape, suicide, abortion, sexual content.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC for review. All opinions are my own.

I was quite excited for this book and really really enjoyed the first 30%! Around the midpoint, things started to lose steam and I ended up DNF-ing.

I don't even know how to put my thoughts into words for this one.

Nothing worked for me.

The plot was droll. It had no suspense. It had no real surprises. There were no twists, no turns, no aha moments. Nothing. It moved at a painstakingly slow pace. I almost walked away from it a few times.

The characters left me feeling eh. I didn't dislike them. However, they were not characters I particularly cared for either.

Everything in this book felt forced and overdone and exaggerated. I can't say that I would recommend this book.