Katie Bishop has produced one of the most emotional books I've read in a few years. Her attention to detail made me feel as if I were a part of the story and lead to believable situations that I couldn't wait to hear more about. The Girls of Summer made me laugh, cry, and get mad. I loved and I hated. I'd definitely recommend this title and can't wait to see more from Bishop.

A compelling and eye opening read that has you feeling all the feels. I was so invested in the story that I could not put the book down. Loved it and will definitely be looking out for more by the author!

The Girls of Summer has stirred up so many emotions in me. It is dark, it is heartbreaking, it is a cautionary tale that is too often told under the guise of immature love, the need to feel a sense of belonging and even manipulation.

The story takes place in the then and now.

Then: Rachel is just 17 years old when she travels to a Greek Island looking for adventure with her friend. She meets an older man, Alistair, and fancies herself in love with him. Through him, she becomes entangled in all-night parties, secret trysts, endless alcohol and eventually some drug use. She and her girlfriends are hired to show up at parties to entertain men. Rachel vaguely understands that much more happens at these parties, girls going off with strange men and returning later to dance and entertain some more, but she’s too young and naive to grasp the true circumstances.

Now: Rachel is married but not quite happy. She still longs for Alistair even 16 years later. They never had a proper goodbye after tragedy befell one of the girls. Why did Alistair run off and leave her behind? Her marriage is a struggle and her memories won’t abate.

The girls she met during her summer in Greece eventually all find each other and Rachel finally realizes the truth of those summer months.

I was spellbound throughout the story. It drew me in and kept me drawn in. This is a 5 star read and should be on everybody’s TBR list.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

When I began this novel I was not sure I would finish it. Then I started the second chapter. Rachel is now 33, married and working at a museum. Her husband, Tom, is a good man and she knows this. Eighteen years earlier she and a girlfriend took part of the summer off and went to Greece for an adventure. There she met Alistair who was then approximately 33. Rachel was young and naive enough to believe he genuinely cared for her. This is Rachel’s story. Each chapter is the past or the present and tells her story in her own fashion. Lots happened but, as far as I could see, Rachel’s heart broke but she never allowed herself to become a victim. Thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC for an honest review.

The Girls of Summer is a book that talks about life, discovery and perspective.
Each of the girls in this book come to an island on a summer break, some of them don’t want to leave and become ensconced in the goings on of the men who unbeknownst to them are running some pretty bad things.

Some girls leave and others become so entrapped they don’t know how to leave and when something horrible happens it all falls apart.

The lives of these women intersect again later in life and the true reality of what they all faced is exposed.

This was a very good book and puts a light on trafficking and exploitation of young women and how easy it is for them to be lured into a situation they can not get out of.

This book was good and some what suspenseful. However, the beginning was slow and I am not sure I like most of the characters.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the eACR.

The Girls of Summer alternates between Rachel then, in beautiful Greece, and Rachel now. Although it reads quickly and easily,, this one just wasn’t for me..
Thank You to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This books jumps back between Rachel’s life at 17 and 34, as she relives an island romance that she can’t stop thinking about. It’s an intense story with some hard themes. I loved it!

The Girls of Summer is a dark atmospheric read and I thoroughly enjoyed the cautionary tale it told. This book is vibrantly clever and well delivered. Revealing the darkness and raw emotion that a lot of people deal with today. With a first page that reels the reader right in, the story jumps from past to present. While we're still in the wake of the #metoo movement, "The Girls of Summer", follows Rachel and her memories of a summer she spent in the Greek Islands. While she is unhappy in her present, we're left unwrapping her past to find out what led her on her current journey. A difficult read that has a few moments that leave you with a broken heart, and a terrible feeling in the pit of your stomach, The Girls of Summer is a book that needs to be read. This book is raw and believable, and left my mind spinning. Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

this story was a bit of a trigger for me as i was manipulated and was psychologically abused by my first love as a teenager too but nonetheless I was completely engrossed into the story from the first page. This is a very emotional read but one i recommend.

thanks netgalley and publisher

all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Wow. This book was dark and compelling. Told in dual time lines, the story focuses on Rachel who was preyed upon by a much older man when she was just seventeen. This book speaks very clearly to the me too phenomenon making it highly relevant

The Girls of Summer alternates between the now and then of the life of Rachel. The now being her life in London and the then being the summer she spent in Greece.

I thought this book was okay. The summary was intriguing, but the execution fell a little flat. There were so many characters I had a hard time keeping everyone straight. All in all the story was interesting, but kind of long winded.

I was given this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

This novel goes between two timelines as Rachel remembers a love affair she had during a summer on a Greek isle. For her, this is the love of a lifetime, but is her memory faulty?

This book is a moving and careful look at how difficult victims of assault have in sometimes even realizing they are victims.

While everything on the island seems amazing at first, years later Rachel begins grappling with the fact that all is not what it seems.

The book is sensitively and well written and the dual timelines lend a different perspective. I enjoyed this book a lot.

This book was an intense read. It goes from Now to Then and centers around a main character named Rachel that is telling her story of a time when she was 17 and stayed in an island in Greece. She shares what happens to her as she’s falling for an older man and the girls she lives with and the work they do on the island. Trigger warnings!

I liked how Rachel looks back and then also gives us glimpses into her present day life and the complications she deals with as an adult. I’m rating this four stars. It was a bit long at times but overall a really good book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC for the purpose of this review.

Rachel is 17 when she decides to take a gap year and ends up on a Greek island with a bunch of other teen girls. Her decision to stay at the end of summer is one that changes her whole life- she just doesn’t know it yet. We hear about her life in chapters titled “now” and “then” and the reader begins to piece together the sinister things going on once we get past her distorted perception. It took a while for Rachel, now 35, to integrate the past with sex trafficking and abuse by older men in positions of power. We watch as she has to grapple with what she thought was true versus the awful realities of what happened to her and the other girls of summer. This is a novel where we see the aftermath of trauma, resulting in a complete rewriting of her relationship with Alister. It’s also a story of redemption as the girls reunite to take action against their abusers. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. 3.5 stars rounded to 4

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest review.

Publication: June 6, 2023

This book did such an amazing job giving me unsettling vibes and an eerie sense with the atmosphere. This is my first book by Bishop and I was definitely intrigued!

I would rate this book 3.5 stars- I loved how Bishop brought the world to life however, I didn't like any of the characters. They didn't really grow to me which left me disappointed. The story also gave me "The Last Housewife" vibes but it felt a lot slower and bogged down with too much detail in some parts.

Overall, not a terrible book but not one that blew me away either.

I was so happy to receive an offer for this ARC. It was so twisty from beginning! Would definitely recommend!!!

It took me a little while to get into this book, but once it grabbed me it held tight until the end. I started off not liking the main character, Rachel, until I realized that she and I have a lot in common. I’m sure many female readers will feel the same way. I strongly related to being a naive 18 year old girl who made bad decisions. I was moved by the idea that we all rewrite our past to some extent, remembering things as being better than they really were. Highly recommended!

I don't know if I've ever read a book quite like this & the perspective was really interesting. Rachel was rightfully a frustrating character in both timelines, but I think the book handled the dual perspectives well and revealed things nicely. Would definitely be interested in reading other books like this

3.5 stars for this thought-provoking Me Too-era reminiscent tale of a summer spent in Greece.

Rachel is seventeen when she arrives on this small island of Greece for a holiday with her best friend. She is quickly drawn into a life of the illusive business man Henry Taylor and his charming assistant, Alistair.

She extends her stay beyond a vacation only to get further ensconced into this life of partying, bartending, and her secret romance with the much older Alistair.

Sixteen years later, Rachel is still adrift. In a long-term but stagnant marriage and a regular routine, it seems as though she’s never left the events of that summer behind. But as she reconnects with other girls from the island, her memories reshape into something much more sinister.

Honestly, this book was hard to read at parts. Rachel was so young and trusting and so clearly in denial about everything that was going on around her. It was clear that she never fully processed or moved on from the repressed memories she had from her experience, meaning she wasn’t ever fully present in her own life in all of these years following. Much of the book is spent with her listlessly being miserable without addressing or healing from the trauma(s) she experienced during the events of that summer.

Overall, I think an important examination of the complexities of exploitation and grooming in young girls but definitely not a light read.