Four friends find out their childhood summer camp is going to close. June has run Camp Holly Springs for 30 years and is now facing major financial problems. June’s niece, Daphne, met her two best friends, Lanier and Mary Stuart, during a fateful summer at camp. They’ve all helped each other through hard things, from heartbreak and loss to substance abuse and unplanned pregnancy, and the three are inseparable even in their thirties. But when attorney Daphne is confronted with a relationship from her past—and a confidential issue at work becomes personal—she is faced with an impossible choice.
Now they are prepared to work together to save Camp Holly Springs so their children will be able to become Songbirds. Ms. Harvey always writes great stories that have people helping each other cope with life.

Okay Emily Henry, you're right... insta-add to the Beach Bag!

The Summer of Songbirds is a full circle story about 3 women and their happy place where they met as children...summer camp of course. There is nothing more important to this group of friends “the songbirds” of Camp Holly Springs than saving their beloved camp. The camp is where they met, enjoyed all the things that make you come of age. The lessons the three women learn are what is most crucial to this story about friendship, growth and unconditional love.

Thank you NetGalley and Kristy Woodson Harvey for sharing with me an ARC of what is one of my favorite books to date this Summer.

I’m calling this one the book of the summer!! Three best friends embarking on new phases in their lives while also trying to save the summer camp where they met-SIGN ME UP!!! I absolutely adored this one and could not get enough when I was reading!! I loved Daphne, June, and Mary Stuart!! Lanier can suck a lemon in my opinion but that’s beside the point!! I loved the multi-POVs, but wish we could have also gotten a Mary Stuart POV! But that didn’t take away from the overall story and I can understand why it wasn’t important to the book. This tackled some heavy topics and was such a great read! I laughed, I cried, and I fell in love with this one!! Definitely grab to read!!

This was such a great summer read. I enjoyed the present/ past storyline. I have really enjoyed all her books!

Kristy Woodson Harvey has written a must-read for summer.

I loved everything about this story. The setting, the characters, the storylines. I could not stop reading it.

When June is facing the possibility of losing the camp, Daphne, Lanier, and Mary Stuart pull together to try to save it. Regardless of what happens between them, and plenty does at a few points, they are determined to help June.

One thing I loved about their relationship with each other is how they would send their lists of hard things that needed doing. I wish I had someone I could ask to do my heads things sometimes.

I enjoyed seeing all three women learn and grown through this novel. In their own ways they realized what was important and worth fighting for. I could relate to each character at various points in the story. I think this is just one thing that makes Kristy such a great author, her characters are flawed and real and so relatable. At the end of the day, family, both chosen and blood related are what matters and it was a joy to watch each woman find this for themselves.

I am looking forward to seeing others opinions of this perfect summer read as it publishes.

Thank you to Gallery Books for the copy of this book. All views are my honest opinion.

I love how Kristy's books feel like the epitome of summer to me!

This book is foremost about long lasting friendships and the hardships and highs we go through with friends.

3 best friends that went to a camp together and have stayed friends since need to find a way to save their beloved camp. One of my favorite aspects of this book is the passing of "hard things" between the friends. Letting someone you trust step in for moments that are hard and helping with that burden. That feels like true friendship.

I love the second (and some thirds) changes for some of our characters. I just knew that they would be able to help with these "hard things" and strengthen their bonds even when it takes a bit to get there. I adored every character except for one that's really toxic!

Another great summer hit with heart!

Three friends meet at summer camp and form a lifelong friendship, but more than that, they become family. They begin a thing in their circle called "hard things" where they ask another to help them accomplish a hard thing on their to-do list. Each is gifted with a special finesse in doing for the others. But sometimes, hard things can be impossible. The secrets they keep for or about one another go deep. 
This summer, they need to work together to save the beloved summer camp or it will be sold to developers, along with a lifetime of memories, camp experiences, and a loss for young girls in the future. 
Their relationships will be challenged, tested, and grow stronger as they work together while dealing with their own personal lives. Unraveling the past and working toward the future will help them move forward and strengthen their circle of friendship, family, and love. 
A beautiful story told with reflections of the past and being in the present. A must-read this summer!
Received an ARC from UpLit Reads and Gallery Books.

Perfect summer read! For those who have attended summer camps and made special friends, the novel will bring back memories. Each character had a different story but blended together to create this engaging book of friendship and families. Highly recommended!

Thank you so much for an advanced copy of The Summer of Songbirds. This was my first Kristy Woodson Harvey book, but it won't be my last!

I love that the theme of this book was friendship. This is a women's fiction story at its core, and I was really invested in the outcomes for all the characters. I loved the alternating POVs and timelines, and I really felt like I was part of the cast of characters by the end!

KWH has such a way with words, and she weaved a story of emotions and found family as I read. I was hooked from the beginning!

Rating: 4⭐️

Reading The Summer of Songbirds was like revisiting my childhood friends remembering how we shared everything, embarked on new experiences and of course endured all the drama!

Childhood friends Lanier, Daphne and Mary Stewart attended Camp Holly Springs every summer just as their mothers had when they were young girls. Now that the friends are adults, they continue share everything by sending “Hard Things” messages in a group email. Even though they are the best of friends, not everything can be shared with each other and these things surface one summer when they learn that their beloved camp is in financial trouble.

I loved this story and how each character has something they have struggled through and also how each character grows throughout the book. There’s a nice dose of romance that fits perfectly into the summercamp theme both as teens and adults! Kristy writes some truly heartfelt storylines that live in your head long after reading!

This was my first Kristy Woodson Harvey book and it will not be my last. Almost 30 years ago, trying to turn tragedy into triumph, June bought Camp Holly Springs and turned it into a summer camp for young women. A safe space for young women to grow, build friendships and come into their own. As summer approaches and she recovers from the economic impact of Covid, June realizes this will most likely be the last summer that she is able to keep the camp open.

June's niece Daphne, met her two best friends, Lanier and Mary Stuart during her first summer there and the three created an unbreakable bond. Through the last twenty years, they have seen each other through everything. As each woman faces her own challenges in the wake of Camp Holly Springs's possible closing they know they must do everything to save the place they are most at home.

Thank you NetGalley and Kristy Woodson Harvey for trusting me with your Songbirds and the eARC of what is one of my favorite books to date. Kristy Woodson Harvey does it again with a cast of the most lovable characters you will be rooting for from page 1 until the Epilogue.

The Summer of Songbirds is a full circle story about 3 women and their happy place where they met as children. There is nothing more important this group of friends “the songbirds” of Camp Holly Springs than saving their beloved camp. The camp is where they met, fell in love for the first time, experienced heartache and made lasting memories. In the end these women come together for more than saving the camp and learn valuable life lessons along the way. This is a touching story about friendship, past decisions, growth and unconditional love. Definitely one to add to your beach bag this Summer. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Kristy Woodson Harvey is the queen of crafting engaging storylines and rich character development, culminating in a unique story that you could actually picture jumping off the pages. THE SUMMER OF SONGBIRDS is no different.

This book has everything: complex family dynamics, navigating tough topics, the deep bonds of friendship, second chance romance, and that nostalgic yearning for summer. As someone who went to summer camp as a kid (and worked at that summer camp after high school), I felt this one to my core and pictured myself at my summer camp while reading. Anyone who spent their summer days at a camp will feel the same way.

I loved and rooted for Daphne whole-heartedly throughout the entirety of the book. She is everything you want in a heroine: she isn't perfect, but she is smart, strong-willed, loyal to a fault, and REAL, someone that we can all connect to in some way. I loved the cast of side characters, too, from Lanier's parents, to Steven, to Finn. They all added something special to the story — couldn't have pictured the story without them.

This will be a favorite of the summer, I just know it. Thanks so much to Gallery Books and NetGalley for a copy of this one to read early!

It’s hard to come down from the euphoria of reading this awesome Southern Women’s Fiction story. It’s simply the best Women’s Fiction I’ve read this year. The completeness of the characterization of each of the cast members; the rich, descriptive narrative that took me there alongside them; the emotional buildup I felt as the reader in each person’s life because they seemed so real to me; and the way that realness of the words touched all my emotions. That’s everything I look for in an extraordinary book. I finished the story feeling like the author left no stone unturned. The circle of life is clearly portrayed in this marvelous summer story that I highly recommend to readers of Southern Women’s Fiction and to everyone who simply enjoys a fantastic read! If I could give this story 10 Stars, I would.

“The Summer of Songbirds” is a must-read. It’s amazing. Author Krista Woodson Harvey is clearly a gifted storyteller. “Fair winds and following seas!”

Great summer read and exactly what I would expect from the author. A little predictable but with a lot of heart.

This was a sweet summertime read full of friendship and new love vibes. I liked it, but it just didn’t wow me like I wanted it to. A perfect beach read, though!

Kristy Woodson Harvey is the Elin Hilderbrand of the south and for good reason. She knows her craft, and The Summer of Songbirds is one of her best books yet.

When their beloved summer camp, Camp Holly Springs, is in danger of going out of business, Daphne, Lanier and Mary Stuart band together with camp owner June to save it. The three best friends, now in their thirties, met at the camp when they were six and dubbed themselves the Songbirds.

Like the author’s other novels, this one touches on real-life issues in a gentle way, including substance abuse, unplanned pregnancy and abandonment. I enjoyed each of the women’s storylines and the alternating points of view added more depth to the novel.

This nostalgia-filled book will be the perfect addition to anyone’s summer reading list and has me yearning for an adult camping retreat.

Thank you to NetGalley, Gallery Books and Kristy Woodson Harvey for an advance copy of this book.

5 stars all the way!

What a beautiful tale of friendship and love and secrets and forgiveness! I've read most of Kristy Woodson Harvey's books and this is by far my favorite!

The story focuses on four women. Mary Stuart, Lanier, and Daphne, who met in the Songbird Cabin at Camp Holly Springs camp 24 years ago, their lives intertwined ever since, June, Daphne''s aunt, is the camp owner. . She might lose the camp they all love so well. June also has to come to terms with her past mistakes and figure out how to move forward.

Together they navigate the "hard things" life throws in their way. Sometimes, those hard things are their relationships with each other. But, no matter the struggle, they know that down deep they will forever be bound together as Songbirds, and it will all come together in the end.

This book is so beautifully written. It's a testimony to love, not just romantic love but also the love between friends and familial love - whether it's your biological family or your chosen family.

I actually just got back from a weekend in Asheville, inspired to revisit the Biltmore Estate after reading KWH's The Wedding Veil last year. Too bad Cape Carolina is a fictional town, or that might be my next vacation destination!

Thank you so much to Gallery Books for the honor of reading this digital ARC in return for an honest review.

The Summer of Songbirds by Kristy Woodson Harvey. The storyline just didn't grab me could have been my mood. i was glad for the chance to read it. Good setting, likable characters and good dialogue. I think I would give it a 3 1/2 rating.

“Maybe when you finally find where you’re meant to be, summer never ends.”

Well if this isn’t the perfect summer read, then I don’t know what is. Kristy Woodson Harvey hit me with all of the emotions in this nostalgic and heartfelt read.

I’m a sucker for a story about lifelong friends who are going through the roller coaster of life together. I really enjoyed the girls friendship (past and present), even despite their differences and road bumps along the way. I connected most with Daphne’s character, understanding some of the hardships she was going through. And who doesn’t love second chance romances with some drama and scandal mixed in?! I enjoyed the multiple POV with flashbacks, although the flashbacks did get confusing at times. I’m definitely recommending that everyone add this one to their beach read list asap! 3.5 (rounded to 4)

A HUGE thank you to Gallery Books and Kristy Woodson Harvey for this gifted ARC. Check out The Summer of Songbirds on its pub date 7/11!