Member Reviews

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

Quick, easy read with plenty of gossip and rich people doing whatever the hell they want! I enjoyed the narrator.

Was this review helpful?

DNF @ 24%. I am just not super interested in this book. Nothing has gripped by attention. It just feels like a bunch of rich people complaining, and we don't need more of that in the world. I am usually all for this type of story, but something in the way these people are written is not doing it for me. I am sure they are all going to be humbled by the time the book is through, but I'm just not connecting with the story or the characters. It might be because there are way too many of them, and they all each have their own separate scandals and quirks, but something just isn't meshing well with me with this one. On the plus side, the audiobook narrator is fabulous.

Thank you to NetGalley, Emma Rosenblum, and Macmillan audio for the ALC of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my thoughts.

Was this review helpful?

BAD SUMMER PEOPLE by Emma Rosenbaum was another cover pick for me. Looking at it and seeing the title, I knew I had to read it. I wasn’t disappointed. Plus, January LaVoy’s narration enhanced the suspenseful plot.

If you like reality tv shows of rich people gossiping about each other and their woes in life, this book is for you. And if you like murder mysteries where everyone suspects each other for some reason, yet they could never do that, this book is for you.

It’s an easy read - a great summer read - especially if you listen to it. LaVoy is a fantastic narrator and keeps you engaged so that you don’t realize time is passing.

My one warning is the number of characters. It’s a very character-driven book. If you don’t like many characters or their PoVs, this isn’t the book for you.

I think this is an excellent debut from Emma Rosenbaum, and I look forward to what comes next from her. Would I have liked it as much if I read it? I’m not sure, but I’m delighted I listened. It was a fantastic suspense audio with excellent narration.

CW: murder, alcoholism, alcohol and drug use, infidelity, sexual harassment, financial crimes

Was this review helpful?

Bad Summer People is like One of Us is Dead with the serious drama of Real Housewives. While there is death and betrayal, it is an easy and quick read. If you want a beachy, summer read that is not a romance, I would recommend this one.

Was this review helpful?

This is book that couldn’t have a better title. Bad Summer People is exactly what you are getting. There is a murder at the beginning and you don’t know who it is or how it happened. So it hooks you right away. And although not one character is trustworthy or likable you have to keep listening. This is a character driven novel and it really keeps you engaged with, rich people behaving badly, lies, and lots of secrets.
There are quite a few characters but I was able to keep them straight the narrator, January LaVoy, does an excellent job!!
I do like the ending and the way this domestic suspense is told.

Was this review helpful?

This is a devilishly perfect beach/pool read. You’ll love to hate a few of these characters and still want to know with whom and how they end up. Fun read! Great narrator!

Was this review helpful?

Loved the narrator! So many scandals so much drama. Didn’t love the characters because they were overall just awful human beings. But that added to all the drama!

Was this review helpful?

Bad Summer People will be the blockbuster book of the summer! This suspenseful beach read will satisfy the most inquisitive readers. Just when you think you know what happened, another possibility is presented. It also wraps everything up and leaves no un answered questions in the end. There are many characters, but it is easy to remember and follow them. I listened to the Audio version and the narrator, January LaVoy does a wonderful job voicing each character - even the male characters. This book will be on my top 10 best book list!

Was this review helpful?

A quick, delicious read full of scandals and secrets set against a summer backdrop on Fire Island. Cheating, stealing, gossiping, and a dead body— this mystery novel is scandalous and full of characters that you will love to hate! There are a lot of characters all behaving badly so it took a minute to remember who was who. But wow, this was an absolute delight and sure to be a hit read this summer!

If you’re thinking of doing the audio version of this book, January LaVoy’s narration is perfect and brought life to the characters.

In my opinion, fans of Elin Hilderbrand will love this one.

Many thanks to Macmillan Audio for this copy!

Was this review helpful?

This is the juiciest of juicy summer reads!
Are you going on a beach vacation? Visiting the lake? Pick this up and bring it with you!
I can't say enough great things about this book. It's so so good that you forget about the mystery element to the story and get wrapped up in the lives of all the characters.
What are the lifestyles of the rich really like? What happens when bad things happen to bad people?
Are you more attune to the secrets and scandals as an outsider looking in? Or as a long standing member of privilege?
And the audiobook for this story was a true delight! I could not stop listening! Highly recommend.
You can't go wrong with this page turning summer read!

Was this review helpful?

Kind of predictable from the start. Really had to pay attention to the characters. Author switched between multiple character and situations. Story line was so so nothing to exciting.

Was this review helpful?

"Bad Summer People" opens with a bang. A dead body is found, but no details are given as we are immediately tossed back to Lauren Parker's family as they gear up to head to their Salcombe beach house on Fire Island. Sam Weinstein and Jason Parker have summered here since they were children, so insisting their families do the same felt like the thing to do.

Salcombe is a town of rich, surface deep individuals. Escaping their lives in the city and moving their lives to the beachside town and slowed down lifestyle of the island each summer. However, the New York cliques and petty drama doesn't stay on the ferry as the drama unfolds.

The opening death set the stage perfectly as I found the author so tantalizingly dangling individuals with motives and opportunity at every turn. But, as the book peaked, climaxed and wound back down I felt the ending drag on as each loose end was made to wind unnecessarily back together.

Was this review helpful?

Well, you've got the whole small town vibe of very wealthy people in this story! These wealthy New Yorkers descend on this small town of Salcombe, on Fire Island in New York for the summer. You've got the resident gossip who's in everyone's business, the wannabe, the cheaters, the full time resident, and of course, the LBGTQ character. It's the perfect beach read and keeps you interested from beginning to end. It was also well-narrated.

Was this review helpful?

Great summer read. The dynamic between the different residents on the island was great and loved the multiple POV telling the story.

Was this review helpful?

Such a wonderful thriller! Some parts were predictable, but I was mostly surprised. The characters were well developed. I really enjoyed this one!

Was this review helpful?

😈😈😈😈😈
If you’re looking for a juicy beach read, look no further!

“Bad Summer” owns its name! A debut novel set on the beautiful and exclusive Fire Island. Where the wealthy spend their summers playing tennis, or if you’re special, playing with the tennis instructor! Attending parties stocked with expensive alcohol while nannies look after their children. And staying abreast of gossip and secrets.

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF SUMMER 2023: Bustle, ELLE, Cosmopolitan, PopSugar, Bloomberg, Vogue, and more!

Published May 23, has earned the new author a two-book deal, as well as a TV deal with Amazon Prime. Can’t wait to watch it! 

This small community of rich are secretly unhappy and delight in bad behavior, backstabbing, and infidelity. These characters have spent years creating their intricate social webs.

This spicy whodunit starts us off with a dead body but keeps the secrets surrounding the death until the whirlwind conclusion. Who is it? Was it an accident? If not, who would do such a thing?

The audiobook has a captivating narrative! This story is the perfect length. I never bored listening to these irresistibly unlikable characters and their delicious gossip. I couldn’t stop reading about their sizzling drama, fierce rivalry, dark envy, and scandalous secrets! I’m grateful my summer is spent watching from afar.

I’m looking forward to more by Emma Rosenblum.

Sincere thanks to Macmillan Audio and Emma Rosenblum for the copy of this gifted audiobook through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

#BadSummerPeople #EmmaRosenblum #JanuaryLaVoy #GiftedAudiobook #advancedreaderscopy #honestreview #audiobookreview #FireIsland #Drama #Infidelity #BeachRead #DebutNovel #fivestarread #newrelease #mustread #thrillerfriendsunite #mysteryandthrills #justfinished #thriller #suspense

Was this review helpful?

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced listener's copy of Bad Summer People!

This was such a fun and entertaining audiobook to listen to! January LaVoy is an amazing narrator and really made the characters so realistic! I loved the secrets and scandals, the gossip, the setting, the cover, and that crazy twist at the end!! I loved this one so much!

Was this review helpful?

You guys....the DRAMAAAAAA❕️❗️

I couldn't stop listening to this audiobook. I was so caught up in all the drama of who was sleeping with who, who was crushing on who, and who stuck their nose in places they shouldn't have.

It gives all the rich bitch vibes and it's like what is your life where your biggest concern is the drama at your child's school or the local amateur tennis match?! It shows that money doesn't buy you happiness or good friends. Everyone's got something to hide.

The overall story was more exciting than the reveal in my opinion but I'd recommend this book to all of my gossip queens 😉

Was this review helpful?

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan for this audio ARC.

I love January LaVoy. She is spectacular as a narrator.

The story though? 33% and I was annoyed at the adults acting like whiny teens on Gossip Girl. 42% and nothing has really happened except cheating and lying and tennis. The best part has been Micah. I cannot finish.

Please read and make up your own mind.

Was this review helpful?

A perfectly ok book about absolutely ridiculous rich people. I did not get any thrill from the plot. In fact, I was mostly annoyed. I nearly abandoned ship halfway, but decided to tough it out just to find out the “twist”. I would classify this as a domestic mystery. But really, I was so lost in who was sleeping with who…then I just stopped caring. Unfortunately, not my cup of tea!

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and author Emma Rosenblum for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?