A Novel Summer, by Jamie Brenner, has a lot going for it. Three college friends unite several years later in Provincetown. In the intervening time, conflicts between the trends have grown and adult issues emerged. Yet, they gather to help and attend to their own needs. I loved the beach setting and that much of the story takes place in a bookstore. The young adults are indeed more young than adult, and often lacked insight and compassion for each other. There is some "Hallmark" level romance and a sweet conclusion where all live happily after. The story is strong enough to keep you interested and easy enough to put down for a dip in the pool. It is truly somewhere between a 3 and 3.5 rating. Thank you to NetGalley and Park Row for the opportunity to read a digital ARC.

I think this book failed like Emily Giffin’s new book fails: it’s based on a group of friends but it doesn’t spend the time developing the relationship. I don’t believe they’re friends the way they quickly turn on each other. Not my favorite Brenner.

A Novel Summer by Jamie Brenner is all over the place. Three good friends spend the summer together after college graduation on Cape Cod and vow to spend time there every summer. Of course, that is not what happens. One, Hunter, starts working for a publishing firm in Boston, one, Colleen, stays on the cape to run her families book store, and one, Shelby, is in an MFA program in NYC and writing what will become a best selling novel. Hunter is a caricature of a person - not a real person. She has a drinking problem which her girlfriends do not address and she never does either. She is self-absorbed and jealous of her friend for making it as an author and mad at her for using parts of her stories in her novel. Colleen is pregnant with twin and trying to make a success of the bookstore, but she has been ordered on bed rest by her doctor. She calls Shelby for help, and Shelby shows up and tries to help run the bookstore, but there is competition opening up down the block and then there is a bad storm and a flood and ultimately, the bookstore flounders. Other characters including the owner of a small imprint, Duke, Colleen's baby daddy, Shelby's former love interest, a famous author, Shelby's agent, Shelby's agent assistant, Mia, she works at the bookshop and is the younger sister of the former love interest, the parents of the love interest, and his new girlfriend, Kate. Too many characters. Not much character development so why so many characters? They distracted from the story. I gave this 2.5 stars. Thank you to Net Galley #netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for my advance reader copy.

I love a book about books! A Novel Summer by Jamie Brenner is just that!

In her signature style Brenner wove together a story that paid tribute to Cape Cod, female friendships and bookstores.

I’ve been a big fan of Brenner in the past. Her ability to make you feel for the characters made me want to keep reading. Throw in the small town bookstore and I was hooked.

Thank you to NetGalley and Park Row for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

The perfect amount of beach read and literary love. The setting was great and filled my beach and bookstore loving heart. I loved the characters and the way they grew through their heartbreaks and found their friendship again.

The wish for the perfect summer's past on Cape Cod propels new author Shelby to accept a request for best friend Colleen to manage her bookstore while she rests during her pregnancy. Shelby is surprised when her other friend Hunter feels that Shelby’s unflattering portrayal of a young woman is Hunter. All the women are experiencing difficulties and compassion is what they truly need. It is a hurricane summer for them as they try to navigate hurts and possibly regain what they have lost.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book screams of everything I love….summers at a beach town, friends, bookstores and authors and love.

Two college friends come together to help a third save her bookstore. Misunderstandings are everywhere. This is such a fun summer read, from its beautiful cover to the friendships and the wonderfully written story. I’ve read a few of this author‘s earlier books and quickly jumped to request this book. I think this might just be my favorite of hers to date. What stood out most to me was the reality of how important female friendships are and solving misunderstandings and moving forward. Great characters in realistic situations. Yes, there is romance too, as icing on this summer cake.

The best part was getting to meet the author in person. Ms. Brenner is down to earth, relatable. Of course, I had to pick up a book off her backlist. I look forward to her next book.

Thanks to Ms. Brenner, Park Row Books and NetGalley for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

Complex female relationships combined with literary aspirations and a splash of romance! Shelby, Colleen and Hunter share summers together on the shores of Cape Cod while in college. Using her experience as inspiration, Shelby publishes a book with little deviation from the truth, unsuspecting of the damage it will cause in her friendships.

Thank you to Park Row Books and NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Shelby is an author, drawing on her experiences at the Cape with her friends for inspiration. The problem is, not all of her friends feel this is necessary or appropriate for the basis of a novel. Jamie Brenner tells a story of three friends navigating a rough patch throughout the summer at Cape Cod. There are underlying love stories that play out throughout the story, leaving you rooting for the friends as they push through their trials and tribulations. While not my favorite of Brenner’s books, the story moves along at a steady pace and keeps you engaged enough and leaves you with a warm feeling at the (predictable) end.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

This was a lovely summer read! Jamie Brenner’s writing made me want to book a trip to Cape Cod immediately! I loved the multiple characters and POVs and enjoyed the ups and downs of the girls’ summer.

Thank you NetGalley for the complimentary ebook of, A Novel Summer by Jamie Brenner.

Shelby found inspiration for her bestselling novel on the Cape and expected a warm welcome when she returned, but that’s far from what she received.

She leaves the Cape to return to her life and then receives a shocking call that a friend needs help with the local bookshop, so back she goes.

While she enjoys her time at the Cape, she’s confronted with another novel and has a choice to make that could make her very successful, but lose the chance at love and friends.

There’s friendships, love, heartbreak and a hint of mystery.

I enjoyed this book. It was an easy, fun, and quick read.

Thank you to Harlequin trade for this digital arc copy.

This novel's premise has immediately drawn me in and made me want to request to read and review this book. The synopsis: 3 friends from Providence Town go their separate ways. Shelby moves to NYC to pursue becoming a writer & has finally released her 1 st successful book. Hunter, the wild & promiscuous rich girl from Boston, who wants to be known for her own successes rather than the name she was born with. She resents Shelby for moving away, not staying in touch, and writing characters who sound an awful lot like her 2 best friends and some local town members. And last, Colleen, the local book store seller who suddenly finds out she's pregnant with twins with a high risk pregnancy. Colleen begs Shelby to return home for the summer to help out at her book shop when she can no longer work. There's also a possible second chance romance between Shelby and her highschool boyfriend who never left the town and who is now dating someone new.

Okay, so let me just say that I really really wanted to love and enjoy this book. I usually enjoy a good beach read with elements of 2nd chance romance, best friends with a touch of drama, and anything having to do with writing or book shops. However, this book was like a good recipe you find but you don't have all the ingredients and rush through it, ending up with a bland and boring cake. It just did not hit well for me.

The characters were one of the hardest things for me to enjoy. They all felt incredibly shallow and surface level characters. I never truly felt like we got to know them. Probably the 'best' character out of them all was Hunter. She at least had flaws and we understood why she acted the way she did. Shelby, in contrast, was like a wet noodle. She had zero personality and drove me crazy. She literally got upset when she did something bad, listened as everyone explained to her why they were mad at her, then proceeded to do that cycle all over again despite the outcomes. Insert eyeroll. And poor Colleen, she barely existed in this novel. She was so forgettable I had to go look up her name again to remember who she was.

The writing as a whole felt very juvenile unfortunately. And usually if the storyline is good and holds my interest, I can deal with mediocre writing, but not with this novel. It felt very short and choppy and disjointed at times. There was no flow between chapters or the various POVS. There was also quite a bit of repetitive thoughts, which led me to start skin reading certain passages. Not to mention, the author's usage of slang terms and sayings was very cringe to me. How many times do we need to read the word 'ptown'?! Please just spell it out next time.

Finally, I'll touch upon the overall plot. I didn't enjoy the storyline at all unfortunately. It lacked so much to become a great sorry that I'd recommend. It felt so bland and basic and there was little true drama, or fun twists. Even the 2nd chance romance was such a tiny blip in the very ending that I almost didn't notice it. The 2 characters hardly even spoke most of the book and suddenly after a few years apart, they feel these strong ties to get back together...yeah okay. Basically, not much of anything happened in this novel and I hate to say, I feel like I wasted my time reading this. I even skipped part way through to listen to the audiobook on release day and that was even worse.

While I do appreciate the chance to read this arc, I unfortunately cannot recommend this book to my friends, family, or followers. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this.

A beach, bookshop, friends, second chances and romance all make for the perfect summer read and this book is it. What a beautiful setting and wonderful writing. I loved the unique story line and fell in love with the colorfun characters. They really pull you into their story and I was hooked on these friends finding themselves and their friendship again. I couldn't put it down! This book is wonderful reading you don't want to miss out on!

Shelby was able to write her first book based on her time in Provincetown on Cape Cod while she was in college with her two best friends and when she comes back to the bookstore that started it all, she was expecting them both to be so excited…but one of them, Hunter, was less than thrilled when she felt the book shed a bad light on her. Shelby is trying to move on and work on her next novel but her friend whose family owns Land’s End bookshop asking her to manage the store over the summer. Being back on Cape Cod brings lots of memories back and it allows her to reconnect with Hunter and Colleen, one of which is not her biggest fan, and prove that she is willing to work on the friendship.

I love Brenner’s books and have been eagerly awaiting this one for quite a while! A Novel Summer is such a good beach/summer read and I love books that have bookstore storylines. The main character, Shelby, at time seemed a little self-centered with her writing and not really caring about the people whose real lives she based her stories on. I was shocked that after the first one, that she was so willing to write about Colleen’s life without asking first and then act offended when she did not like it. I think the professor as a love interest was thrown in to cause tension between Shelby and Hunter, but I think Hunter handled it well when she realized what happened. I do think Shelby grew as a character when she was willing to drop the book and loose her agent, but it worked out for her in the end.

This was a basic, predictable beach book. All of the characters seemed especially self-centered and unaware of how their actions affect others. They were shallow and unlikeable. The character seeking sex and no relationship was so poorly written. I kept asking myself, Is this a real thing? Is there a mature woman who adopts this attitude? If this was a nod to feminism, it surely failed. Overall I found the book unrelateable—even the neat ending was too rushed, implausible, and “happily ever after.” Each character dropped his or her uniqueness and became stick characters.

I wanted to love this book and truly tried to push through but at 50% through I needed to take a break and give up. In theory this book sounds like the perfect beach read but I can’t relate to any of the characters and I truly hated the multiple POV’s. with no distinction between them. Unfortunately, was a miss for me.

3.5 rounded up

The perfect summer beach read for book lovers and any aspiring writers out there. I am always up for a good book about books or indie bookshops and this one did not disappoint! Full of memorable characters, second chances, indie bookstore love and so much more. I enjoyed this one on audio and would highly recommend for anyone looking for a light-hearted, feel-good summer read. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

3 ⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an early release of A Novel Summer.

This book follows the story of three friends-Colleen, Shelby, and Hunter. They drift apart after college but are brought back together three years later and let’s just say it is not a happy reunion for everyone. It is a story filled with miscommunication, jealousy, and second chances.

It was hard to keep all of the characters straight and to figure out who was telling certain parts of the story. There were parts of this book I really enjoyed and there were other parts I found very frustrating. It is definitely not an easy going beach read kind of book.

thank you netgalley for the e-arc. i love jamie brenner's writing, she's one of my favorite authors. however, i did not enjoy this one. the story was disjointed and seemed unedited. the miscommunication trope annoys me so much. the story itself, i guess i don't care how the characters interweave? and then more characters were introduced to make it more confusing? aside from miscommunication, i thought she used every common writing trope to be able to say she did.

This was a story about friendship with a bookish theme set in a small town.  We have competing book stores, the drama that comes along with it.  Plus the jealousy between friends.  This was a summer beach book. 
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing-Park Row for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.