Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC of Summers at the Saint! All opinions in this review are my own.

I got to 31% in this summer read, but unfortunately it's not for me. While I did like the setting and was intrigued by the mystery, many of the characters were unlikable (on purpose) and I couldn't spend more time reading about them.

Short synopsis: The Saint is an extravagant hotel/resort off the coast of Georgia. Tracy is determined to uphold her deceased husbands legacy, but others have different ideas.

My thoughts: I didn’t know what to expect with this other than I’ve seen amazing reviews from trusted friends and knew I had to pick it up for myself.

This one had a bit of everything! The glitz and glamour of the rich, the hard work and the determination of the less fortunate, family drama, a romance sub-plot, mystery, and murder.

The beach/hotel setting was perfection, and the multiple characters and their backstories added so much to the book. Overall I highly recommend! This would be perfect for you beach or pool bag!


I did a mix of audio and physical reading of this and both were so well done!

Read if you love:
- Poolside resorts
- Mystery
- Romance sub-plot
- Family drama

The perfect summer time romp! I like to call Mary Kay Andrews' books the trifecta: romance, comedy, and mystery. And Summers At The Saint did not disappoint!

I've read a number of books by Mary Kay Andrews and my favorites of her books combine a heartwarming story, with some mystery and a little romance. This book had it all. I loved the resort setting and the summer camp feel. It has twists I didn't see coming and I thought the story played out at a good pace. There were some wonderful friendships that were explored and the ending made a lot of sense with the overall story.

I did have a few issues with some time frames, some of the ages and lengths of time noted didn't seem quite correct, but could be an issue that will be resolved in the final editing and published book.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the gifted ARC copy provided through NetGalley.

Wow. You have to read this book! It was so different than any other MKA book I have read to date. Prefect book for the summer! Found family, murder, mystery, southern money, white class, romance, this book really does have it all!

What a fantastic summer read! Loved the characters and the storyline. Reads like a Elin Hilderbrand novel with a twist. Thank you to Mary Kay Andrew’s and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Mary Kay Andrews is always my first "summer read" of each year. In May I get ready to read her novels and always love them. Her books are just perfect light, beach reads to kick off the summer.

Positives:
Loved the setting of the iconic hotel the St. Cecelia in Georgia
Loved the cast of characters working at the hotel and their storylines.
Included: Romance, family drama, and a mystery

Negatives:
There was a pretty shocking storyline early on I didn't expect and this one wasn't as light-hearted as I anticipated.
The book was a bit long and pacing was slow at times

Overall another class MKA summer beach read. Can't wait until next year's.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the copies to review!

It has been a minute since I have read an MKA book, and I don’t remember her going this dark, but my goodness I sure did LOVE this book! Audio was a great way to read it also, the narrator really did a fantastic job with this one. The well known Saint hotel needs a turnaround, and the widowed daughter-in-law owner will do anything to help this happen. She hires a sort of hodge podge crew to work over the summer, even building them a dorm to stay in that is affordable while they are there. There were shenanigans, romance, and an unexpected dark turn like I mentioned, that made this novel one that I thoroughly enjoyed and read in one sitting. I was hooked from the beginning and loved how it all wrapped up, I definitely recommend you add this to your summer reading list if you haven’t already!

I desperately wanted to love this novel- a glitzy oceanfront resort and many references to the Atlanta area where I live seemed totally up my alley...but sadly, it just didn't deliver.

The book's beginning inundates you with too many characters without giving you a chance to care about any of them. I usually really enjoy a story with multiple timelines, but this one was so haphazard it didn't add anything. In fact, the main character goes from meeting a person while she's working at the hotel one summer straight into being married to him, with barely any explanation at all.

I think the hardest part with this one is that it tried too hard to be too many kinds of books simultaneously. Look! Here's a story about a friendship gone wrong! Look! Now someone is married! Look! Here's someone investigating a drowning from many years ago! Look! Now someone has been murdered in the present day!

It's chaotic and I almost abandoned it, but I kept reading until the end.

I did end up caring about some of the characters, but as a whole, the storyline just seemed unorganized and implausible. It wasn't for me, but that doesn't mean that someone else couldn't enjoy the hell out of it!

Thank you to #netgalley for this ARC of #summersatthesaint

Perfect book to kick off summer with! Family drama, romance, murder and grief. This book had a large cast of characters with multiple pov’’s. They were well developed and kept me captivated. I loved the smash up of genres!

SUMMERS AT THE SAINT takes place at a resort called Saint Cecilia. Traci, who was the girl from the wrong side of the tracks who married into the family who owned the resort, manages the resort after her husband, Hoke, died in a plane crash. Hokes father is the owner, and his brother, Ric, manages the financial side of things. Traci doesn't trust Ric and she's learned the books are in the red. She has a short amount of time to turn things around, or lose it all. A strong support cast and years of dark, secrets abound in this one. The story unfolds through various points of view and backstory is filled in with flashbacks. Just when Traci thinks she may have turned things around, there's a murder victim found on resort property. Complex, mysterious, and heart touching, SUMMERS AT THE SAINT is a blend of romance, mystery and women's fiction. Highly recommended to fans of Mary Kay Andrews and heartfelt romances.

Many thanks to my friends at @stmartinspress and @macmillan.audio for the free #gifted copies of this book.

Summer isn’t official until I’ve read MKA’s latest, and I found myself immediately absorbed in Summers at the Saint. I imagined myself sitting poolside at the Saint, fruity beverage in hand as I helped solve the mysteries at play.

And I think this is my new favorite summer read by her. It’s full of all the things I’ve come to love about her books: a twisty mystery, a cheer worthy romance, and a perfectly beachy backdrop.

But this time, she took the storyline a bit darker... and I have to say, I ate it up!

Murder, jealousy, trauma, deception... this is a beach read with substance. I found myself immersed in the storyline seeking out the sinister motives, eager for the twists, and caught up in the suspense.

The heart of the Saint (and this book), the main character, Traci Eddings, was easy to root for! Having experienced her share of hardship in the past, her strength was the guiding force throughout the book. As she fought to keep the legacy of the Saint alive in the throes of fresh grief, her grit and vigor shined through.

Set along the Georgia coast, I felt myself immediately transported to the home of my youth. I love the way Andrews paints fictional small towns full of southern charm and bedazzled with the names of real places I’ve frequented. It feeds my nostalgia and tempers my homesickness.

There’s a reason MKA is known as the queen of beach reads. Summers at the Saint delivers the perfect summertime escape full of mystery and romance with a southern flare.

🎧 I’ve come to think of Kathleen McInerney as the voice of Andrews, though she has a much wider repertoire. To me, her voice is the embodiment of full-fledged Georgia native. She expertly portrayed Traci and kept me engaged throughout the entirety of the story.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book, as I haven't really enjoyed MKA's previous books. But, this one is her best that I read.
Traci Eddings is head of the resort The Saint, managing it after her beloved husband, Hoke, died in a plane crash. Traci had been a townie, or an "Ain't", and Hoke was heir to the fortune of the Saint. Traci met him while she was working at the resort. One summer years earlier, she and her best friend, Shannon, were lifeguards when a child drowned in the pool. Shannon was fired, and hasn't spoken to Traci since.
Now Traci is trying to keep the resort afloat, while money is hemorrhaging. She begs her niece, Parrish, to help out. Her BIL Ric is not happy, and is conspiring to cheat Traci out of any inheritance when his father dies. Traci also hires Olivia, Shannon's daughter, to help at The Saint.
When a tragedy occurs, Traci tries to solve the crime. She uncovers some sinister activity. The staff gardener helps her.
All in all, a satisfying novel.

Entertaining setting and well-drawn characters. Some expected "twists" and also some very coincidental, simplistic events. It's fantasy modern fiction for those who like a light read with a bit of romance.

Liked:
*Great Storytelling
*Great characters- Tracie was my favorite character
*Little murder mystery
*Twisted family drama to keep things interesting
*Happy Ending

Didn’t care for:
*Too much swearing
*Focus on social issues today- bit preachy at times

MKA never disappoints. I love this beach read on a resort setting with a whole cast of characters and a satisfying murder mystery. What’s not to love?! Perfect for this time of year. Highly recommend.

This was part mystery and part beachy romance read - the last half of the book had me flying through it, but the beginning felt a little bit drawn out. I would categorize this as a mystery first, and romance second. The cover alludes to a carefree beachy read, but this was definitely a mystery with some darker topics.

Classic MKA. A little romance, a little murder, and a touch of southern hospitality. This is a perfect summer read that will keep you interested until the end. There are a lot of characters so it takes a few chapters to figure out who everyone is but it’s worth the effort. I wish the Saint was real (without the murders!) I would go this summer.

A great summer read, the perfect page turner with many unexpected turns during one summer at the famed Saint Celia Resort in Georgia. A murder at the famed resort for the area's monied crowd turn many lives upside down as the summer season kicks off. A twisty read that will keep readers guessing who the real culprits are till the very last page. Highly recommend.

This book has everything you could want in a great read! In the newest from the Queen of the Beach reads you will find family drama, romance, intrigue, an old mystery, and of course a body! With a well-rounded cast of characters, MKA brings you a beach mystery from a beautiful setting, the St. Cecilia "the Saint" a beautiful but older hotel on the Georgia coast. Traci, the widow of one of the sons of the family that has owned the Saint for generations, used to be an 'Ain't' someone who couldn't afford to belong to such an exclusive group of people. Now she runs the Saint and is trying to bring it back to it's former glory as it struggles after the Covid years and against newer. splashier hotels. Unfortunately, not everyone in the family is happy with her choices and after a death on the property things get even worse. Traci, along with some other players from the past, fights to keep the Saint alive while trying to find an old and new killer.
An unputdownable read and one you won't want to miss!