Summers at the Saint by Mary Kay Andrews ⭐⭐⭐⭐

When her husband Hoke passes away, Traci Eddings inherits the St. Cecilia resort. She feels as though she’s struggling to survive. It doesn’t take long before she realizes that she’s inherited more than the resort; she’s inherited the family drama, too. Can Traci right the wrongs of the past and carve a new history for ‘the saint’?

This is a great mystery with a touch of romance and betrayal and long-buried secrets.

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley for my honest opinion.

As a Georgia girl, I was excited to get an ARC of this book. The Atlantic Coast of Georgia is one of my favorite places to visit. Having this book set in a similar area was a huge draw for me. And the story of the Saints vs the A'ints was very intriguing.

In the town of Bonaventure, there is a huge divide: those who are Saints and those who A'int. The Saints are the rich, powerful residents and vacationers to the grand resort the Cecelia, known as the Saint. Traci Eddings grew up as an A'int and dreamt of spending even a day on the beach at the resort. Her parents pushed against that, but Traci was strong willed in her dreams. After getting invited to a birthday party as a little girl, the Saint became a part of her soul, and she drags her best friend Shannon along for a very twisted ride.

Traci ends up marrying an heir to the Saint who tragically passes in a plane accident. Four years after his death, she is the owner of the resort and is desperately trying to keep it afloat. What she doesn't know is there is a. large, dark underbelly of betrayal seeping into the Saint. This all starts to come to light as her beloved niece, Parrish, is found murdered at an afterparty on the resort. The lies, secrets, and deceit all become unraveled as one bombshell after another happens.

When I first started this book, I thought I would get a little lost. The beginning chapters of the book introduced a new character, and I thought it would get cumbersome and confusing to keep everything straight. Luckily, Mary Kay Andrews was a master at weaving all of these characters and their POV's together. There were some really great twists in this book that kept me interested and sometimes a bit shocked. Definitely a fun summer read!

Thank you for allowing me to read this book as an ARC.
This Is a fun quick summer read. It covers everything from family, love, women's relationship and friendship, and suspense. It was a great read without having to invest a lot of time trying to figure out who is who and does what.. Everyone is well described as well as background information on them given. It was a fast read and perfect timing for the summer...a day at the beach or lake would be a perfect setting. The beginning reminded me a little about the movie Dirty Dancing lol. How people either go to the Saints or they are Aints. Definitely enjoyed the story and how.it is built!

Tell me this beautiful cover doesn’t make you want to dive right in with a summery drink and read by the water. Another great read by the beach read queen herself! I’ve enjoyed so many books by MKA, and Summers at the Saint is a new favorite. Nestled along the Georgia coastline is a fictional swanky hotel resort called the Saint Cecilia, which was once the place to be for wealthy vacationers looking for luxury.

Traci Eddings is the widowed hotel owner after her husband dies tragically in a plane crash, and now it’s up to her to try and restore the Saint to its glory days.

Filled with mystery, romance, family drama, and a great cast of characters, the story pulled me in from the start, and I loved the summery beach setting that immediately made me think of the Jeckyll Island Club Resort in Georgia. I loved the short chapters and multiple POVs, and was glued to the murder mystery plot that took place at the hotel.

🎧I paired the physical book with the audiobook, and loved being immersed this way. Narrated by Kathleen McInerney, I really enjoyed her southern storytelling, and have also enjoyed her narration of other books by Mary Kay Andrews. She does a great job of narrating a full cast of characters.

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧
🏖️a fun beach read
🩵a touch of mystery
🩷some romance
🐚family drama
🌊wealthy people behaving badly
🏨behind the scenes look at running a hotel

*many thanks to St Martin’s Press, Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy for review

A great summer read, this new Andrews book is full of great characters, story line and setting. Traci Eddings, a young widow, is the manager of the Saint, a resort for the wealthy. Owned by her late husband’s family, Traci has had to prove herself. Hiring some new staff, including Felice, the chef, and Livvy, a waitress, add more characters to the story, becoming important as the saga unfolds. There is theft going on at the hotel, but uncovering the “who” behind the “what” is the challenge. I really liked the book, and recommend this work of women’s fiction. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you so much to St Martin's Press for the advance copy!

This book is out now.

This is my very first Mary Kay Andrews so I had no idea what to expect from her writing. All I knew in my head is that she is one of the queens of summer books and I thought it was women's fiction. Perhaps her other books gear towards women's fiction but I would say that this book is not that. It definitely would be a great summer read as this book as a little of everything - smidge of romance, a murder without being scary and friendships.

There was a lot happening with this book. At one point I wrote down at least 8 point of views/characters that we had heard from (unclear of what the exact number is). Usually when there are that many point of views I tend to get confused but somehow it worked. Each character had their own distinguished voice and we didn't linger too long on each which helped keep the story moving.

This would be a great pool side or beach reach for the summer if you are looking for something that has a little bit of everything!
4.5

"They say money can't buy happiness but you know what it can buy...Choices!"

"Appearances can be deceiving."

If ever a cover is deceiving it's this one for the soap opera dishy Summers At The Saint by widely acclaimed author Mary Kay Andrews. Looking like a fun time at a summer resort it cloaks the twisty mystery story filled with secrets, lies, forbidden liaisons and second chance romance.

Traci Eddings at the age of 40 finds herself a widow, fighting for control of her husband's summer resort, while trying to keep it afloat after the financial hit from the pandemic, and suppliers, customers and employees bailing on the once popular high end institution. Throw in a 20 year old drowning and a current suspicious death and Traci knows there's no time for a new romance; but a certain undercover PI has other intentions.

This famed writer never disappoints and this new page turner is another perfect beach read from her prolific creative mind. I paired the book with the audiobook and voice actress Kathleen McInerney has the perfect blend of soap opera twisty reveal with just the right shock and awe in her voice acting inflections.

During summers at the Saint, greed, family dissension, buried secrets, and disloyalty are just the start to this poor vs rich, sibling vs spouse, and good vs evil White Lotus themed soap opera.

I received free copies of this book/audiobook from the publishers via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own

This is a perfect summer read... a bit of romance, a couple of mysteries, a murder, and a whole lot of family drama. MKA creates underdog female characters you can't help but lover! Check this book out and see if you root for the Saints or the Ain'ts. Best read poolside at a lovely southern resort.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Another winning story by Mary Kay Andrews, I have always enjoyed reading all her books over the years. This story is a multiple POV with family drama, murder, mayhem and romance all wrapped up together. The female characters in this story are relatable, likeable and you find yourself cheering them on while you continue to read. This author is always a guarantee for a great summer read and has definitely hit the mark with this story.

Here I am in year twenty of reading a @marykayandrews summer release. Her books are a summer staple at this point. This one is fabulous with suspense, family drama, laughs and love.

Pack this one in your beach bag this summer! 🏖️

🌿Read if you like:
✨Beach reads
✨Georgia coast settings
✨Family drama

My thanks to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book before its publication date.

You always know you’ll get lovely characters and multiple plot lines with MKA. I was a bit surprised that the inciting incident for one of the plotlines came pretty late in the book— 30%+ — but other than feeling slightly annoyed that I was waiting for the other shoe to drop for so long didn’t mind it being so far in. Made the stakes slightly higher for the reader.

I love a good us vs them story so the Saints vs aints was amusing though it seemed to be more in the past than the present that anyone cared aside from the security booth. Haha

I enjoyed the characters quite a bit as I usually do with her books and always want more of them.

If you’re a fan of her books already worth picking up though I personally have other favorites.

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC of this book.

Thank you for letting me read this fun, multi-generational summer story. I adore every book about summer rom coms and love to watch a come back, feel food story. This was one of the authors better stories, and I hope she continues with this fun but mature style.

Summer is here. I always enjoy starting the warm weather season with a beach read by Mary Kay Andrews. Very enjoyable, but a little long.

Summer doesn’t really start until you’re in the sun with the newest Mary Kay Andrews book! This (more than a) beach read had a little bit of everything: romance, family drama, and mystery. It left me rooting for a few main characters, and hoping some truly awful ones got what they deserved! A couple times I thought I had this one figured out… close, but there’s always another twist around the corner!

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the complimentary digital review copy of this title.

Solid 4.5⭐️!!! Mary Kay Andrew’s has outdone herself with Summers at the Saint! Just when I thought I had the plot figured out there was a twist! The storyline kept me hooked the entire time. I love how MKA can combine a little mystery with what you think will be a simple beach read. Would definitely recommend this book to anyone and highly recommend it as a beachside read! Thank you NetGalley, Mary Kay Andrew’s, and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC copy!

Oh wow, did 'Summers at the Saint' have me pining for the start of summer. While this may not be my favorite Mary Kay Andrew's book, it is right up there. She has a way as an author of creating a cozy mystery with lovable characters that will just capture your heart and attention.

I have read Mary Kay Andrews books for many years, but I have to say that this is one of my favorite books of hers in a while! I consider her books my summer “beach reads” usually, but this book brought so much more! Set on an island named Saint Cecelia, this novel gives you beach vibes, murder, mystery, and romance. The author does an excellent job of tying everything together with all these elements to this story and also remains true to the the “type” of novel one expects to read when picking up a book by this author. This will definitely be on my recommendation list for others as good summer reads! #SummersattheSaint #NetGalley

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Summers at The Saint
By: Mary Kay Andrews
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pub Date: 5/7/24

This was so good! Everytime I’d think I had it figured out something would change.
On this island you're either a saint or an ain’t. You're either uber wealthy or dirt poor. Traci Eddings grew up an ain’t but married a saint, the son of the owner of the St. Cecelia, a resort off the coast of Georgia. When Traci’s husband is tragically killed in a plane crash it’s up to her to keep the place going. Only she has no idea that there are some employees taking advantage of her and the business. Serving well alcohol instead of the top shelf their customers are paying for, buying cheaper crappy mattresses serving the worst catches of seafood possible to name a few. Cutting corners all over just to make a bigger chunk of the profits. When Traci’s niece, Parrish tragically overdoses at an after party, her roommates start trying to figure out how she died. Things are going to get way more messy before anyone gets answers. This was hands down my favorite Mary Kay Andrews book so far.

"And why would a couple of girls decide to play detective?" Shapley asked. "Talk about stupid. And dangerous. The two of you nearly got yourselves killed."

I thought I was getting cute summer beach vibes, but instead I got Hotel Nantucket turned murder mystery... and I loved that. The setting up the story part in the beginning started out slow because we really did need to get everyone's backstory in order for the story to progress the way it did, but once it got going, it never slowed down. Overall the moral of the story is, men SUCK and so do some women.

Whenever an inheritance is in question, I am always intrigued. Especially when it involves people who are willing to do anything, even murder, for the money. About halfway through a romance blooms between two unlikely characters, and that was my fav part.

There's also a lot more at stakes than just the inheritance and the murder.... do yourself a favor, and read this!!

I love a good summer rom-com & this one did not disappoint …. I loved it from start to finish !
#marykayandrews #netgalley #stmartinspress #summeroffun