Traci Eddings began life as an "Ain't," a local who couldn't afford to vacation at the Saint Cecilia resort. When she falls in love with the owner's son, she ends up running the five-star hotel and when she's widowed she finds herself at the helm, alone.

There is a lot going on in this book. Traci is trying to keep the hotel afloat while losing employees to other resorts and finding it difficult to replace them. Her father-in-law, who never really accepted her, is slowly wasting away from Parkinson's, and her evil brother-in-law is constantly adding to the drama between his hatred of Traci and his meddling trophy wife who seems to turn up at all the wrong times and in all the wrong places.

Enter Parrish, sweet niece who is nothing like her father and agrees to pinch hit as head of guest relations for the summer; Felice, the down and out chef who cooks like a dream; and Livvy, the daughter of Traci's estranged BFF who comes to work in the sadly understaffed restaurant. Together, the three of them figure out something is wrong at the Saint. The hotel is experiencing problems they should not be having after a recent massive renovation, and somehow they're bleeding money while business is better than it's been in years.

While I don't generally read women's fiction, I was intrigued by the mystery angle of this book and I was not disappointed. While there was some romance, the mystery was really at the center of everything though that wasn't always apparent until further clues were unearthed. To be honest, I actually found myself in several places wanting a bit more on the romance side at times. I also found myself wanting a bit more on the mystery side of things. But overall I found the book enjoyable and easy to get lost in.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

I dnf’ed this book, it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for sending me an e-arc of this book

This is a great summer read with a dash of everything. You can never go wrong with a Mary Kay Andrews book.


Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC. ~I was given this book and made no commitments to leave my opinions, favorable or otherwise~

4 stars!

First of all, thanks so much to St. Martins Press for an ARC; I was excited to dive into this. Summer mysteries!
I love the cover, it’s one of the main things that caught my eye. I could imagine myself at the pool, binging this on a hot day. I enjoyed that there were many tropes involved with this: murder mystery, family drama. multiple characters, romance, friendships, and much more. Tension and lots of secrets to wrap this up!

So what could have been better?
I think some parts were dragged out and I found myself skimming as it felt like unnecessary information in regards to the whole plot.

Read if you like:
• drama tropes
• descriptive writing
• beach reads + sunny weather
• multiple POVs
• murder mysteries

Review: Summers at the Saint by Mary Kay Andrews

Summers at the Saint will be a perfect beachside mystery this summer. It all starts with the dream of a little girl about visiting the castle-like Saint Cecilia Resort, but when dream becomes a reality for her as a teen, and later an adult, cracks begin to form in the perfect exterior of The Saint.

I personally found the sheer amount of character POVs a bit overwhelming at first, but was able to flow with the story and switches the further I read. I also found the pacing a bit slower than I’d like and occasionally repetitive. However, if you like mysteries with an Agatha Christie amount of quirky characters, Summers at the Saint will take you on a sweltering summer sojourn into the luxurious and unscrupulous halls of The Saint.

Thanks to Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for access to this E-ARC! Loved the setting & the characters. Also really enjoyed the deeper meaning. Definitely will read more from this author.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

Mary Kay Andrew’s newest summer read is a perfect combination between family drama and heartwarming moments. I did find this repetitive to her other novels and just found myself a little bored in the middle. Overall would rate 3.75 rounded up for good reads

Wow! Wow! What a fantastic read!
You’re either a “saint” or an “ain’t”
Traci has grown up in awe of the Saint Cecelia resort.
Just working there as a teenager met and married the owners son, who recently passed away, and Tracey is doing her best to hold onto the hotel.
Despite the murder, the stealing, the blackmail, arson and all the secrets!

MKA scores big with Summers at the Saint! I absolutely loved this book! It has everything that I love in a book - a beach locale, a little bit of romance, and a mystery to solve. I love the relationship between Parrish and Traci. It makes me remember my younger days with my favorite aunt. I will definitely be recommending this book to my reader friends!

Traci grew up on the wrong side of the river. She worked at the luxurious Saint resort in different roles as a teen including lifeguard. A suspicious drowning happened while she was working with her best friend. They tried to save the little boy but it was too late. A year or so later she met and fell in love with the son of the Saints' owner. They were married for several years until he died in a plane crash. She became the CEO of the resort which the family was not happy about. She did her best to keep it running during the pandemic.

This was the first time I read anything by this author but it will not be my last. It was categorized as romance so that was what I was expecting. Romance was a tiny fraction of the book. I was not disappointed. Traci was a strong woman who was holding her own against people who didn't think she was capable of running the resort.

The first few chapters introduced many characters. I found that confusing at first. As the book progressed, everything began to make sense of who everyone was. There were several unexpected twists. I thought I knew what was going to happen but it:would go in a different direction.

I enjoyed the story. It was a little long but needed to be to play out all the twists. I would definitely recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy.

"I recently read a book perfect for a quick beach or summer read. It had many characters, making it challenging to keep track of them all. Nevertheless, the book had a lovely beach hotel atmosphere, highlighting the contrast between the "Saints" (wealthy) and the "Ain'ts" (poor).

The main protagonist, Traci Eddings, is an "Ain't," and she gets to work at the Saint for the summer. She falls in love with the owner's son and, after her husband's death, inherits The Saint. She faces many challenges, including financial difficulties. Can she save the hotel? Will she succeed in making it a welcoming place for everyone, regardless of their background?

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and was delighted to get an ARC copy of it."

Thank you to Net Galley for the e-ARC of Summers at the Saint! I don’t think I was expecting the mystery element that wove throughout this book, only thinking it would be a fun summer adventure at a southern resort. There were interesting plot twists, relationships built on trust and deception. Elements of “coming of age” wove in as well as Parrish and Olivia and Felice attempted to find their place, professional paths and meaning amidst the pressures of others. I loved watching the evolution of Traci coming through heartache paving her own path. All in all, another great one by Mary Kay Andrews!

I absolutely loved this story. It had fun summer vibes at a swanky resort, a large cast of characters, and a murder mystery- all rolled into one. Definitely my favorite Mary Kay Andrew’s book so far!

It was a bit predictable, but there were a couple twists I didn’t see coming, and some of the dialogue towards the end made me cringe, but overall it was a fast-paced story.

I love MKA! This is going to be a fantastic weekend/summer/beach/etc read. Family drama, a who dunnit, and a little romance make this a fantastic read! Not typical MKA with the murder and I was a bit sad at who was killed off but the story and writing was fantastic!

Thank you to Net Galley for offering a digital ARC of Summers at the Saint! I don’t think I was expecting the mystery element that wove throughout this book, only thinking it would be a fun summer adventure at a southern resort. There were interesting plot twists, relationships built on trust and deception. Elements of “coming of age” wove in as well as Parrish and Olivia and Felice attempted to find their place, professional paths and meaning amidst the pressures of others. I loved watching the evolution of Traci coming through heartache paving her own path. All in all, another great one by Mary Kay Andrews!

3.5 stars. This was my first Mary Kay Andrews novel and probably won't be my last because I really did think that this was fun and kept me on the edge of my seat at the end. First, let me tell you about the things I really liked. The characters were thoroughly fleshed out and their dynamics were fun. I felt this was part social commentary - with touches on class disparity, race, and homophobia. The middle was a little hard to get through, but the last few chapters - WOW! PLOT TWIST PAGE TURNERS!

Now on to the things that irked me while reading: There were too many characters. After reading some other reviews, it seems this is common for a Mary Kay Andrews novel, so probably doesn't bother her fanbase much. Although they were fleshed out and done well, it was almost too much. Similarly, there were TOOO MANY PLOT LINES! When I reached 50% I was asking myself what this book was actually about?? Romance? Mystery? Just contemporary/women's lit? I think there were parts that went on too long, and a lot of repetitive conversations so that each of the many character could be caught up to what was happening. The romance between the main character and someone else (no spoilers) honestly, didn't add anything to the story and could have been left out completely to shorten things a bit. I think the cover is misleading and the prognosis too, to an extent. It is not a romance beach read. This is a mystery novel with a romance subplot and a lot of other stuff going on. I definitely thought it was a fun read, but a lot to process.

Thank you to Mary Kay Andrews and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The St. Cecelia – known as “the Saint” – is where the wealthy spend their summers. But the resort community is making some changes to get back to its former glory. Traci Eddings, who owns the resort after her husband’s death, enlists a new crew of staffers (even building them staff housing) to help turn business around. But it’s not smooth sailing. Soon, Traci is dealing with a shocking and heartbreaking murder, greedy in-laws, her p*ssed off former best friend, and a lot of secrets coming to the surface. (And maybe she has a shot at romance, too.)

I didn’t want to put this book down. It is Mary Kay Andrews’ best book in the last few years. It’s jam-packed with twists and turns and a bundle of characters, and has a dash of humor. I rooted for Traci, Olivia, and Felice – and for the Saint.

I do think that, because the book was so jam-packed, a couple things didn’t quite feel developed. I would have liked to have a little more background on the new staff and interaction between them. (It’s actually a compliment that I wanted the book to be longer.) Also, there was a lot going on behind the scenes at the Saint that Traci was unaware of, though she seemed pretty hands-on. Perhaps it was because she was a little out of it since her husband died? It wasn’t a big deal, but it did make me question her management style for a minute.

I really did like this book. It’s a fun, twisty read that will be perfect for summer.

That was a lovely surprise. The main reason why i picked this book, besides for the cover, was the blurb. And i’m so glad because it definitely meet my expectations. We follow our main protagonist, Traci, who is trying to salvage her hotel after the death of her husband. This book is a combination of a murder mystery, different characters and summery vibes. I would definitely recommend.

The Saint is an aging resort off the Georgia coast that has catered to an exclusive clientele for generations. The resort guests are known as “saints” and the locals are known as “ain’ts”. As a girl Traci and her best friend were workers at the Saint. These days she is the widowed owner of the hotel. She is trying her best to maintain it as the wonderful resort it once was. Her challenges are economics, labor and her brother-in-law. She is making progress until tragedy strikes. Her niece is killed and events from a long ago summer may be related.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing an eGalley of this title.

The St. Cecilia, known as “the Saint”, is a sprawling pink themed resort that caters to only the wealthiest on a private island on the coast of Georgia. Under that lavish, polished exterior, however, all is not what it seems.

Those who stay here are known as “the Saints”; the townies who can’t afford to and only work there are the “Ain’ts”. Lifeguard Traci Eddings was an Ain’t until the boss’s son fell in love with and married her. Widowed when he was killed in a plane crash, Traci now tirelessly runs the resort, trying to continue it’s legacy and save it from financial difficulties. She is often at odds with her unscrupulous brother-in-law who never accepted her into the family. As she strives to staff the resort for the summer, there seems to be something nefarious going on and when someone ends up dead, there is that mystery to solve, along with what is going on with complaints of inferior supplies, as well as what really happened when a young child drown there many years ago. Oh, and, there may be a new man in her life as well!

Mary Kay Andrews is a popular author and this is the first book of hers that I have read. Despite the length, it was a fast, very engrossing read. A multi layered story, some of it was predictable, other times there were surprises. Genre bending and contemporary, there was mystery, family drama, and some romance. I liked how the first few chapters introduced the main players and their stories before pulling them together and I loved the setting. This was a pleasing read, perfect for days at the beach!