I loved this book - from the very beginning I was drawn into the different perspectives. I suspected what was going on with Darcy early on. The dynamic between Flick, his mom Josie, and stepdad Stan made me laugh. I could not put this book down and am sad its over!.

5 stars!

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reader copy

Published 07/23/2024

This book is the ideal summer read and quite a quick one at that—I finished it in just over a day. The plot strikes a perfect balance between light and serious, addressing real-life issues without being overwhelming. The characters are well-developed, especially Darcy, who truly broke my heart. Overall, it's a captivating and thought-provoking read!

First off, I loved this cover for a summer read. I have to admit that it sucked me into the book. The story centers around several families, particularly the Birch family and their new neighbors, the Creevy family. Ned Birch is the manager of the older country club in their town and his daughter has recently and abruptly quit her favorite sport of golf. This occurred suddenly and without any explanation despite this being her scholarship opportunity for university. Her brother Adam is on the autism spectrum, and despite being bright, he is often overlooked by the people of the community. Mom is a real estate agent who is busy this summer trying to sell a high priced and impossible to sell home in town. This family's characters are all dealing with difficult and individual issues and they overlap at the club where everyone works for the summer, except Mom. The new neighbors are loud and those annoying people who don't try to be neighborly and don't appreciate others who might make the offer. Flick is the teenage boy in the house who becomes friendly with Darcy Birch.
There is the usual rich people behaving badly trope but this was entertaining too. This is not a light and fluffy summer read but was a beach read for those who enjoy a bit more plot and character development.
I enjoyed it and would recommend it.

#TheSummerClub #NetGalley #AtriaBooks

Delighted to affirm that this book has met all the hype! Great beach read, but more, as the Birch and Creevy-Crenshaw families are unveiled, McKinnon treats us to the kind of family dynamics we don’t expect at the posh Mayhaven Country Club.
The story centers around Darcy and Flick, the teenage children of each family. Darcy has lived in their quiet suburban town all her life and learned to excel and love golf, until she doesn’t. Flick is a displaced teen from Queens, whose mother marries the Dry Cleaning King and hopes to provide him more opportunity and a better life in the country.
To say that there are personality clashes and teenage angst would be minimalizing this smartly plotted novel.
The Summer Club was released on July 23, 2024. Thanks to NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the opportunity to read and review. Can’t wait to read more from Hannah McKinnon!

This cover so perfectly summer inviting - A+. However, I think I didn’t have the right mindset going into this storyline - usually when I pick up a “summer read” I expected it be more light hearted ease or a touch more romcom coastal. People looking for a more intense summer read will enjoy this more than me. I had a bit of a hard time connecting with Ned as well. I do love a New England setting being in the east coast, and people will have fun with the camp setting but this just didn’t hit home for me.

3.75 stars. Put a book set in New England in front of me and I will instantly pick it up! This story follows 2 families in a Connecticut suburb who become next-door neighbors when one of them moves next door after relocating from NY.

Their lives become intertwined as they navigate different lifestyle choices and mostly, the summer club where some of them work and others want to belong.

I liked the story, even though sometimes it was a little slow and I figured out what the main plot twist was about 50% in. But I stuck with it and can't say that I was ever bored. Loved the different POVs, I think the author did a great job breaking up and connecting the story between the characters.

Will definitely read this author again and I recommend this book if you are looking for a summer read that is not all light and fluffy.

TW: Some mention of eating disorder.

This book isn’t quite sure what it wants to be when it grows up. The POV characters are teenagers and one adult so it tries to straddle the line between fiction and YA. The end felt rushed after the long build-up and didn’t really deal with any of the issues.

I was really excited to read this one as the cover screams “summer” and who doesn’t love a great summer read? unfortunately, I DNF this one around the 30% mark. I’m not sure if this is a YA? but it definitely read like one and I’m not the biggest fan of YA. It was a bit too slow for me and just couldn’t get into it.

I received an arc copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. I really did enjoy this book. The focus is on a country club which somehow I kept thinking of the vacation spot in the movie Dirty Dancing. Ned Birch worked his way up from groundskeeper and is trying to keep his wife and two kids happy. His daughter, Darcy, is an excellent golfer and wins so many trophies and is headed for a scholarship when she announced to her parents one day out of the blue that she quits. A new family moves in next door whom annoy the Birches with their loud parties and huge rv parked in the driveway. Darcy and her brother Adam also work at the country club and soon Flick, the boy next door gets a job there. The book is told in parts by Ned, Darcy and Flick. The story takes place over the summer and the events at the country club with a surprise along the way. Many typos that obviously need to be edited but good read.

The Summer Club was an entertaining read set in New England full of lots of drama at a slightly out of touch traditional country club.

There are the members and the staff and their families, especially the club president Ned, a non-member dependent on his paycheck and his daughter Darcy, a camp counselor at the club. Since the club members everything must stay as it’s always been isn’t attracting new members, Ned must try and overlook the problems he sees with his boisterous and nouveau-riche new neighbors when they apply to the club but from silver disappearing to overreaching board members, his troubles don’t end here leading him to stay oblivious to his daughter’s troubles.
This story is told in multiple POVs, and we get to see how the story unfolds from different angles. It is a fast-paced read, and while it is targeted as an adult novel, with quite a number of upper teenage actors I definitely think a mature YA reader could read this one, too, and probably find it quite relatable.
An entertaining book with miscommunication, teenage woes, and rich people drama. It’s definitely a great beach read!

The Summer Club was a great, suspenseful summer read. I am looking forward to reading more books by this author.


Thank you NetGalley & Atria Books for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

This was a bit of a dark horse for me. I expected a beach read, and it's close, but felt a bit more like a family drama set against the background of a country club that's struggling to stay afloat in the face of competition and changing times. The story is told from the points of view of two families - one with a long history with the club, the other family is newly arrived to the area. As the former manager and now president of the country club, Ned Birch has known the club since his father took him golfing there as a boy. He loves the club, it's histories and traditions. But he knows his job as president is precarious and he's feeling pressure to increase membership and revenue. He loves his club, his wife and his teen children, Darcy and Adam. Then Ned finds himself with new neighbors. There's a teen boy, Flick, around Darcy's age. He loves his mother who's recently married and they've moved from NYC. They don't quite fit in - the stepfather (whom Flick definitely hasn't learned to love) isn't quite Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack - but he isn't far off. Things don't go well when they first move in next door to the Birch family. Much of the book is spent on Darcy and Flick and the upheavals in both their lives, so there was a bit more teen angst than I expected going in (maybe if I'd read the synopsis more closely it wouldn't have surprised me!). They're surrounded by some interesting characters, both those who work at the club and the members. I enjoyed this story of two families going through significant changes and how they try to resolve things.
Thanks to Netgalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for providing a digital copy for an unbiased review.

The information about this book intrigued me from the start - private club, New England, secrets? It sounded like a recipe for success. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

I wanted to like this book more than I did, but I just felt like the characters were too shallow and storyline was too easily predictable. Mayhaven wasn't the type of private club I expected it to be; it wasn't exclusive or overly expensive that it prohibited members from joining. The plot line regarding the daughter quitting golf and the reasons behind it were expected. I also never understood why so many other characters liked Stan when he seemed abhorrent in ways beyond belief. Wouldn't members of a fancy club and people who lived in a nice neighborhood notice and avoid a person probably considered by them to be declasse?

Overall, I wouldn't recommend reading this book unless you want to read what I would consider to be a "meh" book.

I enjoyed this as a good summer read. Setting is a golf/country club in Massachusetts. Darcy’s a teenage employee at the club, her Dad is the president there. It was slow reading in the middle of the book, but did pick up the last 1/3. Interesting family dynamics and interesting member characters of the club. Definitely could relate as I grew up in the era of Country clubs and Summer fun at the club.

It was a meh book, I wouldn't call this a summer read at all. It was kinda boring & even tho I'm not a huge fan of summer reads the book was just basic

I was provided a free advanced copy of this book from @netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
Set around an exclusive beach club in Massachusetts, we follow two families through one wild summer. Darcy has grown up around the club only because her father is President, not as an actual member. This summer she will be working as a camp counselor for some of the members' young kids and trying to avoid the golf team she quit a few months ago. Meanwhile, some new neighbors move in who shake up their quiet street and even the club! Flick Creevy is missing his home in New York after moving to this fancy neighborhood with his mom and step-father. When he gets the opportunity to work at the club he appreciates the opportunity, but struggles with some of his peers who are members. In this one summer some things will come crashing down, new things will be built up, and you'll just have to read it to find out if those koi ever get delivered to the pond!
This one kinda ambled along for me, until near the end when all the things started happening. I mean you could feel it building but there was a lot going on at the end there! I had already guessed the big issue early on, so that wasn't a surprise to me. I don't think I connected super well with the characters whether it was their youth, or love for the club, I don't know. It still wasn't a bad book, and an enjoyable summer book!
It has already been published, so if it sounds like something you'd enjoy, definitely check it out!
#NetGalley #TheSummerClub

This book is the perfect book for a great summertime read. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more books from this author.

This is a multiple POV story that takes place at a country club during the summertime in MA. The main characters are Ned, Darcy, and Flick. All of these characters were easy to fall in love with and they all had great chemistry throughout the book.

If you are looking for a humorous and slower paced book, this one is for you. The writer does such an amazing job at what she does that you will feel as though you are living the story right along with the characters!

This was a fun, easy, refreshing summer read. Focusing on an exclusive club and it’s rich clientele, I enjoyed the characters and shenanigans. Ultimately though, the plot kind of meandered and covered a range of items. I felt some plot lines were never fully fleshed out and left lingering questions at the conclusion. This mainly focuses on two teenagers and should be labeled as YA. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review!

We've all said at times.....I'd like to be a fly on that wall......and in The Summer Club, we are. During one summer, we see this small town and the country club atmosphere that drives their community and economy. Readers are introduced to two families. Their family life is 180 degrees different and that's where we see the people on the "inside" vs the people on the "outside". Of what? Almost every single element of their lives is seen through lenses that are not rose colored. Hannah McKinnon has done an excellent job of layering the POV and backgrounds of these characters and pulling us into a country club life that is anything but fine.

I picked up The Summer Club for an easy summer read with all the feelings of being in Massachusetts. Hannah McKinnon delivered and added some complex topics with a memorable message.

The Summer Club has a lot of drama, discusses some difficult topics and provides feel good setting. Overall, this is a good book and I am eager to see more of Hannah McKinnon’s work. There could have been a deeper dive into each character’s backstory but I understand that would lead to a longer book *sigh*. I would love to hear Hannah discuss her process and inspiration behind this book to further understand the characters. Without spoilers, I cried at the end during Adam’s part. He is a sweet brother to Darcy and his role reflects the extent to which we might mistaken each other when we are caught up in our own hardships.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I enjoyed the story, but I wish book was longer to better articulate the complexities of the characters.

Thank you NetGalley, Atria and Hannah McKinnon for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.