Thank you NetGalley for provide this ARC for review. In her first foray into contemporary fiction, MacLean doesn't disappoint! The characters are well-developed - flawed but likeable. The romance in the novel is fun and spicy. With its tight plotting and surprise ending, I'm sure this book will appear in many beach bags this summer. Highly recommend!

Sarah MacLean has captivated us for years with her stunning historical romances, but her latest novel, These Summer Storms, proves she can seamlessly blend contemporary family drama with romance—and it exceeded all my high expectations!

This five-star read is an absolute must for your summer TBR. I love a novel that dives into the messy, scandalous world of the ultra-wealthy, and when you throw in a high-stakes inheritance competition following a patriarch’s death, I’m all in! The tension, the secrets, the betrayals—MacLean crafts every twist with precision, making this an addictive, unputdownable read.

Family dynamics are always intricate, but MacLean takes them to another level, delivering a story that is as emotionally gripping as it is extremely entertaining. With compelling characters and a plot that keeps you hooked from the very first page, These Summer Storms will be one of my top recommendations this summer!

These Summer Storms by Sarah Maclean will leave me thinking about it long after I have finished other books. I appreciated the masterful balance of a unique story line with a modern setting, family drama and an addictive romance. It kept me wanting to know more. As a fan of neat and tidy endings, I appreciated the resolution, however, I found myself wanting even more closure—especially a glimpse into how things turned out down the road for all the characters. That said, this book was a joy to read, and I highly recommend picking it up!

A huge thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the opportunity to read this book ahead of its public release!

Sarah MacLean is one of the strongest, most consistent, and best romance writers out today. These Summer Storms is the first in a new kind of series for MacLean, and I eagerly await the next book. I gobbled this up as quickly as life allowed and I actually want to read it again, but my TBR list would shame me. Get into These Summer Storms ASAP. I love a family saga and this did not disappoint,

“Succession” meets “The Perfect Couple” meets the grandma in “Gilmore Girls”

A dysfunctional tech family all comes back together on their personal island in the wake of the patriarch’s passing.

A slow burn, for sure. The first 25% was tough to get into as most of the characters are pretty “hate-able”. It’s a slow moving story overall, even though it only takes place over a 7-day period. Overall, glad I read it but don’t expect to be hooked right away. Give the characters a chance to see their redeemable characteristics. Lots of development.

Very entertaining! I finished this in just a few days. A dreamy, not-perfect hero and family turmoil. Like Succession if written as a romantic suspense and less childhood abuse. If you like Sarah Maclean’s historical romance novels, you’ll like this.

I've read all of Sarah's historical romances and I had to jump on reading this title. This was fantastic. I love that it was a slower paced read but it was still full of what I like to call "Sarah's Surprise". The way she paints a scene, and keeps the tension flowing while revealing bits and pieces of the story enough to say, one more page, one more chapter. Cannot wait to read wherever the contemporary world takes her.

Lots of storms in this book. The story of family dynamics that rise to the surface when a father dies and his children return to their family home. An ever controlling figure, the father has designed a game for the children to complete in order to get the inheritance. At times reflective for what they have lost and what could,, should have been. A story. to make you think about family relationships and past hurts, and how they steer the course of your life..












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I was apprehensive about reading this book, as I recently lost my parent and have been struggling with my siblings since that time. So, I thought this book might hit a little too close to home. I should have trusted the author as she rarely disappoints. Her prose was magical. She painted pictures with her words, I could perfectly see not only the setting of the story, but I could clearly see all the characters in their imperfect glory. The story is mostly told from Alice's point of view; however, there is an opportunity for a point of view from each of the siblings, which I thought was genius. Having a perspective from all four, gave the story more depth and allowed the reader to empathize with each sibling, even if initially you did not feel they deserved said empathy. This was such a compelling and moving story, I know it will stay with me for a long time. Disclaimer: I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley for an honest review.

These Summer Storms is a story about a family whose patriarch death brings 3 sister, a brother, and a mother back together to their private island off the coast of Rhode Island. Alice hasn’t been back to the island to see her in five years, ever since her father kicked her out of the family business and her extremely wealthy family in general. During a nerve racking train ride, she meets and has a one night stand with a sexy stranger, no strings of names attached. She arrives to the island, along with her siblings, to find out that her controlling father has left them all with one final task each in order to inherit billions of dollars each. The tasks are personal for each child. Also meeting Alice on the island is the sexy stranger, introduced as Jack, who was her father’s second in command in his business. Jack is there to make sure the task are executed by each remaining family member. We learn a lot about Alice and her siblings as they compete tasks, although at times these parts of the story drag and were difficult to maintain interest in the plot. Alice’s relationship with Jack continues to develop in a push and pull fashion between attraction and distrust. A few hot bedroom seems kept my attention, and had me wishing that there were a few more written in. The author ends the book with each character completing their task, learning a lot about themselves, and getting their happy ending. An over all good plot with lots of drama.

Stunning family drama. I was glued to it.
Has everything, family dysfunction, secrets
romance, mystery and drama.
Amazing storyline, outstanding characters and entertaining dialogue.
I want to read it again and recommend it.

“These Summer Storms” by Sarah MacLean is a a complex and intense family drama that takes place in the family’s mansion on a private island off the coast of Rhode Island. After the unexpected death of a tech billionaire patriarch, his wife and adult children are forced into playing a game in order to receive their inheritance. This game pits all the family members against each other and reveals a myriad of deceit, lies and betrayals. Most importantly they all need to play, if anyone defaults they all lose! The “game” pushes all the exquisitely flawed family members to their limits, but at the same time forces them to be honest, address their past traumas and finally face how they are going to maintain their relationships as a family.
This book is fast and fun and a bit of a voyeuristic view into the world of the rich and famous. If you are a fan of Succession and Yellowstone, or just want to read a very engaging romantic drama, I highly recommend this book to you!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

I am a big fan of Sarah MacLeans regency series so I was excited to see her wading into the work of contemporary fiction. I have to hand it to her, she managed to write something that was so complex, emotional and just different from her normal work that I had to remind myself who wrote it.

That being said, the Storm family was horrible and I could not find it in me to care about them at all (except for Emily). Some of the stuff they did and said was absolutely unforgivable but by the end of the book it’s like none of that mattered and everyone’s happy. Even Alice, our MC, who had rebuffed their lifestyle was unrecognizable by the end of the book. For as heavy and emotional as this book was it got wrapped up way too pretty for me.

The only reason I’m giving this 3 stars is because the writing was impressive and I did enjoy the romantic subplot with Alice/Jack.

This book was everything I was hoping for & more!! I was excited to read this NetGalley ARC as it sounded similar to “The Inheritance Games” but with a sweeter romance and it ended up being much better.

Where “The Inheritance Games” was all riddles and mysteries to solve that went on for the entirety of the book with very minimal romantic moments, this book details the return of Alice Storm, daughter of billionaire Franklin Storm, who is recently deceased.

After being estranged for five years, Alice returns in hopes of grieving with her family but ends up with a seemingly simple task in order to unlock an inheritance she doesn’t even want. She must stay on their family island for a week. Each sibling & their mother have tasks they must complete & if even one of them doesn’t do their part then no one inherits. While Alice has gone off on her own and made a life for herself - could she take that inheritance from the rest of her family by leaving or will she stay and revisit the hardships of her youth and work through the strained relationships with her family and most importantly her late father?

These “inheritance games” of sorts are administered and judged by her dad’s number two, the one and only, Jack Dean - “the fixer”. His job over the past few years of Alice’s absence has always been to fix any and all problems that Franklin Storm faced. The question is “how much does he know about Alice and her life these past few years & is he truly here to help them or help himself?”.

In this story they go from strangers to lovers to enemies to lovers. I loved how I was able to hope for & predict elements of this book while also being pleasantly surprised with creative ideas she brought into the storyline.

These Summer Storms was such a great read. I enjoyed the theme of money can't buy happiness and the setting. This is my first Sarah MacLean book, but won't be my last.

It’s a tale of more money more problems in this contemporary family drama. Billionaire Franklin Storms has passed away and his death has called the family back to Storm Island for the funeral and the reading of the will. For Alice Storm, this is the first time she has been back since being asked to leave the island, and the family, five years ago. As nervous as she is, she can’t help but be intrigued by the handsome stranger sitting next to her on the train. But when that same man ends up at the family compound the next morning delivering the news about the siblings’ inheritances, the drama, intrigue, and romance start to swirl.

This was a fun step into contemporary for MacLean who I am used to read historical romance from. I thought that there was just the right amount of characters to focus on but not make it too jumbled. Also, I liked having a chapter from each of the different sibling’s perspectives along the way as it helped to understand Sam, Greta, and Emily a bit more. My only gripe is the amount of descriptive language about the house and setting probably meets the needs of historical fiction lovers, but it made the first few chapters difficult for me to wade through. I’m not sure I needed quite so much information to understand how steeped in history the Storm family was. Perhaps that’s just a me problem though as I do consider myself a bit of a historian.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy!

God knows I wholeheartedly LOVE a family acting bad novel, so i jumped in feet first on this one. Interestingly, there was more romance than I expected (which makes sense, given Sarah MacLean's resume). The book was a lot of fun, if a little long. I definitely got the dose of Succession I was craving, and there were plenty of twists - loved the one at the end. The characters were enjoyably creative. Definitely recommend a read.

ugh another banger from miss sarah maclean!! i love her historical romances and this was no different! utterly lush with romance and atmosphere, i was literally unable to put it down and read it in one sitting (i swear by the fact that she laces her writing with the GOOD stuff). i need everyone to pick this up asap rocky!!!

Rich people behaving badly is one of my favorite sub-genres and Sarah MacLean is my absolute favorite historical romance author, so this book was a must read for me!!

Sarah's contemporary debut is just as sharp-witted and sexy as her historicals and I can't wait to read more from her!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah MacLean & Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an advanced reader copy.

While my heart ached a bit when I heard that we had to wait another year for the finale of Hell’s Belles, Sarah MacLean’s current historical romance series, my mind was whirling with the possibilities of what she had planned for us. Now, I absolutely knew that in her capable hands readers would never be disappointed, and that is exactly what came to pass.

These Summer Storms is a complex family story, which opens with Alice, our primary narrator, as she is traveling to her family’s summer home off the coast of Rhode Island after her father has passed away unexpectedly. Alice is juggling a lot of emotions from the start. As can be expected, she is grieving while also anxious about seeing her mother and siblings to whom she has been estranged for several years. On the train, she meets a handsome stranger, who provides solace and a little bit of spice before having to face her contentious family. Did I mention that MacLean would not disappoint?!

This emotional family saga thoughtfully navigates the intricacies of sibling dynamics, parental expectations, and politics that can happen within an insular family. The Storms are a part of the 1% as tech billionaires, with privilege beyond compare. Yet, their relationships, rivalries, and emotions are all relatable, regardless of the socioeconomics.

And while all that may sound a bit serious, this is a page turner, and a fun, maybe even somewhat voyeuristic peek into the lives of the rich and famous. These Summer Storms was a fantastic read and one that I will be recommending and handselling!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah MacLean & Random House Publishing for an advanced reader copy.