Generous thank you to the publisher on Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair review!

When I heard Sarah MacLean was writing her first adult contemporary, I was out of my mind with excitement. I'm a huge fan of her podcast Fated Mates and how she draws parallels between what is affecting us in society and what affects us in romance. 'These Summer Storms' is a big departure from her past work, but is written with her signature with, humor and depth, with such obvious love for the setting it's placed in. I loved how wealth, pride and love are tied up into complicated knots for all the characters, and how painful it is for them to be forced to pick it apart in the midst of their grief. Most of it is paced well, though in my opinion there were certain plot points that came in a little too late in the story to feel their full impact, but overall I really loved it and am so excited to hear Sarah talk more about her process for it!

I really wanted to like this book, and I think it will likely do well, since it has all the elements of a great beach read - summer setting on the New England coast, family drama, romance - but the biggest problem for me was that the characters felt very one-dimensional. When you have a story about the ultra-rich, I think it's more important than ever to make them fully human and really give them emotional depth, but I didn't feel like MacLean achieved that. I found it hard to connect with any of them, which made me less invested in the story. I think it will go over well with a lot of readers, but I really need stronger characters, which I felt this book was lacking.

3.5⭐️

This was more of a family drama than a romance, but overall I enjoyed it. The romance was sweet and there was a side romance that I was almost as invested in with one of the FMC Alice’s sisters. The family drama was a little predictable, but at the end they did seem to grow and come together.

My biggest issues were 1) Alice had one of the easiest tasks of anyone and I had a hard time feeling bad for her and 2) Books following billionaires are hit or miss. Especially with everything going on, it’s hard to care too much about a bunch of billionaires that got their money from tech.

title: These Summer Storms

author: Sarah MacLean

publisher: Random House

publication date: July 8, 2025

pages: 640

peppers: 3 (on this scale)

warnings: parental death, manipulation, alcohol/drunkenness, bad parenting

summary: Alice Storm managed to break away from her controlling, billionaire father and family (picture Succession) five years ago, but when her father dies and she heads back to the family's island home for the funeral/celebration, she gets pulled into the rules for inheritance, being judged by her father's fixer, Jack Dean, with whom she happened to share a one-night stand before she knew who he was. Over the week she has to stay on the island with Jack, her siblings, and their mother, secrets come out, and tensions rise.

tropes:

sibling rivalry
controlling father
rules for inheritance
trapped on an island
billionaire shenanigans

what I liked: all of it

what I didn’t like: none of it -- Sarah MacLean is truly a master!

overall rating: 5 (of 5 stars)

The storms are an infamous family. Franklin storm is a multi-billionaire tech. tycoon, who dies at the beginning of the book and all of his children gather at his island coincidentally named storm island even before he bought it and Alice, (our MC) his Black Sheep also ends up being summoned for the festivities sound like a rough word when talking about a death. But I think the mother would approve of that. The 4 siblings must do their father's bidding. In order to get their inheritance, it's full of twists and turns, secrets, love and reveals. definitely recommend for a good summer beach read

Thanks, nat galley for the arc.In exchange for an honest review

It looks like I’m an outlier with my three-star review. This book wasn’t bad. I read the whole thing, and while I was engaged in some parts, I kept putting it down to do other things. I never fully sank into the story.

The writing is good on the surface, but it’s also the kind of writing that feels very conscious of itself. The authorial voice never disappeared for me. This might be due to the repetition of certain sentence structures and distant third-person POV. I never felt like I was fully in Alice’s head. (Most of the chapters are in her POV; there are a few random ones throughout from the POV of the other siblings.)

I requested this book hoping for Succession-level drama and backstabbing, but I didn’t get it. I’d also hoped for a more compulsively readable story, and at least one character I liked among all these angsty and terrible billionaire white people. We’re constantly reminded of their lore and their fame in this fictional universe, but I never fully bought into it. I could see the dad being famous as a billionaire tech mogul, but I couldn’t fathom a universe where his wife and kids — none of whom have any discernable talent (well, Alice paints, but still) or personality — were well-known, too.

Other people’s mileage may vary, but this was just okay for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC, which was provided in exchange for an honest review.

ARC REVIEW (thanks NETGALLEY!)

Ooh Sarah MacLean dipped her toes in the contemporary romance waters! I loved meeting the Storm family. It took a while to get into the book because it seemed to go off tangets about the history of New England and the mystery of the notes Franklin had left for his wife and kids. All the mysteries and other couples in the Storm Family kind of over shadowed what was going on between Jack and Alice, and at times I felt the other storylines more interesting. I loved the “Grade A” stock ending! Is this the beginning of a series? If so maybe it will go back and give us more in depth to the other couples over the week on the island.

Wow.! Once I started reading, I could not put it down. These Summer Storms was like a movie. Part family drama (hurt people hurt people) and part romance, the twists and turns Sarah MacLean took these characters (and me as a reader) were 'Class A stock'. I was a fan of Sarah MacLean's historical romance and her romance podcast. And now, I am a fan of her contemporary romantic fiction.

My thanks to NetGalley and the author for access to an eARC for the purpose of writing this review!

Really enjoyed. I've read quite a bit of Sarah MacLean's historical romance books, but hadn't seen anything contemporary out of her before. I thought it was extremely well done and delivered maximum intrigue, fun, and, of course, romance to the reading experience. It was very knives out/glass onion vibes mixed with a more traditional romance. The characters were dimensional and propelled the story along well and even the father loomed large and was well developed for not actually being present as the events unfold. Would love to see even more like this out of MacLean (but don't abandon historical totally!!). Recommend.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

inject family drama around a dinner table or a party or a public display of screaming into my veins! Sarah has seamlessly moved into modern fiction after writing some of my favorite historical romances. She still found a way to make her characters compelling and interesting. It felt like she brought her characters from the bare knuckle bastards into modern times. And of course there is still a hint of Henry Cavill lol with an odd smidge of the Umbrella Academy. I can't explain it?

I loved it!

I was absolutely moved by this sweet and honest story. It is a top read for me this year! It would be a really fun book club read with all the discussions to come from it.

I’ve never read Sarah MacLean before and I’m happy to say she is a great storyteller! I couldn’t put this book down - the interwoven secrets between siblings was great! Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for my honest opinion. This is the first book I have read by Sarah Maclean and definitely not my last. The story is about four siblings who come together after the patriarch of the Storm family passed. Each child is tasked with an individual challenge based around their future inheritances. The book reminded me a bit of Succession with romance thrown in and I was blown away with how much I loved it. The family was incredibly complex and I was drawn into their backstories and individual relationships with their father. I loved the relationship between Alice and Jack and their story was probably my favorite part of the novel. I did see some of the twists coming, but it didn’t deter me from loving the story. 4.5 stars

Sarah MacLean has another winner with These Summer Storms.

The story starts out with Alice Storm traveling home to Rhode Island for her father's funeral, following years of not being included in anything family oriented. The entire Storm family is dysfunctional, but dang, what good characters they all are. Jack is the calm in this group of people who are all flawed (including Alice) and who may be the strength in this group of people who equally love and despise each other. I loved watching his relationship with Alice develop.

I'm used to reading Ms. MacLean's historical romances and this trip in to the present did NOT disappoint. I loved every part of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I love family stories, add some dysfuction and set it in Rhode Island and I will read it. Family members are reunited at the passing of their father; even Alice who has been ousted from the family as a result of speaking out against her father's company. The character development is great , the storyline intriguing. I did have a little problem with the Jack character, whether to like him or disapprove of him. All in all, a great read. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Great story. Love that it was set in Rhode island. Loved watching the characters change and develop. And the ending was perfect for this book.

Sarah MacLean leaps into contemporary fiction with all the heart, beautiful prose, and twisting plot that fans - including myself - have come to expect with her historical romances. This is a must buy and must read for summer!

This is my first Sarah MacLean book…and what an introduction to a skillful storyteller! This novel is the embodiment of a page-turner; I was drawn in and kept engaged from the first chapter to the last.

The Storm family is aptly named and the height of dysfunction as four siblings and their mother gather at the family compound on Storm Island off the coast of Rhode Island to commemorate…err, “celebrate” the passing of the patriarch. Known for his narcissistic, manipulative manner in business and family, their father, a self-made multibillionaire, set up one final game linked to their inheritance.

All the characters bear some deeply held flaw related to the family dynamics and secrets (some-not-so-secret) abound as the week following his death unfolds. What ensues is a mixture of unresolved and unacknowledged grief, resentments, anger, and rebellion that pits the family members against each other while simultaneously bonding them in a mutual need for connection. It is a wild, imaginative ride with some predictable aspects and a few twists that add dimension and depth.

Overall, this was a delightfully intriguing novel with a satisfying ending.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

There are two types of books that I'm a sucker for: romance and family sagas. When I heard Sarah MacLean had a debut contemporary literary fiction book about a family in Rhode Island, I knew I was going to read it.

This book is like if you took Steve Jobs's family (tech-rich and dysfunctional), mashed it together "The Nest" (so much sibling angst!), gave it some East Coast Gatsby location vibes (mansions on the water), and added a skilled dash of romance (just enough to complement the other storylines). It's a long book (but never boring) but one I had a hard time putting down. If you enjoy complex relationships, twists, and the masterful use of the parenthetical phrase, you'll like it, too.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I have always thought putting a romance writer at the helm of a different project would make said project infinitely better. Lo and behold, I was right. This book was an absolute delight and will be a forever favorite I reread often. Sarah MacLean just does. not. miss.

THESE SUMMER STORMS is a mashup of Succession, Emily Henry, and gothic romance in the very best way possible. A story about a billionaire father’s inheritance, and the games his grown children must play to win it, this story features secrets, lies, and betrayal galore. The setting is alive and decadent, the characters are distinct and mesmerizing, and the romance is one of the best I’ve ever ever ever read.

Alice, our main heroine, is deeply relatable, as flawed as all her siblings, and as likable as all her siblings too. I was rooting for every. Single. Character. They’re assholes (but don’t you dare call them that or I’ll fight you) with incredible nuance, and I LOVE THEM. ALSO—JACK. Jack is the most competent, hot, capable man of all time. He’s exactly what this story needed, an anchor in the storm (not apologizing for the puns), and don’t worry—he has nuance and secrets too. In fact, the secrets triggered my interest, beautifully laid out as the most delicious breadcrumbs, but the characters and romance are what kept me turning page after page, as fast as possible. This book is just perfection. Possibly the best summer read, I can’t recommend it enough.

No matter your preferred genre or age range, this book IS FOR YOU. Five out five perfect, hot, sensual, tense, secretive, glamorous, seaside, atmospheric, nuanced stars.