Omg that was so good!!! I couldn’t put this down once I started. Thank you NetGalley and Sarah MacLean for the ARC!

This was MacLean’s debut in the contemporary sphere and I loved it as much as I do her historical romances. She has such a brilliant way with developing believable characters and relationships. SM is an autobuy author for me and this book proves exactly why.

Such an amazing mix of romance (I love Alice and Jack!!!!), family drama and mystery. This will be one of the best books of the summer. 5/5 stars!!!

This was a really enjoyable family drama filled with mystery and intrigue and romance. It read quickly and it made me root for some of the characters and dislike others throughout the story. A great summer read!

5 stars!!
I loved this book! I never really knew where the story was going which kept me up until 2 in the morning because I needed to know what was going to happen. The characters were so deep and complex. I miss this family already! I want to know more! I'd love a book diving deeper into Elisabeth and her background.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing me with the ARC!

A modern drama/romance, very different from her funny historical romances. This was big, over the top, messy families, secrets, lies, money. So. Much. Money. I enjoyed it, and the characters, and even the overwrought storyline.

After five years of exile from her powerful, dysfunctional family, Alice Storm returns to her family's opulent private island for her father’s funeral—only to discover he’s left behind a twisted inheritance game. Forced to stay a week and complete a series of tasks alongside her volatile relatives, Alice must navigate old wounds, hidden secrets, and the unnervingly charming Jack Dean, her father’s enigmatic right-hand man. As tensions rise and past truths surface, Alice is drawn into a storm of grief, love, and transformation in this rich, emotionally charged tale of family and redemption.

Sarah MacLean did it again! Wow! I could not put this book down!! 5/5 Stars! I will be recommending this book to everyone!

4.5 stars! If I had to describe this book in 3 words it would be "class a stock". Already have plans to read this again on the beach this summer. The family drama, the chemistry, the beautifully descriptive narrative. Everything about this book made it an essential beach read. These Summer Storms follows a wealthy New England family who reunites for one week of absolute chaos after the death of their father. Secrets are uncovered, feelings are hurt, and daddy dearest is still playing games from the grave. The family is unhinged and insane and I love it. The chemistry between Jack and Alice was real and raw and perfect. Think summer in the Hamptons gossip girl but for adults in Rhode Island (and better).

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy!

They say money doesn’t buy happiness and the Storm family seems to do everything they can to prove it. The cast of characters that make up the Storm family, for all their wealth, are incredibly relatable and I am sure will remind many people of their own family. I spent the same amount of time angry at them as I did wanting to reach through the pages and hug them.

I’ve been a fan of Sarah MacLean’s writing since the first book I read of hers and proceeded to read everything she wrote since. Her historical romances have always transported me, and she didn’t disappoint with These Summer Storms; I could picture myself on the cliffside watching this family tear each other apart, and then try to pick up the pieces over and over again. For those of you that are also fans of MacLean’s romances, don’t worry, there’s plenty of steamy tension between Alice and her family’s fixer.

Thanks to Netgalley for a chance to read this book! I love a family drama story, and this did not disappoint. The storm family is flawed and at times quite awful. But sprinkled in were some funny one liners and the growth at the end was great to experience. 4/5 for me!

I've previously been a huge fan of Sarah MacLean's historical romance novels, so when I saw that she was authoring a contemporary fiction novel, I eagerly requested it on NetGalley. In These Summer Storms, our main protagonist is Alice Storm, the 3rd of 4 siblings in the Storm family, returning to the private island her billionaire father owns after learning of his untimely death. Alice, along with her 3 siblings learns that in order to inherit their father's wealth, they must follow the rules of his little game, with his second in command Jack Dean there to watch their every move and ensure no one makes a misstep. As noted in the summary from the publisher, Alice is the only Storm who has struck out on her own, exiled by her father after a disagreement 5 years prior to his death, and she is determined not to be pulled back into the family that she no longer feels part of, but events on the island have a way of pulling her back in to the fold.
As with MacLean's previous works, the story is skillfully told, with some changes in narrator as needed to move the plot forward. And of course, there is a romantic sub plot, with very strong chemistry between Alice and Jack from the first page they meet. I enjoyed the arc of this story as Alice comes to understand herself, and her family better, and heals from the past mistakes that they have all made. The ending was well plotted, and extremely satisfying as well.
Thank you to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

The novel These Summer Storms combines romance, family saga, and thriller elements. With distinctive characters, an island setting, and a suspenseful conclusion, Sarah MacLean captivates readers and keeps them guessing.

Alice Storm is summoned home following the death of her billionaire father, Franklin, having been estranged for many years. Her family treats her like an outsider, but soon discovers that she is the key to their inheritance. Although she desperately wants to leave due to their cruelty, she must remain on the island for a week, or everyone will lose their share. If not for Jack, her father’s assistant, Alice would never uncover the secrets, disillusions, and regrets the family has kept silent until now.

The premise kept me reading into the night, to reveal a shocking ending. The romance is hot, and the characters are cold and detached. But there is resolution and redemption, once Franklin’s will is read. I thank NetGalley for allowing me to read and review These Secret Storms.

If Knives Out were a romance novel! What a fun read - I've never read MacLean before and didn't even read the synopsis before jumping in so I had no clue what to expect - I really enjoyed this book. It had complex story lines, individuals, and problems, but the romantic flirtiness and high stakes, thanks to the Storm Olympics "challenge" vibe of the novel. There were likeable characters and horrid ones, but even the ridiculous ones didn't feel like caricatures. If I had to give critical feedback I'd say that some of the lines the characters say (i.e., the way they speak) sound fake - like it's too flowery and flourishing for what people actually say IRL. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to #NetGalley for an ARC of this book!

The Storms are grieving the sudden death of their patriarch, Franklin Storm. Franklin, in my opinion, is based on the tech moguls of our time including Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Franklin had a tight hold on his four children and wife, he financed their endeavors with strings attached. They all gather together at their summer home on a island off of Rhode Island and find that they all have different challenges that will determine their inheritance. This "game" is met with mixed emotions and you get a view of each sibling and how they were impacted by their family. There is suspense and secrets are found out through out the novel.

I am glad I was able to see the list of other novels MacLean was written, her other series are solidly in the romance genre and are mostly historical romance. However, I think MacLean also branches out in this novel as she includes suspense and drama with the Storm family. The two parts of the story, romance and family drama, seem separate but do mesh well together if you know that MacLean is typically a writer of historical romance. There are steamy scenes that would not appear if it was more of a literary fiction focused on the family dynamics. It was fun to read and had a good balance of these two genres.

Definitely a sucker for a slow burn and grumpy/sunshine tropes
Perfect for readers who crave intensity with their romance and a heroine who doesn’t flinch at fire.
Short, sweet, and unputdownable!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

So good! MacLean‘s first contemporary novel was fantastic! This sharp, sexy story follows an uber wealthy New England family through ups and downs, secrets and lies, family members that you love and hate. If you are a fan of Succession, You really need to check this one out! Releasing July 8th, I highly recommend this one, it is the perfect summer read!

I love that Sarah MacLean is diving into contemporary fiction! Her historical romances are fantastic and I was anxious to read a modern-day story from her.

These Summer Storms is about the Storm family: Alice, the daughter of billionaire Franklin Storm, and her siblings, Greta, Sam, and Emily, and mom, Elisabeth, in the wake of Franklin's death.

If you've liked MacLean's books in the past, this is really more of the same. (I loved it.) All the archetypes of historical romance are there, set in the somewhat modern, somewhat throwback world of immense wealth. Billionaires are the equivalent of kings and everyone is subject to their whims. I mean, the story is set on a private island! (Aka, a castle with a moat...)

Lately, I feel like any book featuring rich people in any capacity is compared to Succession; it's getting overused. These Summer Storms really had the same feeling as Succession, though. It was like a new season, just for me. I want Sarah MacLean to write more!

Really enjoyed this! If you're a fan of Succession and family dramas, then this is the book for you! I just know this is going to be the perfect beach red for many this summer. I felt that MacLean really built out the storylines of each of the Storm children very well to the point that you were rooting for all of them by the end of the book.

4.5 stars, rounding up! Listen, it’s a Sarah MacLean. The chances it wasn’t going to be at the very least a slam dunk, if not a half-court shot, no net (I don’t know anything about basketball), were very low. I’ve been chomping at the bit for Sarah to write a full length contemporary since I read her novella and she did not disappoint!!! The family drama! The interpersonal angst! The personal trauma! The lush description that makes me once again want to move to the New England coast!

What’s the 0.5 stars off? Shockingly, it’s gonna be for the romance. But not for the reason you think! I ended the book very much pro Alice and Jack loving and thriving together forever more. I liked Jack and also loathed him (how very Alice of me) and knew he would need a big grand gesture to make me forgive him. I stuck with it bc I knew my girl Sarah wouldn’t let me down but it required a lot of trust. Jack was a pretty standard SM hero, and this has made me realize how much I really need their POVs, because I’ve never had this reaction to any other of her MMCs. I needed to watch this man suffer more than I could from just Alice’s POV. We got one POV chapter each for the other 3 siblings—would have loved one from Jack too.

But other than that, can’t wait for Sarah to write more like this. It’s very Emily Henry meets Elin Hilderbrand.

Thanks to the Publisher and NetGalley for the ARC

4.5 Stars – A Twisty, Heartfelt Family Drama Perfect for Summer

I absolutely devoured this book! It’s a compelling family drama woven with just the right amount of romance, mystery, and emotional depth. The writing is strong and engaging, and even though a few moments leaned a little cheesy, it honestly just added to the charm.

The story has Inheritance Games vibes with its layered family secrets and unexpected twists that kept me turning the pages late into the night. The mystery element was super fun without overpowering the emotional core of the book, which really focuses on the complexities of family, love, and self-discovery.

This is the kind of book that feels like it was made for summer—something you can get totally lost in whether you’re lounging at the beach or curled up on the couch. Definitely recommend grabbing this one when it drops!

Yall, this book is 🔥. I trust Sarah MacLean, she is a goddess on this earth, but I wasn’t sure how her style would translate to contemporary. Well , that was a dumb thing to worry about because my god, she knocked it out of the park. From the first scene I was hooked and I could not put this down. Now I need to go reread her backlist again because she’s like a drug. I need more!!!!

The family drama was interesting. I did not like the romance hero who made a dishonorable decision and seems to have been easily off the hook.