The Book of Summer

I simply loved reading this story. From the first page to the last, Michelle Gable had me hooked. I loved that the story bounced between times, reading the different point of views. Surprises, twists & turns, this book has it all. Wishing that somehow there could be a sequel. Thank you so much for the chance to enjoy it!

Brilliant book. Excellent main characters and plot. I would recommend this book.

Bess returns to Nantucket to convince her mother to move from the family home that is about to fall into the ocean. They find a diary from her grandmother written in the 30's and 40's named the book of summer. They never expected so many family secrets. An enjoyable read set on an island that is slowly receding into the sea. Anyone who lives near the beach can sympathize with Bess and her family.

This is such a wonderful book I can't even describe the emotions it provoked.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed The Book of Summer. The story is just as much about Bess as the other women in her family, dating back nearly one hundred years. I enjoyed Bess's story just as much as her grandmother's. While I thought this might just be a light beach read, stories of war and feminism and what is marriage and family and love really, were all great additions.

This was a very enjoyable story set in the current day and jumping back to the 1940s with the first generation of this family. The story is mainly about the strong women of Cliff House which is unfortunately slipping into the sea, with the erosion getting to the point that they need to move out.

The story starts in the present day with Bess returning home to Nantucket to get her mother, Cissy, out of the house before it slips over the cliff. She seems to have drawn the short straw as her Father, sister and brother could also have helped but it seems to have fallen to Bess. Bess is a physician in San Francisco so had to take additional time off to try and persuade Cissy to leave.

Cissy is a right character! Everyone knows her and she is definitely an eccentric who does things her own way, riding around town on her bike and being involved in everything, mostly trying to shore up the coastline and trying to move Cliff House back from the edge of the cliff - the whole house! Bess certainly had her hands full, but was used to it, growing up with her exuberant mother.

The story flips back and forth between the present day and the 1940s, but the main story is set mostly from the 1940s and Bess's grandmother Ruby and the way things were at their summer house before and after the war. There are various people lost over the years, to war and illness, and there's lots of descriptions of the heady days before the war of parties all summer long, before the war changes things for everyone.

There's a very slow burning romance between Bess (who is just divorcing her cheating, verbally abusive husband) and Evan, Bess's high school boyfriend. It's very slow and laid-back, but is a nice background story. Bess is a chip off the old block, even if she doesn't think she is, quite forthright in her comments and very funny at times, I really liked her character.

Cissy fights as hard as she can but eventually even she has to admit that Cliff House is unsalvageable, but then decides she's 'going down with the ship' and refuses to leave! Of course things come to a head near the end of the book and thankfully Cissy does finally leave, but it is very sad that they lost such a magnificent sounding house.

I really enjoyed the whole story, although I did feel it was a bit too drawn out at times, about life before and after World War II and how the way of life had changed for people over the decades on Nantucket Island in particular. The historical side of the story was especially fascinating. Very interesting read.

I received an ARC of The Book of Summer in exchange for an honest review.

This was the first of Michelle Gable's books which I have read, and I enjoyed the story line. I liked reading the letters in "The Book" as well, which I think helped give depth to the characters.

I would suggest this book to anyone who wants to be taken away to Nantucket!! I love the background and need to vacation there, soon!

The Book of Summer was definitely an interesting way to present how family and friends interact and connect through tragedies and stressful times. The story tied the past to the present in a unique way. The sections about the past are started off by referencing notes and newspaper articles from The Book of Summer written by family and guests that visited the Cliff House, a beautiful estate in Nantucket Island, in the 1940's. The present day involved Cissy (mother) and her daughter, Bess, trying to figure out how to deal with the slowly disappearing cliff that their family's home was build on almost one hundreds ago. Bess learns about her family history and the importance of the family house through reading the book.

I found the flashbacks about how the high society people and the military in the United States dealt with homosexuality interesting. This was a new perspective on WWII that I haven't read about before.

Three generations of strong women in the family getting together for several reasons, but it was an o.k. read for me.

Inspired by the true life erosion of the bluff at Sconset Beach in Nantucket, this novel is a multi-generational story of a family of strong women. Bess is called home to get her mother to move out of the 99 year old Sconset Beach/Nantucket summer home built by her grandparents - which could fall into the sea at any moment, due to the erosion of the bluff where the house is situated. Storylines alternate between the current day and the WWII era when her grandmother Ruby was young and faced her own challenges as she grew up and married. For almost a century, Cliff House has been the summer home of their family- and particularly that of the women. As Bess's mother Cissy fights to save the house, and old secrets come to light, Bess must come to terms with her own life, and both continue to be influenced by the memory of Ruby's life and strength and will. While this novel is a little uneven in places, and a little predictable, I really liked the continuity of the women and the family and the house at the heart of their family for those 99 years. It's very sad to think of the history in danger of being lost on the real Sconset Beach. Michelle Gable just gets better and better. Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Dunne Books for allowing me to read an ARC of this great story!

THE BOOK OF SUMMER is a great novel. Definitely one to read it you are a fan of Elin HIlderbrandt. It has a little of everything but the strong ties of friendship and love are the main story.

The Book of Summer is an enjoyable read that takes place in one of my favorite places to escape to (when reading!), Nantucket. About to be divorced from her rat-of-a-husband, Bess is in Nantucket at the urging of her father, to get her mom out of their home. Cliff House, the family’s summer home, has been there for generations, but is about to become one with the ocean after it plummets down with the eroding bluff. Ciss, Bess’s stubborn, pain in the ass mother, refuses to leave. What follows is a pleasurable trip down memory lane as you read excerpts from the home’s “Book of Summer”, a guest book of sorts that all guests, friend or family, had to write in. While going through Bess’s time with her mother and old flame, Evan, you’ll be entertained with the house’s former life, pre and during WWII with Bess’s grandmother Ruby. The Book of Summer is great book to curl up with.

A great fun summer read. Wonderfull setting, a interesting multigenerational family of strong women and a marvelous house which is about to fall off a cliff, what could be better?

I loved Michelle Gable's first two books, so I was thrilled to get an advanced copy of her latest from Netgalley, and I wasn't disappointed! Set in Nantucket in a grand house lived in by the same family for several generations, the book alternates between the viewpoints of a woman in the present day and her grandmother in the 1940s. Both are very appealing characters, and both stories are interesting, with real substance but not too heavy. Definitely would recommend this to fans of books that go back and forth between time periods, especially by Beatriz Williams (I actually half expected a member of the Schuyler family from her novels to make an appearance).

This book was so good! Loved the characters, and the way the point of view and timeline jumped back and forth was so interesting. This was the first book I've read by Michelle Gable but it definitely won't be the last!

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but I will say out of all the books set in Nantucket, it wouldn't be my favorite because it took a while to get into and I feel like it could have taken place on any island. It seemed to lack the charm of other similar books. I do like the different perspectives, present day Bess, 1940s Ruby, and various Book of Summer diary of entries. Overall, I would recommend this novel.

A story set in a beachside town. The air from the very beginning light hearted. This is a town where people come back for summer vacations and the actual inhabitants of the town are few and far between. Was very difficult to visualise for someone who comes from a crowded city where houses are never closed and always full of people!
The story of a family and their love for a house which they are going to eventually lose to the sea. Erosion has taken its toll on the coastline and their house is one of the victims. Twined into the loss of the house is the failure of a marriage, family relationships and a new love affair which is just beginning.
A light hearted read which was very enjoyable given the background setting.

Goodreads review up on 28/2/2017. Amazon does not provide for a review. Review on my blog mid June.

[Note: I thank to NetGalley and St. Martin press for ARC and this is my honest review of the book]

This is the third book from the author. The story has easy flow and no hiccups or dramas and has narration of two intertwined stories in parallel.

The story begins with Bess getting a call from her father to immediately visit her Mom,Cissy, who lives alone at Cliff House in Sconset, Nantucket, and persuade her to get out of the Cliff house. the Cliff House can collapse any time due to erosion. While cleaning up the Cliff House, Bess comes across a book "The Book of Summer" and the book has the memoirs written by the people who visited this house . Through the book Bess comes across to know more about her Great grand parents and other members of the family.

The character of Ruby could have been given more space. and, certainly she is one of the more powerful characters in the book.

There are some good one liners in the book coming out from Ruby in the context of her husband -
" who needed alcoholism or drug addiction ? Become a workaholic and enjoy the twin benefits of ignoring your problems and earning a paycheck."

and another one -
"A person doesn't generally self-medicare unless there's pain to chase away."

I liked the author writing style and the duel narration of the story as well. I liked Hattie and Ruby.I wish Sam's , husband of Ruby, condition was explored more .

The story is OK and I liked. Towards the end, I was expecting something surprising to come out from the "The Book of Summer" but that didn't happen. The end could have been better.

I rate this book 3.5/5.

As with Michelle Gable's other books, I was completely drawn into this one. It did take a little time for this to happen as I was worried there wasn't enough substance to the story at the beginning - it felt a bit 'chick lit' for my liking. However, chick lit or not, I loved it. The characters are well formed and likeable, if sometimes a bit crazy! and I find that this is fundamental to a good book. The story is set on Nantucket island off the East coast of America. Bess, a doctor in California is summonsed to her family holiday home to extricate her eccentric mother before she disappears into the sea along with Cliff House which is about to become the victim of coastal erosion. We soon learn that this is an opportune time for Bess who needs distance from her recently divorced husband. She quickly picks up with childhood friends despite a long time away from Sconset, Nantucket and faces complicated memories attached to Cliff House and her many summers spent there. The house has been in the family for several generations and her great grandmother began a visitors book when it was first built, 'the book of summer', for the many summer guests to share their thoughts about time spent there. This turns out to be far more than a visitors book - it is more of a journal and the novel flits between the present day and entries from the book revealing to the reader not only the history of the house but of the times it has seen and the relationships formed and broken in it. This is what gives the novel depth as we learn about how WWII affected the well to do of Sconset and how homosexuality was viewed at the time etc. Whilst Bess is dealing with the trauma of her relationship breakdown, an unexpected pregnancy and her mother's eccentricities, she confides in her childhood sweetheart, who she finds is more connected to her family than she realised. Things come good for Bess in the end and her crazy mother manages to get the locals to agree to a scheme to save the coastline if not the house itself. The story is based upon fact - the part about the coastal erosion and there are details alluding to this at the end of the book. I shall be recommending this as a book club read...

THE BOOK OF SUMMER by Michelle Gable is a good book to read by the pool this summer or take on vacation. The story follows three generations of women in Nantucket - Bess, Cissy, and Ruby. At the center of the novel sits Cliff House, a family vacation home in on Sconset Beach that is slowly falling into the ocean off the bluff that has been eroding. In a race to get both the heirlooms and Cissy safely out of the house and save it before it falls, the reader discovers multiple family secrets spanning the three generations. The story is told from Bess and Ruby's point of views but alternates with pages written in the Book of Summer from Cliff House. I love that Gable made the Book of Summer entries in a different font and that it provided some insight from characters that aren't telling the story themselves. I really enjoyed the way the story wrapped up and admire the strength that the women in the 1940s showed. Sometimes no matter how strong your foundation, you need support from those around you to keep from falling down.

I received an advanced copy of this novel from Great Thoughts' Great Readers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was glad I read the Vanity Fair article that inspired this perfect beach/weekend read. The book of summer and the contemporary story were my favorite-timely topic-costal erosion
meets the monied summer people-the ensemble cast sensibility of the book works well-
and the family drama is screenworthy

The Book of Summer by Michelle Gable is a beautiful tale. Memories that won't ever fade. History and secrets are found as the main character, Bess Codman, goes to her mom. She must convince her mother to leave the house on the cliff. Her father persuades her to do so. When she reaches there, so many things come unraveling. Emotions spills across the pages. Michell Gable created a crazy, hilarious, yet engaging story of a family. Their lives may not be perfect but they care.

The Book of Summer is centered around a house that has seen its days. Erosion is happening and it's only time when it collapses. One woman determined to keep it standing and another to help get her out before it's too late. I found the history colorful and interesting. My imagination went wild with all the what happened back then. Anything with a historical moment attached captured my undivided attention. Michelle Gable has once again, brought another women's fiction piece to my heart. I'll ever forget the journey that trapped me inside...

The Book of Summer takes place in Nantucket and focuses on the women of Cliff House, a beautiful home that is slowly falling into the sea due to erosion. The story is told in a dual timeline format with the inclusion of sporadic newspaper articles and entries in the Book of Summer, a book in which every individual coming to Cliff House writes an entry as he or she arrives at the house. The present day story revolves around Bess Codman and her mother Cissy, who refuses to leave Cliff House even as sections are eroding and falling into the sea on an almost daily basis. The 1940’s story focuses on Ruby Packard, Cissy’s mother, as she navigates family issues and the beginning of World War 2.

As the story unfolds, numerous family secrets come to light. As Bess spends time with her mother in Nantucket for the first time in a while, she comes to understand more about her family, including her mother, and the importance of Cliff House. My favorite parts of the book were the entries in the Book of Summer and learning more about the efforts in Nantucket to combat erosion. Gable’s descriptions of Cliff House were fabulous, and I felt that I could envision the house through her prose.

I really enjoyed this book and recommend it highly. I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautiful story of a house and the women who have lived in it. The Cliff House was built by Bess's great grandmother in Nantucket. Due to erosion the beautiful old house is falling into the sea. Bess has returned to the Cliff House to pack up her mom Cissy and get her moved out before the house collapses. The house also has a guestbook, the Book of Summer, that the owners and the visitors write in. Through this book, Bess learns so much about her beloved grandmother Ruby. We learn of family secrets, their hopes and dreams, and a deep love of family. I truly loved this book. It is rich in family, love, redemption, and the house that was a home. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Thomas Dunne Books for allowing me to read and review this book. I was given and ARC for an honest review.

The Book of Summer is an enchanting book about a house and the people who have lived in it for 99 years. Cliff House was built on a bluff in Nantucket 99 years earlier, but the bluff has given way to time and erosion, and Dr. Bess Codman has returned to convince her mother, Cissy, that it's time to leave the house, before the house literally falls down around her. Coming back to Cliff House stirs up so many memories for Bess, who is at a crossroads in her own life. While packing she uncovers The Book of Summer, a guest journal which was started by Bess's great-grandmother when the house first opened for the summer. The book is a a treasure trove of the people who lived in and visited Cliff House, and also a look back into the past. As Bess begins to read her grandmother Ruby's entries into The Book of Summer, we are transported back to the 1940's, before, during, and after WWII. The dual timelines add so many layers to the story, and the house itself is as much a part of the story as the characters. This book is as delightful as it is poignant, as light-hearted as it is somber; a fascinating book about the incredibly strong, resilient women who are at the center of this story.

I loved this book. All of the main characters were fantastic and so well written with all of their character flaws on display. The main characters are Bess - a physician from California who has returned to Nantucket to help her mom pack up her house; Cissy - Bess's mom who is a real rebel;
Ruby - Bess's grandmother who is long deceased but tells much of the story and The Cliff House - the magnificent house, build by Bess's parents that is now close to falling into the sea due to erosion of the cliffs. The story is told in alternating time periods - Cissy and Bess in modern day and Bess's narrative takes place in the 40s. It's a story of love and loss, family and forgiveness. But overall it's the story of a house and the women who lived in it and tried to live their lives as well as they could despite issues that were going on in the world outside their door. I have read all of Michelle's books and they are all fantastic.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This is yet another novel which is written as two strands at different times, with similarities between what happens to the main characters in both eras. It's always good to have a true life background (coastal erosion on Nantucket) and this encouraged me to do a little web surfing. Sconset looks very picturesque! The stories and the characters were well written although I found the American colloquialisms a struggle at times, especially those from the '40s. Overall I would recommend the book.

A guest book for Cliff House family and friends to comment on their summer visits provides a link between four generations of women in one family.

Bess is called home from her San Francisco life as an ER doctor to convince her mother, Cissy, to give up her efforts to save Cliff House from falling into the sea after erosion has taken most of the property. It sits in New England's Sconset where this is a real issue.

As they deal with their own life issues, Bess' reading through the stories in the Book of Summer discloses the issues her ancestors faced, especially during the 1940s and WW 2.

This is a good story, but I found myself walking away from it after a short time which is very unlike me. The book is told using present tense though not first person which might have been part of the problem.

Enjoyed this cast of characters, who sometimes are "over-the-top." Besides the telling of one family's story of a family home built for generations of mainly women, the author subtly explains the problems all coastal areas have to address: erosion and over-development.

I enjoyed this book very much . The characters and scenery were very vivid, I hated to put this down. This is a must read !

The Book of Summer follows several generations of women living at a summer home on Nantucket. I enjoyed the interwoven stories from Ruby during WWII and granddaughter Bess in current day. The story takes many twists and turns. The characters and the island are full of life. I enjoyed it.

I enjoyed this galley from Netgalley, which told the story of Cissy and her daughter, Bess. Living in Sconset on Nantucket and trying to protect her house from the erosion causing it to basically fall off the cliff, Cissy's stubborn fight brings Bess back to Nantucket. After a failed marriage, Bess is unsure of her direction. Chapters also flash back to earlier inhabitants of the house, during the 30's and '40's, with war on the horizon. The family's history and the strength of the women in the family makes for a good read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

Michelle Gable is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. This is the third book I've read of hers and it was an absolute pleasure. Gable is one of those authors who has mastered the art of the duel plot line (usually past and present) and reading her work is truly like reading 2 novels that compliment one another. Gable is also one of those authors who I truly believe just wants to tell a good story. The writing is not super complex, the characters have just enough depth, and she keeps the plot fairly simple. There were a few twists I didn't see which is always nice but they didn't feel out of place or manufactured to shock the reader; more like the twists were where the story was already going.

If you can grab this book and hop the ferry to Nantucket because this is one of those books that would make great company beachside. If you can't manage a trip to the beach that's okay too because Gable will take you there in this book.

You may be wondering why only 3 stars, is it not a good book? No, it is but a few things irked me as a reader.

One, the unnecessary curse words throughout the book. I just don't feel it was needed. I'm ok with some but I personally felt it didn't add to the story.

Two, the jumping back and forth was executed well but it didn't allow the reader to learn about the past as well as I wish. Some story lines felt rushed and ended abruptly.

And last, the beginning was slow but managed to pick up the last 3/4 of the book. So, give it time. Don't give up too soon.

I appreciate learning that the cliff erosion really did happen and the steps to take to prevent further damage.

I wish I had felt more involved with characters but alas I did not. Maybe it was just me. I will give the author's other books a try.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a free copy to read and review with my honest opinion.

Thank you NetGalley. I absolutely loved this book and totally fell in love with Nantucket and the magical Sconset. It was a book about generation of families and a home packed with history. The characters in this book are likeable and the only way to describe this book is totally lovely.

I am a big fan of Michelle Gable's work. I am so happy to have had an opportunity to read The Book of Summer, and I loved every word. As a person who also loves the beach as much as I love books, this one broke my heart. Why aren't we taking better care of our natural resources?? I thank Ms. Gable for helping put a spotlight on this travesty with this wonderful book.

Bess Codman leaves San Francisco for her family home on Nantucket to convince her mother to leave Cliff House. The house that was built by her ancestors a century earlier is ready to fall into the ocean because of erosion. Her mother, Cissy, has no intention of leaving the family home and Bess can see that what was supposed to be a quick trip will be anything but. Bess’s grandmother told her long ago that Cliff House was a house of women and Bess, using the family guest book begins to piece together the history of her family, beginning with wide-eyed Ruby, arriving at the house just as World War II is about to break out, down through her female relatives and how they are connected to Cliff House. This is a beautiful story about what makes a home, and the belief that a house, can itself, be a living, breathing member of a family