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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
medium-paced
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Perfectly Within Expectations. Susan Mallery has a type of tale, at least over these last few years at minimum. It isn't quite "Hallmarkie" in that it generally features a group of female leads that share the spotlight, but those who enjoy the Hallmarkie type will likely also enjoy this type of book - particularly the women it is clearly catered for. Yes, the male characters can be a bit wooden and one dimensional, but again, Mallery knows her target audience well, is clearly very popular within it, and clearly these benign affronts work within this space for this author - and aren't ever really "offensive" to anyone. They're simply too cardboard to have any real agency or motivations of their own, and mostly exist to affirm whatever the women in their lives are doing in the moment / serve whatever emotional or physical needs the woman they are paired with may have. Again, perfectly in line with what Mallery's audience clearly expects, and a perfectly fine tale within these confines. If this type of casual, non-preachy, female friendship type of tale is what you're after, you've found a great book within that space. If you're looking for something *more*, no matter how you define "more"... you need to look somewhere else. This is one of those books that isn't really going to challenge anyone or anything, it is more of a comfort read. I won't necessarily say "vacation" read and I despise the term "beach read" because not everyone reads any given type of book at the beach and whatever book you may be reading at the beach is by definition a "beach read", and at 400+ pages it would need to be a decently long vacation for anyone to read this book while on vacation. Still, it is that same kind of relaxing type of read that many ascribe to those scenarios, so perhaps for some it will truly be a "beach read". Very much recommended.
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Not feeling this story or connecting with the characters at this point. Wanting to ditch this one for other books.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
The Summer Book Club intertwines three different and lovely stories leading to love, forgiveness, redemption, and second chances.
I have mixed feelings about this book. While I wanted all three women to find happiness and peace for themselves, I didn’t feel a strong draw to their respective romances. The hardships and past mistakes that plagued Paris, Laurel, and Cassie were given plenty of depth and feeling and I enjoyed their up-and-down journeys.
Paris and Jonah’s second chance at love grabbed me the most. Their unresolved guilt and emotions were apparent in every word and interaction and had the biggest impact. I’d say Jagger (Laurel’s daughter) was my favorite. Everything she felt about her father and her parent’s divorce was very realistic and I was impressed by the way she stood up for herself.
As with all Susan Mallery’s books, this is mostly a story about women’s struggles and dreams, with some sweet romance added.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am a big fan of beach reads and when I saw this book I leapt at the chance to read it. While it started off enjoyable, it slowly petered out and I ended up bored by the end.
Laurel and Paris have been friends for nearly 30 years, since they were 7. They have seen each other through many tough times including Paris’ husband leaving her due to her abusive tendencies and Laurel’s husband leaving her and their two girls with nothing but the expensive house he insisted they buy. Over the last many years though, both friends have grown in ways that they are no longer their old selves. When Cassie, a young woman 10 years their junior, moves to town in the beginning stages of her own journey to growth, they take her in and help her learn to live for herself.
The three women do have a summer book club, but it plays such a minor part in this that it seems the title is merely the easiest thing to have called this book. While I initially loved all 3 of the women’s stories they all mirrored each other exactly and it became extremely predictable and really quite boring. In addition, I feel like this was 100 pages too long.
While I think Ms. Mallery started with a great idea, it just didn’t seem to work in the end. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advanced copy of this. The Summer Book Club hit the shelves on February 13th.
Thank you @netgalley, @htpbooks and @canarystreetpress for sending me this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
I’ve been reading Susan Mallery books for several years now (well before I had this account). I enjoy them and some are better than others, but I think now that I’ve discovered so many new-to-me authors, I don’t rush to read these books like I used to.
Susan Mallery writes women’s fiction and they are usually about a group of female friends, each going through their own struggle. Often the themes in her books include friendship, family, romance, and new beginnings. The Summer Book Club is about two best friends, Laurel and Paris, and Cassie who moves to town and joins their book club and friend group. They are each single and have their own issues with getting into a relationship.
This wasn’t my favourite of her books as some of the storylines seemed a bit exaggerated, but I do generally like her writing and I find her books to be pretty quick reads. If you like books that follow a certain formula or books about a group of female friends, you might enjoy this book.