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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
This story excels in building suspense through a tightly crafted mystery. The plot revolves around secrets from the protagonist’s late ex-husband, and as the truth slowly comes to light, the tension never lets up. Each revelation raises the stakes, keeping the reader on edge as characters dig deeper into the past.
The pacing is deliberate, with each twist adding complexity to the mystery and revealing new layers of betrayal. The characters are well-developed, and their reactions to the secrets they uncover feel grounded and authentic. The emotional weight of the story is carefully balanced with the growing suspense, making the discoveries all the more impactful.
The mystery is what drives the story forward, and the way it unfolds keeps you engaged, with enough surprises to keep you guessing until the very end.
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was initially intrigued by the idea that the main character had seen the spitting image of her dead husband and that she would be seeking to solve the mystery of who that young man was. And while I found that part of the story interesting, the twist at the end was not entirely shocking to me. I found the characters frustrating through most of the story. Their flaws were front and center and incredibly repetitive. Instead of working through struggles, they ran from them and let them come between each other. The characters I enjoyed the most were the side characters - the young man who looked like the main characters dead husband and his girlfriend.
This story is a raw story of walking through grief and love and loss and abandonment. I think it was a heavier story than I had been mentally prepared to walk through and perhaps that is why I struggled to connect with the story in a meaningful way.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher. This review is my own, honest opinion.
This story is a raw story of walking through grief and love and loss and abandonment. I think it was a heavier story than I had been mentally prepared to walk through and perhaps that is why I struggled to connect with the story in a meaningful way.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher. This review is my own, honest opinion.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
4.25/5 stars
Denise Hunter is automatically a go-to author for me, and this book doesn't fail to illustrate why.
This story focuses on a family dealing with grief (five years down the road), especially a widow and a brother of the deceased. I won't go into details here, but Hunter does a marvelous job of weaving a story that could be a bit eye-raising/unorthodox for some readers into a sweet, compelling journey of healing and moving forward after loss.
While I enjoyed all of the characters, I was specifically drawn to the earnest and long-suffering Josh. His patience, loyalty and empathy made him a standout among men. My only caveat, in comparison to Hunter's previous book characters, was feeling that the two mains were not as deeply drawn as I would have liked. But that feeling was not enough to detract from the satisfying story itself.
There were some instances that required a suspension of disbelief, particularly the surprise denouement, but in fiction that's more the norm, so again, no biggie.
This was a sweet, heartbreaking/heartwarming book with a subject handled deftly by Hunter. Yet another winner from her. And as an aside, I must say that (unlike a lot of books) the title of this book was a perfect fit for the subject and tenor of the story...a refreshing change from some off-the-wall titles.
My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for providing the free early arc of The Summer of You and Me for review. The opinions are strictly my own.
Denise Hunter is automatically a go-to author for me, and this book doesn't fail to illustrate why.
This story focuses on a family dealing with grief (five years down the road), especially a widow and a brother of the deceased. I won't go into details here, but Hunter does a marvelous job of weaving a story that could be a bit eye-raising/unorthodox for some readers into a sweet, compelling journey of healing and moving forward after loss.
While I enjoyed all of the characters, I was specifically drawn to the earnest and long-suffering Josh. His patience, loyalty and empathy made him a standout among men. My only caveat, in comparison to Hunter's previous book characters, was feeling that the two mains were not as deeply drawn as I would have liked. But that feeling was not enough to detract from the satisfying story itself.
There were some instances that required a suspension of disbelief, particularly the surprise denouement, but in fiction that's more the norm, so again, no biggie.
This was a sweet, heartbreaking/heartwarming book with a subject handled deftly by Hunter. Yet another winner from her. And as an aside, I must say that (unlike a lot of books) the title of this book was a perfect fit for the subject and tenor of the story...a refreshing change from some off-the-wall titles.
My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for providing the free early arc of The Summer of You and Me for review. The opinions are strictly my own.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
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
This was such a sweet summer romance. The story felt very authentic and natural. I really enjoyed the summer vibes and loved the beach, boat, and summer carnival scenes. I also loved the family story line and the relationship Maggie has with her late husband's family, as well as her sweet daughter. They mystery aspect was fun too! However, I did not love the "twist". It felt a little strange to me. But overall, super fun, lay by the pool or beach read.
Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy!
Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy!
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
Maggie, a young widow after her husband Ethan died overseas 5 years ago, is spending the summer at her in-laws' place in his childhood town of Seabrook. They are going to commemorate the 5 year anniversary of his death by spreading his ashes at the end of summer. When she is at the fair with her daughter, she sees a man and is shocked because it's Ethan! She tried to follow him but he was lost in the crowd. She immediately calls her friend Josh, who was also Ethan's brother and the two of them set off to find this mysterious doppelganger.
Josh has always been in love with his sister in law, ever since he was a boy, but she fell for his brother insead. He never stopped being there for her and they have always had a very close friendship. As Maggie and Josh go on this journey together, they are faced with opening old wounds and also realize that what's between them is more than friendship.
Part mystery, part romance, this story took you on an adventure of the past, present and how these two were going to navigate a future together. The stigma of dating your brother in law, although shocking to the family at first, I thought was well handled and explained in a way that didn't diminish her love for Ethan. It was as if, even though they were brothers, there was a different kind of love for each one.
I liked them working together to figure out this mini mystery but the big reveal at the end was a little out there, but I still liked that it preserved the integrity of the characters.
I would have liked to see Maggie set her boundaries with her narcissistic mother sooner and fight for her own peace, instead of letting her mother dictate her feelings and emotions.
Overall a nice closed door romance with a light mystery element that helped propel the story and characters forward.
Huge thanks to NetGalley for sharing this book’s digital advanced review copy with me in exchange for an honest review.
I read this book through a digital ARC fromNetGalley
Author: Denise Hunter
Genre: Romance, adult fiction, mini mystery
Troupe: Friends to Lovers
hopeful
lighthearted
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
OH THE DRAMA!!!!!! i almost couldn’t keep up with it at points bc just when a situation was resolved another one popped up!! i thoroughly enjoyed this and loved all the characters!! i breezed through this and it has me so excited for summer to begin!! it’s a perfect beach read!! i listened to the audiobook in less than 24 hours because i had to know what was happening!!
thank you to netgalley & the publisher for the e-arc & audiobook in exchange for my honest review!!
thank you to netgalley & the publisher for the e-arc & audiobook in exchange for my honest review!!
Thank you Net galley and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for the advanced audio of this book. This is a really hard one to review because overall it was a fun, sweet, lovable characters, small town second chances with such a unique storyline read but…there were so many moments when I did not like their choices or reactions that it put an overall damper on my view of the story. The beginning of the book is slow and felt like more development could have occurred within that part of the story rather than dumping loads of background information at the end. It’s a quick read with a different plot that was enjoyable. Narration was well done.