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domi_francois's review
Too slow. The plot sounds good from the synopsis, but the writing is just too slow paced for me.
joannas's review
4.0
I picked this book up on a whim, realizing that I wanted to read something fictional, with a hint of romance (?), murder (?), rather than the historical fiction I’d been gravitating towards recently. I wanted something for my book-deprived brain to be able to read and follow quite easily. While this is not a book one can simply turn their brain off to read, I found myself enjoying it, despite its obvious—and, at times, painful—millenialness (is that a word—it is now).
I am in that weird reading age group, where books such as this, catered towards a slightly older audience, are somewhat (more than somewhat at times) disconnected from my life experiences as a twenty-something-year-old, but YA fiction doesn’t seem to do the trick either.
So, trapped between a book and a hard place (think bookshelf? haha, I’m funny), I picked this up at Indigo, without even paying much attention to the summary on its inside cover, so it was somewhat of a blind purchase.
Needless to say, I was quite impressed by Mary Kay Andrews’ “Hello, Summer.” The title is fitting, as it is a main focus and objective of the Beacon—the little town paper in Silver Bay, Florida—spearheaded by Rowena, and edited by literally anyone in the office, because apparently she couldn’t write or spell to save her life (queen). Summer is also a great thematic point, because the whole plot is centred around Silver Bay, a small “three-stoplight” beach town (which I’m kind of jealous about).
Now, about the plot. There were SO many plot lines, I don’t think that I can recount them all. Everything was so all over the place, but made sense at the same time. Thus, it was an action-packed, not-so-easy-to-follow, but extremely enjoyable and devour-able novel. The multiple plot twists and additions didn’t take away from the enjoyment of reading at all, in my opinion. As the case of the recently deceased congressman (and former? lawyer), Symmes Robinette, kept unfolding and unraveling—largely due to reporter Conley Hawkins’ prying and questioning tactics—I kept finding myself more and more immersed in the story and it’s conclusion. Gushing too much about the plot would spoil the novel, and I’m not planning on doing that, so I’ll just say that, boy, does it take you on a rollercoaster. However, I do wish that the reveal of how and why exactly Symmes died was a bit more thorough, as I felt myself somewhat disappointed with the revelation, hence 4 stars, rather than 5.
The characters were enjoyable. Standouts for me are Skelly, G’Mama (though I think I despise the name…sorry to all the G’Mamas out there <3), and Winnie. Sean Kelly, Conley and Grayson’s—Conley’s older sister—oldest best friend and neighbour, was the (skirted around) love interest. Turns out, he was Conley’s crush back in the day, but—as it usually goes—miscommunication got in the way of them ever having a relationship… until now (question mark???) a small town pharmacist, he was always willing to help (while at the same time following HIPAA guidelines, and knowing how to cook. King). Poor guy deserved better than his wife leaving but hey, he found his match in (spoiler???) Conley???? :)
Lorraine (aka G’Mama) and Winnie were great and had great banter and thoughts on life. #super cool.
Also, Justice for Kevin??? Anyone with me on that? That man just got used and used and then was never spoken to again lollllll, tuff.
As someone who isn’t really interested in the field of journalism, I thought I would be somewhat disconnected from the protagonist and MC of “Hello, Summer.” While the latter part was somewhat true, the disconnect was not (entirely) a result of my interest in her career. Although Conley irked me at times (a majority of the novel, to be honest), due to her lack of self-restraint and just general respect, she was an overall likeable character, in the sense that I wanted to read the next page or chapter to find out what her next moves were. Journalism, or more specifically how Conley decides to go about her job, stepped on my toes a bit. I understand that it was her job, but goddamn I felt bad for the people she kept questioning (at least in the beginning). Despite the background circumstances of Robinette’s car-crash and subsequent death, and what readers who finish the book know about it, it seems incredibly intrusive to question grieving familial victims and such. Conley has her own experience being questioned about a traumatic moment near the end of the story, and I felt for her. While a job is important, I think it’s also safe to say that journalists can often cross the line whilst reporting, trying to get the “juiciest scoop,” or whatever.
All I know is that this field is not the one for me, and as a university student in the midst of searching for her “dream” (who am I kidding there’s no dream) career, it’s at least helpful to narrow THAT down.
Despite the characters’ flaws, and the seemingly rushed conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I would recommend it, even though it was a tad unrelatable to me, “in between” generations.
I am in that weird reading age group, where books such as this, catered towards a slightly older audience, are somewhat (more than somewhat at times) disconnected from my life experiences as a twenty-something-year-old, but YA fiction doesn’t seem to do the trick either.
So, trapped between a book and a hard place (think bookshelf? haha, I’m funny), I picked this up at Indigo, without even paying much attention to the summary on its inside cover, so it was somewhat of a blind purchase.
Needless to say, I was quite impressed by Mary Kay Andrews’ “Hello, Summer.” The title is fitting, as it is a main focus and objective of the Beacon—the little town paper in Silver Bay, Florida—spearheaded by Rowena, and edited by literally anyone in the office, because apparently she couldn’t write or spell to save her life (queen). Summer is also a great thematic point, because the whole plot is centred around Silver Bay, a small “three-stoplight” beach town (which I’m kind of jealous about).
Now, about the plot. There were SO many plot lines, I don’t think that I can recount them all. Everything was so all over the place, but made sense at the same time. Thus, it was an action-packed, not-so-easy-to-follow, but extremely enjoyable and devour-able novel. The multiple plot twists and additions didn’t take away from the enjoyment of reading at all, in my opinion. As the case of the recently deceased congressman (and former? lawyer), Symmes Robinette, kept unfolding and unraveling—largely due to reporter Conley Hawkins’ prying and questioning tactics—I kept finding myself more and more immersed in the story and it’s conclusion. Gushing too much about the plot would spoil the novel, and I’m not planning on doing that, so I’ll just say that, boy, does it take you on a rollercoaster. However, I do wish that the reveal of how and why exactly Symmes died was a bit more thorough, as I felt myself somewhat disappointed with the revelation, hence 4 stars, rather than 5.
The characters were enjoyable. Standouts for me are Skelly, G’Mama (though I think I despise the name…sorry to all the G’Mamas out there <3), and Winnie. Sean Kelly, Conley and Grayson’s—Conley’s older sister—oldest best friend and neighbour, was the (skirted around) love interest. Turns out, he was Conley’s crush back in the day, but—as it usually goes—miscommunication got in the way of them ever having a relationship… until now (question mark???) a small town pharmacist, he was always willing to help (while at the same time following HIPAA guidelines, and knowing how to cook. King). Poor guy deserved better than his wife leaving but hey, he found his match in (spoiler???) Conley???? :)
Lorraine (aka G’Mama) and Winnie were great and had great banter and thoughts on life. #super cool.
Also, Justice for Kevin??? Anyone with me on that? That man just got used and used and then was never spoken to again lollllll, tuff.
As someone who isn’t really interested in the field of journalism, I thought I would be somewhat disconnected from the protagonist and MC of “Hello, Summer.” While the latter part was somewhat true, the disconnect was not (entirely) a result of my interest in her career. Although Conley irked me at times (a majority of the novel, to be honest), due to her lack of self-restraint and just general respect, she was an overall likeable character, in the sense that I wanted to read the next page or chapter to find out what her next moves were. Journalism, or more specifically how Conley decides to go about her job, stepped on my toes a bit. I understand that it was her job, but goddamn I felt bad for the people she kept questioning (at least in the beginning). Despite the background circumstances of Robinette’s car-crash and subsequent death, and what readers who finish the book know about it, it seems incredibly intrusive to question grieving familial victims and such. Conley has her own experience being questioned about a traumatic moment near the end of the story, and I felt for her. While a job is important, I think it’s also safe to say that journalists can often cross the line whilst reporting, trying to get the “juiciest scoop,” or whatever.
All I know is that this field is not the one for me, and as a university student in the midst of searching for her “dream” (who am I kidding there’s no dream) career, it’s at least helpful to narrow THAT down.
Despite the characters’ flaws, and the seemingly rushed conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I would recommend it, even though it was a tad unrelatable to me, “in between” generations.
books_inthewild's review
3.0
I enjoyed this book, and would probably rate it a 3.5 stars. It’s not quite a 4 for me.
I enjoyed the relationships- both family and love interests- and I loved the small town theme. I also liked the mystery/crime/politics aspect of the story.
Ultimately I felt it was a bit long, and it could have been wrapped up more quickly. A lot of the news stories got repetitive and I found myself skimming to see what would happen.
I enjoyed the relationships- both family and love interests- and I loved the small town theme. I also liked the mystery/crime/politics aspect of the story.
Ultimately I felt it was a bit long, and it could have been wrapped up more quickly. A lot of the news stories got repetitive and I found myself skimming to see what would happen.
kcuer's review
2.0
the ending is incredibly unsatisfying. like pretty little liars where at first you’re like wow this is pretty good.. then so many subplots turn up and you never get a full answer/conclusion for any of them
positivewoman2013's review
5.0
I was caught up with the characters from the very beginning. It was hard to put down.
kansas_b's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
thatsme's review
3.0
Maybe 4 stars? My biggest complaint: could have been shorter for the same effect. Also, t felt so gossipy. I had to keep reminding myself that it’s a fiction book, so it’s ok. I will definitely look at journalism a bit different now. I did enjoy the book. Not great, but good. I’ll keep reading Mary Kay Andrews.
A dozen (probably more?) or so f-bombs. A little sexual content, but kept clean.
A dozen (probably more?) or so f-bombs. A little sexual content, but kept clean.
mschrock8's review against another edition
3.0
More of a mystery than I expected.
Newspapers, newsroom and journalism - made me smile.
Newspapers, newsroom and journalism - made me smile.
gwalt118's review
5.0
Did I wait until the height of summer to read "Hello, Summer" by MKA? Sure did.
Do I regret that decision at all? Sure don't.
This one has everything I want in a summer read:
- A bold and saucy main female character
- A simmering romance
- A murder mystery
- Family drama
- Suspenseful unraveling of details
Honestly, I loved Sarah Conley Hawkins. She is a spitfire journalist who gets stuff done and digs up the truth. MKA used to be a newspaper journalist, and you can definitely tell because she writes that world so incredibly well. I loved the addition of society columnist / social maven Rowena's columns throughout the novel. In fact, I loved the entire makeup of The Silver Bay Beacon's newsroom: Grayson, Michael, Lillie, and Rowena.
Like the newsroom, there are a lot of characters involved in this story's numerous layers. All of them added something unique to the tale. I enjoyed G'mama and Winnie and Skelly and Grayson, all for different reasons. Despite the numerous characters, it wasn't difficult to keep track of them.
As the drama unfolded, the suspense of murder mystery plus political scandal plus family drama kept me turning the pages. I became almost as determined as Conley to find the truth about what happened. Simmering beneath all the plot drama is the romance, which I just find to be a wonderful addition to MKA novels and the beach read vibe.
As I continue my summer 2023 backlist deep dive of MKA novels, I have to admit that this is my favorite one yet. She does everything here, and I absolutely loved all of it. It gets all the stars from me, which is pretty darn rare for my beach read genre ratings.
Do I regret that decision at all? Sure don't.
This one has everything I want in a summer read:
- A bold and saucy main female character
- A simmering romance
- A murder mystery
- Family drama
- Suspenseful unraveling of details
Honestly, I loved Sarah Conley Hawkins. She is a spitfire journalist who gets stuff done and digs up the truth. MKA used to be a newspaper journalist, and you can definitely tell because she writes that world so incredibly well. I loved the addition of society columnist / social maven Rowena's columns throughout the novel. In fact, I loved the entire makeup of The Silver Bay Beacon's newsroom: Grayson, Michael, Lillie, and Rowena.
Like the newsroom, there are a lot of characters involved in this story's numerous layers. All of them added something unique to the tale. I enjoyed G'mama and Winnie and Skelly and Grayson, all for different reasons. Despite the numerous characters, it wasn't difficult to keep track of them.
As the drama unfolded, the suspense of murder mystery plus political scandal plus family drama kept me turning the pages. I became almost as determined as Conley to find the truth about what happened. Simmering beneath all the plot drama is the romance, which I just find to be a wonderful addition to MKA novels and the beach read vibe.
As I continue my summer 2023 backlist deep dive of MKA novels, I have to admit that this is my favorite one yet. She does everything here, and I absolutely loved all of it. It gets all the stars from me, which is pretty darn rare for my beach read genre ratings.
amandarbrooks's review against another edition
5.0
I actually could not pull myself away from this book. MKA does an incredible job at intertwining various storylines that give the reader a holistic pictures of this story. I loved loved loved this book and can’t wait to pick up another MKA novel!