Reviews - The Girls of Summer

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396 reviews for:

The Girls of Summer

Katie Bishop

3.47 AVERAGE

alanabythebook's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

jamiethearcher's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark mysterious reflective 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: Yes

Dark vibes under a blazing sun. Memories from youth grow hazy, and then turn to something completely different. The MC is looking back on a memorable summer spent on a Greek island, and the much older man she had a relationship with. Her perspective on that relationship begins to change as she comes to see what it really is. I like delving into stories that look back on the things we remember from youth and how our perspective on that changes. The setting came alive on this one. I did have higher expectations for it, but I'm not sure if I can pinpoint what was missing.

barry_reads's review against another edition

3.75

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

mmurfin's review against another edition

4.5

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

bookedblonde's review against another edition

3.0

dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

klcrabill's review against another edition

3.0

The Girls of Summer follows Rachel, a young girl on a whirlwind trip that ends when she falls in love with life on a Greek island. Told in Then and Now format, the reader is taken through that life changing summer when Rachel meets and falls in love with a much older man named Alister, who works for a very wealthy man named Henry Taylor. It is through examining the past that we learn that things aren't as Rachel seems to remember, and it has influenced the way her current life unfolds.

This was definitely a slow burn more than a thriller. The setting is told so well that the reader feels immediately transported to the Greek island with Rachel and all the other girls. That being said, it was rather slow at times. It was obvious that something bad was going to happen to all those young girls, and there are some trigger warnings that should be heeded, such as sexual assault/rape and human trafficking. This was an important story, however, and demonstrates that dangers that could potentially be out there for young women in foreign countries. It was eye opening for me, and rather shocking at times. It's sort of hard to stay that the story was good because of such tragic events that took place, however, it did keep me enthralled.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced reader copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.