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callienicole's review against another edition
2.0
Kristin Hannah is such a popular author, I thought I’d give one of her books a try. I saw Summer Island at a library sale and picked it up. I have no idea if this book is a good representative of all her novels, but if it is, I don’t know if I’ll pick up another one.
This is a story about a mother who walked out on her family, for reasons unknown to us, and the effect that decision had on her relationships with her daughters. After a personal catastrophe mother and daughter are thrown back together, and this book is the story of how she comes to forgive her mother. That core story was interesting to me, and it’s what kept me reading, but the book lost several stars for me for excessive bad language, especially heavy use of Christ’s name in vain, and an explicitly described sex scene at the end of the book (yikes!). If you’ve read others from Hannah, I’m curious to know if her other books have explicit sex scenes. It was enough to make me out the book down, but I was so close to the end by that point that I just finished it. 🤷🏼♀️
Content Breakdown:
Language: Many uses of pretty much all the curse words you can think of. Many f-words. Many uses of Jesus’s name in vain.
Sexual content: References to the main characters sleeping around. Conversational references to things like oral sex and masturbation. One character had nude pictures that were leaked to the media. Aforementioned explicit sex scene that I mainly skipped over. Insert grimacing face.
Religious: God mentioned several times in a generic sort of way.
Other: One character is dying of cancer and his decline is described. Characters drink alcohol an get drunk. Characters smoke cigarettes and marijuana together. One character is gay, and his relationship with his late boyfriend is discussed throughout, in general terms.
My thoughts: I’m really not sure why I kept reading this book with all the content issues I had with it - I guess I wanted to see how Nora worked things out with her daughter. Most of the content items above were peripheral to the main plot of Ruby forgiving her mother, and that’s the story line that kept me reading. Still, at the end, I don’t think the conclusion was worth all the language and sexual content, and let’s just say I’m not running out to grab another Kristin Hannah book after this offering.
Friends, have you read other books by Hannah? Is all this par for the course with her, or is one of her other books better?
This is a story about a mother who walked out on her family, for reasons unknown to us, and the effect that decision had on her relationships with her daughters. After a personal catastrophe mother and daughter are thrown back together, and this book is the story of how she comes to forgive her mother. That core story was interesting to me, and it’s what kept me reading, but the book lost several stars for me for excessive bad language, especially heavy use of Christ’s name in vain, and an explicitly described sex scene at the end of the book (yikes!). If you’ve read others from Hannah, I’m curious to know if her other books have explicit sex scenes. It was enough to make me out the book down, but I was so close to the end by that point that I just finished it. 🤷🏼♀️
Content Breakdown:
Language: Many uses of pretty much all the curse words you can think of. Many f-words. Many uses of Jesus’s name in vain.
Sexual content: References to the main characters sleeping around. Conversational references to things like oral sex and masturbation. One character had nude pictures that were leaked to the media. Aforementioned explicit sex scene that I mainly skipped over. Insert grimacing face.
Religious: God mentioned several times in a generic sort of way.
Other: One character is dying of cancer and his decline is described. Characters drink alcohol an get drunk. Characters smoke cigarettes and marijuana together. One character is gay, and his relationship with his late boyfriend is discussed throughout, in general terms.
My thoughts: I’m really not sure why I kept reading this book with all the content issues I had with it - I guess I wanted to see how Nora worked things out with her daughter. Most of the content items above were peripheral to the main plot of Ruby forgiving her mother, and that’s the story line that kept me reading. Still, at the end, I don’t think the conclusion was worth all the language and sexual content, and let’s just say I’m not running out to grab another Kristin Hannah book after this offering.
Friends, have you read other books by Hannah? Is all this par for the course with her, or is one of her other books better?
makenareads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
reading_with_desi_'s review against another edition
5.0
I love this book! Having not knowing my mother either growing up, this book hit me in the core! Must read! So glad I got my hands on a copy!
vro521's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
nrlatzig's review
emotional
reflective
sad
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
3.0
stephanie_johnson's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
4.0
This book was a beautiful journey through the complicated mother-daughter bond of Nora and Ruby. With unexpected twists and turns, it's a beautiful, heart-wrenching story that will stay with you long after you finish the last page. Prepare for eye-rolls, laughter, and a few tears as these two navigate their way toward forgiveness and understanding.
lthom5's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
stepharina's review against another edition
3.0
I Love Kristin Hannah and have been reading her books since 2011. This is a backlist book that I had not gotten to yet. Right now KH is in her prime each story is better than the last and there is a clear difference between her old stuff and her new stuff. That all being said this was a good book but didn’t pack the punch I’ve grown accustomed to in her novels. I did not cry at all
patriciagould710's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book started out fairly strong, but fell flat for me. I thought the climax of the book would be a bit more shocking. I did appreciate the theme of forgiveness within family. Not a favorite of Hannah for me.
lilicraven's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0