lediamond4 's review for:

The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop

4.0

dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I’ll be honest this started out as kind of a fun sounding novel for me. Mysterious, scandalous, and maybe a little bit steamy. But then it got dark. Really dark. And I think that the author handled it all really well. What seemed like a simple story about a woman having an affair with an older man actually had deep layers to it. Layers of trauma, manipulation, consent, abuse, and just absolute tragedy. I thought the transitions between past and present were done pretty well. There were a couple of instances when I got a bit lost and had to redirect myself, but overall it was smooth. The way all of the pieces came together as the truth came to light was a great reveal. I started out not really caring for the protagonist but only because she just seemed like a shallow and selfish woman who was having an affair. As more of her past was revealed, I grew to love her and care for her. This book took several turns I did not expect and overall I thought it was a solid read.