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Writer's pictureMicheleReader

The Summer Place - lies and secrets unfold as a family wedding approaches on Cape Cod.

Twenty-two-year-old Ruby Danhauser has been raised by her father Eli and his wife Sarah. As the world starts to return to some level of normalcy after the height of the pandemic, headstrong Ruby decides that it's time to marry her boyfriend Gabe and he agrees. The person Ruby tells first is her step-grandmother Veronica (Ronnie) Levy-Weinberg, Sarah’s mother who was a celebrated author in the 1970s. Sarah asks if the wedding can be held at Ronnie’s large Cape Cod beach house. As the big day approaches, a series of lies and hidden secrets start to unfold. And Ronnie hasn't told anyone of her plan to sell the beloved beach house after the wedding.


You may need a scorecard to keep track of all the characters in The Summer Place and their escapades as this is one complicated, angst-ridden family. There’s lots of guilt to go around. There’s guilt over past infidelity, recent bed swapping, a fear that a DNA test will reveal some shocking results, and lots more. Three generations of women question the decisions they’ve made. And the men in the family have plenty to reconcile as well.


Author Jennifer Weiner has stated that her goal was to create a mix of Shakespeare's Midsummer's Night Dream and a Noel Coward-like farce. Mission accomplished. This over-the-top family drama will surely appeal to Weiner fans, which I am one. Her writing is always witty and sharp. I became fully wrapped up in the story and enjoyed it while there may simply be too much going on for some. Prepare to see this book all over the beaches this summer.


Many thanks to Atria Books | Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read The Summer Place before its release.


Rated 3.75 out of 5 stars.

Contemporary Fiction / Women’s Fiction / Romance / LGBT

Publication Date: May 10, 2022.


Please "like" this post if The Summer Place sounds like a book you might like to read. I'd love to know. Scroll below the photo and click on the red outlined heart on the lower right-hand side of the page. Comments can also be left below.




2 Comments


Linda Moore
Linda Moore
May 11, 2022

Very good review.

I don't believe I have read any of this author's work.

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MicheleReader
MicheleReader
May 11, 2022
Replying to

Thanks! Weiner's books make for good beach reads. This one seems to have a bit more characters and drama than usual.

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