These Summer Storms

by Sarah MacLean

New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean’s first foray into contemporary fiction, with a sharp, sexy novel about a wealthy New England family's long-overdue reckoning with hidden desires, destructive secrets…and one week that threatens to tear them apart

Alice isn't like the other Storm siblings. While the rest stayed to battle for their parents' approval, attention, and untold billions, she left, building her own life beyond the family’s name and influence. Nothing could induce her to come back, except the shocking death of her larger-than-life father. Now back on the family’s private island off the Rhode Island coast, she plans to keep her head down, pay the last of her respects, and leave the minute the funeral is over.

Unfortunately, her father had other plans. The eccentric, manipulative patriarch left his widow and their grown children a final challenge--an inheritance game designed to humiliate, devastate, and unravel the Storm family in ways both petty and life-altering. The rules of the game are clear: stay on the island for one week, complete the tasks, receive the inheritance.

One week on Storm Island is an impossible task for Alice. Every corner of the sprawling old house is bursting dysfunctional chaos: Her older sister’s secret love affair. Her brother’s incessant mansplaining. Her sister-in-law’s unapologetic greed. Her younger sister’s obsession with "vibes". Her mother’s penchant for stirring up competition between her children. And all under the stern, watchful gaze of Jack Dean, her father’s enigmatic, unfairly good-looking, second-in-command. It will be a miracle if Alice manages to escape the week unscathed.

A story about the transformative power of grief, love, and family, this luscious novel is at once deliciously clever and surprisingly tender, exploring past secrets, present truths, and futures forged in the wake of wild summer storms.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Audiobook, Contemporary, Summer, Summer Reads, Book Club

384 pages, Hardcover

First published July 8, 2025

About the author

New York Times, Washington Post & USA Today bestseller Sarah MacLean is the author of historical romance novels. Translated into more than twenty-five languages, the books that make up “The MacLeaniverse” are beloved by readers worldwide.

In addition to her novels, Sarah is a leading advocate for the romance genre, speaking widely on its place as a feminist text and a cultural bellwether. A columnist for the New York Times, the Washington Post and Bustle, she is the co-host of the weekly romance podcast, Fated Mates. A Rhode Island native, Sarah now lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Sara Carrolli · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book follows an extremely (extremely) wealthy family & the tasks their father leaves for them in his will. It was definitely interesting seeing the sibling’s reactions and what they had to complete in order to receive their money, but I wanted MORE!!!

The ending had all the drama and twists and jaw dropping moments, I just wish those were sprinkled out more throughout the story. The middle was super slow for me and hard to push through (highly recommend the audiobook!), but overall I’d say it’s a good summer read ☀️

[Brady Lockerby · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 for These Summer Storms! Mystery, sibling rivalry, rich people problems.. all of my favorite themes in a book! Been describing this one as Conditions of Will meets Succession and I stand by that. Also fantastic on audio because it's narrated by the audiobook narration queeeen, Julia Whelan

[Yun · Rating 2 out of 5]

But these were the Storms.

Yes, so you remind me every other paragraph. But I'm going to need a little more than that to sustain my interests.

DNF - What is happening to my summer reading? I feel like I keep picking up books, then DNFing them. This one had so much potential, and yet the pages are filled with, well, nothing but filler. The dialogue was bland, the plot seemed nonexistent, and the siblings can all be interchanged with one another.

The thing is, name dropping and bad storm analogies do not constitute a story. My bar isn't that high. Whatever is on the pages just has to be slightly more interesting than what I've conjured up in my mind from skimming the blurb. And this did not, sadly, pass that low bar.

It reads like I've accidentally eavesdropped on a boring conversation where all the interesting bits have been cut out and the most tedious and obvious parts dwelled and expanded upon.

Maybe it's my old age, but I'm running out of time and no longer have patience for books with basic dialogue and no plot. So, onto the next.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
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[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness, I have to tell you about this book I just finished - "These Summer Storms" by Sarah MacLean! You know how sometimes you start a book and suddenly it's 3 AM and you're thinking "just one more chapter"? That was me with this one!

So MacLean, who usually writes historical romance, just made her first dive into contemporary fiction and wow, did she stick the landing! The story follows Alice Storm (great name, right?) who's been kicked out of her mega-rich family years ago. Then her tech mogul dad dies, and instead of just having a normal funeral like regular people, he sets up this wild inheritance challenge. Classic wealthy person drama, but I was living for it!

The whole thing takes place in this gorgeous Rhode Island estate that honestly sounds like something out of "Succession" meets "Knives Out." And let me tell you about Jack Dean - the dad's right-hand man who's giving off major brooding-but-brilliant vibes. The chemistry between him and Alice? fans self Every time they were in a scene together, I was just waiting for something to happen!

But what really got me was how MacLean digs into all the messy family stuff. Like yes, there's all this glitz and glamour and scandal (which I absolutely ate up), but underneath it's really about these siblings trying to figure out who they are beyond their family name. I found myself getting genuinely emotional at parts, which I wasn't expecting!

My only tiny gripe was that some of the big reveals felt a bit out of nowhere - you know when you're reading a mystery and you're like "wait, when was that clue mentioned?" But honestly, I was so invested in the Storm family drama that I didn't even care.

I literally stayed up all night reading this because I HAD to know how it ended. And now I'm sitting here hoping MacLean writes more about the Storm family because I am not ready to say goodbye to these characters!

A very huge thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing me this advance copy! I 'm so glad I got to read this in advance because waiting for it would have been torture!

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[Sarah MacLean]

After years of thinking and dreaming and writing, These Summer Storms is officially a real thing -- early copies available for a giveaway on Goodreads real!

Raised on saltwater and sand and the particular force of New England summer storms, it was probably inevitable that my writing would eventually return there, but after a decade of writing about 19th Century London, 21st Century Rhode Island came as a surprise. Sometimes an idea takes hold and refuses to let you go—that’s this book.

In the summer of 2020, my husband, daughter, dog and I packed up our Brooklyn apartment and headed, masks and all, to a tiny, clapboard cottage on Rhode Island's farm coast, all wild thyme and stone walls overlooking the deep blue bay that divides the state in half and boasts a collection of private and uninhabited islands that I’d never known about when I was growing up. The pandemic loomed and those strange islands were a welcome distraction as the ocean churned and the wind blew magnificent summer storms up from the Atlantic.

It wasn’t long before the Storm family blew in, too—chaotic, dysfunctional, sharp tongued and terribly wealthy (terrible and wealthy?)--returned to their private island and massive gothic manor house off the coast of Rhode Island. They are:

- Greta, the eldest daughter desperate for approval
- Sam, the only son and boy king
- Emily, the youngest daughter, allowed to dabble in crystals and whimsy
- Elisabeth, a mother with a cocktail in one hand and control slipping from the other, and
- Alice, a daughter in exile—the one who got away. Or did she, now that she's under the watchful eye of her father's too stern, too handsome second in command...

There was never a question that this was a contemporary story, and a departure from what I’d written before—the story of a family in the immediate aftermath of an unexpected loss, having to navigate what happened and what’s to come, but the book made itself mine immediately, all big characters and wild plots: a dead billionaire, an inheritance game, a family with its fill of juicy secrets, and a romance (or two) that match the heat of a Rhode Island summer (it’s still a Sarah MacLean novel, after all).

I hope you'll add These Summer Storms to your TBR, and that it brings you all the joy a delicious summer read can.

xx smac

[lauren‎♡₊˚ 🦢・₊✧ (semi-ia) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2💫

a very poorly written adult version of the inheritance games, if you can even call it that. what games were they playing? remind me again? oh right, literally no games, just either do nothing or do a chore. hello??

i literally was so bored the entire time. there was absolutely nothing that enticed me to pick this one up other than the fact that i have dnf too many books recently and couldn’t get myself to dnf another. i should have tho because with the way this ended? what was the point? we completely lacked a plot. there was literally nothing going on and nothing moving the story forward because the main characters “chore” was to do absolutely nothing. the characters were so annoying and childish, and their “growth” was so choppy. the book ends and again, what was accomplished? what was learned??? i was sooo excited for this one because it was marketed so well and it ended up being a big pile of trash.

[emilybookedup · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded to 5 for GR! this fam drama was so much fun. it’s also fab on audio—narrated by Julia.

read if you like: family drama, private island settings, rich people behaving badly / entitled, WE WERE LIARS, CONDITIONS OF WILL

this book was equal parts romance and fam drama and was such a fun summer read. i loved the private island setting and the juxtaposition of how all the siblings behaved.

when the patriarch passes away, the kids (grown adults mind you) are called back to their private island estate for the reading of the inheritance requirements. each child has their own “task” and if one sibling doesn’t complete it, no one gets the money. and we are talking about BILLIONS baby

see? the premise gives WE WERE LIARS and CONDITIONS OF WILL vibes. people are messy when there’s lots of $$$$ at stake!

looking back, i think i would have liked a bit more action. i felt like it was kind of teasing at some big reveal or WOW moment that kind of never came. the 1-2 “twists” for me were not shocking and didn’t really change my opinion either way on the story (i guessed one of them but it was the wrong sibling… keeping spoiler free). and that’s why it falls shy of 5 stars for me.

i was surprised how much romance this one had too, deff was expecting more fam drama or litfic vibes but the romance was strong and present from chapter 1!

that said, this is deff one of my better reads in 2025 and a fave so far! highly recommend the audiobook and prioritizing this one before the summer ends—the setting is a vibe!

thanks to Randomhouse for the gifted copy :)

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was ROUGH to get through. I sincerely cannot believe that in 2025, Sarah MacLean wrote a book in which readers are expected to feel sorry for a family of billionaires. Not only did I think this was poorly written, but the plot was clunky, slow moving, and did not entice me to pick up the book. I genuinely don't know how to review this book because I don't think this book knows what it is. It's certainly NOT a romance, despite what the author and publisher may be trying to convince readers into believing. And speaking of the so-called romance that's (a very small) part of the book is so unbelievable, it's almost insulting to Sarah's longtime readers.

Imagine if Bill Gates (or Steve Jobs, or some other rich tech bro) was a controlling manipulative father to 4 kids and died unexpectedly. Then you're stuck on an island for a week while his kids and widow are stuck jockeying to pretend they don't hate each other, they aren't sad, and all they want is to accomplish the silly tasks he wrote into the conditions to receive their billion dollar inheritances. That's the plot of this book.

What's really lacking from this book is a moral arc, or a point. There's no societal commentary, no moral to the story, nothing for readers to chew or reflect on. It's just a billionaires being bad at being a family story. The ending is so dissatisfying, that I'm still in shock.

Additionally, while the portrayal of a character's abortion isn't the most problematic, it's just strange. It feels shoehorned in, and like an attempt to make a small political statement in a book in which the main characters are caricatures of literal billionaires (hi Jeff and Mackenzie Bezos, Steve Jobs, Woz, and more). Speaking of, if you want to write a "ripped from the headlines" book, go for it. But directly copying storylines about actual billionaires was derivative at best. You're telling me that an author with more than ten NYT best selling books actually wrote the line " a pair of European princes from the same royal house who, if the tabloids were to be believed, did not speak"??? If this is supposed to be a book about billionaires behaving badly, at least respect your readers by creating some new ones.

Overall, while I don't think this book should hinder the author's attempts to transition (or try out) writing contemporary fiction, this book was not the summer blockbuster I think we were all hoping for. While there's nothing explicitly problematic included in this book, it's simply a story we do not need in 2025 while currently facing the reality of a late stage capitalist oligarchy.

Thank you to Ballantine Books for the advance release copy of this book.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ rounded down.

These Summer Storms is a contemporary fiction novel centered on the uber-wealthy and deeply dysfunctional Storm family. When the family patriarch dies, his children reunite at the family’s Storm Island estate, only to learn that according to his will, their inheritance hinges on a sort of game, with each of them assigned a unique task to complete.

While her siblings fought for the approval of their difficult parents, the FMC, Alice, chose to walk away after a fight with her father. Determined to live life on her own terms without their control, she cut ties completely. Now, returning to the island, she hasn’t spoken to her family in years.

I liked Alice and respected that she chose her own path instead of the one her father tried to dictate. I would have left that atrocious family too. When she meets Jack, there’s an instant attraction (not my favorite trope), but I ended up liking them together. Honestly, if it hadn’t been for Jack and an ending I found quite satisfying, my rating would have been even lower.

Now for my biggest critique. While I understand their family name is Storm, the overuse of storm analogies and constant mentions of both ‘storm’ and ‘Storm’ became irritating. Trust me, by the end, no reader could possibly forget that they were the Storms, it was mentioned on repeat.

I love a good family drama filled with juicy secrets, but this one was mediocre at best, and Brooke and I were both a little bored. It’s a story about rich people behaving badly, and it wasn’t hard to figure out how things would end. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either. It was just okay.

If you need me, I’ll be on Outlier Island with my friend Brooke. 🏝️

Buddy read with Brooke 🩷

[Norma ~ The Sisters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Huggable fiction, inheritance games & deliciously stormy dysfunction!

Holy Shooty Balls!! These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean brought it. What an absolutely perfect summer read. It was impossible to put down and one of those rare books that had me completely enraptured from the first page to the last. Rich with tension, grief, laughter, tangled secrets, and a splash of romance that was just right, this book was everything I hoped for and more.

The Storm family? Oh, they are messy, magnetic, and marvelously dysfunctional. I could not get enough of their chaos. Storm Island felt so real and vivid that I would almost sign up to spend a week there if I could somehow avoid being emotionally wrecked in the process. I loved how the story focused on relationships, reckonings, and buried history. It all unfolds through sharp dialogue, unexpected humour, and moments of vulnerability that completely hit.

Alice was a compelling lead, guarded, grounded, and trying hard not to get pulled back into the swirl of family drama. And Jack Dean? Yes please. The romance between them had that delicious slow burn spark I love. It was not the central focus, but it added so much texture and emotional weight.

I especially appreciated how grief and loss were handled. Nothing forced or overly dramatic. Just honest and raw in the way that sneaks up on you. The family dynamics were equally brutal and hilarious, often in the same breath. Sarah MacLean’s writing is whip smart and immersive, and she captured the intricacies of sibling tension and long held resentments with such precision. I kept stopping to reread lines just to admire the rhythm and flow.

And now a funny moment. When I told my sister Brenda how much I was loving These Summer Storms, she replied, “Oh. They do give a certain vibe and mood!!” I had to laugh. Nope, not the actual thunderstorms we have been getting lately. I meant the dysfunctional, backstabbing Storm family. Though come to think of it, they have both had me wide eyed and on edge.

Also, the cover? Absolutely gorgeous. That bright yellow title against the stormy sky, the crashing waves, and the isolated coastal estate all come together in a way that is bold, aesthetically pleasing, and totally sets the mood. It is a stunner.

This one is going on my favourites shelf. It is smart, emotionally layered, full of bite, and sneakily tender in all the right places. And the title? Could not be more perfect.

Norma’s Stats:
Cover: Bold, fierce, aesthetically pleasing and absolutely eye catching. It captures the stormy spirit, emotional intensity, and dramatic tension perfectly.
Title: Perfectly matched. Double meaning? Yes please.
Writing/Prose: Sharp, engaging, and immersive. MacLean’s pivot to contemporary fiction is a total triumph.
Plot: A compelling blend of inheritance drama, emotional reckoning, and juicy family secrets.
Ending: Satisfying and hopeful, with just enough ache to linger.
Overall: A favourite read. Emotionally layered, wildly entertaining, and huggably good. Highly recommend!

[Brooke 𝜗𝜚 [comments restricted] · Rating 3 out of 5]

—— 𝟑.𝟓 ✰ 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬. ⛈️

❝𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑙𝑦, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑡ℎ𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑚. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑠.❞

🎧/📱┆𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐧

⤷ buddy read with Nancy ♡ check out her review!

🏷️┆𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: ℂ𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕒𝕣𝕪 𝔽𝕚𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟
📆┆𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝: 𝟠/𝟙𝟘/𝟚𝟝 - 𝟠/𝟙𝟛/𝟚𝟝
📃┆𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬
「 “A wealthy New England family's long-overdue reckoning with hidden desires, destructive secrets, and one week that threatens to tear them apart. This is a story about the transformative power of grief, love, and family, and exploring past secrets, present truths, and futures forged in the wake of wild summer storms.”」

❝ “𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑡 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢’𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑥 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠. 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢’𝑟𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛’𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑥𝑒𝑑.”
“𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑖𝑥𝑖𝑛𝑔.” ❞

⋆ 𖤓 ⋆˚࿔⋆ 𖤓 ⋆˚࿔⋆ 𖤓 ⋆˚࿔⋆ 𖤓 ⋆˚࿔

ᴍʏ ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: ★★★½
ɢᴏᴏᴅʀᴇᴀᴅꜱ ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: 𝟹.𝟿𝟷 ☆ ꜱᴛᴀʀꜱ
ꜱᴘɪᴄᴇ: ½🌶️
ꜱᴇᴀꜱᴏɴ: ☀️
ᴘᴀɪʀ ᴡɪᴛʜ: ɪᴄᴇ ᴄʀᴇᴀᴍ 🍨
ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴅ?: ❌
⚠️TW: death of parent, grief, abortion

⊱ ────── {⋆ ‧₊˚♪𝄞 ⋆} ────── ⊰

lıllılı.ıllı.ılılıılıı.lllııılı.

ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴀꜱᴛ ɢʀᴇᴀᴛ ᴀᴍᴇʀɪᴄᴀɴ ᴅʏɴᴀꜱᴛʏ — ᴛᴀʏʟᴏʀ ꜱᴡɪꜰᴛ
0:42 ———♡——— 3:50

⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻

╭───
┆
╰⪼ there’s only so far new money goes, they picked out a home and called it "holiday house". their parties were tasteful, if a little loud. the doctor had told him to settle down. it must have been her fault his heart gave out.

⊱ ────── {⋆ ‧₊˚♪𝄞 ⋆} ────── ⊰

ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
⛈️ ꜱɪʙʟɪɴɢ ʀɪᴠᴀʟʀʏ
🌊 ᴛᴏᴜᴄʜ ʜᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅɪᴇ
⛈️ ɪɴʜᴇʀɪᴛᴀɴᴄᴇ ɢᴀᴍᴇꜱ
🌊 ᴛᴏxɪᴄ ꜰᴀᴍɪʟʏ ᴅʀᴀᴍᴀ
⛈️ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ ᴅʀɪᴠᴇɴ ꜱᴛᴏʀɪᴇꜱ
🌊 ᴄᴏᴀꜱᴛᴀʟ ɴᴇᴡ ᴇɴɢʟᴀɴᴅ ꜱᴇᴛᴛɪɴɢ

❝𝑇𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑛𝑑, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑡’𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑎 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝑊ℎ𝑜 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟?❞

⋆ 𖤓 ⋆˚࿔⋆ 𖤓 ⋆˚࿔⋆ 𖤓 ⋆˚࿔⋆ 𖤓 ⋆˚࿔

💬┆𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
• I think I’ve hit my limit for rich family drama books. I’ve come to the conclusion that they are very hit or miss for me. And this one was a miss.

• These Summer Storms wasn’t my type of book. There was a plot that kept getting lost, there was insta lust AND insta love. Oh, and did you know their last name was Storm? Because I don’t think it was mentioned enough in the book! 🙃 Nancy & I were bored, waiting for something, anything to happen. Then when something did eventually happen, it was anticlimactic.

• Most of the characters were entitled, rich assholes, which made reading this book even more difficult for me. Like.. am I supposed to feel bad for these billionaires? Poor rich kids might not get their inheritance, boohoo. There was some good character development that came out of it though. I started to like the FMC, Alice, even more than I initially did. I started to warm up & relate to her when she discussed her complicated feelings of the grief of missing her father. Did you know their last name was Storm? Just in case you forgot!

• One name redeemed this book for me: Jack. 🥵 what a MAN. Even though him & Alice’s relationship was very insta lust AND insta love (two of my least favorite tropes), he made up for it. Any man that calls his girl sweetheart wins me over. But this description right here is what did it for me:
❝…ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑛-𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑐𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑎 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑛𝑜𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑀𝑟. 𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑐𝑦. 𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝐴𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑒, 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ. 𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑎 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑐 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑜. 𝐻𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑐 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑒𝑠. 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢. 𝐷𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑐𝑦 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑦.❞
An anti hero Mr. Darcy? Don’t tell my husband, but she just described my dream mans. 😮‍💨

• If I have to read the word storm one more time…

⋆ 𖤓 ⋆˚࿔⋆ 𖤓 ⋆˚࿔⋆ 𖤓 ⋆˚࿔⋆ 𖤓 ⋆˚࿔

❝ “𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑤 ℎ𝑒’𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑛𝑒. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛’𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑒.”
“𝑀𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛, 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ,” ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑. “𝑀𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠. 𝑀𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛.”
𝑯𝒐𝒎𝒆. ❞

⋆ 𖤓 ⋆˚࿔⋆ 𖤓 ⋆˚࿔⋆ 𖤓 ⋆˚࿔⋆ 𖤓 ⋆˚࿔ ⋆ 𖤓 ⋆˚࿔⋆ 𖤓 ⋆˚࿔⋆ 𖤓 ⋆˚࿔⋆ 𖤓 ⋆˚࿔ ⋆ 𖤓 ⋆˚࿔⋆

[Meagan (Meagansbookclub) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn’t have asked for a better summer family drama!!

Narration was perfection due to Julia Whelan.

[Crystal's Bookish Life · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this one, but as I'm a huge fan of Sarah MacLean, I still went into this with tentative excitement. I am sad to say I was pretty disappointed.

This book felt so meandering with very little direction moving this forward in the middle section of the book. We spend far too much time in the heads of these billionaires who are not really all that interesting.

It is odd to see a Sarah MacLean book about rich people in a contemporary setting with no social commentary on their effect on society, which is something I feel like she always did so well in her historical romances.

This instead felt like a group of whiny rich people who were neither as interesting nor as terrible as anticipated. And the romance felt so flat and weak. I didn't care for any of the characters, especially Alice and Jack, who just seemed like placeholder characters with pretty much zero arc.

I did hold out hope for what the secrets teased would be, but alas even that was the definition of mid.

This lacked all the heart and compulsive readability I expect from this author, and that's even if you take the attempts at romance out of it.

The only redeeming thing about this book for me was a scene where the matriarch unknowingly gets stoned. That was hilarious.

I'm disappointed. I expect better storytelling and character work from this author.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Storms inside.”

Let me just say this…

I love my Goodreads friends. I love reading their reviews, and sharing comments with them. And, I have had the opportunity to read so many good books because of them. I love their perspectives, and many times, whether we agree on a book or not, I appreciate that we all had an experience with the book, worth talking about.

So, what happens when the reviews are ‘stormy’ and mixed, and, this becomes a donation to my Little Free Library Shed? Do I read it anyway?

This was my dilemma. Some of my Goodreads friends absolutely loved this one. Some, did not. Since it was a donation, I decided to give it a go.

What did I experience with it? (My stars might be a give-away, but there is still something to share here.)

Clearly, things are not peaches and cream for the 3rd of 4 children, Alice Storm (our main protagonist). Especially, as it relates to her well-off family and her call to return home to the island (Storm Island), after the passing of her estranged father. Readers will find themselves in the midst of a mystery as to what caused the rift between them.

And, there will also be a Grey’s Anatomy (television series) moment, reminiscent of the first episode in the series. This soon becomes clear to readers, when Alice finds herself having unbridled sex with a stranger that she met on her train ride to ‘home.’ What role does he play in the story?

As the story progresses, readers begin to meet the Storm ‘family’ and all the reasons why Alice has been away for so long. Will their awkward banter discourage readers from connecting to them?

“A calm before the Storms.”

Especially, when it appears that Alice’s siblings, are only interested in the vast fortune that awaits them…their inheritance.

And yet, their deceased father doesn’t make it easy, as he has provided a letter of expectation for each child, to complete before gaining access to the money. What do these expectations entail, and how will it impact everyone? What will they learn, if anything? Will these characters eventually become likable? Will their journey be worth it in the end?

As a reader, there is a lot to appreciate about the author’s writing. Her prose is eloquent, crisp, succinct and expressive.

“…BREAKING NEWS came all day, all hours, directly to a person’s preferred rectangle, there, then gone. Turned instantly into the past to make room for the future – a shift so quick that the present simply disappeared.”

It was easy to transport oneself to where ever the author chose to take us. The scenic beauty surrounded us through MacLean’s enticing, rhythmic descriptions.

Still, as ‘stormy’ as these Storms were, sometimes it was too much to be involved in their trauma/drama. Was this turning into some rom-com with steaminess, with a delicious happily-ever-after hope scenario? (MacLean is apparently ‘well-known’ for having written several romance novels.)

Granted, families are complicated. And, this one, certainly was. But did the story deliver an incredible reading experience, regardless? Not for this reader. It was just okay. But please read other reviews. There are a lot of 5 stars out there. I, unfortunately, am not one of them.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, the cover drew me in.. but more then that was that the narrator of this audiobook is Julie Whelan.., and I love family dramas and this one had major dysfunction.
Alice is an artist and teacher in Brooklyn. She hails from a family worth billions. Her father.. technology tycoon Franklin Storm has just died and she is summoned home to their mansion on an island off the Rhode Island Coast.
She has not seen her family in years, (her parents and three siblings), since her father told her to leave after her not following his wishes.
Franklin was a competitive man and always called the shots and, keeping in his ways even at his time of death… has left each of them challenges to earn their inheritances.., if one fails-they all fail to inherit.
This info is given by their father’s “fixer” who is a romantic interest in this story and plays a major part for Alice.

A guilty pleasure read for me 😅

I am borrowing this from Kirkus reviews:
“A compelling story about grief, sex, and money, but also the power of family and forgiveness.”

[Val ⚓️ Shameless Handmaiden ⚓️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 - 4 Stars

I love books about rich, messy families and this book definitely delivered on that front. The hot mess family dynamics were chef's kiss, although I would have liked more about the parents and how they became the way they did, especially the mother.

I liked Alice as a main character, her interactions with her siblings, and of course, her evolving relationship with Jack Dean.

I guessed the "big reveal" way before it happened, as I'm sure most readers did. And the Storm analogies, puns, and branding was a little overwrought at times. But still overall a solid read that I really enjoyed.

[Maren’s Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wealthy New England family will be forced to reckon with buried truths, old grudges, and new flames when they are forced to spend a week together following the sudden death of their father. Unlike the other Storm siblings who stayed behind, left in a constant struggle to win their mother’s love and their father’s approval, Alice left to forge her own path following a falling out. But when Jack Dean, her father’s second-in-command, calls them back to the family’s island for a week’s worth of games to ensure their inheritance, sparks fly, and secrets are unearthed.

Well, my friends, here we are again— me absolutely shell-shocked from a novel, completely ill-equipped to express just how much of a tour de force it is. But alas, this is a book review, so I will do my best to at least express to you why I feel this is a must-read. The first question that came to mind while reading it, and crying about a zillion times during, is why do some books hit so much harder than others?

I think that ultimately, a book that can transport you to a whole new world, allow you to feel the intense emotions strong connections can elicit, and make you feel seen and make you fall in love— fall in love with the characters, the story, the writing— are innately powerful. And this gorgeously written, emotionally evocative family drama has this innate power because the author is as good as she is.

“𝐼 𝓃𝑜𝓉𝒾𝒸𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊”
Let me start off by saying that although I loved every single second of the time I spent reading These Summer Storms, I found myself most enamored with the romantic love story at the center of it, and I need to specify that because ultimately, this is also the love story of a family. From the moment we meet both Jack and Alice, my interest was piqued. Their chemistry sparked from their first interaction on, and I found myself completely immersed in all the butterflies, the flirtation, the tension, and the banter that their dynamic and forced proximity brought about. They sparkled in every scene they shared and I simply could not get enough. If you like an open-door romance, but prefer a more tasteful intimate moment, without the overpowering graphic detail, MacLean more than has you covered.

“𝒯𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓌𝒽𝑜𝓁𝑒 𝒻𝒶𝓂𝒾𝓁𝓎 𝒾𝓈 𝓊𝓃𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔𝑒𝒹”
As much as this is a wonderful, swoon-worthy romance, it is even more so the story of a family, torn down and ravaged over years of turbulence, fighting, and clawing its way back to one another. As we learn more and more about each member of the Storm family, it’s difficult not to feel brokenhearted for just how divided this once inseparable family had become. And yet, they are a family. Messy, complex, broken. But a family nonetheless. And over the course of the book, as you learn about each of the members, their inner struggles, and family dynamic, you will feel a connection form to each - desperately hoping they reconnect with one another and come to some sort of peace within themselves to allow for a more positive future, sans their patriarch.

🎧 The audiobook is absolutely phenomenal, but of course it would be with Julia Whelan at the helm. She does a better male voice than most men tbh 😂🤣

This story and these characters absolutely took my breath away, and if I could have added pages, simply to remain in their world just a little bit longer, I would have. It is absolutely perfect and *the* book of summer - mark my words.

Read if you like:
▪️family dramas
▪️swoony love stories
▪️character-driven stories
▪️found family
▪️flawed characters
▪️coastal Rhode Island setting

✨Top reads of 2025; top read of summer


Check out my Bookstagram post here ♥

[manas (NEW YEAR) · Rating 2 out of 5]

i HATE rich people.

[Teju A · Rating 3 out of 5]

All I'm going to say is, this family needs JESUS!!!!
Goodness I'm not surprised 2nd daughter bailed!
When a billionaire dies, his children are summoned to a game to get their hands on his fortune and in the process uncover hidden secrets!

Solid 3.5 Stars !!!

[Brandice · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Storm family reunites for a week on their private island following the death of their patriarch, Franklin. Alice has been estranged from her family for several years, not interested in her father’s fame or fortune, but she knows heading home this week is the right thing to do.

Franklin typically wasn’t easy to get along with, and he left each family member one final task to complete in order to receive their inheritance. It’s a taxing week for Alice and her siblings as they complete the outlined tasks and at points, debate walking away from Franklin’s final game. At the same time, they try to piece together “why”s and reveal or keep secrets.

Overall I enjoyed These Summer Storms though I was ready for it to end when it did. The book began to slow down quite a bit. I did not care for most of the characters and even Alice felt a bit self-righteous at times. Still, this family drama was an easy read and fitting for summer as it’s set around Labor Day weekend.

[b.andherbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

how dare you julia whelan (for being so sultry). audiobook, as anticipated, was absolutely delicious and a perfect way to re-read this tempestuous family inheritance scheme set on an island off the coast of RI.

Professional review of audio to come for Audiofile magazine.

i've left These Summer Storms lingering on my "currently reading" shelf because i truly don't know how to review it. one, i'm a sarah maclean acolyte. two, it is really that much fun, that good. i'd read a million more like this, from her.

the family drama on the closed island, the sexy stranger who turns out to be more than a mysterious hookup, the gorgeous, tempest tossed setting. sign me up!

looking forward to an audiobook listen once this is published so i can fully absorb.

thank you to the publisher for the advance copy.

[Mallory · Rating 1 out of 5]

I deserve a treat for finishing this

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

sarah maclean when she sees a structurally sound house she can mess with & complicated sibling dynamics: ohhhh yeah it’s all coming together

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy. full review to come

Bookstagram | Blog

[TinaNoir · Rating 1 out of 5]

I almost DNF'd this more than once. I read for pleasure and enjoyment and this just wasn't enjoyable.

I finished for two reasons:
1) I kept hoping it would turn a corner
2) I needed to see if all the agita was worth it in the end (spoiler alert: it wasn't)

I love books that use family dynamics as backdrop/plot propeller. Funerals with a mic drop in a will are the best! So much great fodder for drama -- family secrets come out, we get to see the different relationships among the different family members, we learn a lot about the character of the people under pressure. Bonus if the vibe is soapy and we get some a good romance, great revelations and a new (family) world order in the end.

So yeah, this book was right in my wheelhouse. The problem I had is with the execution. It was often boring, and instead of the drama being delicious it was most often bitter. The WASPs were at their most waspish.

In this one we have a super rich billionaire tech guy whom we are constantly told 'changed the world' with his smart devices that he started in his garage with a small loan from his parents (apparently Steve Jobs doesn't exist in this universe). He was a bit of a controlling autocrat who constantly tested his kids. And he is controlling them after his death by making them come to the family's private island to complete specified tasks to get their piece of his very big pie. Some of the tasks are worse than others.

We have his wife Elizabeth who is the very flat template of cold, stiff upper lip society wife. She was a cipher, honestly. There was nothing interesting about her.

There is the oldest daughter, Greta, who all her life has been carrying on the least secret affair with her father's body-guard/pilot/chauffer. Everyone knows it but politely pretends they don't. She is her mother's shadow. The only interesting thing about her is her affair with the body-guard. He is actually more interesting with the tiny amount to page space he gets.

There is the oldest son, Sam. He is Nepo bro who has been given a job in his father's company and has every expectation of being named the CEO. His entire existence in the book was vibrating with 'I AM THE ELDEST BOY!' energy. He has the biggest fright of a wife. She is a piece of work. I think I would have given this book 5 stars if it has turned into a murder mystery with her being the victim.

There is Alice. The daughter who is the main POV character of the book. She was estranged from the family for years. She got engaged to a guy her father despised and she broke some cardinal family rule. She also spoke on record to a reporter about a sexual harassment scandal in her dad's company that was being hushed up. Alice feels some type of way about being banished and none of her siblings coming to visit or reach out. My problem with Alice is that she has the harlequin heroine syndrome. She is so noble, so taken by surprise whenever any of her siblings takes a nasty shot at her.

And then finally there is Emily. The youngest, most petted daughter. She was probably the nicest character but she was also given a rainbow road in this book. Even her wife was great.

Most of the time they were sniping and fighting and just being annoying. There was only one part I really liked was during the It's-Not-A-Funeral-It's-A-Celebration service on the island where the siblings sat at 'the kids table' and snarked. For once it wasn't bitter sniping at each other, but the sort of shorthand/memories and good natured ribbing that so many siblings have. They were funny and irreverent and felt like a team. But that lasted only about two pages and they were back at the races.

Again, I would have scored the book higher if the siblings had been shown to be an affectionate team who banded together despite their terrible parents. It would have made the ending more believable to me.

We do get secrets and revelations and a new (family) world order in the end, but the revelations/secrets felt bland and the family dynamic change at the end felt abrupt and unearned.

There is a romance that also felt rushed and unearned.

Yeah so overall I found the book to be labored, with a lot of unlikable people and a plot that feels under cooked.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pardon me if this book review catches you off guard amidst the sea of glowing reviews. Perhaps it will be more entertaining for you to read than this book was for me. Let’s start with the positive. The plot synopsis drew me in- an inheritance game following the death of the wealthy patriarch of the family. Four siblings, secrets, and a private island.

Unfortunately, the synopsis did not align with my reading experience. The inheritance “game” was not a game but a task given to each person to complete in order for all to inherit. The tasks ranged from ridiculous to cruel. There’s absolutely nothing fun about this “game.”

For much of the book I was bored and thinking surely the action would pick up. The book is dreadfully long and filled with mostly constant arguing between family members and a few landmine steamy and open door scenes. I ended up skimming from the halfway mark to the end.

I’ll sum this up by saying this book is about a family of broken people (as are we all, apart from Jesus’ saving grace) who are looking for identity and purpose in all the wrong places. I suppose in the end we are supposed to think things are on the mend, but frankly I didn’t feel uplifted at all. Total letdown on what I had hoped would be a fun summer read.

Good to Know: Strong profanity throughout, open door scenes, same sex couple, New Age nonsense

[bookandachai · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD.

Alice is estranged from her billion dollar family. She said the wrong thing to the wrong person and she was told to leave.

Five years later her Mom tells her it’s time to come home. Her Dad died and they have been presented with their very own inheritance games. Alice doesn’t want the money, is still upset her family dropped her like a bad habit but her father’s caveat is Alice stays a week or no one gets a dime.

This family is messy - Succession messy. And Jack Dean is there to oversee everyone does what they’re told. Sadly he is VERY handsome and Alice can’t seem to shake him.

The dialogue between the family, between the siblings their spouses and their cold as ice mother Elizabeth had me in stitches.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent family drama with rich people problems! Loved it!

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up

UNPOPLULAR OPINION - This was ROUGH and did not live up to the hype for me -- I did not connect with one character (and I mean not ONE) and found the chemistry between Jack and Alice lacking. Jack reminded me of a saltine cracker - dry and boring. The story line was very similar to The Conditions of Will which I loved. Maybe if I didn't read that first, I would have liked this a little bit more or maybe not LOL!.

“She was coming undone, tears streaming down her face in frustration and sadness and a particular kind of disappointment that came with finally, finally seeing your parents for who they were—human.”

There are many wonderful reviews for this book, so do not let my one little opinion deter you from reading this.

[taylor tippett · Rating 2 out of 5]

unfortunately this book was falsely advertised :( if you’ve heard it said that this book is an “adult inheritance games” do NOT go into this thinking that! yes there is an inheritance and yes their are “tasks” that each of the 4 children have to complete to get it. BUT !!! the tasks are so minuscule and silly - there are no high stakes for a high reward. this book could have been so good (great plot, family drama and secrets, set on an island in New England) but it just realllllly fell flat and missed the mark.

[Shantha (ShanthasBookEra) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah MacLean’s first foray into contemporary fiction, with a sharp, sexy novel about a wealthy New England family's long-overdue reckoning with hidden desires, destructive secrets…and one week that threatens to tear them apart.

When the Storm patriarch unexpectedly passes away, all four siblings and their partners return to Storm Island for a week. Greta, Sam, Alice, and Emily haven't seen each other for a while as Alice was kicked off the island by her father years ago, but matriarch Elizabeth still appears to hold a grudge.

Sparks fly between Alice and Jack, and a lot more spice than expected is threaded throughout the entire novel. People are saying this is Succession meets Knives Out but must add meets Bridgerton to accurately portray what this is. There is lots of family drama, secrets revealed, and plenty of dysfunction, sibling rivalry, and steamy encounters. The twist at the end is unexpected. I think the author had a lot of fun with this one. Julia Whelan's narration is perfection, and I highly recommend the audio format for this one. Be sure to wear your airpods for this one to avoid young ears hearing the spice! It's the perfect summer beach read and now I really need to go to a New England island for a vacation.