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Same Time Next Summer
A story of a lifelong friendship that becomes so much more as two friends reunite for a common goal in this heartrending Holly Jacobs Classic Romance
Carolyn Kendal and Stephan Foster were inseparable every summer when they ran along Lake Erie's rocky beaches. They grew up together, they were best friends until that magical summer when they were more than friends. That was years ago. When Carolyn's daughter lies in a hospital bed fighting for her life its Stephan who races to Carolyn’s side. And maybe this time, he’ll stay. Fans of Jacobs’ Just One Thing and Words of the Heart series will find this rerelease of her classic award-winning romance touches their heart. Jojo Moyes fans will love this story about the many faces of friendship.
Audible Audio
First published June 1, 2009
81 people are currently reading
166 people want to read
About the author
Holly Jacobs
178 books280 followersHolly Jacobs leads a life full of romance and adventure. From skydiving to jet-setting around Europe, from snorkeling in coral reefs to writing while wearing beautiful silk peignoir sets and popping chocolate bonbons, Holly Jacobs leads a life that is the epitome of romance...
Well, my fictional life sounds more interesting, but not better than my real life. Really, I'm the happily married mother of four. I cook a lot, garden and weave baskets! I write for Montlake Romance and Harlequin. My books range from lighthearted comedies to more serious dramas...but at heart, they're all stories of love.
You can visit me at
http://www.HollyJacobs.com.
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/HollyJacobsA...
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/HollyJacobs1
PINTEREST: http://www.pinterest.com/hollyjacobs1/
I don't always set out to write a series of books, but seem to find myself gravitating to them. Because so many people have asked, I've posted lists of all my series in order at www.hollyjacobs.com/bookseries.html. I really try to make each story stand alone, but many of my readers enjoy reading the series in order. Hope this helps!
Thank you to everyone who's picked up a single book, or more of them. I'm so lucky to be surrounded by so much support!
Holly
Well, my fictional life sounds more interesting, but not better than my real life. Really, I'm the happily married mother of four. I cook a lot, garden and weave baskets! I write for Montlake Romance and Harlequin. My books range from lighthearted comedies to more serious dramas...but at heart, they're all stories of love.
You can visit me at
http://www.HollyJacobs.com.
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/HollyJacobsA...
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/HollyJacobs1
PINTEREST: http://www.pinterest.com/hollyjacobs1/
I don't always set out to write a series of books, but seem to find myself gravitating to them. Because so many people have asked, I've posted lists of all my series in order at www.hollyjacobs.com/bookseries.html. I really try to make each story stand alone, but many of my readers enjoy reading the series in order. Hope this helps!
Thank you to everyone who's picked up a single book, or more of them. I'm so lucky to be surrounded by so much support!
Holly
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 13, 2012
There are things I liked about this book, and it's a different sort of story than you generally get from Superromance, but the way it was written drove me up a goddamned wall.
In a nutshell, this is a second chance story. Sort of. Carolyn and Stephan grew up together, spending their summers as lake cottage neighbors (all women's fiction requires a lake cottage), then hooked up for a summer fling as teenagers before going on as friends as adults. The bulk of the action takes place when they're in their early thirties, after a severe injury to Carolyn's young daughter brings them back together. Left by her cold ex-husband and her unsentimental parents to keep vigil alone over her comatose daughter, Stephan leaves his life in Detroit to be at her side in Cleveland.
One of the things I liked most about the story is Emma, Carolyn's daughter. As the action opens, she's lying in a hospital bed in a coma after a car accident. Carolyn is, of course, keeping watch and determined to see her get well, despite everyone telling her that it won't end happily. The doctor tells her that when comatose people wake up, if they wake up, it's not like the movies. They wake very, very slowly, and are rarely the same as they were. And what happens? Emma wakes slowly, needs extensive rehab for a long time, and isn't the same as she once was. She's weak on one side, has problems speaking and uses a walker for a while. And everyone's just happy she's alive. Imagine that. Happiness and disability *can* coexist in a romance novel. Neat.
Where it all goes pear-shaped is in the telling. I can't really decide when the story is set, or if it's actually a contemporary. Only the epilogue (and it's an epilogue that takes treacle to brave new heights) is set in the book's publication year of 2008. Most of the action is set in 1994, with lots of flashbacks to their childhood together at the lake in the mid-1970s. After the couple hooks up and declares their mutual love and gets married, the book then jumps to 1999, where their actual HEA is delayed by a disagreement over whether or not to have children together (and you already guessed how that ends.)
I found all the time-line jumping annoying and unnecessary. Rather than a single, coherent book, it read like two connected novellas. There's the 1994 story, then there's the 1999 sequel. As a result, I felt jerked around. They got what sure appeared to be an HEA only to have the author yank it away and yell, "psych!"
For all its faults, I did sit down and read it straight through without stopping. The characters and the drama was compelling enough, but I just wish the telling was a bit smoother.
In a nutshell, this is a second chance story. Sort of. Carolyn and Stephan grew up together, spending their summers as lake cottage neighbors (all women's fiction requires a lake cottage), then hooked up for a summer fling as teenagers before going on as friends as adults. The bulk of the action takes place when they're in their early thirties, after a severe injury to Carolyn's young daughter brings them back together. Left by her cold ex-husband and her unsentimental parents to keep vigil alone over her comatose daughter, Stephan leaves his life in Detroit to be at her side in Cleveland.
One of the things I liked most about the story is Emma, Carolyn's daughter. As the action opens, she's lying in a hospital bed in a coma after a car accident. Carolyn is, of course, keeping watch and determined to see her get well, despite everyone telling her that it won't end happily. The doctor tells her that when comatose people wake up, if they wake up, it's not like the movies. They wake very, very slowly, and are rarely the same as they were. And what happens? Emma wakes slowly, needs extensive rehab for a long time, and isn't the same as she once was. She's weak on one side, has problems speaking and uses a walker for a while. And everyone's just happy she's alive. Imagine that. Happiness and disability *can* coexist in a romance novel. Neat.
Where it all goes pear-shaped is in the telling. I can't really decide when the story is set, or if it's actually a contemporary. Only the epilogue (and it's an epilogue that takes treacle to brave new heights) is set in the book's publication year of 2008. Most of the action is set in 1994, with lots of flashbacks to their childhood together at the lake in the mid-1970s. After the couple hooks up and declares their mutual love and gets married, the book then jumps to 1999, where their actual HEA is delayed by a disagreement over whether or not to have children together (and you already guessed how that ends.)
I found all the time-line jumping annoying and unnecessary. Rather than a single, coherent book, it read like two connected novellas. There's the 1994 story, then there's the 1999 sequel. As a result, I felt jerked around. They got what sure appeared to be an HEA only to have the author yank it away and yell, "psych!"
For all its faults, I did sit down and read it straight through without stopping. The characters and the drama was compelling enough, but I just wish the telling was a bit smoother.
July 6, 2022
Carolyn is dealing with her daughter's injuries and coma, and Stephan comes to help her while her daughter is in the hospital. They had a romance in high school but separated.
will they rekindle the romance? And what happens to Carolyn's daughter?
A very emotional love story.
will they rekindle the romance? And what happens to Carolyn's daughter?
A very emotional love story.
March 19, 2020
One thing SAME TIME NEXT SUMMER does extremely well is the way it explores love. Not just romantic love, but the love between family, whether or not that includes blood relation, and the love between friends. It shows love in its different stages, budding into something more than a friendship, or realizing that it is better off as one. The different types of love are ever-shifting and changing, and extremely complex. All of the relationships between characters have something difficult, something real about them, that shows how love and family are not always so easy. Even the same types of relationships, like the mother-daughter bond between Caro and Emma compared to Caro and her own mother, are varied and unique, but each have their own highs and lows. The love between Caro and Emma is extremely heartwarming and delicate and keeps readers invested in the story. Caro's stubbornness toward her daughter's recovery not only makes her a much more compelling character that's all-too-easy to root for but really shows how the bond they have is different from the relationship with everyone else.
That being said, the emphasis on this does not take away from the romance of the book. The relationship between Caro and Stephan is sweet and has such a natural build to it. In some ways, it seems long overdue, as they have been friends for so long, but at the same time, it does seem to happen quickly. However, it isn't the kind of insta-love that people always bemoan. It feels entirely natural and realistic. People can fall in love extremely fast, and when they do, they tend to have realistic reactions as they did in this book--wondering if they should take it slower, not really wanting to, having others say they are crazy. The type of relationship they develop is reminiscent for anyone who has had a kind of whirlwind romance because they knew the person was the one, or who has met the right person at perhaps the wrong time, and is conflicted on how to deal with that. Even the aspects of doing a long-distance relationship were so fresh and true-to-life, with the importance of the end-of-day phone calls. The love that builds between the two characters creates a satisfaction that is contagious.
Part of this is accomplished through the use of flashback, and a flexible timeline. It's all too easy to mess up timelines like that or use them as a way to get away with lazy plotting and exposition, but SAME TIME NEXT SUMMER does neither of those. It is very effective in showing the stories of the characters up to the point in current time, allowing the reader to fully build a relationship with them and gain empathy. It makes the ending all the more satisfying because we've seen what it took to get there. It also creates a mood that is as nostalgic and wistful as childhood summers.
My one gripe with the story isn't even so much of a gripe, but as someone who was born and raised in Cleveland, it would have been nice to see a little more Cleveland in the story. While the name of the city was mentioned, that was pretty much the extent of it. And as it may be apparent by my including this in the review, us Clevelanders tend to have a lot of pride for our city, even when we leave it. It would be rare for someone to not mention places by name, or take note of the world-renowned hospitals and Children's hospitals we have given the nature of the story. Again, something that would not affect the story at all if you're not from Cleveland and looking for some actual representation of the city. The effective nostalgia of everything else just had me ready for it.
I was a little turned off by a problem that occurred toward the end of the book, but it is also something personal and not a real issue. I just am not a fan of women being pressured to have children by their partners, and it seemed a bit out of character. However, it was resolved in the end and didn't take away from the overall reading experience. I also was not a fan of Caro's ex-husband, who was manipulative and awful, but still a well-developed character, and extremely effective in keeping the story engaging and my emotions invested.
SAME TIME NEXT SUMMER does a great job of balancing the horrors and pain of life and love with a strong feeling of hope and happiness. It is a great read for a time like now, when things are bleak, and readers may need a reminder of what is important--the people they love and a hope for a better tomorrow. Overall, it is an emotional and beautiful read that will be difficult not to finish in one sitting.
That being said, the emphasis on this does not take away from the romance of the book. The relationship between Caro and Stephan is sweet and has such a natural build to it. In some ways, it seems long overdue, as they have been friends for so long, but at the same time, it does seem to happen quickly. However, it isn't the kind of insta-love that people always bemoan. It feels entirely natural and realistic. People can fall in love extremely fast, and when they do, they tend to have realistic reactions as they did in this book--wondering if they should take it slower, not really wanting to, having others say they are crazy. The type of relationship they develop is reminiscent for anyone who has had a kind of whirlwind romance because they knew the person was the one, or who has met the right person at perhaps the wrong time, and is conflicted on how to deal with that. Even the aspects of doing a long-distance relationship were so fresh and true-to-life, with the importance of the end-of-day phone calls. The love that builds between the two characters creates a satisfaction that is contagious.
Part of this is accomplished through the use of flashback, and a flexible timeline. It's all too easy to mess up timelines like that or use them as a way to get away with lazy plotting and exposition, but SAME TIME NEXT SUMMER does neither of those. It is very effective in showing the stories of the characters up to the point in current time, allowing the reader to fully build a relationship with them and gain empathy. It makes the ending all the more satisfying because we've seen what it took to get there. It also creates a mood that is as nostalgic and wistful as childhood summers.
My one gripe with the story isn't even so much of a gripe, but as someone who was born and raised in Cleveland, it would have been nice to see a little more Cleveland in the story. While the name of the city was mentioned, that was pretty much the extent of it. And as it may be apparent by my including this in the review, us Clevelanders tend to have a lot of pride for our city, even when we leave it. It would be rare for someone to not mention places by name, or take note of the world-renowned hospitals and Children's hospitals we have given the nature of the story. Again, something that would not affect the story at all if you're not from Cleveland and looking for some actual representation of the city. The effective nostalgia of everything else just had me ready for it.
I was a little turned off by a problem that occurred toward the end of the book, but it is also something personal and not a real issue. I just am not a fan of women being pressured to have children by their partners, and it seemed a bit out of character. However, it was resolved in the end and didn't take away from the overall reading experience. I also was not a fan of Caro's ex-husband, who was manipulative and awful, but still a well-developed character, and extremely effective in keeping the story engaging and my emotions invested.
SAME TIME NEXT SUMMER does a great job of balancing the horrors and pain of life and love with a strong feeling of hope and happiness. It is a great read for a time like now, when things are bleak, and readers may need a reminder of what is important--the people they love and a hope for a better tomorrow. Overall, it is an emotional and beautiful read that will be difficult not to finish in one sitting.
February 14, 2019
As I have observed in the past few months reading Ms. Jacobs, her books are quite tear jerking and pull at the heartstrings. In this novel is no different. Carolyn has not giving up on her six year old daughter Emma who has been in a coma with no chance of recovering. Emma's dad Carolyn Ex and her family have all giving up. As she waits in the hospital night and day she is surprised when her childhood friend Stephan shows up to encourage her. So begins this story this is far from just a love story. It is a story of triumph overcoming against all odds fighting what is expected of you and do what you feel in your heart. Another Lovely novel by Ms. Jacobs.
June 13, 2017
Change Is The New Norm
Life constantly throws us curve balls. This book shows us how faith and love can overcome our fears and even our greatest fears. Join Caroline a d Stephen excepting and growing with change.
Life constantly throws us curve balls. This book shows us how faith and love can overcome our fears and even our greatest fears. Join Caroline a d Stephen excepting and growing with change.
May 30, 2017
Great read
Wow! Such a good book. I couldn't put it down and I finished reading this in less than 3 hours.
A must read.
Wow! Such a good book. I couldn't put it down and I finished reading this in less than 3 hours.
A must read.
October 22, 2017
Good book
This was an enjoyable and easy to read book. It was well written and moved along well. Great story of everlasting love.
This was an enjoyable and easy to read book. It was well written and moved along well. Great story of everlasting love.
December 7, 2022
Loved it and all the characters. Great story
March 11, 2015
I sometimes found the flashbacks a little disorienting as it seemed they would be inserted just as I was really getting into the story. But so much of this couples' story was their history that the flashbacks were necessary. I have never read a novel before that dealt with the issue of Traumatic Brain Injury. It grounded the story in a realistic situation that gave this book more weight that just another romance novel with a contrived plot. A very worthwhile read.
November 5, 2015
Pals as kids , teen romance, then separation until... a dheisaster brought them back closer than ever
A true adult love story, with all the sex implications and desires, but omitting wild vivid bedroom scenes or explicit sexual verbiage . It is much more about the sacrifice one gives to another as an adult that is a bond for their future.
P S KLEENEX REQUIRED!
A true adult love story, with all the sex implications and desires, but omitting wild vivid bedroom scenes or explicit sexual verbiage . It is much more about the sacrifice one gives to another as an adult that is a bond for their future.
P S KLEENEX REQUIRED!
Read
August 19, 2016This book came along at the right time. I won't give away the story, but the general theme is about the 'new normal' when life changes from the way you thought it would be. As always, Holly presents a positive story full of hope, but the road is not an easy one. A satisfying read.
August 20, 2008
This is really good story ... I couldn't put the book down and want to see how the happy ending of this woman with her daughter.. i won't give further detials. I am sure you will enjoy this book.
November 12, 2008
I loved the quirky characters and the plot was funny and uplifting. I really liked that it was set in places that I have been! Can't wait for the next in the series! Micci
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews