Only Summer

by Rachel Cullen

From the beaches of Cape Cod to the manicured lawns of Westchester to the steamy streets of Manhattan, summer is the time for clambakes, sunbathing at the country club and sunset drinks at exclusive rooftop bars. However, for Sabrina, Molly, Heather and Megan, this summer is when their lives unravel, and they have no one to blame but themselves.

Only Summer is the interlaced story of four women who spend the summer making impulsive choices that have difficult and often disastrous effects on those they love most.

Career-driven, eternal Manhattanite Sabrina is finally on the straight and narrow and happy in her relationship with Peter, but a surprise engagement and a bigger surprise from an ex-boyfriend prove too much for her to handle and force her back to her self-destructive ways.

Sabrina’s friend and colleague Heather is recovering from months of illness, but her husband refuses to believe she is strong enough to do anything on her own. As luck would have it, the handsome stranger she meets on the Cape has no problem believing in her and helping her recapture her allure.

Sabrina’s sister Molly is new to the suburban town of Rye and trying to fit in with a group of women who measure self worth by their dress size and the square footage of their homes. Before she can say no, Molly is wrapped up in a world of excess and she’s in so deep, there may not be a way out.

After two years of bliss with her boyfriend Ryan, Megan finds herself in unfamiliar territory and unable to turn to her pseudo-stepmom, her friends, or even her unlikely matchmaker Sabrina! Alone once again, Megan reaches out in a new and potentially dangerous direction for comfort.

While the carefree days of summer pass them by, these four distressed friends try to put the pieces back together before it’s too late.

Genres: Fiction

340 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 8, 2018

Reviews

[Karschtl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes a peak into the lives of four women (ok, one of them is really only a 17-year-old girl) over the course of one summer. They all are at different points in their lives, have different choices to make and different obstacles to overcome. So you get 4 tales for the price of one book. Actually, make that 5 tales, because we learn so much about 'supporting character' Danielle as well.

Although I couldn't identify with any of the women, I was often reminded of my time as an AuPair living in New Jersey for a year and spending a week of holiday in Cape May. Everything a bit different from the book, but close enough to get a feeling for Megan's and Molly's stories. Reading the chapters of the latter made me also cringe quite often at how much she lets others practically take over her life without saying no. Especially since she didn't even like these other people or the choices they made for her so much. I liked Molly's character a lot, but at some point didn't look forward to reading her chapters.

But all in all it is a nice summer read with not too much drama, even though there are serious topics mentioned here.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the book, but didn’t love how the author wrapped up the endings for the characters.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book thinking it would be a light summer read. I was a bit worried when the opening paragraphs are dealing with a woman who had recently battled breast cancer. But it turned out to be exactly what I hoped for; a quick, fun read perfect for the beach.

The story follows four women narrators that are interwoven nicely. Sabrina is a recently engaged professional living in Manhattan, Heather is a mother of two girls who is recovering from breast cancer, Megan is a teenager who lives with her ex-step-mother in Manhattan, and Molly recently moved to the suburbs from Colorado. There are a lot of additional characters, some whom are so prominent I kept forgetting they weren't one of the narrators.

There are also multiple locations where the story takes place as well; the beach, Manhattan, and the upper class suburbs. But the author did a great job of making it easy to remember who is where with reference and not making it too hard to keep track as a reader.

One thing I enjoyed about the book is I didn't love all of the characters. I wanted to strangle Molly for being such a follower and Sabrina for engaging with her ex-boyfriend who clearly is an ex for a reason! It wasn't all roses and rainbows. I liked that.

The only real criticism I have for the book (and the reason for 4 stars rather than 5) is that I believe some authors are secretly sadists. There are two sets of characters with similar names in this book and at first before realizing it, had to keep rereading to figure out the context because it didn't make sense. There are two toddlers named Abby and Anna (two different moms) as well as a fiance named Peter and an ex-boyfriend Parker (same woman involved). It made an otherwise super easy read need a little more effort.

I received a free copy of this ARC from NetGalley for an unbiased review.

[J_McA 251 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute, light read, and perfect for the end of summer. Told in alternating voices of four women (well, 3 women and a teenage girl), it tracks them over the course of one summer. Each character is recognizable and relatable. Usually, one character might wholly resonate with a reader. With the author’s skill, there is something in each of these characters that a reader will be able to commiserate with. This makes every thread (each woman’s story) a stand-alone, even as they intertwine with each other. I thought that Molly’s struggle to keep up with the neighborhood women in Rye was particularly entertaining (been there). I could totally relate to Sabrina’s point of view as well. I would have liked a little bit more depth to Hannah’s situation; it was pretty obvious that her pre-teen daughter was not only acting like a normal pre-teen, but was also worried about losing her mom; I wish that had been explored just a little because I think that could have tied her and Megan together. Overall, however, I enjoyed the story. And I didn’t mind how the epilogue wrapped everything up. The women all had a journey that they took over the summer, and once summer was over, that was it. A solid four star read. Thank you to NetGalley, Darcie Rowan PR, and especially the author, Rachel Cullen, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Fluff Smut & Murder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love a sequel and I think this was a little better than Second Chances. Meagan was my favorite character from the original book so it was great to see her back with a few cameos from Danielle. Sabrina is still a P.O.S character in my mind (even though she finally does the right thing at the end). Her sister, Molly - I can't even. Way to generalize every single mother in the city of Rye and my husband would literally kill me if I spent that much on just 3 areas of my home. As for Heather - I liked her a lot. I hope that my friends who are going through their own cancer battles will rebound like she did and get back to somewhat of their older life.

Unfortunately, some of the same concerns with her previous book - drama, drama, drama - all fixed! Storm coming in - we're okay! In the hospital - all good! I cheated on you - let's still get married. Either have fewer characters so that you can go more in depth through their issue resolution or don't go so deep.

Overall Grade: B-

[Stephanie Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book followed several woman that were all connected in some way, but who were also living very different lives. It was a very flowing novel, and I didn't find that any parts of the book dragged.
Heather is a recovering cancer patient who is looking for a good person qho can come with her and her 2 daughters to Cape Cod on vacation, so that she has help because her husband is working. She runs into an old colleague, Sabrina, and is tellling her about everything. Sabrina thinks immediately of Megan, who is her best friend Danielle's stepdaughter. So Megan ends up going with Heather and the girls, problem solved! Except Sabrina has her own problems, and so does her sister Molly, who has newly moved to the area. It's crazy to watch all of their stories unravel and come together.
I really did enjoy this book and I would recommend it for anyone looking for an easy read.

[Janilyn Kocher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the cover of this book. It's not really a beach read. It deals with four different women and how they experience one summer. At first, it's confusing as the reader navigates through four different perspectives as the chapters keep switching back and forth, it is hard to keep everyone and their friends straight. Admittedly, I didn't really care for any of the characters as they all seems to be practicing various levels of deception. Ultimately, I liked Megan the most and Sabrina the least. It's a decent read. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Melinda Anders · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are following the lives of four women during one summer. Sabrina that has just gotten engaged. Then we have Megan that is has just completed her junior year in high school. A mother of two girls Heather has just gotten over cancer. And then Molly that has just moved from Denver to the East and is trying to make friends. Each person is fighting a battle of their own.
I really enjoyed this book. Each person was like a neighbor. You had empathy for each woman. I want to go back and read the first two novels of this author.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed Only Summer. The cover suggests it might be a light beach read, but I thought it was so much more. Rachel Cullen paints compelling, layered character portraits. The women were relatable, interesting and fully dimensional. The story itself was strong, well woven and evenly paced. I think what I most appreciated was the stellar dialogue, crisp, witty , and perfectly suited to character and situation. I was actually a little sad to say goodbye to the characters at the end.
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book kept me reading as I wanted to know what would happen next but basically it was because it was like a train wreck and I couldn't look away. I can not think of another book where I disliked basically every character. Molly was spineless. Sabrina was frustrating and living in the past. Megan overall was tolerable but early in the book she annoying. But like I said I kept reading because I needed to see how the hot mess played out. If you enjoy soap operas.... this may keep you intrigued

[Sarka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The book, especially in the first part, deals with some pretty heavy issues like life after cancer or how to become a part of the new community etc.
In the second half, we got some summer flirting and the end is pretty optimistic.

I wouldn´t classify it as a typical summer read.

I enjoyed the POV of four different persons whose story was slightly entwined.

[Margaret Yelton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only Summer was my first read from Rachel Cullen, overall it was an enjoyable read. For the most part I dont normally enjoy books that jump from character to character during the course of the book and them each having a seperate storyline. Having said that I actually did enjoy the book, because each of their storylines was interesting in itself. I would recommend this book to others it was a quick and easy read.

[Leigh Guffey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice summer read! Thanks Netgalley for a copy of this book. I spent the weekend by and in the pool reading it. Definitely brought me back to summers in New England and living in NYC . By the end, I wanted to see what the next phases of everyone's life would be and was kind of sad when I got the end of the book...

[Alaina H · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ but rating up because it did keep me reading and interested. Easy summer read from 4 different perspectives all at very different phases of their lives. Felt kind of rushed and odd,abrupt endings since it had to fit everything into one book. It kept you reading since you constantly want to know what would happen next even though none of the characters were great..

[Neva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grabbed this book on a whim, despite the name and cute cover, thinking it would be a quick easy read - and it was, but more depth than I expected. I enjoyed the book and characters and the writing.

[Scott A. Bronger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy reading

Perfect for vacation or travel reading. The characters are not too complicated and quick to learn. Rachel keeps the pages turning! Will continue reading the rest of her books!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book STRESSED me out. Lol. Please read second chances before this one. The characters are initially from second chances, although only summer provides background of the characters. Money doesn't buy happiness & this book definitely threw money in all topics whenever possible. Woah. 😅

[Erin Blakeley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compulsively readable, endlessly entertaining, Only Summer is the perfect vacation read.

[MElisabeth Bergeron · Rating 1 out of 5]

😝

[Dale Wise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story line

Really good story line, but the story telling didn’t thrill me yet. Needs some practice maybe? But overall a decent easy read.

[Mary C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summer reading

Fun book to pick up and read on the beach. It was nice to pass the time reading about others' story...

[Jan Baade · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think there where too many characters to follow for me. All had interesting summers but too many to keep straight.

[Jennifer Lynn Spehar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable but fun

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it, easy fun summer read

[Gail Hayworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

A good book really great characters. Each had her own story going on. It was very entertaining and really hard to put the book down.

[Samantha Leone · Rating 5 out of 5]

beach read

It was a great summer read. It was fun and engaging. Definitely recommend for a light read for the beach.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm somewhere between 2 and 3 stars for this book. Heather was my favorite character, but even she had flaws (which only made her more real, so not a terrible thing). Molly was such a pushover and everything she did bothered me. Her resolution was so ridiculous to me - like why didn't her and her husband do some research and visit the area before moving there?

The beach setting is always fun to read about, but I wasn't a big fan of many other things about this book.

[Dora Okeyo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an engaging read with women who are at different stages of their lives trying to figure out the next steps to take.
I found the pace at the beginning slow and it took me a while to get accustomed to the characters. However, what most readers would relate to are the characters and their dilemmas because we all experience moments of doubt and have a secret or two. Thank you Netgalley for the eARC.

[Marsha Lambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so much more than a beach read. It’s about life, love and learning to love yourself and doing what is is right for you and not trying to please everyone else at the the expense of your own happiness. The story flips from one characters life to another and at first I found it hard to focus on where everyone fit in to the storyline but after the first few chapters, I felt the story really took off and was easy to follow. Great read!!

[Terrie Case · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good beach read. It does not follow the typical chick-lit scenario: boy meets girl; they fall in love; something causes contention; they save their relationship and live happily ever after.

Only Summer relates the interpersonal relationship of four women. Sabrina is recently engaged and doesn’t know how she feels about it. Sabrina’s sister, Molly, has recently moved to the upscale town of Rye and is searching for new friends. Heather is dealing with recovery from breast cancer. Megan is a teenager living on Cape Cod for the summer with Heather’s family to babysit. She cannot reach her boyfriend for an extended period of time and must deal with the new feelings the isolation causes.

This is an easy read. It lays out the problems of each of the four in alternating fashion. The characters are believable. The writing is very good in creating the emotions they feel in accordance with their situation.

The only thing that bothered me was the similar names. Megan and Molly; Anna and Abby; Peter and Parker. It is said that characters should not have names that begin with the same letter. This was very confusing and caused the reader to stop the flow of the story to verify which person was narrating at the time. That is the only reason I am giving three stars instead of four.


I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.