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The Summer Daughter

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Summer fiction at its page-turning best for fans of Elin Hilderbrand, Holly Chamberlin, and Nancy Thayer! Colleen French, acclaimed author of The Summer I Found Myself, brings readers to Albany Beach, Delaware, where one woman must decide whether to seek out the daughter she gave up for adoption.

Each year, the start of summer brings bustle and much-needed tourist dollars to the little town of Albany Beach, Delaware. For Natalie Sullivan, this season is proving more stressful than others. It’s make-or-break time for the Irish pub her husband, Conor, recently bought with his brothers. Their two children are thriving, but she’s experiencing pangs of loss at the end of her childbearing years.

When sixteen-year-old McKenzie starts gushing about Bella, the new coworker at her summer job, Natalie suddenly finds her past and present in conflict. Bella, two years older than McKenzie, looks so similar that a customer remarks that they could be sisters. And when Natalie learns that Bella was adopted, she is propelled back into a heartbreaking decision. As a college student, Natalie became pregnant and put her baby up for adoption. Now, the more McKenzie talks about Bella, the more Natalie wonders: could Bella be her daughter?

Conor insists it’s a mistake to pursue the matter. Natalie’s child belongs to another family now; that was the agreement in the closed adoption. Still, Natalie can’t resist spending time with Bella. As their bond deepens, McKenzie accuses her mother of caring more for a stranger than for her, and Natalie begins imagining what it would be like to have Bella as a second daughter. What will the impact be if Bella really is her biological child? And if she isn’t, can Natalie embrace the joy and potential in her own family, without always wondering about what could have been?

322 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 31, 2022

47 people are currently reading
230 people want to read

About the author

Colleen French

45 books57 followers
ABOUT COLLEEN FRENCH

Colleen French has a unique gift for capturing the essence of passion in her breathtaking tales of romance and adventure. Winner of the Delaware Diamond Award for Literary Excellence and the P.E.A.R.L. award, she is the daughter of bestselling novelist Judith E. French who first taught her how to write. Colleen has written more than 130 print novels which have sold more than 5 million copies and been translated into Bulgarian, French, German, Italian, Mandarin, and Spanish. Her Native American novels are inspired by her English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, and Lenni–Lenape ancestry and her home near the Chesapeake Bay, where her family has lived for more than 300 years. Her books appeal to fans of Christi Caldwell, Mary Balogh, C. J. Petit, Shirleen Davies, Karen Kay, Madeline Baker, Elle Marlow, Ellen O'Connell, Vonna Harper, Judith E. French, Kathryn Le Veque, Margaret Mallory, Julie Garwood, Caroline Fyffe, Maya Banks, Hannah Howell Fiona Faris, and Alisa Adams.

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5 stars
93 (28%)
4 stars
111 (33%)
3 stars
99 (30%)
2 stars
24 (7%)
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3 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
Profile Image for Deanne Patterson.
2,413 reviews118 followers
May 21, 2024
I have so many books on my tbr list to come. Sometimes I wish I could read them faster, like this one.
Natalie Sullivan lives in a vacation town, Albany Beach, Delaware. The locals appreciate the beautiful beach area and the dollars the tourists bring in every year. As a local, Natalie is used to the hustle and bustle of the area and this summer her oldest child, her daughter is working a summer job at one of the local hot spot shops. She befriends the new girl, a teen several years older than her and more outgoing. Natalie is happy her daughter is being brought out of her shell.
When she gets a look at her daughter's friend a flood of emotions comes rushing over her, see she has a secret she's only told a few people. Namely her husband, parents and best friend. When she was a teen on a summer trip abroad, she got pregnant and gave up her first child in a closed adoption. At the end of her childbearing years, she is regretting this decision and would like to find her daughter. Now she's wondering, is it possible, could it be....... is her daughter's new friend actually her oldest daughter. They do look very similar she thinks. Then the book progresses as the two girls become close friends and Natalie has so many conflicting emotions wondering if it's her daughter as she and the girl become close to the dismay of her daughter who thinks it's weird. She can't tell her daughter her secret, her hormones are raging; and her husband is fed up with how it's affecting the whole family. See, her daughter's best friend is adopted, is it her daughter? When her best friend's daughter decides to try to find her birth mother Natalie is afraid of what the results may be. This book had my emotions all over the place. A sure not to miss tension filled summer read.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.
Profile Image for Mary Jackson _TheMaryReader.
1,692 reviews207 followers
July 8, 2022
I was a little bit disappointed with this book. It seemed to drag on and was so slow getting to the point. I almost put it down numerus times. I hate to not finish a book but this was a chore to finish this one. Not one that I would recommend.
Profile Image for Janall.
575 reviews
March 20, 2022
Thanks so much to the publisher and Net Galley for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
I selected this book because being adopted myself, I was interested in the perspective of a birth mother. I also thought that a woman in midlife juggling health concerns, a teenager, aging parents and running a business would provide a dramatic, if familiar, set of circumstances.
The main character Natalie is struggling to keep all the plates spinning- she is kind, considerate and generally a good person, who I would want to be friends with. One day her teen daughter Mac, befriends a co-worker at her new summer job- 18 year old Bella, who Natalie thinks bears a striking resemblance to Mac. With her impending hysterectomy, sealing the end of reproductive years, Natalie has been thinking a lot about the baby she gave up for adoption 18 years ago. Natalie begins to obsess about Bella, against the advice of her sister and “too perfect” husband. Cracks in Bella’s story begin to appear as we wonder how much is true and how much she is manipulating Natalie, and to what end.
I had a couple of issues with the story- #1- there really wasn’t any peril, or sense of urgency, lots of things seemed to be building but then fizzled out in to nothing much.
#2 As a society women are undervalued in general, and especially when they get older. Im really disappointed to see female writers who perpetrate these stereotypes. The somewhat obsessive thoughts of Natalie was described as “ crazy” and “nuts” in several places by herself, her sister, her husband and her daughter. She did nothing other than contact the agency, and register as a birth mother. She was processing her feelings, and got no support from her family. Even more offensive -There were a few comments that reeked of ageism for example: Natalie’s ruminating about her need for a hysterectomy due to fibroids-“She was only thirty-eight. Only old women had hysterectomies, old, shriveled-up women who no longer enjoyed sex. She wasn’t old. Not yet.”
No honey, lots of women have hysterectomies who are not old, and old women are not shriveled up, and many still enjoy sex.
For the reasons above A fairly bland book dropped from 3 to 2 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kristina Anderson.
4,060 reviews82 followers
May 27, 2022
The Summer Daughter by Colleen French has Natalie Sullivan living with her husband and two children in Albany Beach, Delaware. Natalie learned some devastating news from the doctor. It has her looking at her life and the choices she made. When her teenage daughter, Mackenzie introduces her new friend, eighteen-year-old, Bella to Natalie, she is shocked by the resemblance between the two girls. When Bella mentions she was adopted, Natalie wonders if it is the daughter she gave up for adoption while in college. Despite protests from her husband, Natalie spends time with Bella over the summer. Natalie wonders if she made the right decision giving up the child and what will her other children think when they learn they have an older sister. It is a summer of reflection for Natalie. The Summer Daughter introduces us to Natalie Sullivan who is upset after receiving news from her doctor. It has her questioning different aspects of her life. I was not a fan of Natalie who is an intense character. She became obsessive about the daughter she gave up for adoption to the point of neglecting her husband and other two children. McKenzie acted out frequently (lots of teenage angst and drama). Natalie’s husband, Conor is a little too perfect (I am surprised there was not a halo over his head). I found it hard to complete the book. I found the ending to be a letdown especially after all the drama. I was not a fan of the mother being labeled as crazy and nuts. Natalie did become focused on Bella and the idea that she was her adoptive daughter. Natalie needed understanding from her family, and she was not getting it. She is at the point in her life (late 30s) when you begin to wonder if you made the right choices. Natalie’s medical issue is one of the driving forces in the story along with adoption and DNA testing. I did not like some of the ageist comments regarding Natalie’s surgery. I found The Summer Daughter to be just okay. The Summer Daughter was not the right book for me. I always suggest that readers download a sample so they can see if the book suits them. The Summer Daughter is a family drama with surgery unease, pub pangs, daughter drama, genetic quandary, beautiful beaches, and an unexpected conclusion.
Profile Image for Carla.
7,643 reviews179 followers
August 14, 2023
3.5 Stars: The Summer Daughter is the first book I read by Colleen French, but it won't be my last, as I will be checking out her other contemporary fiction stories. In this book we meet Natalie Sullivan and her family. Living in the small beach town of Albany Beach, Delaware, she, her husband and his brothers purchased the Irish Pub that their parents ran for years. This is a make it or break it summer for them and that stress adds to Natalie's issues. McKenzie, her sixteen-year-old daughter has a summer job and she becomes enamoured by her co-worker, Bella, and 18 year old who looks enough like McKenzie that people mistake them for sisters. When Natalie meets Bella and finds out she was adopted, her life begins to spin out of control. Is this the baby she gave up for adoption 18 years ago?

I enjoyed The Summer Daughter and I definitely enjoyed the writing, but the story had some issues for me. Natalie was a bit much for me. At the beginning of the story she finds out she needs to have a hysterectomy. She and Conner had already decided that they had two beautiful children and didn't want anymore children, in fact, Conner had a vasectomy, but she whined and carried on about not being able to have children anymore. When she meets Bella, she becomes friends with her, with some strange behaviour that her daughter and husband thought was inappropriate. Why didn't she just ask her when her birthday was. She became jealous of an employee and so on. This story did bring some information to light about adoption, especially closed adoptions that I didn't know about. There is a small storyline about genetic test sites and finding relatives that was quite realistic. All in all, this was an easy and enjoyable summer read about the Sullivan family and a summer that had them all a bit under duress, but hope prevails and the love of family shines through.
Profile Image for Janilyn Kocher.
5,105 reviews115 followers
May 25, 2022
French packs a lot into one summer for the Sullivan family. I liked Conor and Mason the best. They seems the most authentic and genuine.
It’s a decent family drama read.
Thanks to Kensington and NetGalley for the early copy.
Profile Image for Jen.
1,606 reviews145 followers
July 5, 2022
This was a great beach read and full of fun family drama. However, I had a hard time relating to the main character. I found her actions so unbelievable and I had a hard time understanding her motives. It made for a great read while floating in my pool but nothing too deep here.
Profile Image for Tanya R.
1,027 reviews32 followers
June 8, 2022
Hmmm, another review to ponder over.

In many ways, this story reminded me of the few books I've read by Elin Hilderbrand. So if you're of fan, you should maybe check this book out.

I loved that the family leaves close to the ocean and owns a pub. The setting was a really fun one.

I was also interested in the adoption subject matter and the drama that would inevitably bring.

However, the way the story was written, there was a lot of worries and thoughts expressed by the main character that just never propelled the action forward in the story and in most cases, were blown off by herself or her family members as being unimportant.

So an otherwise nice summer read with fun and interesting characters became a story about a woman with big concerns (both health and previous adoption activities) who is belittled by herself and her family. In other words, I really didn't like the way these characters were portrayed and how crappy they treated their mom/wife/sister/daughter.

Not my favorite summer read.

Thank you to #KensingtonBooks and #NetGalley for this read. All opinions expressed are my own.
Profile Image for Deb Beachburgmom.
306 reviews10 followers
May 26, 2022
This was an easy summer read and I enjoyed the premise behind the story. Would you years later want to find your daughter you gave up in a closed adoption? For the main character Natalie that is the question. Upon hear she is in need of a hysterectomy she finds herself wondering about the first pregnancy she had at 18 and where that child might be…..even though she has a wonderful husband and two children she is feeling a loss so great it consumes her. The story revolves around a young teenager Belle who her daughter becomes friends with and Natalie finds out she was adopted ….thinking her looks are close to her family she becomes obsessed. The story then follows the summer and shows the toll the fixation takes on everyone. I liked that the author tackled the subject matter and also topics like fibroids and pain for women .


I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley and all opinions are my own .

I would recommend this book to friends and my book club
324 reviews7 followers
June 2, 2022
The end of her childbearing years is confronting and highly emotional for Natalie.
This summer is stressful for Natalie, her husband’s business is busy, her children aren’t as reliant on her and she becomes fixated on her daughter’s adopted friend.
Adoption is a topic bound to pull on the heartstrings, Natalie is torn over finding the baby she gave up for adoption in her college days.
This book is sure to make the reader question the adoption process, family dynamics and finding peace and happiness
within yourself.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thanks to the publisher, NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book.
Profile Image for Nancy.
1,585 reviews
March 13, 2022
Thank you NetGalley, Colleen French and Kensington Books for the ARC of The Summer Daughter. This is my personal review.
Albany Beach, Delaware is the setting, and it is a place filled with the decisions one woman made years ago that she must decide if it right to look back on her life and change so many people’s lives.
Natalie has a family, and she must decide if she needs answers to exactly who her daughter McKenzie’s friend Bella is.
This really is a book that will leave me wondering if knowing the truth is better or just let things be they way they are. Decisions made when we are younger can come back to our lives years later and change everything.
Profile Image for Nana.
918 reviews17 followers
April 6, 2022
This book was intense at times, Reading about a woman who now has a family but when she was a teenager she got pregnant, and gave the baby up for adoption. When Natalie thinks her teenage daughter's new friend might be the baby she gave away, it shows the process of trying to decide what to do, how it will affect her family, the daughter she gave away, if she is that daughter, the parents that adopted her, and it made me think when her husband told her his feelings about it.
The story shines a light on adoption, closed adoption, DNA testing, and the difficulty of knowing what to do.
I received an ARC from Kensington Books through NetGalley.
2,073 reviews25 followers
April 26, 2022
Natalie has a family she loves, but years ago she gave up a daughter. Natalie’s relationship with her daughter is tense right now and meeting a friend of her daughter doesn’t help. She is convinced that the friend is her daughter that she gave up at birth. Natalie becomes obsessed with finding the answer. This is a story about family relationships and dealing with past decisions. The supposed lost daughter is very manipulative and you wonder what her agenda is. Thank you tonet galley for an advanced readers copy.
Profile Image for Francis M. Prensa.
1,696 reviews17 followers
May 27, 2022
Such a smooth and quick read. Even though Natalie was an intense character, I never wanted to yell at a character before, but I felt like Natalie was caring a little too much about finding the daughter she gave up for adoption and was neglecting her family and even her own daughter. I love how the other characters in the book had to put her in her place. She was a little annoying at time. But besides that I really enjoyed the book. There was humor, and a ton of acting out pre-teens.

Thanks NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.
Profile Image for ines M.
137 reviews
June 1, 2022
Natalie's life has been good. A solid marriage, two beautiful children, her beloved sister Laney and the business. Her husband shares with his brothers. Everything seems to be going on pleasantly until her daughter Mac brings a new friend home. Along with the girl will arrive some memories, forgotten feelings and a few particular situations.
I liked this book very much. The pace is good and the characters are well developed.
It's my first book from this author, but it will not be the last.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
266 reviews6 followers
June 10, 2022
After getting unsettling news from the doctor, Natalie Sullivan starts to rethink a choice she made years ago. When a stranger points out that Natalie’s daughter and her best friend could be sisters, Natalie wonders if she is getting a second chance with the child she gave away years ago.

A great beach read full of conflict and family drama. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to Colleen French, Kensington Books, and Netgalley for the ARC.
708 reviews8 followers
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June 24, 2022
Setting: the beach, a family owned Irish Pub. Perfect Summer read! Natalie learns she should have a hysterectomy.. She and her loving husband have 2 children and Natalie gave up a daughter many years prior in a closed adoption. Natalie's daughter brings home a new friend and Natalie thinks the girl could be the daughter she gave up years ago. I loved all the parts of this story, but honestly Natalie's indecision on whether she was going to pursue finding out who was the daughter she gave up years ago got a bit tiresome. Her relationship with her sister, her husband, her 2 children and her grandmother was what I really enjoyed more. I couldn't put the book down because I wanted to find out if she in fact found her daughter.
46 reviews
September 19, 2022
I think that I’m fair in rating my reads. I can give a beach read 4 stars if it’s well-written and entertaining. Unfortunately, this book spent a lot of time going nowhere. The relationships were flat, the characters were two dimensional, the plot was also monotonous. There were lots of missed opportunity which is a disappointment. It’s confusing when there no character growth when the story is focused on a fairly emotional subject. Meh.
Profile Image for Jen.
203 reviews4 followers
May 29, 2022
More 3.5 stars than 4

This was my first novel by Coleen French. I liked her writing and the story for the most part.

I got a bit confused on the backstory and conversations with the grandmother suffering from dementia, otherwise the rest of the story flowed well.

It was perfect for a summer beach read.
218 reviews1 follower
July 12, 2023
Collen French gives us a great mother/daughter novel that keeps you engaged from start to finish. Each character the she introduces has a full storyline that keeps you wanting to know more about them. We get the ups and downs of the relationships and I was satisfied with the ending. I would not mind a second book to see how the characters develop further.
Profile Image for Beth.
242 reviews6 followers
April 9, 2022
A family of four lives on the Delaware coast and own an Irish pub on the boardwalk. Mom gave up baby for adoption after a student trip to France, and now is second guessing telling her family after meeting her daughter’s coworker. Fast paced, good summer read.
Profile Image for Margie.
1,153 reviews
June 23, 2022
This was a quick, easy read. There were some parts of it that were on repeat. I felt like Natalie ( the main character - the mother ) didn't seem to think about how her actions were affecting the rest of the family.

The outcome was interesting. It was an unexpected ending.
Profile Image for Lisa Hoppe.
737 reviews2 followers
August 7, 2022
Interesting enough premise, but I was never really onboard with the MC. I’m not sure if it was supposed to be due to her health issues, but she seemed way older than 38. I liked it fine, but maybe not enough to seek out this author again.
Profile Image for Mickie Bernier Davidson.
103 reviews3 followers
May 1, 2023
This book was ok, but really should have been proof read before it was released. So many errors in sentences; missing words. And one of the main characters was obnoxious. Cried at the drop of a hat. Ugh!
Profile Image for Heather.
1,113 reviews
February 14, 2022
This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Kensington Books and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.


Touching, heartfelt story with characters who resonate.
Profile Image for Lou.
365 reviews
April 3, 2022
Sometimes the past will not let us go. In this story you find that what you think can hurt the ones you love. A must read for the summer.
Profile Image for Leanne.
2,168 reviews43 followers
June 5, 2022
#netgalley #thesummerdaughter I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish. The perfect summer read. I highly recommend reading this!! 5/5 stars
Profile Image for Teresa K.
103 reviews2 followers
July 4, 2022
Solid “beach read”, was kinda annoyed this lady kept worrying about her weight and counting calories.
4 reviews3 followers
August 21, 2022
This book was okay. It was a cute summertime read…but I felt like there were a few grammatical errors and typos..and this annoys me. I also felt like the book just dragged on.
Profile Image for Tammy.
24 reviews4 followers
December 31, 2022
Good read. I thought it was a relaxing easy read that I enjoyed. I liked the ending too.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews

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