Reviewer: Samantha
I received a review copy
Summary:
With Summer Secrets Jane Green has reached an even deeper level of emotion that will stay with you long after you turn the last page…
Living in London in her twenties, Cat had it all–a great job and wonderful friends. But with the good came the bad–a party every night, wreaking havoc, and blackouts. When she discovers the father she never knew she had, living in Nantucket, it sends her into a spiral, costing her the new family she had desperately craved. The drinking had always been a constant evil in Cat’s life. Now in her late thirties, sober, divorced from the love of her life, and trying to make up for lost time with her teenage daughter, she’s ready to make amends to those she has hurt. But facing the past and the unthinkable act she committed one summer night could change the course of her life forever.
Review:
This was my second ever audio book selection, and it was fun to listen to as Jane Green is also our narrator! This book has a lot of serious subjects in here, as Cat is an alcoholic and struggles greatly in her life. While slightly slow in the beginning for me (and I honestly didn’t really feel like the flashback to her mom and Brook’s relationship was super necessary) it picked up for me once Cat learned of her father and her other family living in Nantucket. Then, it started to get really juicy, but just as abruptly, the story switches and we are fast-forwarded in time. That I didn’t love, because then I felt like the pace of the story was once again slowed down as we met this new, older Cat, and understood what her past years had been like after the big incident that forced her to leave her new family behind in Nantucket. The ending is definitely a redemption story and I was rooting all along for Cat, though I do wish more of the story had been on solely her road to that redemption, to her making the amends, instead of all the backstory we got. It was a nice book to listen to on my long walks with the dog, and I’m sure Jane Green fans will enjoy.
4 stars
