Summer Darlings: Review

𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰: 𝑺𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓 𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝐛𝐲 𝐁𝐫𝗼𝗼𝐤𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚 𝐅𝗼𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫

𝐒𝐮𝗺𝗺𝐚𝐫𝐲: Heddy, raised by a single mother in Brooklyn, was on a scholarship at Wellesley when she made a poor decision. Determined to earn some money and work her way into the inner circles of wealth in Martha’s Vineyard, she takes a summer job as a nanny for a wealthy family. She rubs elbows with the rich & famous, meets a guy or two, and sees firsthand that with wealth comes complications.

𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝗺𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝗼𝐧𝐬: I want a lobster roll! The atmospheric writing perfectly captured 1960’s on the island. And the use of the verbiage of that time period made the book that much more realistic and enjoyable. There were a few slower parts but they did contribute nicely to the build up of something much darker going on than the glitz and glamor of the parties and summer on the beach.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: Because this book had a mysterious side, it took awhile to get to know some of the characters. But Heddy was easy to identify with from the start and her relationships with the children and Ruth, the housekeeper, were endearing and made the book for me.

𝐌𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝗼𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: This is the perfect summer read. Combine that with the backdrop of a slow burning mystery and an air of danger and you have a page-turner. For those who enjoy time period fiction done right, you will love this book. Also, I alternated between the audiobook and the ebook. The narrator, Rebekkah Ross, was handpicked by the author after being 3 to choose from. She’s one of my new favorites narrators! And we all know how important good audiobook narration is.

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ✂️✂️✂️✂️/5

𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝗼𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝗼𝐫: This is her first fiction novel. She is also an award winning journalist and has written three nonfiction books as well.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for a free eCopy of this book in exchange for my honest review.