From the publisher:
A woman returns to her family’s Hamptons beach house for a final time—and a final chance at the love she’s lost before, in this contemporary retelling of Persuasion, perfect for fans of Emily Henry and Rebecca Serle.
Olivia Taylor’s marriage is in a death spiral when she agrees to come home to the Hamptons to help her father and sisters pack up the family estate. If it looks like she’s running away from her soon-to-be ex, Wes, and New York City, well, she is. But someone has to take care of things and that’s always been Olivia’s role in the family. After years of financial trouble, someone’s finally bailing them out with a huge offer to buy their beachfront property, which is a good thing, although it means losing the home she grew up in, where her mother died, and where she first met Fred, the love of her life.
It’s been five years since the last time things blew up between Olivia and Fred, but much longer since the first time. At this point, Olivia fears it was never meant to be, so there’s no reason to feel butterflies in her stomach at the idea of seeing him again. They’ve already tried, and tried again…and again…but she’s newly single, and she isn’t the same person she was the last time–and Fred has changed too.
This time, things will be different. Maybe, just maybe, the fifth time’s the charm.“Impressive debut . . . The cutthroat world of pro tennis and the glitz of the Hamptons create a fascinating backdrop for these multilayered characters.” —Publishers Weekly
https://amzn.to/3wPZa2g
“[Readers] will rejoice when their HEA is reached.” —Booklist
I love finding new authors, and this debut novel is a winner. I grew up on Long Island, so I’m familiar with the Hamptons and that is the setting of this story. It is a seasonal resort area comprised of several towns that make up the Hamptons, and there are some people who do live there year round, although certainly a minority. It is beautiful and lush and wild in areas, and congested and quaint in others.
Olivia’s family has owned their Hamptons home and huge, beachfront property for generations. But her father has mismanaged the family fortune to the point of bankruptcy – the only way out is to sell the property. Olivia has just left her husband after catching him cheating on her, and she goes out to the family home to help her sisters clean it out for the new owner.
Turns out the new owner is Fred, the love of Olivia’s life. The summers of the title refers to their relationship, which begins and ends multiple times over multiple summers. Olivia is a professional tennis player, just a dream when she meets Fred, and nearing retirement when the house is sold. The story moves back and forth between the current day and the various summers of Olivia and Fred.
There are some interesting twists here that I never saw coming, and as their story unfolds, the book is unputdownable. The setting is bucolic, the characters are three-dimensional, and the romance unfurls beautifully. I am looking forward to more books from this new author.
5/2024 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
SUMMER AFTER SUMMER by Lauren Bailey. Alcove Press (May 7, 2024). ISBN: 978-1639106554. 336p.
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