The story of 3 women from different generations that find the courage to take chances. Sometimes life leads us back to a place we never imagined but sometimes it’s right where we need to be.

The Summer Swap is the perfect, breezy summer novel. It’s a multi-generational story of three women really finding themselves in a journey of self discovery and living authentically.

Cecilia Lapthorne finds herself at a birthday party she didn’t want, that is simultaneously a celebration her late husband. She decides to take off to a cottage on Cape Cod that held a very special place in her life, but she hasn’t revisited in many, many years.

There she finds Lily, a friend of her granddaughter, who has recently left medical school and is trying to decide what comes next. The two strike up a beautiful friendship, and help one another forge new paths forward.

Cecilia’s daughter Kristen is also at a crossroads in her marriage. Her identify is deeply wrapped up in her father’s art career, and being a supremely capable go-getter. She doesn’t understand why her mother takes off, but then begins to watch parts of her own life and marriage unravel.

I really enjoyed how their three stories were so very different, while somehow sharing similarities. It was lovely to focus on their three different points of view, and how they moved forward in their own stage of life. I loved the Cape Cod location, and how the cottage brought them together.

I also appreciate how it navigated the topic of grief - it was an integral part of the story but wasn’t the central theme. For so many of us, grief is a part of our everyday lives that we learn to navigate - and The Summer Swap had that.

Thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing + NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Cecelia never thought she'd ever return to Dune Cottage but needs an escape from her own seventeenth birthday party. The Cape Cod locale is full of memories from her volatile marriage, but also medical school dropout Lily, who has been staying in the cottage and cleans it. The two are off to an awkward start, but Cecelia lets Lily stay and the two strike an unlikely friendship. It's tested when Cecelia's grandson arrives, and he turns out to be Lily's crush. Lily must learn to live life on her own, while Cecelia must learn to let go of the past.

Cecelia and Lily aren't the only ones that are at a crossroads. Cecelia hid the negative aspects of her husband and marriage from her daughter Kristen, who idolized him. That same daughter has issues in her own marriage and is as distant from her two adult children and their emotional problems. Lily had been the best friend to Cecelia's granddaughter, who continued with medical school and doesn't understand the dropping out decision. While we get primarily Cecelia's and Lily's perspectives, we do see Kristen's POV and the changes that come in the wake of various losses. They all reevaluate what they thought mattered, and decide the best way to move forward. The end pulls all the threads together for a happily ever after, which is a heartwarming conclusion for all of them. It's an emotional and comforting story and a great lead-up to summer.

The Summer Swap is a story of women supporting women, multi-generational friendships, sweet romance, and second chances.

On her seventieth birthday, Cecelia runs away to her house on Cape Cod, a place she vowed she’d never return. Her daughter, Kristen, who has worked hard on the party is fretting about her mother’s disappearance, grieving the death of her father, and feeling lonely in her marriage. When Cecelia arrives in Cape Cod, she finds Lily, a young woman hired to clean the house and watch the property. Lily has fallen on hard times and is secretly spending nights there since no one seems to be renting or using the home. After the initial surprise, Cecelia offers Lily a chance to stay and they agree on a partnership. When Cecelia’s grandson finds her and shows up at the house, things become complicated because Lily and Todd knew each other as youngsters. Why has Cecelia run away? Will Lily find security? Will Lilly and Todd’s past spoil everything? How will Krisen juggle her runaway mother and her unhappy marriage?

I adore a multi-generational story with multiple points of view! In The Summer Swap, we hear the story from three generational perspectives. I’m here for the friendship, understanding, and encouragement. Women of all ages have a great deal to offer each other. Lily’s past acquaintance with Todd adds delightful complications.

Two poignant themes that drive the action are the multi-generational friendship between Cecelia and Lily and their individual and unique second chances. I love how they encourage each other and how their dreams intersect. Additional themes include grief, complicated family dynamics, secrets, reconciling with the past, marriage relationships, mother/daughter relationships, forgiveness, and the pursuit of art. The author adds depth and complexity so that this romance becomes a complicated family drama. I appreciate that the story doesn’t get too heavy and that its conclusion is upbeat and satisfying.

Content Consideration: grief, infidelity

Fans of Sarah Morgan will enjoy this recent installment. Readers who appreciate some depth and complexity in their summer romances, will enjoy The Summer Swap. The multi-generational aspect of the story adds poignancy for women in various stages of life. It’s thought-provoking yet light enough for beach or poolside reading. Book clubs might find it discussable.

Thanks #NetGalley @HarperCollins @HTPBooks #CanaryStreetPress for a complimentary e ARC of #TheSummerSwap upon my request. All opinions are my own.

The Summer Swap was a quick, fun, and heartwarming read that handles themes of grief, family trauma, second chances and much more.

This multiple POV novel follows 3 generations of family and friends, intertwining the stories of Lily, Kristen, and Cecelia. Lily has made the difficult decision to leave medical school, leaving her feeling lost and at odds with her parents and best friend. She take a job cleaning homes in Cape Cod, and ends up discovering a seemingly abandoned cottage that lights a fire to her artistic aspirations. The cottage is owned by none other then her best friend's (who she isn't speaking with) grandmother. Cecelia (the grandmother) is traumatized by the loss of her husband, and her challenging feelings towards him leave her running away from her family back to the cottage, where she finds Lily. Together, Lily and Cecilia help each other face their fears, grow as individuals, find love, and make amends with their family and friends.

I found (and suspect many readers will too) many aspect of myself in this story: regrets on life decisions, feeling like your family misunderstands you, inability to communicate your feelings to those who matter most, and many more. Overall, I really enjoyed this story, and found myself engaged in each characters own sub-plot!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I've read several of Morgan's books and have enjoyed them except for her last Christmas book. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved this story. There were many different interconnected pieces that all came together beautifully at the end.

Set on the Cape, Lily begins her summer cleaning houses to survive after she dropped out of med school. Her true passion is art, but she doesn't have the confidence in herself to believe she could really make a go at it as a living. But, summer on the Cape isn't cheap and one of the houses she cleans is always empty so she decides to try to hide out there in lieu of any other housing options.

in the meantime, new widow Cecilia is tired of her family fawning over her and tired of being widow to the famous artist Cameron Lapthorne. Instead of attending his memorial and her birthday party, she sneaks away to her secret home with him that her children don't know about to collect herself and find herself again. She runs into Lily and instead of sending her away, she makes an arrangement to let her stay and help her out.

This was a really great story of finding oneself and finding love. This would be the perfect beach read!

Cecilia Lapthorne always vowed she’d never go back to Dune Cottage. When her husband dies, she is forced to go back and revisit memories she's tried to hide from for years and has successfully hidden from her family thus far. For aspiring artist Lily, Dune Cottage has become a refuge, albeit a bit of a forbidden one. When the two end up there together, they both begin unexpected journeys to swap their old dreams for new over an unforgettable summer.

This is my second Sarah Morgan book and she can write summer just as well as she writes winter! The descriptions of the cottage made me feel like I was right there with Cecilia and Lily. I was more invested in Lily and Cecilia's stories than Kristen's, but I also understand and respect the value Kristen's story brought to the storyline.

I loved watching the intergenerational relationships and family dynamics play out, and the mystery aspects kept me reading throughout the novel. Both of the couples were absolutely adorable, and I enjoyed watching the romances play out. Sarah Morgan wrapped up each storyline at the end, and I appreciated that it didn't all wrap up perfectly, there was still ambiguity to the new and newly reconciled relationships.

Definitely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Morgan and Canary Street Press for an e-copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

What a sweet little read to get in the summer mode. The characters are great and I love a dual POV. There are 3 women who are a a spot in their life that brings them to decided to have the courage and change it up. It is time to turn their lives around and find happiness again.

The Summer Swap by Sarah Morgan is a women’s fiction novel that takes a contemporary romance and mixes in some family drama. The story in The Summer Swap is one that does change the point of view between the characters with three main characters to follow.

Cecilia Lapthorne repeatedly said she did not want to have a party but those requests had been completely ignored so Cecilia did her best to please her daughter, Kristen, and attend. It doesn’t take long though for Cecilia to become overwhelmed and without much thought Cecilia takes off into the night heading for Dune Cottage. The cottage had once been special to her and her husband but it now sits empty holding the pain of the past.

Lily is the caretaker of Dune Cottage but with the cottage being empty for years and years now Lily found herself without a place to stay and “borrowed” the cottage. When Cecilia arrives in the middle of the night Lily witnesses her breaking down but hurries off to not get caught. However, Cecilia is quick to learn of Lily’s actions and is also quick to forgive the young artist agreeing to let her stay in the cottage too but before either know it Cecilia’s family begins to track her down seeking answers as to why she ran off.

The Summer Swap is not the first book I’ve read from author Sarah Morgan and will undoubtedly not be the last either. The story in The Summer Swap easily pulled me into this multi generational tale and I enjoyed every minute spent with the characters involved in it along the way. I guess I may be considered a sucker for an older protagonist befriending and younger character but with age comes wisdom as they say so it’s nice to see both generations helping or healing one another and with the addition of the daughter, Kristen, we end with three generations dealing with their secrets, hurt and eventually healing. Nice story that I’d definitely recommend checking out.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

The Summer Swap was a completely delightful story told from the perspectives of three different generations of women.
Lily is an aspiring artist who to the disappointment of her parents drops out of med school to pursue her art. She runs away to Cape Cod and is squatting in a cottage that she cleans as her day job.

One night she runs into Cecelia, a famous artist's wife. Cecelia is dealing with the loss of her husband the artist, she runs away from her 75th birthday party and escapes to the cottage on the Cape.

The third woman that we meet is Cecelia's daughter Kristen. Kristen has an empty nest and is married to a surgeon who prioritizes his job over is family.

I loved the story. I enjoyed learning each character's backstory. The novel touches on grief, marriage and finding one's self no matter what stage of life you happen to be in.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this enjoyable novel.
4.25 stars

The Summer Swap follows Cecilia who finds herself back at the one place she swore she would never return, Dune Cottage. She discovers Lily, an aspiring artist, squatting in the house and invites her to stay. Lily finds romance with Cecilia’s grandson and Cecilia tries to overcome her demons left behind in Dune Cottage.

This is the perfect, light and fun, summer read! This book made me long for summer days on the Cape. I really enjoyed the alternating points of view of the three women. The characters were all likable. I loved that even though all three women were vastly different, they came together to help each other with their own personal struggles.

This book had a great premise and there were aspects I loved, but for the most part it felt middling. I wanted drama and detail where there wasn't any and wished we could cut out some of the "meh" in the middle. It felt a little unfinished to me. So much potential but it fell a little flat.

A cute, fun read. I liked how it went through so many different relationships and the struggles and triumphs of each. 4.3/5 stars! It makes me want to find a home away from home to unwind like CL.

Cecilia runs away from her 70th birthday party, and returns to her past. After her husband passes away, her daughter turns Cecilia's birthday party into a showing honoring her father's paintings, where a a columnist asks about a certain painting. She runs off to their past - at Dune Cottage in search of the painting.

Not only does she find it there, she also finds aspiring artist Lily camping out in her cottage. In return for help around the cottage, she lets Lily stay. And takes interest in her painting. And Lily takes interest in Cecilia's grandson that turns up looking for his grandmother.

It's a sweet story, romance, volatile pasts, new love and more all in a beautiful beach setting.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

The Summer Swap was the perfect summer read. This was definitely a quick and easy read with thoroughly relatable characters. I am always a sucker for books with dual POVs and I have to say they really took the story to another level here.

This isn’t as “fluffy” as some other summer reads, but definitely had some added depth. The premise behind the story about three women, all at low points in their lives for different reasons, really brings home the point of finding the courage to reach out and take what you want, make your own happiness and above all else, do what you love.

Thank you NetGalley & Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC copy of this book.

It’s a bank holiday weekend and amazingly the sun is shining brightly outside. It is the perfect time to immerse yourself in the sand dunes of Cape Cod. Lily has just dropped out of medical school. After many years of trying to make her parents happy she is finally taking some time to pursue her art. In order to pay the bills she is working as a housekeeper for a number of the summer houses. Unfortunately this is Cape Cod at peak season so she can’t actually afford to live there so has been illicitly camping in one of the empty houses.

Cecilia Lapthorne is recently widowed and can’t bear the thought of the huge 70th birthday party that her daughter is throwing for her. It is also a retrospective of her late husband’s art, Cameron Lapthorne was a renowned modern artist, and looking at his work is just too much for her to bear. On the day of the party Cecilia makes her escape to the cottage that she used to visit in her early married days. A place that no-one knows about, somewhere that she can be alone with her thoughts.

After the shock of realising that she has an unexpected house guest has subsided Cecilia and Lily become firm friends and find themselves each working towards trying to help the other. It becomes a summer of friendship, self discovery and indeed a little romance along the way.

I’ve long been a fan of Sarah Morgan’s easy writing style. She has a real gift for creating characters that you want to be friends with. And who wouldn’t want to be part of this amazing summer on the Cape? Escape to the sand dunes and the sunshine and let the joy of discovering what you can be inspire you to follow in their footsteps.

I always really love Sarah's books, especially her Christmas novels! She always creates characters that you want to root for and vivid imagery with her settings. This book transported the reader to Cape Cod and I loved it! I feel like I could totally love in that cozy, little cottage.

I really enjoyed the romantic relationships but also the family relationships that were present in the story. I feel like the characters had good, genuine chemistry.

My only reason for a slightly lower rating is that the book felt a little slow in the middle. But that's just a me issue and probably just my mood. I really enjoy this author's writing, I really liked this story and will definitely continue reading any of her future work!

I love Sarah Morgan books. They are such great women's fiction/romance and I know I'm going to enjoy the characters and the story when I pick up her books. The Summer Swap was a sweet story about family, secrets and having the courage to pursue your dreams.

Lilly has just quit medical school and moved to the Cape to work as a house cleaner. When she realizes that one of the houses she's cleaning hasn't had anyone stay in years, she starts living there until the owner Cecilia arrives. Cecelia had vowed to never return to the cottage in the Cape and told her husband to sell it so she's shocked to find after his death that he still owns it. Cecilia and Lily start a friendship which leads to a summer that will swap out old dreams for new ones.

I enjoyed this book and liked seeing Lily and Cecilia's friendship and how they helped and support each other. Both romances were sweet. I love the cover and this book is exactly what I expected. If you're looking for an easy summer women's fiction/romance this is a great one to add to your books to read at the pool or beach.

Really enjoyed this one! I hadn't had the best week, so it was lovely to escape with this over the weekend. I have enjoyed all of Sarah Morgan's books that I've read, and I look forward to recommending this one to our patrons.