Holy heartbreak Batman! This is probably the most emotional, tear jerking novel I’ve read by this author, and I absolutely loved it. I so wanted a different outcome but it was simply perfect. Excellent read!

This book never grabbed my attention. I couldn't keep the characters straight, but that might have been because I didn't care about the story. I found it to be kind of depressing. Robyn Carr is my favorite author, and I was very disappointed that this was not the kind of story I was used to getting from her. I much prefer her contemporary romance, and will most likely not be trying any more of her women's fiction.

Enjoyed this book from Robyn Carr a lot even though it was a little different than her series books. Will be recommending a lot and think would be great for book clubs.

“The Summer that Made Us” by Robyn Carr

An extremely moving and heartfelt novel of two sisters and their children and their summers at the lake house. A long standing tradition that suddenly stopped when tragedy hit.

One one of the children of the sisters is facing a terminal illness, she decides she wants one more summer at the lake house. Throughout this time, wounds are busted open again, others are healed, family members come and go, and the truth of the two sisters and the dysfunction within their own families and between themselves is all thrown out in the open. The question is, will the last summer Meg has bring the family members together again or have the almost 30 years torn them all so far apart that it is a lost cause? Will they learn their flaws can also be strengths and how they can learn from one another or continue to harbor their personal ills toward others? Is healing and forgiveness able to take place in dysfunctional families or have the wounds become so deep nothing can heal and one cannot forgive?

Amazing and realistic characters, a fast moving storyline that keeps the reader engaged and a part of the story. A gem of a novel that is heartwarming and heartbreaking, wounding and healing, and most of all about forgiveness and understanding.

Rating: 4.6
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

** I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Note: I am featuring some of the review books I've had for a while, but run out of time to review. That's not to say I'm not going to read them; it's just that I've fallen behind, and think the authors deserve an appearance on my blog!

This book weaves the story of sisters and cousins, mothers and daughters and is told with Robyn Carr's incredible brilliance to weave a wonderful story together of secrets and healing. The Hempstead sisters Lou and Jo have married brothers Carl and Roy and spend their summers with their daughters at the Lake House which has been in their family for a very long time. At the lake house things were carefree and fun. When one summer everything changes and it's sister against sister. No one goes to the Lake house now.

Meg has decided that she wants to open up the Lake house and Charly her sister will do anything even if it means upsetting their mother Lou. No one has been to the Lake House since their sister Bunny died. Meg is determined to fix her family as no one knows if her Cancer is gone or going to get worse.

Jo is unwilling to go to the Lake House unless Lou gives her the okay. They were at odds with each other over some secrets from summers long past. Krista is the first to arrive and she has dealt with her own issues after just getting out of jail.

Charly has the Lake House open and is learning more about what Krista has been up to. In Charly's own way she helps Krista make a way for herself. Charly having lost her job and at a cross roads with her boyfriend Michael who wants to marry her but Charly is scared of what no one really knows.

Hope Krista's sister is living in some fantasy world that her family life is perfect that she is still married and has her girls with her and living a lie instead of facing reality. Which gets more and more troubling as the book progresses.

Beverly Krista's other sister was devistated over Bunny's death ended up living with a foster family as her own family was a bad train wreck.

But these women come together to piece together their lives and reconnect with their families. This was such a good book I couldn't put down it was captivating and pulled me in until I closed the book it was a great story and written with a style only Robyn Carr can produce. Can't wait to see what she writes next!

I was of sure about this book at first, but it didn't take long before I hooked. This book is wonderful. I laughed, I cried and I was on the edge of my seat wanting to know what was going to happen next. I absolutely loved this book and I hope there is a sequel. I am not sure how it would the in but I would like to know what happens to some of the characters.
I highly recommend reading this book, you will not be disappointed.
Thank you and netgalley for !losing me to read this title for an honest review.

I love Robyn Carr’s books. She’s one of my favorite authors, so it was a joy being a part of her new family of characters in THE SUMMER THAT MADE US, even though these women were dealing with some major dysfunction!

The Hempstead sisters (who married two brothers) were once very close, and they spent every summer with their daughters (three each) at the family’s idyllic Minnesota lake house. Then during the summer of 1989, tragedy strikes. As a result, the family is torn apart; lives are turned upside down. It’s not until decades later that the women dare venture back to the lake house and attempt to make amends – some more willing than others.

THE SUMMER THAT MADE US is an emotional and complex family drama, with the characters dealing not only with their estrangement from each other, but also with difficult personal issues. The author did a beautiful job constructing this story, especially with so many voices. There were a couple of characters that I wished we’d heard more from, but overall I think the focus stayed where it needed to be. Fantastic summer read!

(Parts of this book I listened to on audio, and as always, Therese Plummer did a fabulous job of bringing Robyn Carr’s characters to life.)

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled with this book. I thought I would never finish it. The stories are all too sad and heavy and there was not so much action in the first half of the book, just drama and more painful events. I think it changed when Hope’s daughters got onboard. Then all was too fast but the book got two stars from that moment. Robin Carr still have a sounded style and narrative talents.
Just don’t read this book between very dramatic ones.

RATING: 3.5 STARS

​​(I received an ARC from the EDELWEISS in exchange for an honest review.)
(Review Not on Blog)

Since I first stepped into Virgin River, Robyn Carr has become part of my "mood" list. By "mood" list I mean a list of authors I can be guaranteed at least a 3.5 STAR read. As much as I read I do get into reading slumps (where every book I pick up I don't like, or can't get into, etc), can't decide what to read (usually feel overwhelmed) or just want a book I know I will love. Often at times I don't read these authors as quickly because I want to keep some of the novels at my fingertips. This novel was no different.

I really enjoyed the characters and the different plotlines! I did often want to know more about a character, but I think it would be hard to do without bogging down the overall story arc. It would be cool if there was a novella on Beverly (hint hint, haha). Rather than one or two characters this novel is about a family. After a tragic death, a family shuts down the summer home. It also fractures a once close family. As another tragedy is upon them, they come together to see if they can heal the hurt and pain. If you want a mellow read with family drama and a bit of romance and tears I recommend The Summer That Made Us. ​

Families can be a tangled mess can't they? The Summer That Made Us by Robyn Carr surprised me. It took me until I was about a quarter of the way through the book before I became engaged. This was more on me than the book but one sentence grabbed me and wouldn’t let me up. It was around 26% and it was a first sentence. After that I had to know what was going on in this family. I had to know what had happened and what was going on now.

Carr lays out a family history full of private griefs and lots of cold shoulders. It was both awful and wonderful to watch these women wrench open those festering wounds and clean them. Krista may have been my favorite character. She reminded me <strong>so</strong> much of why we shouldn’t take our day to day for granted. I also had part of Charley’s back story figured out before the reveal but I don’t know that Carr was really trying to hide it.

The Summer That Made Us by Robyn Carr made me want to dig more into Carr’s backlist for more women’s fiction!

Charlene (Charley) Hempstead is suddenly facing big changes in her life after her successful, long-running national talk show is canceled. Her younger sister, Megan (Meg) is fighting a tough battle with breast cancer and wants to return to their family’s lake house at Lake Waseba, Minnesota for the summer. She’s also inviting her cousins and their mothers, who haven’t spoken to each other in years. They all used to spend every summer at the lake until a tragic event fractured the family 27 years ago. Will they show up and if they do, can this highly dysfunctional family overcome their differences to restore the closeness they once shared?

This was a fascinating story with every level of conflict represented. Charley is at sea now that her self-defining career is stalled and the man she’s lived with for over 20 years suddenly proposes. And, she’s barely on speaking terms with her prickly mother. Her cousins, sisters Krista, Hope and Beverly, haven’t spoken to each other in years. Their mother, Jo, hasn’t had a real relationship with her sister and Charley’s mother, Lou, since that last trip to the lake. I won’t spoil the story by giving you more details but suffice it to say this was one strange brew. There are so many layers to the story, the characters and the events that happened at the last lake visit. There’s a LOT going on but Carr effectively weaves them together to create a compelling narrative using many voices.

I loved this story and wished we could see more of this family. But, deep down, I’m very satisfied to end where it did. This was one I had a tough time putting down and is contemporary fiction at its finest as family dynamics are explored in such a relevant way.

This is definitely my definition of a grand beach read. The Hempstead family was the poster family for dysfunction yet their underlying love and loyalty is unquestionable. Of the six girl cousins one is dying of cancer, one is fresh from prison, one is covering up her mental illness and the last is deal with a failing relationship and don't even get me started on their mothers. Both families used to spend the summer at their family lake home but something happened that splintered this family into tiny little pieces. The mystery interwoven with the rest of the story makes this the type of book that is very, very hard to put down and while a great beach read it's also one that you will enjoy this winter while bundled up on the couch with a fire and cup of hot chocolate.

This is another wonderful book by Robyn Carr.

In this book, there are 2 families that are intermingled by two sisters marrying two brothers. This book is fraught with dysfunction, intrigue, mystery and a tough of romance.

Both families spend summers at the lake until the day the youngest of 6 children drowns. After that, the lake house is shut down tight and everyone is told not to go there any longer.

27 years later, Meg, wants everyone to go back to the lake house and as she has cancer, the house is repaired and reopened. Her sister Charley takes care of everything. Meg's husband John comes and stays as often as possible.

The sisters/cousins come to stay at the house, each dealing with their own issues as well as some mysterious things that happened that summer.

5 stars

Idyllic summers spent at the lake house were the norm for the Hempstead sisters, until a tragedy forever changed the lives of sisters, Jo and Louise and subsequently, the lives of their daughters.

Carr starts this somewhat complicated and emotional rollercoaster in the present with focus on the grown daughters of Jo and Louise Hemstead. Charlene or Charley, has just lost her job as a television personality and it’s made her question and contemplate her life on many levels. Having identified herself with her tv persona she’s struggling to just be Charley. If that wasn’t enough, her long time partner, Michael, has thrown her for a loop by asking her to marry him after something like 20 years together. On top of that, her sister Megan is dealing with stage four breast cancer and it’s not looking good. Charley decides to visit her sister now that she has all this time on her hands. It’s clear that Megan is not doing well, so when she demands that they get together and go to the lake house where they had shared so many wonderful summers, Charley makes it her mission to accomplish this goal for her sister Megan, knowing in her heart that Megan doesn’t have much time.

Charley heads up to the lake, secures contractors and with the help of a local agent to oversee minor renovations, she gives the house a good cleaning, purchases beds, linens and sofas in record time so that they can open up the house and spend the summer there. She can’t believe how smoothly everything goes and actually begins to look forward to this time with Megan and this time away from Michael.

Unbeknownst to Charley, Megan has contacted all her cousins, mother and aunt, and her grandmother to let them know that they are opening up the lake house and would love it if everyone would come for a visit. This is met with everything from pure disgust to delight between the members of the family featured. We get an interesting perspective as Carr introduces each additional character:

Hope, Charley and Megan’s cousin definitely suffers from some form of mental illness. She’s divorced, but “pretends” she’s still married to her ex, Franklin. She lives in a world of her own creating where everything is perfect and her ex hasn’t been remarried for over two years and has a child with wife #2. Her daughters from her marriage to Franklin, have chosen to live with their dad because their mother is a complete whackadoodle.

Krista, Hope’s younger sister, who has been in jail for 20 plus years for murder. She’s released on parole and shows up at the lake. Her family welcomes her with open arms, but in many ways Krista has the most adjusting to do.

Beverly, Hope and Krista’s youngest sister, grew up with a foster family after the tragic loss of her cousin Bunny. They’d been the two youngest of the girls and best of friends. Growing up with a foster family, she seems to have escaped the issues of her sisters. She’s happily married, lives on a farm and is raising her two children.

Lastly, Bunny, who drowned in the lake at age 12 that fateful summer. She was only a small part of the catalyst that changed each family member that summer.

Once the characters are introduced, and the reader has an idea of the players, Carr slowly unravels the mystery and delves into the lives of the sisters, cousins, mother and aunt who were irrevocably changed. But Bunny’s death was really only a small part of what happened that summer. An even bigger secret is revealed to explain the distance between Jo and Lou that was only compounded by Bunny’s death. Years and years wasted between sisters who were always so close, spurned on by guilt and fear. It took Megan’s illness, and her imminent death, to bring them together again so that what really happened that summer could be explained and relationships healed with forgiveness.

For the most part, I enjoyed this book. Carr is brilliant at extracting true emotions from the reader and I always seem to build some sort of attachment to the people in her books while reading them. I found Charley to be a character of focus though the story is about the family as a whole and the incidents of that summer. I felt she kind of ran the show, so to speak. I was most intrigued by Krista who made some very poor choices in her late teens, which landed her in jail. When she gets out, she is determined to do everything right and I felt her determination. I couldn’t imagine going into jail so young, and then coming out 20 plus years later and having to adapt to everything, i.e., technology and such. At the same time I don’t think there was enough information on Beverly and why she ended up in foster care in which she stayed and was never returned to her mother, though she knew of her and her sisters. I was a bit underwhelmed by the incident involving the sisters. Though it was serious, and I could understand why they handled it the way they did, it didn’t make sense to me that it would tear them apart. These women had children, and though one was lost, the five that remained still needed their mothers. Sadly, they were all left to flounder.

I’m a long time fan of Robyn Carr. Her Virgin River series is probably my all time favorite contemporary series. Her stories never fail to draw me in and hold me through to the last page. Even the long running series when it would begin to feel like a “been there, done that” scenario; the writing and characters were enough to keep me invested. With this book, I had that same satisfaction – though this cast was probably the largest and most complex that I’ve read in a while. And as I’ve come to expect, Carr brings this story full circle and does not disappoint.

Another great read from Robyn Carr! She's one of my go-to authors for a feel good, relaxing read!

I didn't really enjoy this book which is surprising since I usually love Robyn Carr's work. Something about the book was lacking for me. I didn't care much for the characters and the story just didn't hold my attention. I'm sure others will enjoy it, I guess I just wasn't in the mood for this type of book.

4 Women’s Fiction Best Bets for September 2017
Scarlettleigh

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.
-Ben Franklin

A little play on words this month with this quote since we have two books with the word “Something” in the title. Of course, not everyone can write something worth reading –but the books this month are definitely worth reading.
All the books have an amazing sense of family— whether it be the family by blood, or the family by heart. And when you break it down –family is what gives meaning to our lives and these books celebrate that.

Something Like Happy by Eva Wood
(Amazon | B&N | Kobo)
Annie Hebden is stuck. Stuck in her boring job, with her irritating roommate, in a life no thirty-five-year-old would want. But deep down, Annie is still mourning the terrible loss that tore a hole through the perfect existence she'd once taken for granted—and hiding away is safer than remembering what used to be. Until she meets the eccentric Polly Leonard.

Bright, bubbly, intrusive Polly is everything Annie doesn't want in a friend. But Polly is determined to finally wake Annie up to life. Because if recent events have taught Polly anything, it's that your time is too short to waste a single day—which is why she wants Annie to join her on a mission…

One hundred days. One hundred new ways to be happy. Annie's convinced it's impossible, but so is saying no to Polly. And on an unforgettable journey that will force her to open herself to new experiences—and perhaps even new love with the unlikeliest of men—Annie will slowly begin to realize that maybe, just maybe, there's still joy to be found in the world. But then it becomes clear that Polly's about to need her new friend more than ever…and Annie will have to decide once and for all whether letting others in is a risk worth taking.
Strengths:Wonderful balance of humor and poignancy; Engaging characters; Exceptional plot; Uplifting ending
Measure of Love: Teaspoon
Mood: Poignant and Humorous
Why You Should Read this: What a fabulous book. It will make you laugh, and you probably will cry, but the storytelling is wonderful. Eva Wood takes a heartbreaking scenario and spins magic within the pages of the book.

Something Like Family by Heather Burch
(Amazon | B&N)
Abandoned by his mother when he was young, twenty-two-year-old Rave Wayne knows all about loss. That doesn’t mean he’s used to it. After he’s dumped by the girlfriend he assumed he’d spend his life with, Rave is longing more than ever to connect.
Then, as if by miracle, he receives an invitation from his grandfather, a man he thought was long gone, to come for a visit in rural Tennessee. Loyal, honest, and loving, dear old Tuck is everything Rave could have hoped for. He’s family. Soon, Rave finds himself falling for a down-to-earth local girl, and he thinks his life is finally coming together.
But the past isn’t through with Rave. When his mother returns after many long years, looking to reconcile the terrible mistakes that once defined her, Rave struggles to put together the unsettled pieces of his heart. Will this once-estranged family be able to come together to understand the meaning of unconditional love, the fragile bonds of family, and the healing power of letting go?
Strengths: Family redemption; Engaging characters; touching patriotism;  Uplifting ending
Measure of Love: Teaspoon
Mood: Poignant
Why You Should Read: This book sounded interesting with the description of the family struggles but it was so much more than that. Your eyes will be glistening more than once because of the wonderful way Heather Burch incorporates such genuine emotion into the book. One of the main voices of the book is a young man—which gives this book an exceptional uniqueness.

Summer that Made Us by Robyn Carr
(Amazon | B&N | Kobo)
That was then…
For the Hempsteads, summers were idyllic. The lake was a magical place, a haven where they were happy and carefree. All of their problems drifted away as the days passed in sun-dappled contentment. Until the summer that changed everything.
This is now…
After an accident turned the lake house into a site of tragedy and grief, it was closed up. None of the Hempstead women speak of what happened, and relationships between them are uneasy at best to hurtful at worst. But in the face of new challenges, one woman is determined to draw her family together again, and the only way that can happen is to return to the lake and face the truth.
Strengths: Family bonds;  Challenging scenarios; Engaging characters; Uplifting ending
Measure of Love: Teaspoon
Mood: Poignant
Why You Should Read: Robyn Carr’s books are always filled with characters stepping up to the plate to face difficult situations and succeeding to weather them successfully. Unique story of a family coming together after heartbreak.

Kitchen Charmer by Deborah Smith
(Amazon | B&N | Kobo)
These old mountains are smart, Lucy. They're alive. They can be gentle like mamas; oh, sure, they'll croon and they'll kiss you and they'll whisper while you sleep, and you'll learn what all the old rocks are saying, all these ancient ghosts, all their starshine wisdom. But these old mountains, sometimes they know you can't hear them any other way but to get smacked up along the head. You watch out, Lucy P, for you got the Charm, like us Netties do. You're a guardian of these mountains, and they're a guardian of you. They will warn you any how they have to.
They will slap the near life out of a Charmer.
They're doing it to make you and Gus listen. To make you ready.
Delta Whittlespoon, the legendary biscuit maker and owner of The Crossroads CafE, tried to warn Lucy Parmenter and Gus MacBride. Even their mystical North Carolina mountains can't block the turmoil of the outside world. As fear and ignorance threaten their community and everyone they love, the star-crossed couple must overcome brutal challenges and personal demons to forge an alliance that may be the only hope of Good triumphing over Evil.
Strengths: Appealing Mysticism; Larger-than-life characters; wonderful kinship relationships;
Measure of Love: Teaspoon
Mood: Poignant
Why You Should Read: Deborah Smith’s fans you know why you should read it –we’re been waiting for this book for a long time. Even though there is a cliff-hanger involved, this is a wonderful addition to the MacBrides series. Filled with wonderful analogies and metaphors of life.  

H&H Editor Picks:
Robyn Carr Excerpt: The Summer That Made Us
26 Romances You Won’t Want to Miss!
September 2017 Romance Novels New Releases Shopping List

I absolutely loved this book. A story of two sisters that married two brothers and each had three kids all of which were girls. The families would spend every summer at the lake house their grandmother and grandfather owned until the weekend that one of the youngest girls died in a boating accident.

That weekend created a decade feud between the sisters that really tore at their kids and caused some of them act out and question themselves for many years.

I loved all the characters especially the main ones - Charley, Meg, and Krista, the daughters. The sisters had such very different lives even though they married two brothers. I was really glad that the character, Hope, had only a small part in this book. I think if I had to listen to her craziness for much longer, I would have had to throw the book, literally. She was cray, cray.

An excellent read about family and forgiveness that really touched a nerve with me.

Thanks to Harlequin and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Robyn Carr juggles multiple heroines and multiple story lines with her usual warmth and skill. The result is an amazing women's fiction novel that should appeal to many readers.