Set in 1960s Martha's Vineyard, this is a great summer read.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

I think I had too high of hopes for Summer Darlings, wanting to be able to compare it to an Elin Hilderbrand book. This one earned three stars from me. I felt like the story was over-complicated, and by the time it got to the ending, I was a little shocked by what was going on. We knew there were some sketchy relations with Ash, and Heddy's boss Ted. At the same time, there wasn't much evidence all along that something like this would be happening. My favorite thrillers are ones where when I get to the twist, I could never have predicted it, but it makes total sense. Although this wasn't a thriller, I wanted the same out of Summer Darlings with the twist at the end. There were a few too many characters also with storylines making it over-complicated. I loved the scenery and wish there was more about the Vineyard description wise or setting the stage in the 1960s, or even more allusions to the Kennedys that that style. I would read another of Brooke's but this wasn't my fav.

This historical romance is set in the summer of 1962 on the island of Martha’s vineyard. The author did a great job at making the setting very authentic, I imagine that it is very difficult to write in the past. I felt that the first ⅔ of the book dragged quite a bit and then the ending was so quick and rushed, it would have been great to have mixed that up so that the flow was better. There were many likable characters, I loved the main, Heddy, and enjoyed seeing things through her point of view. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about the glamorous setting of the 1960’s or someone looking for a nice beach read. ⅘ stars.

I wanted to love this. I really, really wanted to love this. This book had so much promise, but when all was said and done I was disappointed. The characters (with the exception of Gigi) were self-centered and completely unlikeable. I was able to look past this as the story was compelling enough to hold my interest. The story eventually took a turn in a direction I didn’t anticipate and the ending seemed a little rushed.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and published for the opportunity to read this book.

3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4

I found this book to be a pretty enjoyable summer read, but have to say the ending pretty much ruined it for me. It just felt out of left field and didn't fit with the feel of the rest of the story. That's all I'll say as I don't want to ruin it for anyone and judging from reviews, it seems that lots of people enjoyed the ending!

As the novel begins, Heddy is just arriving on Martha's Vineyard to start her summer of 1962 job as a nanny fr a wealthy couple and their two children. Heddy attends Wellesley College, but has just received bad news about her future at the school. She's looking forward to a summer or making a little money and hopefully meeting some good connections, including a man who can help turn things around for her. She's intrigued by the couple she's living with, though she pretty quickly learns that everything isn't what it seems with their relationship.

I absolutely love books that take place on Martha Stewart and really enjoyed reading about Heddy's visits to the beaches and different towns, though I wish even more had been done with the setting. Heddy is a fairly likable character and even with all her flaws, she remains relatable. And I enjoyed most of the remaining cast of characters, including the household's cook, Ruth, and the men Heddy meets on the island.

But that ending, oh man. I don't necessarily think the ending was terrible, it just felt jolting to me and like it didn't fit in with the rest of the book. That said, I'll certainly read whatever comes next from Brooke Lea Foster!

Summer Darlings is the debut book for Brooke Lea Foster. The genre is a well researched book in historical fiction! I think that this is a really great debut novel and I really liked her writing style. The setting is very rich in it’s description. You can smell the ocean, feel the breeze and sun on your skin. The setting is Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. The novel is full of nostalgia from the 1960’s. The fashions, the cars, the lifestyle and even the food plays a part in creating that nostalgic feeling.

The author’s character development is very intricate. There are characters you definitely will like and some that you will hate. Ms. Foster has done a great job of distracting the reader until they reach the unexpected ending. It also depicts the wealthy and their perceived entitlements. This is juxtaposed to the struggling young help ,like nannies and housekeepers, who are working to pay for school or help their families. The author delves into the glitz and glamour one would expect along side the growth of a young innocent inner city girl and how she realizes that things are not as they seem.

I feel that Ms. Foster has demonstrated she is a wonderfully promising writer. Can’t wait to see what she has coming next. Well done!

I would like to thank NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for kindly providing me access to this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed Summer Darlings and read it in two days. It was fun to take a trip back in time to see what life might have been like in the early 60's. Heddy takes a nanny position on Martha's Vinyard with a wealthy and powerful couple with a couple of sometimes bratty kids. At first she is amazed at what a perfect family they are but the longer she is there the more the truth comes out. Heddy makes friends with a few interesting neighbors that add a lot of interest to the story. Fun, fast and interesting beach or vacation read.

3.5 stars rounded up - This was a nostalgic book taking place in 1960s Martha's Vineyard. I thought this was a fun, juicy, gossipy kind of summer read with a darker side that I hadn't expected. Heddy Winsome heads to Martha's Vineyard to become a nanny for a weathly family. She gets caught up in the glamour of the social scene there, but over time gets to know there's a darker to side to some of these people. Reading this felt a bit like a guilty pleasure. There's some petty and snarky behavior and some romance and hollywood gossip. I enjoyed the setting with descriptions of the beautiful homes and beaches. There were times that I wanted to shake Heddy and have her wizen up, but also understood that she was a young college girl in her 20s who had just entered a whole different world than she was used to. This is a fun beach read that will take you to beautiful Martha's Vineyard and pull you into the lives of some glitzy characters, most of which were not what they appeared to be.

Perfect summer read! The book immediately transports you to Martha’s Vineyard in the early 1960s. Loved all the characters and the plot has you guessing until the end! Loved it!

I loved Summer Darlings. The whole setting of Martha's Vinyard in the 60s is one of nostalgia. And that's how Summer Darlings begins. Then Heddy Winsome, fresh-faced, naive college coed discovers that there is more to the lives of the people on Martha's Vinyard, including those of her employers than meets the eye. This is a book where the setting is so important that it becomes a character. The author captured the feeling of the time and place perfectly. If you enjoy seeing secrets revealed, this is the perfect novel to take to the beach with you, this summer.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As she spends her summer working as a nanny in a Martha's Vineyard home, this young woman will face her many fears for her future and make decisions that will change her forever. Heddy has accepted a position as a nanny to the children of a well to do couple living on Martha's Vineyard for the summer. Her hopes that the job will open new opportunities to her will be fulfilled, but not all will be to her liking. The well known background island comes to life in Brooke Lea Foster's story of growing up, not just growing older. The storyline brings drama with a capital D to all of the characters and we get to enjoy their very unique reactions. A great book that will be enjoyed by most everyone. I'm just sorry we don't know what happens from here.

Review will be posted on 6/29/2020

Heddy is nothing like the wealthy and glamorous family who employed her for the summer to watch their children. It's 1962 and Heddy is from Brooklyn, so spending the summer on Martha's Vineyard sounds like absolute heaven. At first glance Ted and Jean Rose look like the perfect couple, but as Heddy spends more time with them, she realizes their perfect facade is covered up a ton of cracks. Their children, Teddy and Anna, have their own issues and if it wasn't for the housekeeper, Grace, Heddy would be on her own. Thankfully, Gigi McCabe, Jean-Rose's former friend, takes Heddy under her wing and helps her to navigate the elite social circle of Martha's Vineyard. But Gigi isn't your usual woman; she is a movie star and is unconventional. As the summer progresses, Heddy meets Sullivan, the educated guy she should probably date, and Ash, the bad boy surfer. All the while, Heddy has to face the fact that she may not be returning to college next fall and she needs to get her ducks in a row, because without her scholarship, she can't afford the tuition. The more time Heddy spends on the island, the more she realizes that secrets float just below the surface and nobody's life is picture perfect. Summer Darlings by Beatrice Lea Foster is a fantastic historical debut with a Mad Men vibe and a great setting.

Heddy is an interesting character in Summer Darlings. I felt for her due to her circumstances and obviously the issue surrounding her college scholarship. She is in a jam, but this summer doesn't make things any easier for her. I didn't always agree with the choices she made, but either way, she was always entertaining. Her love triangle between Sullivan and Ash was a bit too much at times, but then once that sub plot progresses, it will make a little more sense. Lastly, I appreciated her relationship with Gigi, the movie star. She was extremely entertaining and it was easy to imagine her as a cross between Elizabeth Taylor and Ava Gardner.

My only issue with Summer Darlings was the major turn the plot took. I thought that this was going to be a breezy historical beach read, but it definitely took a dark turn. I didn't see it coming and it went from having a Mad Men vibe to something like a film noir. I had to suspend my disbelief a little towards the end, but nevertheless, it worked for me and overall, I enjoyed the ride.

Martha's Vineyard in the 1960s truly comes to life in Summer Darlings. I appreciated the glimpse into the fancy social circles. Ultimately, Heddy realizes that it doesn't matter how much money you have, you can't escape your problems. In fact, the problems of the wealthy may be way worse than Heddy thought, especially as Ted and Jean-Rose's complicated relationship starts to fizzle out. If you like novels that take you to glamorous locations like 1960s Martha's Vineyard, look no further.

1960s glamour, high society, fancy parties and a summer fling- a look into the life of the wealthy and privileged. This was a fun book with darker undertones.

Heddy's summer job as a nanny on to a family summering at Martha's Vineyard jettisons her into a world of wealth, privilege and celebrity - quite a change for a poor girl from Brooklyn who recently had her scholarship revoked from Wellesley College. At first, Heddy is enamored with her new employers, convinced they had the perfect marriage, perfect home, and perfect life. Eventually though, the Williams couple is unable to hide their discontent, unhappiness and deep secrets. As Heddy is taken under the movie star Gigi McCabe's wing (they share a similar 'grew up on the wrong side of the tracks" background), Jean-Rose, the mother of the children Heddy is nannying, becomes irrationally jealous and Heddy finds herself outside the circle of her approval. In addition to processing her disappointment that the Williams' life is not what it seems on the surface, Heddy is contending with the attentions of two young men, one of whom was born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth but is trying to shake off the future expectations from his wealthy family, and the other, a handsome surfer with secrets of his own and rumors swirling around him.

I always enjoy a good historical fiction novel, and this one snared me from the beginning. I loved the 1962 references; Foster certainly did her homework in getting the details and era descriptions correct. Foster also did a good job capturing the changing of the social landscape during this time period, especially in regard to expectations of women and the treatment of gays during this time period. Heddy's character arc was also excellently formed; she arrived on the island as a naive young girl with stars in her eyes, but left a little jaded, a lot more grown up and with a lot more control and determination for her own future. I thought the ending was little unexpected and "off." Suddenly the story changed from a poor little girl living in a wealthy, upper-crust world to a bit of suspense that nothing else in the story really led up to. It wasn't jarring enough for me to lose my enjoyment of the story, but it was like a puzzle piece that didn't quite fit correctly. I would have loved to have a "one-year-later" epilogue, but enough was given for the reader to figure out what it probably would have said.

This is Brooke Lea Foster's first novel and impressive effort! I am looking forward to more historical fiction from this author.

This was a really fun read. It started out as a cute book and ended with a twist I didn’t see coming. I really enjoyed it and would love to read it again on the beach!

A money doesn't buy happiness story with nothing much to keep me interested. The historical setting was fun for a minute but since the novel never really dove any deeper than clothes and stores and name dropping, I quickly got bored. An entire cast of spiteful, shady characters with no one to really root for just wasn't interesting to me. I don't really enjoy scandal for the sake of scandal. I didn't find any of the intrigue compelling as I didn't really care about any of the characters.

I loved this book. It provided an inside view into the privledged live on Martha's Vineyard from all class perspectives. You felt sorry for each person in their own respective lives and what pain and suffering meant for each individual. It provided an inside glimpse of what goes on behind closed doors and the lengths people will go to make their "dreams" come true. I cared about each of the characters and could sympathize with their particulation situation. A combination of coming of age, romance, history and class struggle made this a really fantastic book to read. A perfect beach read with true substance.

Summer Darlings, Brooke Lea Foster's debut novel was mesmerizing! A naive young Wellesley College student, a scholarship student from the tenements of Brooklyn, the daughter of a single mother and the product of an affair with a wealthy married man becomes the nanny for a wealthy couple on Martha's Vineyard for a summer in the 1960's. With dreams of her own and a secret she holds close, she finds the couple with the perfect marriage, perfect children, perfect life, have some secrets of their own where the truth is only lived behind closed doors. From the beginning to the end, mesmerizing!

This is the perfect pandemic, lose yourself in summer, escape to Martha's Vineyard and hang with the rich and famous book. Of Course, all is not as it seems. This is just a fun book to escape reality with, a chance to explore life as it might have been for the 'haves' and the 'have nots' one summer in the 1960s on Martha's Vineyard.

I liked the premise of this book - rich people problems? Martha’s Vineyard in the Kennedy era? Count me in! Unfortunately I found the writing and dialogue to be a little forced, and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I had hoped. I didn’t feel very connected with the characters, and found myself nodding off a few times. This might be partially to blame on the fact that I had just read a bunch of “beach reads” in a row, and I was in the mood for something slightly more educational. I think this would be a great choice for those looking for a fun, breezy summer read.