Lauren K. Denton has fast become an author on a very short list of novelists who can write books that reel me in from the first sentence, making me feel right at home with the setting and characters. It was like that with her debut novel The Hideaway as well as her second novel, Hurricane Season. I definitely go into one of her novels with high expectations of southern charm, relatable characters with real-world problems, and main characters that you could imagine exist. Her latest novel, The Summer House, hits all of the right notes for me, and I couldn’t put it down.

Lily Bishop has known her share of struggles in life, from growing up and struggling in a single-parent household to losing her mother unexpectedly when she was still young. Marrying Worth wasn’t something that she thought would be a big struggle, even though they come from very different backgrounds. But when he just disappears one day, Lily has to pick herself up and move on, relying on the inner strength that she inherited from her mother but just needs to be coaxed out of her after so many years.

Rose Carrigan owns a retirement village and runs it with what others see as an iron fist. But she’s had too many hurts in her life too, and when Lily applies to be the village’s new hairdresser, she sees a vulnerability in her that she can’t turn away. The two women form a friendship that starts to thaw Rose’s frosty exterior, drawing her out of herself while helping Lily plan a future for herself that she actually wants. And it doesn’t hurt that Rose has a single, attractive nephew named Rawlins that comes around to fix things every week…

Lily is smart and practical, and she doesn’t want anything from her soon-to-be ex-husband. It’s refreshing to watch Lily start a new life, getting to know the various residents in the community, as well as warm up to Rawlins and his daughter throughout the book. Rose’s journey takes her out of her tightly controlled shell and into a more carefree life, but she has to let go of past hurts and wrongs to do so. How both Lily and Rose interact with the wide range of personalities in Safe Harbor Village was amusing, and often touching.

I give The Summer House a five out of five. I was invested in Lily and Rose from the first chapters, and I liked getting their story in alternating chapters in their points of view. Lauren K. Denton has the southern charm and setting down to a T, and you can practically feel the humidity and see the water in your mind throughout the book. This was definitely a feel-good book, and I enjoyed Lily and Rose’s journeys as they broke out of their shells. I highly recommend any of Lauren’s books to people who love southern settings and great family dynamics.

5.0 out of 5 stars Friendship, love, and life!
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2020
A great beach read! The friendship that develops between Lily and Rose is so realistic. The story really hits home about starting over and being open to new experiences. I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion

Not long after Lily and her husband move from Atlanta to Foley, AL, he decides he wants out and leaves. Lily is left all alone in a new area to start her life over.

This is not a heavily plot driven book, but more of a character study. I loved all the different characters and learning about them. I also loved the small beach town setting in a place I am familiar with.

If you like southern women’s fiction, definitely pick up this book. This was my first book by this author and I will definitely be reading more from her.

This was just such a cozy and endearing book. I loved how independent and strong Lily was, yet was still able to be open and share her emotions. It was a great southern story! I have to admit I was a bit nervous based on the description, because I didn’t see how a story about a retirement village would be at all relatable or “exciting” but I loved the parts where we got rose’s story and the other villagers.

The Summer House was such a great summer read. a book about resiliency and hope. I read this just when the pandemic started and it was really good to believe in all good things again. It was a good escape!

This is my first book by Lauren K. Denton and I really enjoyed it!!! The struggles that people have to overcome in life, surviving it, and how strong it makes you. Read and enjoy!!!

This book in typical women's fiction format, will bring you hope in a hopeless story setting. Friendship. Love. Care.
I really enjoyed how the emotions evoked gave us a chance to experience with the characters the pain and the healing. Beautiful writing.

The Summer House by Lauren K Denton may be good for some people, but it isn't for me. It grabbed my attention quickly, and then lost it even quicker. The writing is so slow. The writing is extremely descriptive and I just got bored.

A sweet story about how even later in life you can shed those things that hurt you and people you hurt. It’s about learning to let go, forgive yourself and finding the place you are meant to be at.

I really enjoyed this book, it was a perfect "beach read" that drew me in, kept me interested, and made me disappointed when it had to end. Great writing brought the Alabama Gulf area to life and the characters were strong and interesting. I highly recommend this book, 4 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the ARC of this book, the review is unsolicited and all opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lauren K. Denton for a copy of The Summer House, for an honest review.
Shortly after Lily Bishop and her husband move to Alabama, things unravel and her life is turned upside down. Left with hardly anything, Lily has to find how and where to start over. As fate would have it, she makes the right connections at the grocery store.
She answers a help wanted add about being a hairdresser at a retirement community, where she can live and work.
She takes a leap of faith and digs deep to believe in herself and her hairdresser abilities.
We meet Rose Carrigan, who owns and operates the community. She is alone as well and the two forge of relationship of trust and admiration. They lean on each other and make strides to make a new life.
This story has such heart. The setting, the theme and the subjects are real. I enjoyed the path these ladies took and the friends and family members we meet along the way.

This was a 4 star read for me and I have recommended it to friends and family.

Overall, I think fans of Lauren K. Denton will be happy with this book. The book does have some romance but no graphic scenes or languagem which is the kind of book I enjoy. This is a new author for me but I plan on looking forward to more. Lily Bishop's husband leaves her one day, with a note and divorce papers. How does a woman go on after that. Read and see how Lilly acquires a job and becomes part of a community, makes friends and goes on with the future ahead of her. Thanks to Thomas Nelson Fiction and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Terrific beach read even when you are stuck at home with towering hemlocks casting shade on the deck. You want to finish the book in one reading. Characters and story are well done and compelling. making for a transporting read.

This book was a light and easy read with lots of southern charm. Personally, it was a little too cliche and “vanilla” for my taste, but there was nothing really wrong with it!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing this ARC.

I loved Glory Road, so grabbed this summer read expecting a dramatic story. While I enjoyed this easy summer story, it was not as deep or contemplative. Lily wakes up one morning and finds a good-bye letter and divorce papers waiting for her, her husband gone. They had just moved to Alabama a few weeks earlier, and she had nowhere to go. She finds out the house belongs to the company, so she needs to move out. While in town, she comes across a sign advertising for a hair stylist in a local community. Having worked with her mother in her salon for years, she calls and applies for the job. Lily starts her life over at Safe Harbor, a retirement community (although not advertised as such).

I loved Lily. She was smart, loyal, feisty, friendly and more than willing to live life at Safe Harbor. She made friends with several of the retirees, but she was not about to sit still. She had something in her personality that got others coming out of their shells and trying new things, all while dealing with her own problems. Rose is the owner of Safe Harbor and she is definitely playing it safe. She has no friends, does not participate in community activities and runs the place with an iron fist. She and Lily become friends and gradually, Rose changes and becomes willing to take chances. She has many things in her past that she feels guilty about and needs to forgive herself and move forward. The other residents are all wonderful and add so much to this story. They are young at heart, gossip, have afternoon cocktails, boozy book clubs, and love taking care of themselves with hair appointments and colourful clothing. There is a bit of romance, an adorable child and some humour. This is not an exciting or dramatic story, but there is some soul searching, second chances, new beginnings and chance taking. It is also a story of community and friendship. It was a delightful summer read. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book upon request. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.

Lily Bishop finds a note from her one year plus husband telling her that he has left. His employer asks her to promptly vacate the house she's in, as it was provided by the company. And, Worth (the husband) has left his job, too. Adrift, Lily follows a lead to the senior living community of Safe Harbor. Luckily they are in need of a hair stylist and that is her go-to occupation. The community director, Rose, gives Lily a chance and a place to live.
Lily is less upset by her husband's departure than you would expect. At the community, she finds new purpose and new friends who help her navigate her circumstances. And, there's also a new chance at love with Rose's nephew, Rawlins. As life would have it, Rawlins carries his own baggage. It was a fresh read, though a bit "lucky" for Lily in what comes her way.

Denton is always a great read. You want to live in the charming southern towns she creates in her readers' imagination. This story tells of two female main characters who have been alone for too long. Mixed in with a beauty salon, it's a feel good story about becoming your best self, and finding someone you cam share life with.

The Summer House by Lauren K Denton is a the perfect summer read on a slow summer Sunday with a glass of sweet tea. I was drawn into this story right away with the opening of Lily finding the note from her ex-husband. I'm also a huge fan of books with an younger character forming a bond with an older mentor. Those stories are so sweet. And the one definitely worked for me too. It was fun to watch their friendship. And of course I loved Rawlins! Give me all the single dads. This was a fun, quick read! Recommended!


Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book.

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Lily Bishop wakes up one morning to find a good-bye note and divorce papers from her husband on the kitchen counter. Having moved to Alabama for his job only weeks before, Lily is devastated, but a flyer at the grocery store for a hair stylist position in a local retirement community provides a refuge while she contemplates her next steps.

Rose Carrigan built the small retirement village of Safe Harbor years ago—just before her husband ran off with his assistant. Now she runs a tight ship, making sure the residents follow her strict rules. Rose keeps everyone at arm’s length, including her own family. But when Lily shows up asking for a job and a place to live, Rose’s cold exterior begins to thaw.

Lily and Rose form an unlikely friendship, and Lily’s salon soon becomes the place where residents share town gossip, as well as a few secrets. Lily soon finds herself drawn to Rose’s nephew, Rawlins—a single dad and shrimper who’s had some practice at starting over—and one of the residents may be carrying a torch for Rose as well.

Neither Lily nor Rose is where she expected to be, but the summer makes them both wonder if there’s more to life and love than what they’ve experienced so far.

One of The best books I've read in a long time!

Thank you NetGalley Publisher & Author for this gifted ebook.

Heart-warming! The type of book that will leave you feeling uplifted with a full-heart!

This book is one of those warm, cathartic reads where I felt that I experienced all of the ups and downs with the characters as I read. By the end, I had the warm-fuzzies. A truly great feel-good read that is perfect to escape life for a bit and unwind, whether on vacation or a staycation!

The opening chapters are full of quiet heartbreak. Lily Bishop wakes up one morning to find a note from her husband and divorce papers. In some ways, she feels like she always knew this is how they’d end. And yet, that doesn’t fix the shock, the sadness, and the memory that their final embrace was in retrospect, a goodbye. She just didn’t know it yet.

But despite the hard moments, this is also a book that felt fully like a story about healing. I found it so cathartic to read, from watching Rose and Lily form a friendship, and watching Lily find her way through a new life now that she had been suddenly released from the life she thought she knew and wanted. Through the hard times, I felt that Lily found something much more valuable and fulfilling, even if it wasn’t the life she imagined for herself.

Both Rose and Lily are compelling characters, and their stories are so seamlessly intertwined. Rose is more reserved and distant than Lily, but they compliment one another in an unexpected way. They felt like the exact person that the other needed to pull them through the trials they are facing.

And of course, there is a romance. It is the sweet kind of butterflies-in-your-stomach romance that just made me happy to read about. It felt like it was happening to me! This is the sort of story that could be called predictable, but also carried the lesson that when love is right, it can be easy. It can just simply make sense. The contrast between Lily’s relationships were so striking and that made the love story so satisfying!

A beautiful story with characters you will not want to leave behind, and uplifting themes of forgiveness, healing, and second chances. A lovely book that lifted my spirits!

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for my copy. Opinions are my own.