What a beautiful novel this turned out to be! The story is told to us by Jane, Hazel's mom, and Hazel herself. Their dynamic is interesting. Hazel is a 16 year old withdrawn teenage girl living her mom, step dad, and newborn twin brothers. She feels abandoned by her mother and Jane has no clue.

One day out of the blue Hazel gets a message with someone who claims to be her half-sister. She invites her to spend the summer in Maine with her and their father, Silas. Jane hesitantly agrees and goes on a journey within herself and realizes she's been losing Hazel slowly.

I loved this story. I loved all the characters (even though I wanted to wring the half sister's neck NUMEROUS times) and loved Silas. I thought there was a LOT of growth with Jane AND Hazel. Jane grew mostly from reading the diary of Susie, the mother of Eve, Hazel's half sister. She took it upon herself to create her own diary filled with letters her daughter would probably never see to explain herself and the decisions she made. Hazel grew after she realized the life she thought she could have with blood relatives wasn't quite what it was cracked up to be.

This book had me feeling the lake breeze while mosquitoes buzzed around in the sweet, sticky heat of the summer. I imagined myself sitting next to the fire while the girls and Silas talked. It was so easy to image the scenery, Wolfson did a remarkable job with that!

4 stars. This is a PERFECT summer read that will have you smiling from ear to ear at the end. Sometimes we all need a happy book and this one delivers just that. You won't be disappointed if you pick this one up to read!

'That Summer in Maine' is a lovely narrative about a mother's love for her daughter and a daughter's search for her identity and the meaning of family. This book beautifully captures a mother's love for her child as well as the tremendous struggle of letting her grow up. I found this book to be heartfelt and honest. I enjoyed the alternating point of views between mother and daughter. This book brings an authenticity about the struggles of motherhood that I think most moms will find so relatable. That Summer in Maine brings to light the different meanings of family and what it means to be a part of one. A must read! I would like to thank Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advanced copy of this book!

I looked forward to this book from the first day I read a description of it. Unfortunately the book does not live up to the description. The characters are impossible to relate to and it is impossible to have any sympathy for them or their situation. There are far better summer reads out there.

For a women's fiction book I found this rather complex and a little different. The story is about a struggling mother/daughter relationship (Hazel/Jane), step siblings, half siblings and so much drama. Without giving too much away Jane is reluctant for Eve and Hazel to meet up with a man named Silas she hasn't seen in over 16 years in his cabin in Maine. Jane is remarried to Cam after being a single mom for so long, Does this sound mundane? It certainly was not.

I wanted to smack the heck out of a few characters for different infuriating reasons. This book had a surprising amount of depth for a women's fiction book. Not my usual women's fiction read but an author I would love to read more from. Definitely a nice summer read.

Thanks to Netgalley, Brianna Wolfson, and Harlequin Trade Publishing Mira for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 6/23/20

It was okay. I didn't particularly connect with the story or characters and didn't find it to be too memorable.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have reviewed this book for the New York Journal of Books website where it will be posted on the evening prior to the release date.

"That Summer in Maine" by Brianna Wolfson
MIRA
June 23, 2020
10-0778351238
Contemporary Fiction
320 Pages


Most teenage girls experience growing up--am I pretty enough, how can I be popular, will any boy ever like me--and the list goes on. This is the case with Hazel Box, though her anxiety encompasses so much more. For years there's only been Hazel, and Jane, her single mom, and life was close to perfect. Hazel could talk to her mother about anything and receive unconditional love as well as knowing she was number one in Jane's life.

Things changed when Jane met Cam. They marry and Hazel isn't the focus of her mom's attention. When Jane gives birth to twin boys, Hazel feels more like an outsider than ever. Where do I belong, she often asks herself?

All Hazel seems to be good for is watching the babies and helping her mom, while she fades into the background. Jane has told Hazel about an ex-love who was her biological father, but she never considered him. Though Hazel carries his surname, he's never been in her life, so why should she care?

One day she receives an email from the social media site, Wassup? from Eve Warrington, an unfamiliar girl.

"'I think we're sisters.'

"'Hazel swallowed. It took effort.'

"'Well, half-sisters.'

Looking at Eve's pictures, she is surprised by the similarities between them. So, confused yet excited, she reads as Eve tells her about the one-night stand her mother, Susie had with Silas Box, who fathered both girls. Susie and her husband, Parker desperately wanted a child but were unable to, so on a shopping trip in Maine for her decorating business, Susie met Silas. She loves the furniture he fabricates, and after they got talking, Susie went with him for a drink. She over imbibed and the rest is history. Unfortunately--Susie never told Eve that Parker was not her birth father. Eve, ever precocious thought something was wrong seeing she did not resemble either of her parents, so she searched the Internet and found Silas. When she called him, he thought Eve was Jane's daughter, but Eve did not tell anyone about Hazel. Instead, she visited Silas for the summer.

The following spring, Eve contacts Hazel which piques Hazel's curiosity, especially she believes she's doesn't mean much to her mother now.

Eve states she is planning to go to Maine and insists Hazel joins her. With mixed feelings, Jane does not want to lose her daughter to a man she hasn't seen in 16 years, but she notices how withdrawn Hazel has become, and against her better judgment and after getting together with the Warrington's, she relents.

As they leave Susie's, she hands Jane a journal in which she has recorded her thoughts from last year about Eve meeting her biological dad. She tells Jane this helped her through a tough time when Eve went to visit Silas.

Overwhelmed with joy, Hazel thinks to be with her "real" father she will gain the true family she desires as well as a sister her age. Excited when they arrive, she takes in Silas's very rustic cabin set in the woods and on the lake and pictures herself living there with him. Silas entertains his daughters the best he can but is unsure how to act around young girls. When he offers them beer, she is excited to think he's treating them as adults, though knowing Jane and Cam would be appalled.

As the days pass, Jane worries because Hazel does not answer her phone or texts. Is she losing the Hazel?

Suddenly, Jane gets a call from Hazel:

"'Hello?' Jane responds, nearly out of breath with relief.'

"'Mom,' Hazel said, but didn't say it warmly.'

"'Hello?' Jane asked again, with more urgency this time.'


'She wanted to hear from her daughter so badly.'

"'I'm staying here,' her daughter said into the phone and then hung up."

With this, Jane realizes she must go to Maine to reclaim Hazel.

The girls get along somewhat well, though Eve is a drama queen, and Hazel, who always longed for a sister, starts to have misgivings about her brash ways. Silas, somewhat reticent and melancholy, appears to be hiding something from them. There is a locked room in his house which they are forbidden to enter, and this only makes Hazel more inquisitive. What is the big secret?

One night before going to sleep, Hazel desperate for connection, questions Eve:

"'Eve,' she blurted out into the darkness. "'Are you awake?'

"'Yeah, why?' Eve responded without turning around.'

"'How did you find out about me?' Hazel asked. She could see Eve stirring a bit now.'

"'What do you mean?' Eve replied with much more energy. She sat straight up and turned her lamp on.'

"The glow lit her face up, and Hazel could sense a maniacal twinge in her eye.'

"'Well,' Eve began, slamming her palms onto the sheets nest to her, causing them to ripple.'

"'As you know, I am always one to have all the information. Some people call it gossip but I really prefer to call it information. And there was no way I was going to not find every bit of information about my own father.'

"Hazel nodded along. The feeling resonated.'

"'And in this case, the information wasn't just going to come to find me. My mother gave up his name pretty easily.'

"Eve smiled proudly and flipped her messy bun from one side of her head to the other.'

"'I told her I was sick of her secrets, and she just blurted it right out. So, one day after school, I googled his name. Silasvox.com was the first search result. I literally could not believe it would be this easy and I clicked on the page. The first page was boring. Just a bunch of shitty tables and stuff. But then I found the About Me page.'

"Hazel felt the room get a bit colder and the light of the lamp against Eve's cheek get more dramatic as the story continued.'

"'Silas's pictures popped up right away and there was no doubt that this was him. His green eyes. His black hair. If it's not creepy to say, his good look. And right there beneath the picture was a whole set of contact information. Email, phone number, address.'

"'I thought calling him would be the easiest first step, so I did. The phone rand a few times and I thought he might not pick up but then I heard his voice on the other end.'

"Hazel was enraptured now. 'Well, what did you say?'

"'I said, 'I think I'm your daughter.'

"'Just like that?' Hazel asked with true shock at Eve's straightforwardness.'

"'Yep, just like that. It was quiet on the other end of the line for a moment and then . . . Want to know what he said?'

"Eve was giggling now, her shoulders bouncing up and down.

"'He cleared his throat, and he sounded a bit flustered. 'Uh, right. The other daughter.'

"Eve guffawed as the words left her lips and Hazel's tummy clenched into one big know. Silas knew about her the whole time? Her father knew about her the whole time? It was almost as if it were all happening all over again. That kick in the stomach, those hot tears pressing behind the eyes, the constriction of the throat that came with learning that the things you thought you knew were not wholly true. She wasn't sure whether to interpret this as a betrayal of not. But Hazel wanted to stay far, far away from that idea. She wanted to push it way, way away. She wanted so badly for this new life to be her permanent one now."

One day at a local fair, Hazel spots two young boys in a double stroller and rushes to see them. In her mind, she sees her brothers, and without thinking, picks one of them up to cuddle. This terrifies their mother, causing Hazel to realize she misses her "real" family.

Soon, Eve becomes downright surly and insists she wants to go home. She states the only reason she sought Silas out was to make her parents angry after they kept his identity from her for so long. This bewilders Hazel, making her start to think about her own life.

"That Summer in Maine" is actually two novels in one; the mother's histories and the mistakes they made from their past which they now face with their love for their daughters while trying to protect them and keep them close. The daughters have their own tale combining their fears, frustrations, and questions about their place in life as they mature. Both Hazel and Eve come to see their mothers though not perfect are human and fiercely love their girls. As well as adult contemporary fiction, this can also be a coming-of-age story as the girls try to find their purpose. Either way, with tight and concise prose, two generations come to understand each other and find the real meaning of family.

This was refreshing in that it was a different exploration of relationships - the struggle of a connection between Mother and Daughter, half siblings, step parents and more. It navigates the trials and celebrations of blended families with great style and creativity. Characters that you love and want to slap in equal measures are hard to describe in the written word, but Brianna Wolfson does it well!

A different read about relationships. A mother and daughter struggling to connect. Add to that a new family along with a half sister and an unknown birth father, the story had its share of complicated relationships.

My first book by this author, I loved the emotions evoked by the mother-daughter duo. The story was different enough to keep my interest flowing. Certain parts were a tad far fetched in this time and Era.

Overall, a good read.

I have read a lot of Women's fictions books, from women starting out on their own, new business and second chance love, but I think this is the first book I have ever read about a woman and her daughter and a struggling relationship, from the Mother trying to cope, and the daughter trying to find her place in a new family and discovering her birth father and a sister she never knew about, and it was an eye-opener to be sure!

That Summer in Maine doesn't start out in Maine at all, or even with a simple plotline, but with a woman called Jane, who is exhausted! After many years of being a single mother, Jane now has a husband and twins to add to her daughter Hazel. Hazel is struggling, she loves her new siblings but is struggling to find her place in her changed family and the loneliness she felt. But that all changed with one simple message, from a girl called Eve, who claims that she is Hazel's half-sister.

This tale is a little bittersweet for me, as someone who struggled and still somewhat struggles with her place in her own family, I'm like Hazel in the fact that she wants to know her father and half-sister, to connect with someone else over similarities, but I also understand Jane, in the fact that she raised Hazel and doesn't want to share any part of her, but also realizes her actions in taking her daughter for granted and that leads to resentment. Overall the book was a stunning read and one that I would recommend to single parents everywhere.

This was a 3 1/2 star read for me. I didn't care much for the story line, or one aspect of it, I should say. But the words, wow. I really enjoyed this author's style. I'm not really one that loves or needs extra words to describe things, I even sometimes find them to be annoying.

Every single word in this book is beautiful, and well chosen, not wasteful at all. I liked the stories of the Mothers, and of Hazel, but Eve, oh Eve, I wanted to slap you. Ha!

Will definitely read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the ARC.

I unfortunately was not a fan of this book.

I really wanted to get into the story, but when the mom sent her daughter off on a train to spend weeks with her father even though the mom hadn't spoken to the man in years, I just lost the believability. She turned her daughter over to a man who didn't ask for her, didn't try to be in her life, and didn't seem to concerned with her. She asked a couple of questions, went to a dinner with the newly revealed half sister, then sent them on a train alone together.

I lost interest in the story when I couldn't see how any mother could do that. The writing did not flow very well. There were a lot of repetitive words and short sentences.

Brianna Wolfson showed a lot of talent in describing emotions, so I would be interested in trying an edited version of this book or her next book. Thank you for letting me read the novel, and I'm so sorry I wasn't a fan