I feel like it's been awhile since a MKA book made me swoon. This one did. I loved the suspense of it and I lovedhow the characters developed. To see how much Conley and her sister grew and evolved, made this story one that I didn't want to put down. Well worth picking up!

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3243876977

I loved this book. It has everything family drama, mystery and romance. Conley Hawkins had a job lined up as a journalist in Washington D.C.. but it falls through, she goes home to Silver Bay to stay with her grandmother. Conley ends up working at the family newspaper The Silver Bay Beacon, which is run by her sister Grayson. One of the things she has to do is rewrite the Hello Summer column. Conley with her good friend Sean Kelly witness an accident. They come to find out it’s a local hometown hero/congressman. Conley starts digging around and thinks his accident is not just an accident. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for my ARC. This is my own opinion.

Hello Summer by Mary Kay Andrews Reviewed on April 29, 2020 2.6 rounded up

Our April weather has been a lot like summer so I thought this might be a fun read.
I do like author, Mary Kay Andrews and have read three other novels. Really liked "Summer Rental" as we have vacationed many times on the Outer Banks. I also liked "Ladies’ Night".]. But this didn’t click for me. Doesn’t mean it wasn’t good … perhaps… I just wasn’t in the mood. I prefer psychological thrillers but do enjoy a nice comfy beach read.

Want to thank NetGalley and I just love St. Martin’s Press so was pleased with being granted this early release granted to me in exchange for an honest profession review. The Publishing date is schedule for Tuesday May 5, 2020.

Expecting a good , but light beach read in Mary Kay Andrew's latest story, but was I surprised. Conley returns home to a small town in Florida after losing a great investigative journalism job, even before it got started. She's going to be living with her grandmother and working in the family newspaper business, The Beacon, for her older sister.

The first word that comes to mind is boring and humdrum, however this book is anything but. Enter the suspicion death of a longtime politician, a disgruntled deputy, the brooding and suspicious nighttime DJ, a forgotten first live, and a host of family issues to give you one great story!

Not your typical fluffy beach read that's for sure. You've got to read this one. It's tough to put down, and although some humor dispkayed, is not your typical Mary Kay Andrew's book. It was so much better so go out and read it. Great characters, twisting plot, and a HEA.

I received a free ARC eBook from Net Galley and the publisher in exchange for my honest opinions.

I was so excited to receive a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

i have read Mary Kay Andrews in the past and I took a break because I felt like her books were a bit repetitive in the plot line. I was so happy to see a shift in emphasis for the majority of this book. This book follows Conleya news reporter who is just about to leave her job in Atlanta to take a higher paying job in DC. On the day of her farewell party, Conley learns that her new job has gone under. Conley decides to return home while she searches for a new position. However once she makes it back home in Florida, she realizes life has changed dramatically since her last visit home. Her grandmother is ill, but refuses to admit it, her sister is trying to hold on to the family's small town weekly newspaper, but is looking to sale, and her neighbor is suddenly interested in her but she can't commit. It's not until a local congressman dies in mysterious circumstances that Conley realizes she might be onto something and home could mean more to her than ever before.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found the main character relatable. Conley is in a stroke of bad luck, but is determined to make things better all the while arguing with relatives the whole way. It leads to a good mystery filled with suspense, and even a little romance.

Hello, Summer is the summer offering from seasoned author Mary Kay Andrews. In this tale, investigative reporter Conley Hawkins appears to be on the brink of national success when the rug is pulled out from under her. The online publisher she had left her job at the Atlanta Journal Constitution loses funding and Conley loses her position before she ever leaves Atlanta for D.C. As she has packed and vacated her apartment and jobless, there is no place for Conley to head but her hometown of Silver Bay, Florida.

Her grandmother, Lorraine DuBignon Conley, is very happy to see Conley; her sister and editor of the family hometown weekly paper, Grayson Hawkins Willingham, not so much. Conley has spent no more than brief weekend visits home since their father, Chet Hawkins, passed away. Her G’mama Lorraine is in her mid 80s and beginning to show her age, as is her 70 something housekeeper companion, Winnie Churchwell. Both are thrilled to have Conley home. They find it very much to their advantage as she willingly moves them to the beach house, which Grayson had resisted.

On her second night home, Conley finds herself at the only night spot open, the VFW, and runs in to her childhood friend and boy next door, Sean Kelly, or Skelly as she had called him. As Conley had a bit too much to drink, Skelly offers to drive her home. At 3:00 a.m. they come upon a single car accident in which the driver has died and the car becomes a fireball. The accident victim is identified as U.S. House Representative C, Symmes Robinette. And thus the investigation begins.

This book is fast paced and layered, with so many possibilities it is hard to be patient as the story unfolds. The conflicts of sisters, friends, family, and criminals blend in such a way as to hold and guide the reader’s attention until the exciting climax.

My biggest hope is that Ms, Andrews plans to make this a series and the next investigation Conley and the newspaper staff unravel will be the cancer hotspot in neighboring Plattsville. I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!!

Light reading about a young journalist who returns home when a new job falls thru. Her grandmother and her housekeeper are getting on and Conley takes them out to their summer house. Her older sister runs the weekly town newspaper. Conley goes out one night and meets up with a former neighbor Sean Kelly and when they are driving home, come upon an accident. A vehicle is overturned in the road and there's someone inside. Sean calls 911 and then they try to get the man out, but the vehicle catches fire and they are forced back. It turns out the man is a congressman. This triggers Conley to want to investigate what happened to him...

I went into this book expecting a typical fluffy beach read.

This time, I got a main character with a real career who is good at her job and some real drama -not just a cheating rich husband and some small town gossipy ladies. Well, there is a cheating rich husband but there are more layers to the story that make it an interesting mystery and drive the story foward.

There's one section of the book that bothered me because the sunset seems to last for a few hours so that the main character can do some investigating, visit her grandmother and take a walk on the beach - all at sunset. Other than that I really liked this book. I liked the portrayal of journalism and newspapers big and small, I liked the big news story/mystery (totally was surprised by the ending), the romance was ok, the grandmother and housekeeper were ok, the sibling and parental thing was fine. Definitely would recommend it.

*I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and I am required to disclose that in my review in compliance with federal law.*

Mary Kay Andrews’ titles are always misleading. You’d think that Hello Summer would be a fluffy beach read, but NO! Although the story takes place on the gulf shores of the Florida Panhandle , the author takes us on an investigation into the death of a long time local politician. Conley comes home after losing a position at a Washington DC media job to work at her family’s fledgling small town weekly newspaper and is thrown into this big story that can change her career and future. Filled with not only a great storyline and interesting characters, Hello Summer has the Southern charm we’ve come to expect from Mary Kay Andrews. I couldn’t put this book down, wanting to get to the next chapter! I highly recommend this book!
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Hello, Summer by Mary Kay Andrews is going to be a great summer read. I loved it! My favorite Mary Kay Andrews’ novels are about the south and beaches. I always want to feel the sand beneath my feet when reading her books.

Hello, Summer focuses on Conley Hawkins, a newspaper reporter who seems to be all about finding the story, until due to a surprise is without a job. Conley heads home to Silver Bay, Florida and her G’mere to lick her wounds and start again. Conley’s family owns a small town newspaper that her sister runs, but G’mere forces Conley to work there as well. Conley has a lot to figure out about her life, her job and where she wants to be, when she witnesses an accident and is left with lots of questions.

I love how Silver Bay and it’s slow, polite southern life is such a part of the story. I think some of the older women in the story are such characters. Another favorite element in the story is the boy next door as Conley’s love interest who helps her find her way. I loved the mystery in the story and Conley’s relentless investigating opens more questions. Hello, Summer by Mary Kay Andrews is a great read!

This book was delightful. It shares the story of a journalist who is back in her hometown which is a small town in Florida. There is a ripped from the headline newstory that unraveled throughout the story that kept me engaged. Loved Mary Kay's writing.

I have enjoyed immensely the plot and loved the characters. This is my first book that I have read written by this author and for sure it won't be the last. I recommend the book to anyone who likes to read and relax with a good book at the end of the day.

Let me start by saying that I love Mary Kay Andrews’s writing style and I have read all of her books. As a southerner myself, I can totally understand and relate to her accurate portrayal of life in the south, and I love her descriptions.

However, this time I was disappointed. This book was too much - too many story lines, too many characters, and way too many pages. I finished it, but it took me two weeks to read and I breathed a sigh of relief when I finished it.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this advanced copy - it was appreciated.

There is always something comforting about a Mary Kay Andrews book. You grow to love the characters and their complex stories and relationships. And even though there are some disturbing things that occur, you come away feeling good after you finish her books!

Conley is a reporter for a paper in Atlanta when she gets a job offer in Washington. On her last day at her old job she finds out her new job has now disappeared because the paper has just shut down. With nowhere to go, she heads home to Silver Bay, FL. She moves in with her grandmother and starts working at the family newspaper, which her sister, Grayson, runs. Conley and Grayson have never gotten along so there is a lot of tension. As Conley sends out feelers for another job, she starts working on stories in Silver Bay and the surrounding community.

I've read quite a few books by this author and thought this one was okay. It is written in third person perspective. As a head's up, there is swearing.

Conley's full name is "Sarah Conley" but she now goes by "Conley" (her second name) but her family calls her "Sarah". I don't know why the big fuss was made about this. I was waiting for the big reveal why she doesn't want to be called "Sarah" anymore but it never came. Why didn't the author just give her a name and leave all the fuss out about it? Another drama was about Conley's parents. Her father had been dead about six years and her mother left the family years before. This was a drama that wasn't needed.

I found it weird that when the grandmother was in a scene, she was referred to as "Lorraine" and "G'mama" ... for example, "Lorraine said," whatever and then it the next paragraph "G'mama said," whatever. It seemed weirdly inconsistent. And having her grandmother referred to at "G'mama" seemed strange.

There was a lot going on in this book. A local congressman passes away in an accident and Conley knows there is more to the story (she witnessed the crash) and she starts digging. She starts to hang out with Skelly (Sean Kelly!), the "boy next door", who wants more than she is able to give him. The local DJ has a mysterious past. A cop investing the congressman's death is a slimy dog.

Hello, Summer by Mary Kay Andrews was my first book read by this Author. I really enjoyed this book. It was a hard book to put down and found myself reading into the wee hours of the night. The sibling rivalry was really so true to real life. But in the end we all seem to overcome the little things and see the bigger picture. I fell in love with the main character Conley she brought this book to life. Conley was a very strong woman. The small town was full of life and love. Everyone had their little secrets and quirks. The book had a mystery to it. This book is a must read. I am looking forward for more books from Mary Kay Andrews. Thank you for the ARC opportunity.

Another great beach read from Mary Kay Andrews. Readers will be happy to have an escape with the world changing around them.

What a totally delightful, Murder She Wrote meets Lifetime movie read. This was my first Mary Kay Andrews book, and it did not disappoint.

Andrews does diligent work in creating a too real southern, small town world; chock full of gossip, and spider webs that creep behind closed doors, ready to get you when you least expect it.

There’s excellent and seamlessly folded-in, character building; not just for the main character, Conley, but for each vital family member and key player in the story. Albeit the local radio host, but done purposefully, that you discover as the plot evolves.

Conley, a print news reporter, gets cast back to her home town, and gets thrown into unearthing the local political drama, once a congressman dies in a fiery one car accident. There’s newspaper drama thrown in via clipping from the local “Hello, Summer” column, adding a fun element to the story; making you feel like you’re part of the town, watching this all unfold.

The only con I found to the book was it did, at one point, seem to drag out just the tiniest bit before everything starts hitting its climax at three quarters of the way through. But I didn’t mind it by the end; because Andrews was still able to wrap up everything via the epilogue.

I loved the underlying message, for those of us that left behind a world you never thought you had to get involved in again, until the universe starts hurtling you back to it and does everything it can to make you address those repressed feelings and issues; especially with family.

Hello, Summer is one of the best books I have read in awhile. Conley Hawkins is leaving the AJC and headed to DC for a new Journalism post. Only at the very last minute, literally, that job is cancelled. With nothing to do Conley returns to her small hometown in Florida and is tricked into helping her older sister at their family owned newspaper. Silver Bay, her family and the newspaper are everything Conley doesn't want. But adjustments are made. New journalism practices are employed and instead of just stating the facts and a polite social column, the Silver Bay Beacon begins some investigating journalism. Mary Kay Andrews writing matures with each book she writes. I definitely would recommend Hello, Summer.

Another great read from one of my authors! Conley thought she was leaving for a new job , new life to find out it wasn't going to happen so, She ends up going home to spend time with her grandma and working at her family's own newspaper , to find the biggest story yet to be old , a story so big that the life she thought she was aiming for that didn't happen , makes it worth her stay in the small town she grew up in . Great characters , great read!