I always enjoy a Mary Kay Andrews story! Her heroines are intelligent and brave southern women. Conley Hawkins is no different. She finds herself returning home after a new job falls through. The dynamics between Conley and her sister are tense. When she stumbles on a new story everything changes as she seeks the truth. The mystery that unfolds as she investigates her story kept me turning the pages. The quirky antics of the hometown crowd were enjoyable. At times I felt the pacing a bit slow, but the story kept me wanting to know what was going to happen and who was the true villain.
Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advance Reader Copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

After quitting her job as a award winning Journalist at the Atlanta Journal for a DC based digital publication, our heroine Conley learns that it has gone bankrupt. She has already given up her apartment in Atlanta and has lost a sizeable down payment for her new place in D.C. She is jobless and broke. Her only option is to return home to the small town in the Florida Panhandle where she grew up.

Her family owns and runs the weekly paper there called The Silver Bay Beacon. Her sister reluctantly hires her and Conley starts to do what she has always done, “turning over rocks and finding out what crawls out”.

What crawls out is a story with many, many layers that is interesting to watch unfold! Conley ends up knee deep in an investigation. I have to admit I did not like this character at first. I found her to be very self involved and lazy. She thought that working at her family's paper was beneath her and she always got others to do her leg work. But as the investigation continues, Conley starts to grow as a person.

Of course, she solves the mystery and is offered several jobs in big markets but she turns them all down! She has learned that what is most important is family and she will stay with them by her side and make her families small town newspaper grow too!

Sarah Conley Hawkins (call her Conley)is from a small town in the Florida Panhandle. She is an award winning reporter on an Atlanta newspaper. She has just been hired as a large step up from the paper to a Washington DC position.

Then things go very wrong. No prestigious new job and she has no apartment (she dumped her live-in boyfriend).

The only thing left is to go home to her grandmother’s house and send out feelers for a new job.

She hates her home town, she dislikes everything and almost everybody there. It is far beneath her. Her sister is the editor of the family’s weekly paper, Conley sneers at both her sister and the paper.

In fact, Conley sneers at everyone except her Grandmother. She has little respect for people other than herself. But, even though her Grandmother’s health is precarious, Conley cannot pay much attention to her or her health.

As you may have gathered, I am not a fan of Conley.

When a home town hero dies in a one car accident, Conley is urged to write the story for the family paper. The man had been the long term U S Congressman for the area. His history is closely tied to the town. Because the accident happened nearly in front of her, she agrees to write the article for the weekly paper for her Grandmother.

Then she does what she always does, “turning over rocks and finding out what crawls out”.

I am well aware of the responsibility of a good reporter. I admired Conley’s ability to put facts together. But, doing research, there are things which she could have done to find property values and histories of sales. She had to ask someone else to do it. And then, there are ways to ask questions which do not automatically make whoever you are interviewing your enemy.

Most of all, I had issues with her abrasive and cavalier treatment of people who cared for her. She was cold and inconsiderate. Using people for her own purposes seemed to be her natural way to have relationships.

I was nearly finished with the book before Conley began to act as though there were anyone in her world other than herself. It took me a very long time to begin to like her even a little.

I love Ms Andrews’ writing. In fact, I have nearly every one of her books on my keeper shelves.

In order for me to love a book, I have to love the lead characters. In this book, I loved most of the characters in the story. Grayson, Conley’s sister, is a woman who obviously has burdens. Lorraine, Conley’s grandmother, is a smart cookie who loves Conley to the moon and back. Sean Kelly, Conley’s best friend from her childhood is a man who is kind, intelligent and funny. He also has given his life to caring for his ill mother.

In fact, most of the secondary characters are exactly who I would expect to find in a Mary Kay Andrews’ book. They are good people who you know would make good friends.

This book is well written. Ms Andrews is a master and I am a HUGE fan.

This book is not one of my favorites.

I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I am writing this review voluntarily. All opinions are completely my own.

This was a fantastic book. All the characters are likable and enjoyable to follow. The storyline line is fascinating and compelling. It was entertaining to watch as the main character’s career and life goals changed and she found the quiet life in her home town more inviting than big city life. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and St Martin’s Press. All opinions expressed are my own.

Nothing starts off summer better than my toes in the sand with a Mary Kay Andrews novel in my hand! Readers are headed for a bumpy ride with Conley and company through the death of a high profile local and its aftershocks rippling through a small Florida town on the Panhandle. I loved the dynamics within Conley's family as well as out and about in her home town, after a return to Silver Bay from Atlanta, as she investigates the story for her family's newspaper. The characters are likable and relatable, relationships between characters were developed, and the story-line was full of surprises - Andrews never disappoints! Plus... the epilogue!! Thanks so much to #NetGalley for the opportunity to preview #HelloSummer by @mkayandrews - I love-love-loved it!

Once again, favorite author, Mary Kay Andrews, has given us a new story with characters who become like family! "Hello Summer" is a delight and endearing read. Conley Hawkins left her small childhood town and family owned newspaper for a journalistic career in Atlanta. Unexpected cutback at the large newspaper cause her to return home "temporarily" and joining her sister at The Beacon" . She becomes witness to a fiery car crash and in turn the town secrets unfold . Meet her sister, Grayso; Lorraine, Grandmother and family matriarch, and other townspeople. Enjoy the Southern hospitality. A summer read with publication set for May 2020.

I didn't want the book to end, I wanted to stay in Silver Bay and see what happens next. It's that good! Read the cover for details on the story. characters are realistic,several events happening at once,just like life! Combines mystery, romance, family, career and more. Twists and turns you won't see coming. Great beach or anytime read.
I received this book as a complimentary copy and under no obligation to provide an unbiased review. The opinions expressed are my own.
Thanks to the author,publisher,and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Hello, Summer is more than your average beach read. While it has romance, it also has a murder to be solved and a safe of intrigue.

This book is a quick and engaging page turner that will delight old and new Mary Kay Andrews fans alike.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Mary Kay Andrews has done it again! Hello, Summer is a page-turning mystery topped off with a little beach town romance!

I love a "coming home" romance & this book delivered! However, "Hello, Summer" is NOT your every day "summer beach read". Mary Kay Andrews mixed it up with some suspense/mystery included with the romance and I really enjoyed it! The characters & their relationships were complex and I enjoyed watching them evolve.

Conley Hawkins finds herself back home in Silver Bay after she resigns her job at the AJC for a job in DC. When the job in DC dematerializes, she heads to a Silver Bay until she figures out her next move. What she finds is her family newspaper in danger of closing, unresolved feelings for the boy next door, family drama, personal endangerment and a political scandal that is also a death investigation.

Mary Kay Andrews hits a home run with Hello, Summer. The characters are well developed and interesting. It is easy to get caught up with Conley as she navigates small town life that is anything but sleepy. Once I got to the second half of the novel, there was no putting it down until I finished it.

Thank you to Mary Kay Andrews, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought Hello Summer would be a light, summer romance, but with death, corruption, family tragedies and regrets mixed into the story of girl falls in live with the boy next door, it was a lot more interesting.

Conley Hawkins returns to the small Florida town she grew up in having lost her job and finds herself reluctantly working for the family newspaper. Despite the many cliches, the story kept me hooked as Conley investigated political scandals and family feuds.

Hello, Summer
by Mary Kay Andrews
St. Martin's Press
You Like Them
Women's Fiction
Pub Date 05 May 2020 | Archive Date 05 May 2020

One of the best reads of 2020. Great, light hearted read to fill your days. Thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin's press for providing this ARC. Will recommend to friends and patrons at our library.

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press for the eARC of Hello, Summer! I really enjoyed this story of a young journalist who has to move home to her small Florida town and starts working (under duress) with her older sister at their family paper. Conley comes across the scene of an accident that sets her reporting on local intrigue.
Conley is a scrappy, headstrong heroine, but she was easy to root for. I really loved her G’mama - the matriarch of the family who doesn’t take any sass. This was a great story to transport me out of my living room during this period of social isolation.

Mary Kay Andrews does it again - a great summer read that kept me guessing! Conley is a reporter for a newspaper in Atlanta who is leaving her job to move on to a more prestigious position in Washington. The problem is that the opportunity goes up in smoke, and she is forced to move home to her Grandmother's house in Florida until she figures out her next plan. Her grandmother would love to have her stay home and help the struggling family newspaper survive. Conley's main task is to try and make the society column "Hello, Summer" readable.

When she happens upon the scene of an accident, and the death of a Senator, her reporter instincts go into overdrive. There are a number of twists and turns, there is some mystery and some romance, but it is a good balance.

This was a solid story that kept me interested; there were some details of the Senators death that I felt were left hanging a bit. If you enjoy Mary Kay Andrew's other books, this one won't disappoint.

I received a copy of this book through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When a job offer in DC doesn’t pan out, Conley Hawkins has burned her bridges in Atlanta and ends up back in her hometown of Silver Bay, Florida in her grandmother’s house. Not too much has changed there and she is coerced into helping her sister with the family’s failing newspaper.

She gets a scoop about their Congressman’s death in a fiery car crash and convinces her sister to start a digital page for the paper which upsets many of the old timers.
But Conley doesn’t give up and begins to see that small town life may not be so bad.

There’s something her for everyone—mystery, romance, family struggles, and even some politics.

*4.5 stars

Nothing says Summer than a Mary Kay Andrews book. I've become a huge fan of hers and I still have her backlist to get through. This is her newest story and its another winner.

Conley quits her job to accept another one but things don't go as planned. So she finds herself back in Silver Bay, her hometown. Without a job and living again with her grandmother, she accepts a temporary job with her sister. She runs the family owned business, The Silver Bay Beacon. Conley ends up witnessing an accident that involves a local congressman. From there, she wants to write the story, but soon finds more scandals in the local town than she bargained for. This book had everything: mystery, family dynamics, a little romance, and along the way finding yourself. If you're a fan, like myself, don't hesitate to pick this one up or if you haven't read MKA before, than I recommend giving her a try.

Always a pleasure to read Mary Kay Andrews. And this should definitely be in your beach bag this summer. Also, it comes out on my birthday, May 5th, so it must be magical!

Sarah Conley Hawkins got out of her hometown before the ink was dry on her diploma. Ambitious, talented, and on the path to journalism greatness. Working for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has been great, but when offered a job in D.C., she packs her meager belongings and is headed out the door when her sister sends her a message letting her know that the paper in D.C. has just shut its doors. 

Conley, she dropped Sarah long ago, now has no job, no apartment and finds herself back home living with her grandmother who is determined to put her to work at the family's weekly newspaper, The Silver Bay Beacon, currently being run by her sister, the lawyer.

There is a lot of tension between the two. Running a newspaper wasn't her sister's dream. But she has had to step in and take over, so yes, she resents Conley for leaving and never returning. 

Her first assignment will be working with the town gossip columnist. Who may be a few crayons short of a full box. She knows everything going on in the little town but has no idea how to write. So, for now, Conley is stuck making sense out of Rowena's long-winded descriptions and over the top gushing.

Until she and her former bestie, Skelley, happen upon a horrible car crash. Unable to get the man behind the wheel out before the car explodes in flames, Conley has herself a story. The man was a U.S. Representative with a sterling reputation and a war hero to boot. Or so they say.

But Conley is suspicious. And soon is knee-deep in the investigation. The police may have written it off as an accident, but Conley knows it is not. Something is not right and she is going to get the truth even if it kills her. And it just may.

No one does the complications of family like Ms. Andrews. The secrets we keep thinking we are protecting the ones we love. The misunderstandings between sisters. And always, the hope, the love, and the redemption we all need.

Well Done!

NetGalley/  May 5th, 2020 by St. Martin's Press

I really enjoyed this book, well developed characters and storyline. MKA includes all in this book, small town happenings, family drama and romance! I usually wait to read beach books closer to summer but decided to read this one earlier and I’m glad I did. Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read it,

A Mary Kay Andrews book is always an enjoyable read and this one did not disappoint. During these trying days, this book whisks you away to the Florida sun, add in a mysterious accident, family drama, old secrets and a little romance! Perfect getaway!

Conley Hawkins is on to bigger and better things, leaving her Atlanta newspaper job for a bigger one in DC, when she is thrown for a loop. She runs home to Silver Bay, where she grew up and rarely visits because of personal reasons. When she runs into an old friend her first night home, they come across an accident. A prominent resident is killed and this leads Conley and her family run and operated newspaper to uncover the truth, and hopefully, in turn, make the newspaper profitable.

I enjoyed learning the ins and outs of a small-town newspaper, the reporters responsibilities and the many hats they need to wear. So different from their much larger counterparts.

Thanks to the Ms Andrews, St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone!