I really enjoyed this book! It was super sweet and heartfelt! I really enjoyed really about how she found her grandmothers letters and then delved further into them only to meet up with Noah. I really loved how I haven’t read anything like this before. I would highly recommend

Actual Rating: 4.5

This book was so sweet, and I loved the characters. Abby reminded me of myself in a lot of ways, and her internal dialogue was so funny. And while the romance between Noah and Abby was superb (we love a slow burn), Abby’s search to learn more about her grandmother was my favorite aspect. It really made me think about family history, and all that we lose when someone dies. The letters between her and Edward were so good and romantic, my heart wanted to burst out my chest. The only thing that kept this from being a 5 star for me was that I thought the letter discovery happened so quickly in the beginning that I didn’t really get the chance to care about the characters or the stakes quite yet. But the ending of the book was so satisfying in so many different ways, I’m glad I finally got a chance to read this book.

I did not get to read this book, so I can not write a good review lol. I am giving it a 3/5 because I cannot give it a 1/5 :(

I adored this. I loved the setting of Nantucket in the summer. I loved digging into family history. I loved the romance. I found myself thinking about this book while doing other things and kept wondering what was going to happen next. Loved, loved, loved. (The auction thing was a little weird but it worked out in the end.)

Such a sweet read, and definitely perfect for a summer read! I read this book when we flew to Hawaii for vacation. I was able to finish it between both flights, and absolutely adored it! I'm always looking for a sweet tender romance. I definitely found that in this book.

Reading this book felt like taking a vacation to Nantucket. The sensory details were enthralling, and the characters felt so vivid. I was totally captivated by the story, and especially the family history. The romance was especially swoon-worthy, and I liked that the main character also had goals besides just that. I struggled to put this one down. A perfect summertime/beachy read!

I loved the premise of this story. It started out promising but after the first interest piquing couple of chapters it just didn’t quite follow through for me.

Abby a soon to be a high school senior, is at home the summer before. She’s bored and not in the best head space because her boyfriend recently broke up with her and her both of her best friends are not around and doing their own thing for the summer.

One afternoon she receives a box of her late O’Ma’s (Grandma) things. When Abby opens the box she finds a stack of love letters among her items. To her dismay they are not from her Grandfather, instead the senders address is from Nantucket and the letters are signed E.

Abby needing a distraction and wanting to find out more about her Grandmother’s past decides she’s going to use this as a thesis for College. She knows her O’ma fled from Germany as a child, all alone to the US in order to escape the Holocaust. But that is really all she and her mother both know about her past. Abby packs her bags and heads to Nantucket for the summer deciding she’s going to find out more.

She discovers the elusive E is Edward Barbanel, a very wealthy and respected resident of the community. Before Abby has a chance to question her O’ma’s previous suitor she has a run in with his grandson Noah. Abby is in awe because Noah Barbanel is gorgeous. But she quickly snaps out of it when she learns he’s also just as infuriating as he is handsome as he throws up as many roadblocks as he can to stop Abby from talking to his Grandfather. All in the name of protecting family dynamics.

Abby won’t back down and decides even if she uncovers uncomfortable truths she came to Nantucket to get answers. But as the summer stretches her attraction to Noah deepens and she trusts he will find a way to help her without causing drama for his family. Until one evening an event causes everything to come to a head and everything is thrown out of control and Abby’s not so sure Noah is the person she thought he was.

I’ll start out with the biggest issues for me.

After reading the books synopsis I was expecting this mysterious past meets present type romance, but nope, that’s not quite how things turned out. And the letters, which are in the title are more of a forethought. They are barely delved into which left the story kind of lacking.

Also there was so much secretiveness from everybody. Starting from O’ma herself. It just wasn’t explained very well and unwarranted IMO. Edward’s closed mouthed almost curt like attitude really pissed me off most of all.

There were definitely parts I did enjoy like Abby’s tenacity, even though she didn’t exactly consider other’s feelings at times. But I love seeing a strong, teen female lead that took charge and was unapologetic.

There is a part of this book when Abby is not badgering the Barbanel’s that is really fun. It gives great beach vibes as Abby hangs with her friends that she met on Nantucket. Going to beach parties and just being young and carefree. Oh how I miss those days!

Also Abby’s extensive vocabulary was quite interesting, she was definitely not the average teen. I think she knows bigger words than me..lol.

For me this book was just middle of the lane but I do think a younger audience will appreciate it more and find this to be a cute, coming of age beach read.

There is more item that I almost forgot to mention. Abby got a job for the summer in a book store. 💕 That would be my summer dream job, working at a beautiful bookstore on a beachey island surrounded by all the books my happy heart could desire!

Thank You Penguin Teen for the Advanced eArc in exchange for my honest review.

Absolutely beautiful. Thought provoking and emotional. Put me in all my feels and would absolutely recommend.

Summer of Lost Letters by Hannah Reynolds, 384 pages. Razorbill (Penguin), 2021. $19

Language: R (100+ swears, 1 ‘f’); Mature Content: G; Violence: G

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

17yo Abby finds herself alone and sad before her senior year of high school. When she goes through her recently deceased grandmother’s possessions, Abby finds love letters written back in 1958. She decides to follow them to Nantucket, to a home known as The Golden Doors, where she hopes to find answers about her grandmother’s time there and her grand passion. What she finds is a family with dark secrets – her grandmother’s former love, his wife who is desperate to keep control, and their grandson, Noah, who tugs at Abby’s heart.

A possible beachy read. The family drama on Nantucket is very contrived and old-fashioned - all dynastic concerns and money is more important than anything – not as relatable to modern sensibilities.

Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS

The Summer of Lost Letters is a really lovely little story about first love and summer possibility. Abby is grieving the loss of her grandmother and so goes looking to find the answers that she seeks. There is a tie into lies and betrayal dating back to WW2. I did enjoy the letters and the Nantucket scene, two things I always enjoy in stories. The love story was cute and the banter was fun. I love a little bit of enemies to lovers even if it wasn't full in this cliche. The plot was a little confusing for me when it came to the motivations behind what the characters were doing. Overall this is a good beach read, just not my favorite.

As music and I enjoyed this read, it just didn’t stick for me. It was written very well and had an intriguing story to keep you hooked for the most part!

This book was overall pretty good. It didn't hold my interest as well as I thought it would, but I thought it was a really beautiful premise!

I adored this book! I was craving a good YA romance and this one certainly fit the bill. The writing was so lush and descriptive that I really felt like I was on Nantucket. I also loved the historical and family aspects of this book; you don't often see them tied into contemporary novels. A great read for anyone who loves YA romance!

This book was a pleasure to read. A romance young adult beach setting filled with wit and banter. Ah to be young again! Great characters, relatable romance. I loved the mother daughter bond. A great beach read .

Abby’s summer is not turning out to be the one she had planned. Between her friends all leaving town for exciting adventures and an unexpected break up, she is left feeling adrift until a mystery in the shape of letters amongst her recently passed grandmother’s things arrive at her front door. Abby’s mother has no idea who the love letters are from and Abby is determined to spend the summer unlocking the secrets her grandmother left behind. The WWII mystery and Jewish ancestry make for a story that is more than just enemy to lovers.

I did find the romance in the older plot line to feel a bit more realistic than the younger as the latter seem to wrap up a bit too conveniently. Overall though, the Nantucket summer vibe made for a fun backdrop to some serious topics.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

A totally enjoyable summer read with some folklore vibes! I love a story that takes place in New England!

“O’ma’s life had always seemed like a story: dangerous and glamourous,
And here was one more unexpected chapter, pages that I hadn’t realized had been stuck together.”

Thank you to Penguin Teen for sending an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes included in this review are from an unfinished copy of the book.

Content Warnings: underage drinking, loss of a loved one, exploration of Holocaust + generational trauma, antisemitism

Overall: 3.25 / 5
Characters: 3.5 / 5
Setting: 4 / 5
Writing: 3.5 / 5
Plot: 3 / 5
Romance: 2.5 / 5

Seventeen-year-old Abby doesn’t have any summer plans - until a pile of letters, one of her late grandmother’s possessions, is delivered to her house. They aren’t any old letters - they’re love letters, from a man who isn’t her grandfather. They’re from a man named Edward, who lived in a mansion on Nantucket. So naturally Abby goes to Nantucket for the summer, searching for answers about her grandmother and about Edward, who still resides there. That’s when Abby runs into Edward’s good-looking grandson, who, after catching her snooping in his house, is set on stopping Abby from investigating.

If you want summer romance, family secrets & Jewish identity, The Summer of Lost Letters is the book for you!
I loved Abby’s dedication to tracing her family’s past. Her grandmother fled the Holocaust as a young child, and Abby begins to look for any records of her grandmother’s journey to America after receiving the love letters. By far, the mystery of her grandmother’s past was my favorite aspect of the novel. Also, Abby works at a bookstore, which I loved!
While the romance didn’t resonate with me, I found that Abby was a funny and relatable character. The pacing was weird in some parts of the book and I was also dissatisfied with the resolution of the book (concerning the romance), but overall this was a very enjoyable summer read.

THE SUMMER OF LOST LETTERS took me right back to high school, where summers were spent daydreaming about some grand adventure that I wanted to embark on—but sadly never did—and thinking about the “what ifs” that a summer break could bring.

I really admired Abby’s commitment to uncovering her grandmother’s past through the letters she receives after her grandmother passes away. Though I would like to think I would follow the clues wherever they’d take me, like she did, I don’t know if I’d be that courageous as a teenager. That just made me root for her journey even more. We follow Abby from her hometown in Western Massachusetts to Nantucket as she tries to contact the Barbanel family, the family her grandmother lived and grew up with after she fed Germany during WWII. Enter Noah, patriarch Edward Barbanel’s grandson, who finds out Abby’s plans to unearth some deeply buried family secrets and wants her to stop immediately. Let the sparks fly.

I loved the enemies-to-lovers, coming of age story that TSOLL provided. Against the beautiful backdrop of Nantucket, I was rooting for Abby the entire time as she reached out to different organizations and historical societies to find out more about her family’s past. It can be daunting to take on such a huge task, but the reward was worth it. We also have a front row seat to the hijinks that Abby and Noah get into and witness the highs and lows of summer flings, first loves, and the raging emotions of teenagers. It was wonderful to see both of them grow so much by the end of the story.

I’m always a fan of the “summer romance” aspect of books, but I also loved that this was also a story about histories, families, the bond between mothers and daughters, and the choices that people make for themselves and their families. It’s also about the choices that future generations make to carve out their own paths. I would definitely recommend this one to fans of Sarah Dessen and anyone who loves a good young adult novel. A huge thank you to Penguin Teen, NetGalley, and author Hannah Reynolds for the digital ARC. THE SUMMER OF LOST LETTERS is out now!

Quick Stats
Age Rating: 14+
Overall: 5 stars
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
Writing: 5/5

TW: holocaust and generational trauma exploration, antisemetism

I absolutely adored this book! Everything from the characters, to the atmosphere, to the romance was impeccable. From the way the book was pitched to me, and the fact that it was tagged as historical fiction, I was expecting a split POV, where Abby was in the present day, and we would have some chapters from her grandma’s POV during WW2. This was not the case, and I was a little disappointed at that, but the book was still so good the way it was that I don’t mind too much.
The book isn’t split POV, but we do get to read a couple letters from Abby’s grandma. It gives us a little peak into her head and the time in which she lived, but most of the information about her life is what Abby learns by talking to people. This is in the vein of Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian, if you’ve read that (but much better done, in my opinion).
I was hooked from page one, and desperate to see how it all would play out. There was something so earnest in the way Abby was searching for answers, and I was swept up along with her. The romance was intoxicating and swoon-worthy, and the friends Abby made in Nantucket added a fun, heartwarming touch.
I’m a sucker for a good bookstore plotline, so Abby’s working in one was a treat for me—and her bosses were such fun and lovable characters.
I cannot recommend this book enough.

The Summer of Lost Letters is a YA contemporary with a hint of historical fiction.

As someone who normally can’t get into historical fiction I was so surprised when I couldn’t put this book down!
This book is a mix of teenage summer romance and a family mystery.

This story follows Abby who, after the passing of her grandmother, is trying to find her roots after coming across some love letters. Love letters between her grandmother and a man who lives in Nantucket. Abby decides to pack her bags, get a summer job on the island and try to figure out the past of her grandmother and more about her family.

I found the concept of the letters so interesting! I’m a fan of letters so I was immediately invested.

I enjoyed both the historical mystery and the present romance. The author does a great job referencing the Holocaust and what it means to be Jewish in America. I loved the Jewish rep!

I highly recommend this book if you enjoy YA contemporary. I enjoyed the romance, the friendships, the setting, and the unraveling of the mystery. Go read it!