I loved Summer Sons' atmosphere SO MUCH. There's something about the very gay gothic horror that just is *chef's kiss*. Dark academia is one of those genres I either enjoy or absolutely hate, and this one was really well done. This book up there with one of the best of the year, and I loved every deep, dark, moment of it. It was in part soulfully haunting, and in other parts strangely action-intense. I am glad I read this on a day where I was able to focus on it, though, because the car racing part could have lost me really easily. I did find myself skimming a few times, there.

This was a compelling, slow-burning horror, and well worth the read. At times the plot seemed a little strangled by its subplots, characters were brought in only to be seemingly forgotten about (Ethan and Del, particularly), and the mystery of the origin of the curse shared between the boys was frustratingly unclear, but all in all this is a story worth reading. The protagonist's grief and trauma felt genuine, as did his reluctant acceptance of his "self"...in more ways than one.

"Summer Sons" by Lee Mandelo is a creeping, dreadful tale that drips with humidity and the bitterness of lost chances. Andrew Blur is aptly named - a determinedly bland protagonist that shoves his emotions down and away in order to investigate the death of his best friend, Eddie - a death that was ruled a suicide. Andrew knows there's something suspicious about the "suicide" because Eddie's ghost said as much to him.

Andrew's strange ability to communicate with the dead is more of a curse than a gift; cold, fetid shadows follow him through this claustrophobic tale as he navigates Eddie's friendships and academic community. This is a slow Southern Gothic tale - a little too slow, truthfully, as it takes a good 150 pages for the horror to really start kicking up. Andrew is an interesting protagonist, but so determined to NOT pursue the obvious threads that are kicking up around him that his inertia can be frustrating. That inertia does pick up about halfway through the novel, as "Summer Sons" begins to sink its teeth into the concepts of race, queerness, depression, and ancestral legacy.

"Summer Sons" is horror in the visceral sense; there are no jump scares or wild action scenes here, at least not of the haunted house variety (there are a few car races, but those are largely testosterone-fueled bonding sessions). The horror in "Summer Sons" rides on your back, a cold, heavy presence that gets heavier with every step. It's the kind of book that had me by the throat every time I set it down and wondered if the pace was going to pick up soon. It whispered a refrain of Eddie's last text message to Andrew in the moments when I was not reading it:

"Come home. I'm waiting."

3.5 *
the raven cycle x foxhole court vibes!

I loved the plot and the characters, which was able to keep me reading till the end. But I hated to writing style. It uses alot of complex jarring language that often left me confused and lost. It definitely read like the author was trying too hard to be flowery and deep and it just made it messy. I had to skim through a decent amount of this book.

Pretty much all the characters suck, but in a good way. I got weirdly attached to this group of terrible assholes and ended up rooting for them. And I adored the trans rep in riley, I liked that as the reader we got to know him before we knew he was trans.

Rep: gay, mlm, trans ftm, poly, side poc (Black, asian)
CW: death, murder, talk of suicide, drug use, alcohol, sexual content, off page transphobia, homophobia, slurs, mentions of racial discrimination, grieving, drinking and driving, possession, toxic relationships, off page child abuse, probably more im forgetting this book is dark

I absolutely adore this book! If you’re a fan of southern gothic horror, chilling mystery, dark academia, and queer fiction, then this will definitely be up your alley. Lee Mandelo’s writing style is consistently atmospheric, often eerie, and at times erotic. There were so many shiver-inducing passages I wanted to read multiple times and the lyricism of the text immediately drew me in. While already a bit of a longer read, not only in terms of page count but density, I found this a book to be savored, rather than binged. The author flawlessly blends creeping dread, tragic grief and longing, as well as a compelling enigma to construct this ever-compelling narrative.

Andrew is a complex and intriguing protagonist. While dealing with deep grief at the loss of his best friend, Andrew is practically livid at basically anyone who bats an eye at him, initially. During the course of the novel, he gradually begins to let the new friends he makes in Nashville in, enlisting their help to solve the mystery of Eddie’s death. Although he despises the strange and often macabre field of study Eddie had pursued in local folklore, Andrew’s fierce loyalty compels him to pick up where his best friend left behind. In the hopes of uncovering foul play surrounding Eddie’s death, Andrew balances a world of backstabbing academics and friends with questionable motives.

The secondary characters were also well-developed and enjoyable as well. Through descriptions of Andrew’s feelings, flashback scenes, as well as conversations he has with others, I felt like I got to know Eddie intimately. The phantom haunting Andrew may or may not be the remnants of Eddie and through their dangerous, as well as comforting interactions, much can be inferred from their past relationship and Andrew’s repressed feelings. In their world, there is a fine line between pleasure and pain and the strange relationship between Andrew and the ghost parallels this in a terrible and simultaneously beautiful way.

Cousins and past associates of Eddie, Riley and Sam, are eager to provide Andrew a good time when he moves into his inherited house but often come across as not having the best intentions. I liked watching their friendship with Andrew develop as my original impression of them became much more positive. There was a nice added little found family element that I certainly did not expect, nor the acceptance and portrayal of queer identities within the group including gay, bi/pan, trans, and polyamorous folks.

As mentioned in the beginning of my review, I freaking loved this creepy, emotional, puzzle of a book. The plot kept me guessing nearly the entire time and I was always excited to see where the story would go next. I did feel one of the “big twists” near the end was fairly obvious but what followed most certainly made up for it. I also initially thought one or two aspects of the ending didn’t quite hit the mark for me, but upon further reflection, I consider it to be remarkable and the ideal conclusion. Summer Sons is truly an amazing debut novel that blew me away. I’m sincerely looking forward to whatever Lee Mandelo publishes next.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Tordotcom Publishing for providing me with a digital ARC copy in exchange for review.

If you like southern gothic queer horror with a little added fast and furious vibes then you may enjoy this book!

Andrew’s best friend , Eddie , goes off to college before him in order to set everything up such as their matching class schedule and grouped living situation but then his friend dies from presumed suicide. Andrew just can’t wrap his head around the situation. He knew Eddie and he knew that Andrew was coming to college soon. Why would he do that. It doesn’t seem like something Eddie would do willingly. Andrew sets off on the course Eddie has put him on in order to get close with the people who saw Eddie in his last days. What really happened to Eddie? Andrew is determined to find out.

I really enjoyed the mystery and drama surrounding the characters. Everyone is a suspect and no one is to be trusted. Andrew was on edge with every character and I was right there with him. I also loved that this was a story where the main character questioned their sexuality because not everyone’s story follows a straight path. Sometimes there is a journey and a set of events that make us realize what we really want. Lastly, I loved the maleficent haunt that would come in to torment the MC. The only issues I had with this book were the short cuts I thought were made with the main character. I wish I could have found out more about how he came about his gift of sight (like I know why but I want to know how it happened) and had more of a reliving the flashbacks Instead of just being told what happened. I feel like reliving some of the events that the book alludes to would have made me understand and sympathize more with the main character’s story and even Eddie’s for that matter. I also wish the ending would have been more of a snatch of the rug beneath my feet because as I was coming upon the ending I already had in my mind what would happen. Overall, I really appreciated more inclusive characters and hope that more books embrace this in future and also the complex southern gothic history that kept me hooked. I gave this book 3.5 ⭐️ rounded to 4 ⭐️ for goodreads and amazon.

Thank you to Nightworms, Sadie and Tor for sending this book in exchange for an honest review.

I think I might enjoy this book more on audio. The writing is a mix of lyrical and litficy and is at times rather hard to follow and actually understand what is happening in a scene. Hopefully the audio makes it easier but as of right now I left feeling adrift trying to read this

Do I, as a freelance social media copywriter, artist, and writer, have time to spend entire days while my children are away reading ever, let alone when the start of school has been pushed back two weeks? I do not. Did I spend all of today reading SUMMER SONS anyway? Yes, I did.
This compelling, LGBTQ+, Southern-Appalachian gothic is everything I love in a horror novel and it busts all the myths about masculinity while our intrepid heroes go about their ghost busting business. Also, it takes some fantastic and well deserved shots at academia along the way (she says as someone who bailed on academia after her masters because HELL, NO).
Definitely one of my favorite books off my personal mini-summer horror marathon, the summer, and very possibly of 2021.

When I read the synopsis for this book, I knew that I had to read this. Hot boys, hot cars, gothic horror murder mystery? It literally has all of my favourite things. THIS BOOK WAS SO FRICKIN' GOOD! If it isn't on your must-read/to-read list put it there otherwise you're honestly missing out.

Summer Sons was a trip and a half - heavy on the Southern Gothic in ways that I wouldn't have expected, and many times in ways that I enjoyed. This books is atmosphere focused - there isn't tons of character growth until the last 15-20 percent of the novel, and it takes a while for the plot to catch on, but there is a lot of mystery and intrigue. Definitely a book that I could imagine in my minds eye. Reading this in the heat of July (thanks netgalley) in the South definitely contributed to the atmosphere for me - there are quite a few scenes that involve things such as evening bonfires and sweating in the car with the windows down. I liked how Mandelo brought in elements such as Appalachian folk magic, recovering from internalized homophobia, the realities of how rich families made their fortunes in the South, the race and class divides often found in rural communities, and the isolation one feels when they've experienced trauma; I personally would have enjoyed it if those themes had been expanded upon further. Looking at in from the angle of a spooky summer (or fall) read, however, it was quite enjoyable.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions expressed herein are mine alone and may not reflect the views of the author, publisher, or distributor.

I saw SUMMER SONS on a friend's TBR and thought, "That sounds interesting. I need it." So my request got filled, thanks NetGalley, and I read it. And it was okay.

Late July-early August was probably the best time I could have read this, as the oppressive humidity on the coast echoed the close, hot air of Tennessee in SUMMER SONS. Andrew is devastated when he finds out his best friend--and maybe soulmate?--committed suicide literal days before Andrew was to go and start the grad program at Vanderbilt they'd agreed to go through together. They were childhood best friends, sworn to be closer than brothers, and now Eddie is gone and has left Andrew everything: his house, his substantial inheritance, and some roommates that Andrew doesn't even want. Then phantoms and shades start appearing, and Andrew has no idea what they're trying to tell him. Or if they mean him harm.

I like books that are charged with emotion. Dark academia is also a guilty pleasure. So I thought these two things combined would really throw me. It could be that I read this at the wrong time in my life, as has happened with other books I've ended up loving. But I thought this was just okay. The supernatural elements could have been more, considering how SUMMER SONS is billed all over Goodreads, and I found that part to be less satisfactory than I had hoped. The writing was great and really carried across Andrew's grief, which did punch me pretty hard. I guess I just missed the mark this time.

Will other readers enjoy all the tension and themes running deep in the veins of a Tennessee summer? I think so, for sure.

I had such a hard time putting this book down. Lee Mandelo does and excellent job of hooking me into the story and making me want to know exactly what is going to happen next. The story is basically about 2 friends. Andrew and Eddie have been friends since they were children. Eddie goes away to grad school but tells Andrew to hold off on coming up for a while and when Andrew is finally told to come up, Eddie commits suicide and leaves everything to his friend. Andrew spirals out of control while trying to figure out what happened, who of his friends, friends he can trust and what to do next with his life when it feels like there is a gaping hole in his chest where his friend used to be. The story is riddled with feelings of grief and loss that are palpable. Andrew has lost Eddie before he was ready and the inner turmoil is raw and honest. The characters are dynamic with themes of lgbtq+ (but it isn't the main focus of the story). The story itself is a very slow burn suspense that could be described as dark gothic. Moments are eerie and unsettling but it is not scary or gruesome (mostly). There are some scenes with fast cars, parties, sex and hard drugs, and I only say this so that if any of this isn't your jam, now you know. I don't know if this would be a book for everyone, but if any of this appeals to you, I think you will really like it and you should totally give it a chance. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for sending me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My friend read an eARC of this a couple months ago and has been hounding me to request it and read it ever since. Her selling pitch was that this book is Fast and Furious meets queer Southern gothic academia and y'all? It is. And it is so good. I keep recommending this book to everyone I meet. I will probably read it again once I can get my hands on a physical copy.

But okay. Let's back up a moment first.

Andrew has just arrived in Nashville after the death of his best friend (slash maybe-something-more) Eddie. In his wake, Eddie left Andrew an incredibly large inheritance, two houses, a roommate and group of friends who don't seem to match the perfectly curated story Eddie told Andrew, and more questions than answers. Everyone believes that Eddie committed suicide, but Andrew believes—in many ways has to believe—that isn't the case. And although Andrew wants nothing to do with Nashville and the horrors that haunt him there, Andrew is determined to retrace Eddie's steps and figure out where things went wrong. As the mystery unravels like the slow-spooling molasses that generally fuels Southern gothic stories, Andrew finds himself caught up in the smarmy, obsequious world of academia and in the dangerous, high adrenaline nightlife of racing and drugs—all with a queer and literally haunting twist.

I literally cannot praise this novel enough. After finishing it, I sent a message to the friend who recommended it to me saying in all caps (changed here because I don't want to alarm anyone with my shouting): "Finished Summer Sons. Loved Summer Sons. Want to marry Lee Mandelo's prose in Summer Sons. Woof." That is still my opinion of this book. Mandelo writes with such careful skill and raw feeling; every single line feels hand-crafted to reach into my chest and wrench out my still-beating heart. Their writing is how I aspire to write—I ended this book wanting to immediately dive back into my own writing, which is, I think, the highest praise I can give to another writer. Every one of Mandelo's characters is complex and multifaceted. I care about all of them, even the ones we don't see as much throughout the narrative of the book (hello Ethan and Luca). I adore the varying relationships between the main characters, and how slow burn the slow burn romance is. (Once again, I will say: woof!!! When you reach that payoff, it is so very satisfying.)

I also need to talk about Andrew and Eddie's relationship. It was quite possibly my favorite part of the book. Their relationship is frenetic, complicated, and chock full of "maybes"— a concept that is underutilized in other fiction but completely fleshed out and thematically resonant here. Eddie is dead before the book begins, but Mandelo slowly but surely gives you glimpses into the kind of person he was and (most importantly) the kind of person he was with Andrew. The "maybes" that haunt their fraught relationship are the true ghost of the story. Those "maybes" ache and they pull in the best of ways, and the conclusion Andrew reaches by the end of the novel felt real, was satisfying, and resonated with me on a deep visceral level.

At its core this novel is about charged relationships and the complex emotions of boys, friends as family and as a pack, ghosts both real and metaphorical, and the very real racial tensions that underlie academia and the Southern gothic. This book is raw, sensual, and hauntingly written. This book is The Fast and the Furious meets The Raven Boys meets your liberal arts/grad school experience. I will be thinking about this book for weeks on end. Read this book. It will not disappoint.

UNREAL. This book manages to convey grief and trauma so well, Andrew's journey is genuinely very compelling - it makes the book VERY HARD to put down, so don't open this for the first time an hour before you're meant to head to bed (it'll be near impossible). It's clever, it's tender, and it's deliciously haunting. I cannot recommend it enough.

A perfect spooky summer read! Great for lovers of The Raven Boys. Mandelo delivers a fantastically atmospheric thriller that keeps you at the edge of your seat the entire time. But surprisingly, it's also beautifully emotional. A great cross-genre read.

This book just wasn't for me. I can appreciate the writing (particularly the atmospheric description), but I find it hard to read horror that doesn't have any hope. I may take another shot at it one day.

This book was very difficult for me to review. As it’s written by a male author with an all-male cast of characters, I strongly suspect that I am not the intended audience for this book, so please take everything I have to say with a large dollop of salt. (Maybe put that salt in a circle, because this book features GHOSTS!)

In a nutshell: Andrew and are best friends bonded more deeply than brothers. But while enrolled in a graduate program in Nashville, Eddie dies of an apparent suicide six months before Andrew was due to join him. He leaves Andrew a horrible inheritance: a roommate he doesn’t know, a pile of lurid research into back-holler curses and haunts, and a gruesome phantom with bleeding wrists that won’t leave him alone.

Andrew searches for the truth of Eddie’s death among his circle of backstabbing academics and a crowd of drug-dealing, fast-driving, hard-drinking friends, all the while trusting no one. Soon he uncovers the lies and secrets left behind by the person he trusted most, discovering a family history soaked in blood and death.

What I didn’t like: The first 60% of this book was a miasma of grief, guilt, toxic masculinity, emotional repression, bros trying to out-bro each other, denial, and more repression. As such, it was extremely slow-moving and hard to get through. It was also pretty confusing, and I was very frustrated with Andrew.

What I liked: Finally, the storyline picked up and then things got interesting. I enjoyed seeing Andrew open up to others and become more self-aware. After he started trusting others, the plot got moving, the hauntings were explained, the mystery was solved, and I was happy with the ending.

In conclusion: If you liked The Bright Lands by John Fram, give this one a try!

Thank you @TorDotCom and #NetGalley for the #ARC of this book!

Minutes after finishing reading this book, I declared it a new all time favorite of mine. As someone who loved Fast and Furious, but always wished it was queer, this book was the perfect match to my desire. I loved the characters, the relationship, the unfolding mystery. It was full of incredible queer rep throughout.

The main draw is the relationship between Sam and Andrew. if you love Fast Saga like me, this is the what if story of Dom and Brian your heart is likely clamoring for. If you've never seen the Saga, you will still enjoy the dynamic. It is a beautifully realized exploration of a complicated and wonderful love.
The found family is also pitch perfect. It's impossible not to become enthralled with the dynamic of their little group, the way they care for each other.
The mystery is breathtaking. It kept me turning the pages as I waited to see what came next.

Going a bit deeper, the themes of classism, homophobia--both external and internalized, and the dangers of clingy to grief were exquisitely realized throughout the story. This book was beautiful, start to finish.

Thank you @NetGalley for this eARC of #SummerSons


Based on the synopsis I was excited for this book, and was not let down.

The story of the MC and his refusal to believe his friend could die by suicide took him on a road that gives him answers too.

I did find myself at times asking okay how is this supposed to it in. But in the end it all came together.

*Thank you to the publisher Tor for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review*
5 stars! Wow this book was a wild ride! Summer Sons is volatile, gothic, and gritty with a sprinkle of humor!
If you like stories with:
-a dark academia setting
-very queer characters! (trans character and m/m love) the author is trans too btw
-spooky ghost stories
-southern gothic vibes
You should read this book!

This story is about Andrew who is left drowning in grief after his best friend Eddie dies. His death is ruled a suicide, and Andrew inherits all of Eddie's belongings and his house. Andrew believes there is something suspicious about Eddie's death and goes to Eddie's university to uncover the truth.

Ok my fav thing about this was the characters! Andrew is morally gray and going through a lot of grief but man his character development throughout the story was so beautiful! Also I loved the discussions of discovering one's sexuality, stunning! Summer Sons has creepy haunted houses, the smoke and mirrors of high brow academia, fast cars, bad boys, and lots of queer rep!

Also the VIBES of this book were awesome! We get sweltering southern heat, grief, and ghosts all at once! The creepy dark history of the south is front and center here.

Summer Sons also has drug use, drinking, and sexual content. It is set at university and the characters are in graduate school so be aware of that, this book is adult. I loved that the characters are in their twenties though, we need more books like this. The voice of the writing was really strong and felt authentic to the age of the characters.

Omg if you liked Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo or Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor then I think you'll enjoy this one too. It has the dark academia and ghosts of Ninth House and the queerness and violence of Hurricane Season.
A perfect book for the summer, highly recommend!!