I loved this thriller. The spicy! The multiple plot lines. Definitely all fun and no substance. Just what I want for an afternoon away.

In a small but affluent neighborhood in East Texas, childhood friends: Jen, Kittie & Cynthia are all grown-up. They are living for their Wine Nights that give them moments of relief away from their families. Until the hot, new neighbor Will moves in and shakes each of them up. As mysterious as he is sexy, none of them can resist his pull.
Cobb did a great job building out each character and fleshing out the plot with a slow build in the beginning. Towards the end of the book, events just start snowballing at a rapid pace making this hard to put down. While the end left me wanting more closure and some important details missing (in my opinion), I did enjoy this book and would recommend Ms.Cobb as an author.

My Summer Darlings was a quick, enjoyable read. While I didn’t really like the characters, I think that’s a tip of the hat to the author rather than a flaw. I gave this book 3.5⭐️.

y’all, i gotta be honest. this book did not do it for me. i never want to write a negative review but here we are. this is a story about middle age women who might as well be adolescents with the way they think, talk, and act. the characters were not likable and the story felt like a desperate housewives knock off.

i was excited for a fun, suspense, mystery novel and did not get that. the suspense didn’t even come in effect until about 80% of the way in, and it was soooo outrageous and bizzare that i couldn’t even really enjoy it.

if you are looking for a silly, not at all realistic book to escape from reality then i would say give this a try! however, proceed with caution because while the book kept my attention until the end- i grew to despise the characters more and more as the story went on.

Jen, Kittie, and Cynthia are best friends who live in the same town. They enjoy their time spent together drinking and gossiping. When a new neighbor moves in who is really handsome they are all interested in him.

It was entertaining and an easy book to get wrapped up in. It’s got lots of secrets, lies, suspense, and steam. The characters and plot were both well developed.

This was definitely a fun book and kept my interest. I liked the alternative POV’s, short chapters, and the scenes from both past and present. The ending was satisfying. I could easily see this book turned into a TV series or a movie on Netflix. I expect to see a lot of this book this summer. It’s a perfect beach read! I think I preferred this book over The Hunting Wives. I also enjoyed the setting of the book being in Texas

Many thanks to Netgalley and to the publisher (Barkley) for the ARC. May Cobb is definitely an author to read more of :) I wish her much success with her new novel.

This book was an interesting and salacious character study on a group of women and their friendships. That alone kept me reading! I liked how all women were at different points in their lives dealing with their own insecurities and hang ups. If you're into suspense and enjoy a slow burn with a domestic suburban backdrop this one's for you.

For the first chunk of My Summer Darlings, it felt like I was getting a repeat of The Hunting Wives. That's to say that the plot centers a middle-aged woman that's leaving city life to return to a suburban area of Texas where she has previous history. She spends a fair amount of time angst gardening while brooding over someone that feels forbidden. The rest of her time is divided between trying to fit in with women more affluent than she is and wrestling with being a stay-at-home mom v. a career woman.

Just when I was ready to throw this on the DNF pile, the book took a surprising turn and became impossible to put down. Without getting spoilery, let's just say that you can expect this to be about 50% thriller, 25% smut, and 25% Desperate Housewives-- which is to say 100% delicious (minus some tedious journal entries in the beginning from Cynthia's POV). The last chapter was absolutely wicked in the best way. Cobb also does some particularly fun things in this novel that poetry fans will enjoy.

The beginning of the book was a 3, the middle and end were a 5, so let's call it a 4.

A sexy and suspenseful read that I couldn't put down. Really I couldn't. I didn't want to eat or shower until I finished this book.

A Guilty Pleasure

Three mothers, Jen, Kittie, and Cynthia, are desperate housewives, sipping wine and gossiping, watching the days slowly slide by. Then, the hottest and richest guy in the world comes to town, Will Harding. How will this dashing stranger change the lives of these women?

May Cobb, author of The Hunting Wives, is back! If you love Desperate Housewives or Sally Rooney novels, this book will delight you. It is high on steam, definitely steamy. It is a guilty pleasure. Additionally, I really liked that this book had mothers as the main characters, and the children were not merely there to check a checkbox. These mothers had real, complicated relationships with their children.

Personally, I really enjoyed this book; however, there are a few issues that need to be smoothed out. The first half of the book was slow, really slow. Nothing was going on. There wasn’t any adventure or steam, but there were A LOT of adjectives (red clay, crystal clear, strappy heels). There were also a lot of clicking heels (and variations of the sounds of footsteps). However, the last half more than made up for the first half. Now to my last point, there was one character who was drunk driving. This is not acceptable—It is never acceptable. She should have called an Uber. In this particular scene, it would have worked out so well because it would have been really an awkward turtle to have to wait for the Uber driver.

Overall, this is an extremely entertaining book, and May Cobb didn’t disappoint. Now it’s time for a shower…….

My Summer Darlings- 3.70

Somehow My Summer Darlings manages to be even more wild than The Hunting Wives, though it carries over many of the same dynamics as its predecessor. It’s set in a small Texas town east of Dallas, and follows a group of friends who all become obsessed with their attractive new neighbor.

It’s salacious, it’s wild, it’s a great book to read at the pool, and if you enjoyed The Hunting Wives, you’ll enjoy this one as well, as it feels like a companion novel. For me it felt like we stayed in the same universe as the first novel, but it was missing many of the aspects that made The Hunting Wives so fun.

All of the characters in this book are truly heinous people and the mystery aspect of this novel felt way more obvious to me- plus the resolution was somewhat unsatisfactory (especially the epilogue!) The My Favorite Murder girls could have given the women in this book some advice about staying away from men that seem too good to be true!!

While it doesn’t quite land the same as The Hunting Wives, I had fun reading it, and it makes me very excited to read what May Cobb writes next!

MY SUMMER DARLINGS is sexy and suspenseful and I could not put this fast-paced romp down. Three friends are all attracted to the new, handsome stranger in town—what could go wrong? Everything of course! Twisty and fun, you need this on your summer reading list!

Just like May Cobb's debut novel 'The Hunting Wives' is a novel you definitely don't wanna miss!

I absolutely flew through this one within one sitting, I couldn't put it down. I absolutely love dramatic popcorn thrillers and May Cobb definitely provided.

I absolutely loved every minute of this suspenseful little book, I was gasping and then when I finished I literally put my kindle down and was internally saying to myself "This deserves all the stars."

If you like dramatic thrillers that will have you shook, My Summer Darlings should definitely be on your radar!

I'm always genuinely shocked by how many 3-star reviews are scathing. 3-stars means 'I liked it'! But did I really like it? Was it unputdownable? No and no.
My Summer Darlings is an enjoyable thriller, though I much preferred May Cobb's previous effort, The Hunting Wives. To me, this latest release is a bit too soapy. You're telling me everyone in town is hooking up with the same dude? And they're all completely dickmatized by him, even though he's rude, standoffish, and has a nude painting of what he claims is his mother in his house. Add to it that none of the characters are particularly likable, and if it weren't for the headers indicating whose POV we're in at any given time, it would be nearly impossible to tell them apart as they all speak/read almost identically. One of the concessions Cobb has to make in order to give some semblance of reality to the storyline is that the women must lack a certain sophistication and/or intellect, so that they're able to be roped in by this con artist. But that makes them even less likable.

All of this is to say that for me, this book is kind of a technical nightmare. *BUT* it's still somehow a fun read, if you don't dive into it too much.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟 4/5 stars

May Cobb is just so good at writing juicy, fun thrillers full of characters you love to hate. My Summer Darlings is about three lifelong friends who become fascinated and obsessed with a mysterious (and handsome) new neighbor. As they all try to find out where his interest lies, they discover something much more sinister.

I. Love. Gossipy. Housewives. This was a fast-paced, hard to put down thriller about rich women, hot neighbors, and suburban secrets. I may have enjoyed this even more than The Hunting Wives. I loved the multiple timelines and points of view. I loved the terrible (but fun!) characters. I loved the plot that had the perfect balance of mystery, cattiness, and 🔥. Definitely a must for summer reading.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

My Summer Darlings is going to be THE thriller of the summer. Reese Witherspoon won’t be able to get her hands on this one fast enough. It’s as if Big Little Lies took place in a small suburban Texas town. The days are hot, the shorts are short, and the drama is practically oozing from these women’s pores. I loved it SO much.

My Summer Darlings follows the points of view of three adult women when an attractive, mysterious bachelor moves into their neighborhood. Think small town, old money. Most of its inhabitants grew up there and never left... Or left and have had to return. Everyone has to know everyone else's business. The tensions are high, the gossip is running rampant, and secrets are being kept. A dangerously large amount of wine is consumed. This book was truly thrilling to read.

Each character was very distinct, which I appreciate in a multiple POV book as it could easily grow confusing otherwise. Even though I wasn’t rooting for any of the main characters, I was still engaged enough in the overall story to have to know what happened next. This book was also engaging from the very first page. I read this one during breaks at work and already convinced multiple people to bookmark it for purchase after hearing my gasps and vocal reactions.

From a critical lens, I did feel like the ending was a bit rushed. There were elements about the plot that I didn’t feel got entirely wrapped up, but I think that just shows that the story was engaging and exciting enough that I cared to know more. Some books leave plot holes, but I'm not interested enough to wonder what might've happened and this is definitely not one of those cases. If anything, the ambiguity of the ending leaves room for interpretation on a TV show or movie...

Congrats May Cobb, a fellow Texan, on another successful book!!

This is a bit of a tricky one for me to rate. On one hand, I was really into this book. Once I started it I couldn't put it down and knocked it out in under 2 days. That being said... I hated literally every character (except Kasey) in this entire book. There was nothing redemptive about them, there was no character growth, every woman in it cared more about some guy they had just met than literally every other person in their lives. I wish there was one woman in the book that was likeable and had their head on straight that you could cheer for.

I have come to Love May Cobbs writing style! So dramatic and funny, this story was great! I felt I was invested the entire time and could not put this one down! Such an entertaining story along with some interesting characters!

Thank you to @Berkley Publishing and @Net Galley for the eARC of My Summer Darlings by May Cobb. I was so excited to read this book because I loved The Hunting Wives by the same author.

Kittie, Cynthia, and Jen are lifelong friends living in a small Texas town. They sip wine and gossip....all the the things that BFF's do together. When Will, handsome and single, moves to this small town the trio of women are curious. Jen, recently divorced decides that he may be a good candidate to date. And wouldn't you know, he does show interest in Jen. Problem is........Kittie and Cynthia are smitten with Will too! Of course, all three of these women are keeping their obsession to themselves.

But soon, things start to get messy........one of these woman will get swept off her feet by Will and make a decision that ultimately changes her life forever............

There is a twist at toward the end of this story and that's when things start to get exciting! For the most part, this is a binge worthy read.......but it fell a little flat for me. I'd still recommend this one for a summer read!

My Summer Darlings releases on May 17, 2022

The Hunting Wives was one of my favorite reads of 2021, so when I saw May Cobb was coming out with another book this saggy bottom girl ran like she won a lifetime supply of Taco Bell to try and snag an ARC.

Thank you so much @netgalley and @berkleypublishing for noticing how many denials are on my account and providing me a copy out of pity.

GR's Synopsis:

Three lifelong friends plus a dangerous, sexy new stranger in town add up to a scorching summer of manipulation, obsession, and murder, from the acclaimed author of The Hunting Wives.

A woman in the forest thinks she’s going to die.
I know he’s coming back for me.

Jen Hansen, Kittie Spears, and Cynthia Nichols have been friends since childhood. They are now approaching forty and their lives have changed, but their insular East Texas town has not. They stay sane by drinking wine in the afternoons, dishing about other women in the neighborhood, and bonding over the heartache of their own encroaching middle age and raising ungrateful teens.

Then Will Harding comes to town, moving into one of the neighborhood’s grandest homes. Mysterious and charming, he seems like the answer to each woman’s prayers. He’s a source of fascination for Jen, Kittie, and Cynthia, but none of them are ready for the way Will disrupts their lives.

As Will grows closer with each of the women, their fascination twists into obsession, threatening their friendships and their families. When he abruptly pulls away, each woman scrambles to discover the source of his affection. But what they’ll uncover is far more sinister and deadly than any of them could have ever imagined.

Kelly Synopsis:

A group of BFF's are going through a midlife crisis, start vying for the same man and things go to shit.

This was a super quick read. I plowed (no pun intended and definitely too far, Kelly) through this book in a day.

This is another Real Housewives, Sex In The City domestic thriller. Like The Hunting Wives, the characters made me want to throat punch them, but that's what makes Cobb's books so addictive!

If I had to compare the two, I still prefer The Hunting Wives in that I think there was a little more story development and I felt much more disdain for those crazy bags, but this was still a great bingeworthy read!

May Cobb is now an autobuy author for me. Props for this cover, as well!

What a bingeworthy read! I was instantly drawn in from page one and finished this one in two days. Obsession, manipulation, conniving, and murder. It was very well written and executed with a great ending. May Cobb has given everyone the perfect summer read! Thank you to Berkley Pub and NetGalley for my ARC!