It’s been twenty years since Tansy last saw her once BFF, Selene and Tansy would prefer it to be twenty more! Their friendship ended with a skeleton in the closet that Tansy would like to see stay there. When Selene shows up out of the blue asking for a favor, one that she says Tansy owes her, Tansy does not want to get entangled with Selene again. When Selene threatens to spill the beans about their prior life, Tansy reluctantly agrees. Soon Tansy is connected to Selene and her family in ways she couldn’t have imagined and when tragedy stikes again, Tansy is once again right smack in the middle. A slow burn, twisty good listenfrom Jody Gehrman.

Have you ever read a book and enjoyed it but didn’t know exactly why? Yea. Well, I just did.

A special thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for this conundrum. An ARC for a review? I’ll take it!

Let’s get the trigger warnings out of the way: physical and psychological abuse. And the disclaimer that I am a reader Not a writer.

This was def a slow burn. I found myself waiting for the big climax or twist but it never really came. Surprisingly I didn’t mind. The suspense although not action packed was enough to keep me reading.
I found it fairly predictable, but again, it didn’t bother me. And although I had a sense of what would happen, I appreciated the ending. It was actually quite fitting.

I can’t remember the last time I read a book where not one character pissed me off. Thinking about it now, that may be what really hooked me on this one and made up for everything else. I really liked these characters, even the ones that maybe I wasn’t supposed to. Not an easy task.

Maybe it was that and just good timing on this one? Maybe it was the reader? I don’t know, but I did enjoy it and didn’t really want to stop listening. Give it a whirl, I’d love to know that I’m not the only one.

This book had me hooked from the start!

When Tansy was 18 years old Selene was her best friend and they were having the summer of their lives until a horrible event happened destroying their friendship

20 years later Selene steps into Tansy’s office demanding her help and essentially black mailing her to get it . Selene believes that her daughter is in trouble with her boyfriend. Selene expects Tansy to help break them up since Tansy is a guidance counselor where her daughter, Jupiter goes to school. Selene’s brother Zach is also a professor at the college and they all have different opinions on how to keep Jupiter safe!


I loved this novel! I enjoyed the story line, the characters, and the twists and turns,


Thank you NetGalley, Jody Gehrman, and Crooked Lane books for allowing me to enjoy this audio book!

Unfortunately, I could not get into this book. For some reason or another, I didn’t feel invested in the characters. Even though I tried, I just could not hang on with it.

Tansy and Selene have that friendship that you constantly question. They are both characters that have flaws, but in a very opposite way. This is what makes this book so intriguing. It is a slower paced book, but not in a bad way. Selene has so much baggage, and it just continues throughout the entire plot. I really enjoyed the drama of Selene along with the characters that cared about her regardless of her dilemmas. I would recommend this book to those that enjoy thriller/suspense.

🎧BOOK REVIEW🎧
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Publishes: March 8, 2022

When I requested this book, I didn’t recognize the author’s name. I read “The Girls Weekend” last year and it was a fun story that read like a soap opera gone wrong! This story is more serious and has some trigger warnings (sexual assault), and it’s another solid read. I listened to the audio, which had a great narrator, and I think it made the story more engaging.

The author seems to have the ability to flawlessly write about complex characters and relationships. The history between Selene and Tansy is complicated, twisted, and so interesting. Selene is a character that is hard to like and doesn’t have many redeeming qualities. But her desire to protect her daughter is powerful and gradually changed my opinion. She is a mama bear on steroids, lol. The author’s final twist is a humdinger! Well done!

Sincere thanks to Dreamscape Media for providing this complimentary audiobook through NetGalley. I am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.

#thesummerweburied #jodygehrman #dreamscapemedia #netgalley #audiobookreview #psychologicalthriller #bookaholic #sexualassault

I went into this book with some misconceptions, thinking it was going to be in the thriller genre. For me, this book straddled several categories: mystery/family drama/and even a little romance. This didn't take away from my enjoyment, it just wasn't what I was expecting.

Twenty years ago Tansy was captured in the thrall of her friend Selene. Then a shocking incident caused her to end the friendship and drove her away. Now twenty years later, Selene has reappeared, demanding that Tansy use her guidance counselor job to interfere in Selene's daughter, Jupiter's life. Jupiter (name a product of Selene's hippie past) is in an abusive relationship, and Selene wants Tansy to interfere, as Jupiter is a student at the college where Tansy works.

This is a very slow burn story. It sets up the characters in great detail, and even though Selene's character is really out there, it made you buy her story. Even though it is set in California, there is a touch of Southern Gothic to me, what with its emphasis on family secrets and family drama. Around the middle of the novel the author really took us into romance territory, and I was nervous this was what I would be reading the rest of the book, but once she re-established the characters firmly on this trajectory, we didn't delve into their private moments any further!

I listened to the book and I found the narrator's voice pleasant to listen to, and she sounded very age appropriate for the characters she was portraying, in other words, she sounded youthful. Even though this tory wasn't what I was originally expecting, and even though it certainly wasn't non stop action, I found the characters and their world that the author portrayed both well written and enjoyable to read. And I wanted to keep on reading and see where the mystery from the past ended up.

Thank you to Netgalley, Jody Gehrman, and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to listen to this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Did I live the characters? Yes

Did I love the plot? Yes.

Did I love the book? Up until the last 8%

I won't say specifically why, but I feel like the author bailed on the core of the MC and that is a huge pet peeve of mine.

BUT that might be a me thing. Others might feel differently.

LOVED THE NARRATOR

This book was a fun read and an easy read. It breezed right through it. I did think the ultimate reason for the blackmail dynamic was a little unbelievable but I enjoyed it anyway. The antagonist becomes relatable. The ending is nice.

This book is mainly a family drama with a dash of romance and a murder mixed in. I really liked the narrator, Emily Ellet, and think she did a great job narrating the story. I did have mixed feelings about the ending of the book and believe that most people will either love it or hate it. I recommend reading if you enjoy reading family dramas like Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to listen to this audiobook ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

Tansy and Selene Rathbone were best friends twenty years. Tansy was eighteen, ten years young and very impressed with tough, street smart Selene. However, something happened that they split and haven’t seen each other until now.
Tansy is a guidance counselor at the local college. She is approached by Selene as her daughter Jupiter is attending the same college were Tansy works. Selene states that Jupiter is being held by Colton her abusive boyfriend. Colton won’t allow Selene to visit her daughter and he states she is toxic.

This turned out so much better than I expected.😊
At first, I was fearful I was not going to be able to deal with the overused, unnecessary f-bombs.
I felt sorry for Selene ~ she was a mess I am not a fan of profanity but certainly fits her!

I have been a high school guidance counselor for many years so I wanted to like Tansy and I did.
Narrator Emily Ellet did a super job performing all the characters!

Want to thank NetGalley and Dreamscape and Crooked Lane Books for this audio eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for March 8, 2022.

4.25 stars

I liked this one! It was fun, more tense than suspenseful, and a good story. Some of the characters and plot points were a bit predictable, but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment at all. A couple chapters out, I thought I knew how it was going to end…and I did, for the most part, but some of the finer details were still unexpected. I’ll have to look for more from this writer!

Last year, I read and reviewed Gherman's The Girls Weekend and found it to be entertaining, but not entirely plausible. Overall, I feel like this book is a more solid offering, albeit still occasionally far fetched.

The novel is a slow burn, featuring Tansy, a college counselor, who is visited one day by Selene, an unhinged friend from her distant past with whom she shares a dark secret. Selene insists that Tansy help her to break up the relationship between Selene's 18-year-old daughter Jupiter and her boyfriend, who Selene insists is controlling and isolating her daughter. Tansy, because she's a bit scared of Selene revealing their secret to the world, decides to befriend Jupiter, but only to provide a safe space for Jupiter to talk.

There are a couple of things that surprised me throughout the book, and a twist or two that I didn't see coming. But I had difficulty getting past Tansy's paranoia that Selene would reveal their secret. Although the secret is dark, I couldn't find a way that it could ever be tied back to the two of them, regardless of what Selene might say.

I thought that the romance storyline and the subsequent sex scenes were filler and unnecessary to the plot, and also the throwaway scenes with Tansy's ex and his new flame. They really didn't add anything to the plot and were honestly a bit distracting. I like my thrillers filled with suspense and mystery, not all of this extra stuff.

I listened to the audiobook of this one, and the narrator Emily Ellet (who also narrated The Girls Weekend) did a great job of giving the characters distinct voices. I did have to speed up the narration because her regular speaking speed is quite languorous.

Overall, if you can get past the slow buildup and you have a tolerance for romance in your suspense novels, then you might like this one. The storyline is overall entertaining and kept me invested to see how everything would play out in the end. and I wasn't disappointed.

The Summer We Buried is a slow-burn novel that picked up its pace in the second half. The story is centered on family issues, abusive and toxic relationships, and mental health. The representation of mental health issues and how a toxic relationship can influence us mentally were well done. Twenty years ago, Tansy and Selene were inseparable friends. It's more of a toxic relationship that ended due to an event. Now, Tansy is working as a college counselor and Selene is back, demanding that Tansy should help her daughter from being gaslighted by her boyfriend. Well, Tansy doesn't want to have anything to do with Selene anymore so she ignores her but Selene started threatening her about that summer two decades ago. Jody Gehrman writes interesting plots and in my opinion very realistic character's that intrigue you and in this newest novel made me feel empathy and really care about each and every one of them. Even the antagonistic character Selene who is manipulative and has committed despicable acts.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an ARC. Expected Publication Date: 3/8/22.

Tansy, an academic councilor at a local college in the wine country of California, was once a free-spirited, naïve young woman who shares a secret that is capable of destroying her hard-won stability in her current life. Now, the woman who is bonded with her in this silent struggle, and who Tansy has pushed out of her life, has come back with a request for help...and threats of blackmail if Tansy refuses.

Selene, dangerous and magnetic, demands that Tansy help her save a daughter that doesn't want saving. Jupiter has finally found what she believes is stability and comfort with her rich and conservative boyfriend, Colton. He represents everything that Jupiter has lacked in a life of transience and inconsistency with a mother like Selene. But when he threatens to bar Jupiter away from seeing her mother and isolates Jupiter from the world outside of them, Selene becomes bent on tearing them apart, and needs Tansy's help to ensure she is successful.

As the past and present entangle themselves and love and loss muddy the waters, the lives of everyone revolving around Selene's orbit threaten to fall apart. Will Selene prove herself capable of burning everyone's life's down...even her own?

The narrator of this audiobook was fantastic. There was a lot of description about the tone each character was using in each scene and she reflected that in her reading. The actual story, however, fizzled out for me about three-fourths through. It was one of those situations where, if the main character had just made a few better choices at the beginning of the story, things in her life would have been much smoother over all. Tansy was kind of "meh." And I found myself absolutely detesting Selene. She was mean-spirited and just too hot and cold throughout to actually connect with. Selene's selfishness did make the reader feel more empathetic for Jupiter though. Having a mother like that would not have been easy. Over all, this story was a 3 star for me. Narration was a 5 star.

This book was phenomenal. It took me a while to get into it. But once i did. I jist had to.finish in one sitting. . I highly enjoyed the writing of this author. And the narrator dida wonderful job with emotion and feeling into voice. That it almost made me cry st the end of this book. I'll definitely will check oit more from this author in the future because she really did hook me and had me 100% invested into the story.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved this one. Very fast paced, had me turning pages as I tore through it – I had to see how it would end. The characters were well rounded and the narrative felt believable. Gave me chills. Solid five

It's a female right of passage to have a toxic friendship. It helps us learn and grow. Twenty years ago, high school graduate Tansy was amid her toxic friendship with Selene, a woman ten years older. Their friendship burned hot and heavy, and the women were inseparable for almost two years. But in the present day, they are not only no longer friends, but Selene's sudden appearance frightens Tansy. Because two can keep a secret as long as one of them is dead.

I received a copy of the audiobook from Netgalley in exchange for this honest review.

The past catches up with Tansy, who is now a guidance counselor at a small college in wine country. She lives on beautiful acreage, surrounded by orchards that just happens to belong to her ex-boyfriend. So maybe life for Tansy isn't perfect, but she's happy. Selene's reappearance brings a past to the surface Tansy would rather stay buried. But her old friend needs her help, Selene's daughter is in trouble, and Tansy is poised to be just the person to help.

This story encompasses many levels of female relationships, and how they grow and change through abuse and tragedy. The book is well written and includes twists and turns that intrigued me. However, the book did drag on in parts because of flowery prose and storytelling within the story that was a little too sugary. The voice actor has a good range and brings the characters and location to life.

Tansy and Selene were friends. A murder, a friendship and a secret tore them apart.
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Many years later that secret may require a favor to cover up a crime. Selena’s a controlling mother who wants to find out what her estranged daughter is up too. Tansy is a guidance counselor where Jupiter, Selena’s daughter goes to college. Feeling threatened by Selena, Tansy does her best to keep Jupiter safe.
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This novel is full of twist and I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook. Thank you NetGalley, Jody Gehrman, & Crooked Lane books. #netgalley, #cookedlanebooks, #audiobooks, #bookreview, #bookstagram, #booksconnectus, #stamperlady50

Twenty years and a concealed murder ago Tansy called Selene her friend. But that was before and it’s all water under the bridge as far as Tansy in concerned. The past belong in the past. But Selene sees things differently, she believes her college age daughter, Jupiter, is being abused by her boyfriend. She wants Tansy, who is a guidance counselor at the college to intervene, and not just with words or a warning. Trapped between the terrible secrets of the past and the ugly threats of the future, Tansy is caught between a rock and a very hard place. Don’t you just hate it when your past comes back to haunt you? An intense and absorbing read