A huge thank you to NetGalley, St Martin Press and MacMillan Audio for this gifted e-arc & audiobook of The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop in exchange for my honest review. This book came out on June 6th, 2023 and it’s the PERFECT Beach Read. It’s not a light fluffy read. But it will have you truly captivated with this intense storyline. I loved how original this one was. Heavy, Intense but ORIGINAL. I was shocked to learn that this was the author’s debut novel. WOW!! I will definitely be picking up future books by this author

The narrator, Annabel Scholey, made this such an incredible reading experience. I HIGHLY recommend this audiobook. She truly captured the dark mesmerizing vibe this book was giving. .

Well, with a name like Alistair you can only imagine the trouble he gets you in.

This was an easy read for me and I enjoyed the timeline jumps between chapters. It was easy to follow and the chapters set in the past really showed you why Rachel is the way she is in the present. While this book deals with heavy topics, I didn't think it was too overdone.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

THE GIRLS OF SUMMER by Katie Bishop
⭐️⭐️⭐️

For fans of My Dark Vanessa and The Ballerinas. I’ve seen this book categorized in the mystery thriller genre but it is not that. It’s a women’s fiction and coming-of-age story showing sexual abuse and assault of young women and how differently they all perceive what happened during one summer in their young adulthood.

The backdrop is atmospheric and left me craving the beach. Overall it was well written and had a great narrator. Just go in not expecting a ton of suspense. It’s a slow burn. The author writes in a sensitive way and tackles the hard topics showing how abuse affects the women and their future relationships.

Swipe for the full synopsis.

Thanks @stmartinspress and @macmillan.audio for my copy! This book is available now!

Overall, I enjoyed this debut novel from Katie Bishop. The story kept my interest and the writing flowed nicely. It was a perfect summer read. But if you are expecting a thriller here, it is not that. It's more of a suspense/mystery type novel. I've heard it compared to My Dark Vanessa, and while I found that one much darker, I can see some similarities.

I enjoyed the dual timelines for the main character, told in the present and in the past on a trip to Greece in which some sinister things happened. As an adult, the main character needed to finally come to terms with those things and understand them for what they were.

I did find it mildly predictable. Very early on, I understood where the author was going with the story, so it left little to the imagination. It wasn't exactly fast paced but it did move along well and I finished it pretty quickly. Overall, it was a good read for me but probably won't be a stand out of the year. Thanks to St. Martin's Press for my review copy.

Rachel Evans and her best friend Caroline take a dream vacation to Greece the summer before their A-levels. When seventeen-year-old Rachel meets the much older Alastair Wright, Rachel decides to stay on the idyllic island, working at a bar Alastair manages. They begin a secret love affair, with Rachel growing away from Caroline and planning a future with her older lover. After a tragedy on the island, though, a devastated Rachel returns to her life in England.

Fifteen years later, Rachel has a fulfilling career and loving marriage, but can’t deny her continued feelings for Alistair. A chance meeting with one of the other young women working at the bar propels Rachel into the past, reliving her alcohol-filled, carefree days. But as she encounters more of the women from that time, she’s forced to reassess her memories and decide how to move forward.

With the DNA of BEFORE WE WERE INNOCENT + THE LAST HOUSEWIFE, this dual-timeline coming of age thriller offers a psychological portrait of a woman whose fundamental assumptions are stripped away as she questions her relationship with Alistair and how power and sex were intertwined. The compelling narrative was powerful and revealing, opening a window on the tragic process through which girls are preyed upon for nefarious purposes. At the same time, it shows how confronting the past can lead to healing.

CW: drug and alcohol use, sexual assault, death by suicide

A bit dark and disturbing. A story of strong feelings of love developed in her youth that haunt her for years after and actually hurt her current marriage. Frustrating to read and not be upset with Rachel as she doesn't see what is actually happening to her. A bit of a Me too story. .

It’s fifteen years after the summer that changed Rachel’s life, what was supposed to be merely weeks, extended into seasons-long bliss of alcohol, partying, and falling deeper in love with a man twice her age. As part of a trip with her now-husband back to the island that irrevocably changed who she is, Rachel now has to deal with her feelings and experiences of that time resurface.

My hesitation with this book, is that there is a disconnect between Rachel in the place where the “before” timeline drops off and the “now” timeline starts. The book is told in alternating timelines, so this ends up being the beginning and end of the book. There are some moments I really despise Rachel and the choices she makes, where the author chalks it up to her youth and naïveté, that I don’t feel sit well with me. This, to me, doesn’t feel excusable by being “young and dumb” but just being a shitty person, so if I’m supposed to eventually come around to liking Rachel after that, the writing didn’t get me there. There was also a lack of depth to any of the other characters, which really kept me from being pulled into the storyline.

In all, an interesting story and addition to the #metoo movement though lacking some elements that would have really connected me to the characters. It’s being compared to My Dark Vanessa, but I think that one did a better job of relating and understanding the MC.

This was an interesting read. There was an issue and a message, but it didn’t appear to the end of the book. As you read you know something is up and you want to scream at Rachel to open her eyes, but alas there wouldn't be a book if she did. I really liked the setting of a Greek Island and can imagine the draw of being independent and in love for the first time.

The story moves along at its own pace, which is slow, as it flips back and forth between the present day and Rachel’s time in Greece. You get to know Rachel well, but you only know the other characters through Rachel’s eyes. I’m not sure I would categorize this as a thriller, but maybe a women’s fiction book. While there might be some danger to the characters but there is never an intensity that they feel in any danger.

Rachel’s realization where her life is and what she wants along with the atmospheric location were my favorite parts of the read. I would be interested in the author’s next book.

When we are young, we want to experience as much as we can and often make mistakes along the way. Sometimes our choices don't reveal themselves as mistakes until we are older and realize how wrong and naiive we were. Rachel fell in love as a teenager and didn't realize the consequences of her relationship to an older man until many years later. Unfortunatley for Rachel, this caused her emotional harm that followed her into her adult life. When she reflects back to a time she thought she was happy, the past will have an unsettling way of creeping into her marriage. This storyline goes into some dark places and gave me vibes of recent stories in the news but was well developed leaving very few loose ends.

4.5 stars

This was a powerful read, a cautionary tale of men and power and manipulation and young women. Story is evocative of the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking cases, except it's set on a Greek Island and not in the Caribbean. My only critique is that I would have liked a little more of a resolution at the end.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the digital ARC in return for an honest review.

Book Summary:

You know how first loves go. They hit you hard and fast. Sometimes you move on; sometimes, you don't. The latter is true for Rachel. She's loved Alistar for going on fifteen years now. Even marrying somebody else didn't help her get over that love.

The more Rachel delves into the love of her past, the more she realizes that things are not as idyllic as she once thought. Was this whirlwind affair really her own choice? And if so, how have so many others followed her same steps?

My Review:

Ooph. The Girls of Summer hits hard. Rachel's story often feels too real, which some readers will likely adore – while others will feel repelled. So keep that in mind before picking up The Girls of Summer.

The author (Katie Bishop) described The Girls of Summer as exploring the "gray area of consent." If that was her goal – she nailed it. Make of that what you will, but this book will certainly make you stop and think - for better or worse.
The Girls of Summer is a memorable, if slightly dark read. I think knowing that this could (and has) happen in real life made it darker for me. As such, I'm not sure that this book is suited for all readers.

Highlights:
Coming of Age
Thriller

Trigger Warnings:
Age Gap
#MeToo elements

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it didn't let me down - loved it! I saw it being compared to The White Lotus and I haven't seen it, but if that's true, I definitely want to check it out.

TITLE: The Girls Of Summer
AUTHOR: Katie Bishop
PUB DATE: 06.06.2023 Now Available

The Girls Of Summer by Katie Bishop is the perfect summer read that will transport you to Greece one summer - a summer when youth transforms to adulthood when Rachel meets Alistair twenty years her senior and what happened in the past in a dual timeline story. Katie Bishop writes a haunting story about female friendships and the allure of first loves - the characters are complex and one that will stay with you long after the summer is over.

This story was so much more than I thought it was going to be when I started it. I thought this book about a few girls enjoying some summertime fun was going to be a delightful, light read. The Girls of Summer is so much more than that.

Rachel and Caroline spent a few weeks backpacking on vacation and ended up on an island with other adventurous girls. This trip changes Rachel's world! When she becomes involved in a love affair with a handsome, caring man, her life will never be the same. So much drama! But is any of it real?

Fast forward fifteen years and she travels to the same island with her husband and slams headlong into her past. How is all of that going to be reconciled with her present?

The Girls of Summer is a dramatic, intense adventure that shines the light on women and the men who take advantage of impressionable young souls and makes us question if what we remember is actual fact or just what we want to believe. This was such a great read!

The writing is very atmospheric in this MeToo book and I enjoyed the setting. There is slow paced intrigue and some tension. I thought that the author treated the subject well.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

2.5 stars

I just didn't love this. I wasn't excited to pick it up, and found myself wanting to just go to sleep after a few pages. It's a definite slow burn and not really all that thriller-y. I enjoyed the setting and enjoyed the "then" povs a lot more than the "nows". I would definitely consider reading more from this author though!

Thank you st Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review

This was a slow burn, but I couldn’t put it down.

The book alternates between present day and the early 00s. Our main character, Rachel, now a married 30-something living in London, has been in love with Alistair for 15 years, since she met him in the Greek Isles one summer. Alistair is 20 years older than Rachel. Now, Alistair is living in London, and as Rachel reconnects with him, she also meets up with some of the other girls who were pulled into Alistair’s world with her all those years ago — and begins to realize her romance with him was anything but simple.

The depth of this book really surprised me, and I think the author deftly showed just how easy it is to be blind to the truth when you are fully consumed by a bad situation. Rachel’s reckoning of her time in the Greek isles is slow coming, but I found her journey riveting. This is a debut novel and I can’t wait to see what Katie Bishop comes up with next.

loved this romance and her trying to find love and finding herself. loved the friends and and the romance. I would read this author again. I really enjoyed the pacing and how the story and the character worked things out.

I was intrigued by the premise of THE GIRLS OF SUMMER, but unfortunately the execution fell flat for me. This is a slow burn story and unfortunately, I spent a lot of time waiting for something to happen and the suspense factor just wasn't there. The main character is also very unlikeable, particularly in the present timeline.

A bit of a slow burn and less of a fast paced thriller that I was hoping for. If you're into the slow build of a story you'll definitely enjoy this one.
Overall a good story & good read I'd definitely check out more titles in the future from Katie Bishop.