The Girls of Summer is a great read! This story made be both angry and sad for the characters. This story is told in dual time-lines. Rachel is complicated. Before she finished high school, she had the opportunity to spend a summer on a beautiful Greek island with her friend. A summer trip turns into something more when she meets Alistair. A very much older man that takes her breath away. She falls so deeply for him, but there is more to this than meets the eye. Adult Rachel’s life is not turning out the way she hoped. She feels like something is missing, and that missing piece is Alistair. Her memories of the past may not be what they seem and she’s trying to recapture the feelings she had that summer. But, is what she remembered, really what happened. Was it love or something sinister that she just ignored? Rachel made me angry but I also felt for her. Her life was missing something, but that missing piece is not from missing love, but more overcoming abuse she suffered and never fully processed. A good story evokes emotions and this was a good story! Thank you NetGalley for this book. I am not required to leave a review.

Katie Bishop's The Girls of Summer is a eye opening book of female trafficking. Rachel and Caroline decide on a summer of travel to various Greek Islands. But only Caroline returns home. Rachel gets involved with and older man and stays. She and other girls are used as bartenders and guests at parties where drugs and alcohol are plentiful and they are there to keep men entertained .
Written in Here and Then, we see how that summer affected her life to the point that she cannot function in her marriage.
I thank netball eh and Katie Bishop for an ARC of this book.

A teenage romance never forgotten…characters who come alive on the pages are intriguing. This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. It is a mixture of love and sadness, along with regret. This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review.

This is the first book I have read by Kate Bishop and I can’t wait for the next! I finished this book in 24 hrs and was unable to put it down. From the opening chapter I couldn’t have guessed where the plot and story were taking me. Bishop handles a difficult topic deftly by making the reader come to the same understanding as the main character we as the book evolves. The emotions of the main character can be felt and the descriptive writing made me feel as if I were right there in the moment! Thank you so
much for the advance copy!

Thanks so much St Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advance read in exchange for this review.

Rachel has been in love with Alistair for 15 years. Even though she is married to someone else. Even though it started when she was a teen. Even though he is 20 years older than her. Even if she hasn't seen him in years. They had a summer romance on a Greek island. Now, she's obsessed with reliving those events long ago and the truth is coming out to what really happened that summer.

This book has a lot. Rachel thought she had a whirlwind, yet complicated romance as a teenager with an older man. Then while she is on holiday with her husband on that same island, she runs into someone from her past. The truth cannot be kept hidden, and she struggles with grasping what really happened to her as an innocent and naive 17 year old. Parts of this book were hard to read, and you can see the impacts it has had on her over time. Even in her marriage, she is struggling with wondering what if. This book has a lot of dark and hard topics and will leave you with a lot to think about. At times, Rachel is a frustrating character but it is because she is working through trauma and struggling with accepting the truth.

This is one of those reads that will stick with you. Told in dual timelines and influenced by the #metoo era, Katie Bishop had an important story to tell with this one.

Thank you to Net Galley for the Advanced Reading Copy. The book went back and forth in time between high school girls enjoying a summer holiday in Greece and the present time in London. I enjoyed the “Then” portion of the story much better than the “Now.” I think we all have that person we met in our teen years, perhaps a first love, that we always wonder about…what if it worked out, how might life be different, etc. I didn’t like the main story line (who would?) and was surprised that it wasn’t revealed in the synopsis of the story. There are definitely many triggers to be aware of. All in all, just ok for me.

I loved The Girls of Summer. I feel like the #MeToo reckoning books have reached their peak, and they don't always have the impact that I wish they would, but this one felt much more authentic than others I've read. I read this book in two nights, and the writing kept me sucked into trying to guess what would happen next.

The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop

Publication Date June 6, 2023

After fifteen years, Rachel still thinks about the summer she spent working on a remote island in Greece. Nothing can compare to the intense affair with an older man named Alistair, the friendships that were formed, and a place that held so much magic. It all crumbles when the women from her past meet to discuss what really happened on the island. Alternating between past and present, Rachel starts to realize her recollection of that summer might be flawed. The parties with older wealthy men and the authenticity of Alistair, are now questioned. Will all the island’s secrets finally be revealed?

Review

This novel contains themes that are triggering. Katie Bishop did an amazing job by writing those dark moments without providing too many details of what takes place. The psychology aspect was the reason this novel pulled me in. It’s interesting how Rachel has repressed a lot of what happened on the island and slowly the reader discovers her truth. This story is intense, yet it also discusses the strength of women and the power they have when coming together.


Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

My review will be posted on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sasharenee.h/ on February 1, 2023. Once the image and review are posted on Instagram, it stays on my Instagram

This is a debut novel by Katie Bishop and it grabbed me from the very first page. Rachel went backpacking with friends to Greece where she found her first love with Alistair. She was only 17 at the time and Alistair was much older. Fast forward 16 years, she is now married to Tom and they go on a vacation to the same spot in Greece yet Katie never told Tom much about that time in her life. I had a hard time with Katie going back and getting involved with Alistair while being married to Tom, after no contact after 16 years. Really? Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review. To be published June 2023. Looking forward to many more books by this author.

Young love, first love, a perfect summer. That's how Rachel looks back on the summer she spent in Greece. The summer where she met Allistair. Now 16 years later, she's back on that same island with her husband.

The book is told in dual timelines between Then and Now. Then, Rachel feels like she finally found a place where she fits in and belongs. She looks back on this time as being the summer that change her life, and in some ways started it because it's the summer Allistair loved her. Now, Rachel reflects back on that time and how it changed her life, and what she became. When she reconnects with her summer love, she learns her memories may be jaded and he might not be the man she thought he was.

Overall, this was a good read. It took me a little bit to truly get hooked into the story and at times wondered where the storyline was going, but once it got there, I couldn't put it down. It was a one day read for me.

This book has the element of past and present. Rachel goes back to the greek island she visited 16 years prior with her now husband. After a chance run in with a girl from her past, it brings old wounds of a lost love and secrets to the surface.

I love books that go back and forth between past and present. This books was very well written; a great debut for Katie Bishop! I will be recommending this book to friends and anxiously awaiting her next release!

Thank you netgalley for this ACR!

At 17, Rachel backpacks to Greece and her life will change forever. She loves the island so much she decides to stay and work. A story of lost youth and manipulation. Thank you Net Galley for this page turner!

The Girls of Summer is the story of Rachel and the summer she spent in a Greek island that forever changed her. An affair with a much older man whom fifteen years later he still thinks about constantly. We are told the story jumping back from Then to Now. A narrative I always like. While the writing was great, this just wasn't the book for me. The age difference was just too much for me and made me quite sad for Rachel's character. I also wasn't too found of her character in general so the book was a slow read for me. I would however be interested in reading other books written by Katie Bishop down the road as she is a great storyteller. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the gifted e-galley in exchange for an honest review. Pub day is June 6th!

What a debut novel from Katie Bishop! A definite #metoo movement book. It makes you really feel and put yourself Into a moment of time for the women who have been involved with sex trafficking.
Rachael is a naive girl, traveling with her friend to Greece one summer. She gets caught up with the wrong time and it takes her years to realize the truth of what really happened that one summer.
This was a must read. I could also see this being a great book club novel.

This book split into 2 parts the then and now charts the journey of the major character and her earlier life as a coming of age girl who is controlled and sexually by an older man and charts her effects into the now and the darker side of controlling abusive people , the author stated that it was partly influenced by the #metoo and other events. found the book dark and moving

Preface - i LOVE a debut author and I will always give an author at least one or two tries. It's even better when I find one I really enjoy and add them to my list of authors to continue reading! I really enjoyed this one and I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early! It was a really good read and I think most people will enjoy it as well. I enjoyed the characters, the story and enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

What a debut! This book grabbed me from the beginning and I really enjoyed the story. Great summer beach read as the story takes place on a tropical island Even though the storyline involves human trafficking it was very well written and an easy read. Alternating from past to present Rachel’s story is definitely one worth reading. Thank you to NetGalley, St Martins Press and Katie Bishop for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Pub date: 6/6/23
Genre: #MeToo, coming of age
Teenage Rachel spent a dream summer on a Greek island with much older boyfriend Alistair - but fifteen years later, she'll realize it was a nightmare too.

Reader beware: this cover looks like it should belong to a thriller where a group of friends go on vacation and someone ends up dead. And yes, someone does end up dead, but this book is not a thriller. Instead, it's a character-driven meditation on power and abuse masquerading as romance.

#MeToo books have become more popular, and I'm glad to see these books telling women's stories. But I've also read a number of these stories by now, and a book has to be special to really grab me. This one didn't have the emotional heft of MY DARK VANESSA, and it felt like something was missing and preventing me from really connecting with Rachel. However, I would try another book by Katie Bishop in the future.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There is something about young girlhood, where at the time you think you're so mature and an adult but in actuality, the people you surround yourself mold your decisions and opinions. This book captures the vulnerability of young girls fresh into adulthood, flashing back to the past and present day, when ghosts from the past re-emerge. Books like these, are tools I wish I had when I was younger, as a cautionary tale to manipulation & gaslighting. Thank you netgalley & the publisher for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review.