I was really hopeful for this new one by KWH because she is one of my favorite "beach read" authors but this one but unfortunately fell flat to me. I had a hard time following the storyline with the flashbacks and scattered character development. It felt like the "conflict" in the book was only due to miscommunication which honestly is the worst conflict in books! It just wouldn't be like that irl. KWH is an auto buy author for me so no worries and I'll definitely pick up her next book. This one was just a miss for me.

June Moore is the owner of Camp Holly Springs and has been for the last 30 year, but when she is in danger of losing the place, she knows there are three girls she can count on. Her niece, Daphne, became best friends with Lanier and Mary Stuart during her first summer at camp and since then, they have done each others hard things. Daphne, an attorney, has fought through a lot after her mother died and her dad was not really involved. She lived with Lanier’s family who is basically her family. Lanier is supposed to get married and runs into her old camp crush and those feelings keep coming back. Mary Stuart feels like she has always been the odd one out, but the three of them agree to help camp Holly Springs get back on track. The romance storylines between Daphne, Steven, and Huff was interesting and I loved how their turned out. I loved Mary Stuart and her now husband, Ted, and Lanier choosing between her fiancé and her camp crush coming back into the picture.

I am a big KWH fan and connected with this story in so many ways. The town next to mine is Holly Springs so I loved the camp name, and I spent 10 summers going to a camp on Lake Gaston and then working their two summer so I know the love for a summer camp. The friendship between the three girls is priceless and I love how they helped each other with hard things. I laughed at the camp romances because they are so real and reused to call the “lake effect” since we were on the lake. Just overall, good story and good characters.

I started this novel without any expectations as I had no background on author Kristy Woodson Harvey; based solely on the cover and title, I expected a low-key, feel-good summer novel that would help pull me out of my winter doldrums. While this novel is certainly that, it's also so much more.

"The Summer of Songbirds" focuses on three female characters, all of whom meet as children at a girls-only summer camp known as Camp Holly Springs. The years pass and despite the ongoing changes in each of their lives, all three women are still fast friends and still live near each other in their small town in North Carolina. Daphne has become a successful attorney and opened her own law practice, juggling it all while co-parenting her son Henry; Lanier is the owner of a bookstore and about to get married to her fiance Bryce; and Mary Stuart has a successful career in PR is the first to get married to Ted. The three of them rally when Daphne's aunt June, the current owner of Camp Holly Springs, informs them that she's in financial difficulty coming out of the pandemic and they work together to try and save the camp that brought them all together.

In between the main conflict, we get to better understand each of these women's pasts and the scars they carry to this day. Daphne's mother struggled with addiction and passed at a young age, a situation that her aunt June witnessed and still feels guilty about. While Daphne was able to live with Lanier's family, she also has had her ups and downs with addiction and sobriety, and still carries feelings for Lanier's brother Huff. Lanier is also struggling with the realities of her looming future marriage to a man that hides things from her, and has to confront the mistakes she made when she was younger as well.

While Harvey's writing style felt a bit limited at times, I nonetheless enjoyed this novel as it took us across each of these women's perspectives, highlighting their thoughts and the complex array of emotions each felt. There's a lot of focus on the importance of female friendships and family - both by blood and by love - and the uniqueness of how those families can look; Daphne's situation as a single mother co-parenting a child didn't deter her from her career or from a chance at future relationships. There are also some tough realizations as these women have to address things they have done and said in the past in order for them to move forward in the future.

A great summer read that I'm sure many other readers will appreciate!

5⭐️

Blurb: Daphne, Lanier, and Mary Stuart met during a fateful summer at Camp Holly Spring and have been best friends ever since. When they learn their childhood oasis is in danger of closing, they band together to save it, sending them on a journey that promises to open the next chapters in their lives.

“Fair winds and following seas!”

What an absolutely stunning novel that is sure to be one of THE top reads of the summer. KWH Continues to wow me book by book. The stories and characters she crafts are always *chefs kiss* 🤌🏻 perfection and The Summer of Songbirds was no different. I wholeheartedly loved this book so much and could not put it down. The friendships, the found family, the romance, the emotions. All perfectly executed. While at its heart it’s a story about friendship, we also get not one but two of the sweetest second chance romances that had me smiling so hard. 🥰

I didn’t go to camp as a kid but the idyllic Camp Holly Springs setting sure had me wishing there was one for adults. Reading, campfires, s’mores and wine!? Sign me up.

What I loved;
💙 The Hard things List
💙 Camp Setting
💙 Beautiful Friendships
💙 Second Chance Romance

I honestly don’t think it could have gotten any better. Although the Peachtree series is forever cemented as my #1, this is easily a new favorite read of hers and of 2023. Let’s be serious all her books are my favorite. ☺️I am already excited to re-read with the audiobook.

Pub Date 7/11/23! You absolutely must read this book! Pre-order it, add it to your TBR, request it from your library. Do ALL the things because it is 💯 worth it. I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy.

Thank you so much to Kristy Woodson Harvey, and UpLit Reads for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a sweet book about a trio of friends banding together to save the camp they went to as children. I couldn't put it down, and the ending was so satisfying. Highly recommend! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I love a summer story about friendship and so I was really excited to check this one out. KWH is a great writer and her writing definitely hooked me and left me wanting to find out what happened and how they were going to resolve everything. I liked the events that took place and how the story all centred around the 3 friend's childhood summer camp.

Two things I wish were changed.
1. I think instead of June's POV we had Mary Stuart's (also why was she always referred to by her first and last name?). I felt like part of the friend group was sort of missing because we never got a chapter from her POV.

2. Lanier needed to grovel some more. Why was she excused from everything? She also messed up big time but did not share that with her fiance and let him take all the blame. Nor did she really apologise for how she treated Rich in the present day. She needed to grovel for him a bit more for sure!

This one is a feel-good summer read that centers around friendship that blossoms in childhood and stands the test of time until they become your chosen family.

It reminded me of a Elin Hildebrand book and had me wishing I was swimming in the lake in the middle of summer.

Pub date: 7/11/23
Genre: contemporary fiction, books about friendship
Quick summary: Daphne, Lanier, and Mary Stuart built a forever friendship at Camp Holly Springs - but years later, both they and the camp are in trouble, and they'll need each other to make things right.

I love books about female friendship, and KWH does such a great job writing strong but flawed, relatable female characters. Daphne, Lanier, and Mary Stuart had a very special sisterhood - including emailing each other for help with the "hard things" in their lives. I enjoyed getting to know them and seeing them figure out life and love, supporting each other even when they disagreed.

The summer camp element was another great part of the story - I never went to this kind of camp, but I could imagine Camp Holly Springs so clearly! Another strong book from KWH, and I think it will be a perfect summer read for her fans!

Thank you to Uplit Reads, Kristy Woodson Harvey, and Gallery Books for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A new favorite from Krisy Woodson Harvey. This one will be an annual summer reread for me with beautiful characters, nostalgia, and just enough family drama to become the perfect summer book.

The Summer of Songbirds by author Kristy Woodson Harvey is a delight! I have read all the books by this author and have not been disappointed in any of them. There is always family, friendship, emotion, and love in the theme of her books.
This story is set mostly at a summer camp for different ages of girls. The Songbirds are the first or youngest group to attend the camp. Over a few weeks, Daphne, Lanie, and Mary Stuart become the best of friends. They are anxious each summer to see each other again. As they age and life becomes more complicated, there are more experiences they must deal with, and sometimes they make mistakes. This book will renew your belief in the power of a lasting friendship, and being loyal to the things you hold dear.
I loved this book!
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the opportunity to read and give an honest review of The Summer of Songbirds.
Publication Date: July 11, 2023

Having never read a KWH book yet knowing she lives nearby, I just couldn’t resist reading this one. It was absolutely adorable and such a great story! The perfect nostalgia for summer camps and reunions and best friends. Super fast paced and such a fun read, I could not put it down!!

LOVE LOVE LOVE. This has to be one of the best fiction books I've read in a long while. Any girl who ever spent the summer at summer camp and made lifelong friends will love this book. Harvey is an incredibly creative writer, whose characters and their relationships are so easy to care for and identify with; the characters in Songbirds are no exception. This is one I will buy when it comes out and keep forever and will be a re-read always.

I hadn't previously read a book by Kristy Woodson Harvey. It was so much more than I expected! I envisioned a lyrical nostalgic story. Oh no! It is and it isn't! While the author is so good at conjuring up the delightful memories of youthful summers this book is also character driven with lots happening!
June has been running the camp she attended for almost thirty years now. Pandemic and changing times she must face the fact that she financially may not keep the camp running any longer. But the camp means so much to her niece, Daphne, and her best friends - girls she met her first summer there at six years old. They come together and try to do what they can to save the camp. There are no perfect characters, they are realistically flawed and real but so likeable (there one or two I'm not particularly liking). There are melt your heart men who are strong and vulnerable. There is the best co-parenting situation ever-just thinking of Steven makes me smile.
This has made me so sad that I didn't attend summer camp as a child.
Thank you so much to Uplit Reads, NetGalley, Gallery Books and Kristy Woodson Harvey for this advanced copy.

Harvey has done it again with another feel good summer romance. I can't get enough of her writing style it is perfect for this time of year. it is light while still having some depth. I love her characters.

I never wanted this book to end! It was my first read by this author and I loved it so much. It was the perfect combination of nostalgia, some friendship and relationship drama, and dealing with the past without letting it define you. I'd give this 10 stars if I could! Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

Three childhood friends are reunited as they come together to try to save their beloved summer camp from financial ruin. Kristy has written another winner! I have a book hangover. I’m really going to miss these characters.

It’s hard to come down from the euphoria of reading this awesome Southern Women’s Fiction story. It’s simply the best Women’s Fiction I’ve read this year. The completeness of the characterization of each of the cast members; the rich, descriptive narrative that took me there alongside them; the emotional buildup I felt as the reader in each person’s life because they seemed so real to me; and the way that realness of the words touched all my emotions. That’s everything I look for in an extraordinary book. I finished the story feeling like the author left no stone unturned. The circle of life is clearly portrayed in this marvelous summer story that I highly recommend to readers of Southern Women’s Fiction and to everyone who simply enjoys a fantastic read! If I could give this story 10 Stars, I would.

“The Summer of Songbirds” is a must-read. It’s amazing. Author Krista Woodson Harvey is clearly a gifted storyteller. “Fair winds and following seas!”

I honestly reviewed an unedited digital arc provided by NetGalley and Gallery Books. All opinions are my own. Thank you.

Kristy Woodson Harvey is one of my favorite authors! And the Summer of Songbirds might be my favorite book that she has written. I loved the summer camp setting at Holly Springs, the amazing characters, and the sweet sisterhood bond. This nostalgic story has alternating POV's between best friends Daphne and Lanier which I loved. Such a beautifully written and endearing novel. Highly recommended for your summer reading list!

The summer of songbirds. Kristy Woodson Harvey

I am new to this author and really liked her writing style. This book made sense to me. Even though some things were unlikely, you wanted to buy into the stories and just enjoy without questioning.

Three young women, best of friends join together to keep their best childhood memories alive. Anyone would be lucky to have these kinds of close relationships and memories. This was a true love story but not just of lovers but of all the important people in their lives.

I give this book five stars because I want to go back and read it again, which almost never happens to me. I also want to read other books by this author to see if they are as easy and pleasant to read. Great summer read but recommended for any season.

KWH is one of my go to authors i recommend to bring with you on vacation, throw in your beach bag, and for a fun escapist read

This story follows three best friends from childhood summer camp to adulthood, Daphne, Lanier, and Mary Stuart, along with Daphne's aunt June, who is the owner of the camp. They meet as six year olds in the "Songbird" group of Camp Holly Springs and present day are coming together to save the place they love.

I didn't go to a summer sleepaway camp or have those traditions and shared experiences like they do but you truly do not need to to feel like this camp is part of your memories too. This book is about the image that shaped your love and the is you think of that made you feel loved and happy.

At its heart, this story is about friendship, but there are also two really good second chance romance stories in here! I also loved the found family and how much this group supports one another. However, I did find one character to drive me a little batty with her antics but did really appreciate her entire arc!

Things I loved about this book
Strong female friendships
Email exchanges between the friends and seeing their dialogue and interactions
Two really great second chance romance arcs
Such an inspiring co-parenting duo!