This book felt so long and plotless. While things did pick up some in the second half, I felt like most of this book was just Chamberlin describing the appearance of characters and setting rather than making anything happen. The only one of the "summer roommates" I liked was Sandra, so I really only enjoyed when she was involved because she wasn't as obnoxious as the others. I wish I had enjoyed this one more, but there was not enough to the story for me to get into it, and the whole time I just wanted it to end. I did like the development of the relationships between the women and thought that the novel wrapped up nicely. Each woman seemed to have grown over the course of the summer and learned something new about herself, which was rewarding to read in the end. However, I just did not think there was enough going on in this one, so it wasn't for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Summer Roommates was a very engaging story quirky characters that choose to live together for a summer. As the summer goes on the characters learn about themselves and the growth is astounding. Holly is very gifted in bringing the characters to life. A great summer read

The lives and problems of four women strangers blend and form experiences as they spend three months together. One woman has rented out her bedrooms for the summer with thoughts of someday creating a type of community. Each woman comes with an assortment of baggage they hope the summer away will solve.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a fun read and I loved the Maine setting. The characters were entertaining and I enjoyed the different narrators.

This book did not hold my interest. The extra was just too extra. The story was lost in the details. I have read other books by this author and this was not one of her better examples of writing. I struggled to make sense of the need for so much detail that I forgot the purpose of the story.

Beautiful yellow cover brings the feeling of joy and light. Summer Roommates is the story of 3 strangers who are sharing a home in Maine with a lonely widow. These older women, have reached a crossroad and felt like a summer in Maine would help them decide where they are headed next in their life.
A very lovely story, but unfortunately fell a little bit short in keeping my interest.
Thank you Net Galley for the ARC.

Can a book be too "wordy"? If possible, thats one of the things that kept me from enjoying this book. And the fact that I absolutely couldn't stand half of the main characters. Mary and Amanda were downright miserable and I cringed every time that a chapter or even a section of a chapter was focused on them. They were insanely judgey towards Patty and she had more spirit and kindness in her little finger. Although I liked Patty - her character was portrayed to be woe is me, I guess I can't do anything right and it's all my parents fault. I enjoyed Sandra. Okay - and her cat lol. Maybe I would have liked the book better if I was able to put mysel in it - which I couldn't and I don't believe its due to my age (which isn't much younger than the youngest resident) I'm generally a Holly Chamberlin fan but this was a miss for me. I offer this honest review in exhange for a digital copy of Summer Roommates provided by Netgalley.

I love this author, and this book felt like it was written by someone else- by a less-experienced writer. There was way too much introspection and narration, and not enough diaglog-driven action. I got bored very easily and admit that I skimmed through many of the introspective chapters.

It seemed totally unrealistic that all of a sudden, without even talking to Patty, Phil became so interested in her!

I did like the fact (when I finally got to the end) that each of the women seemed to have learned something about herself and had grown a bit in the process.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Not Holly Chamberlain’s best book but a semi-interesting book about communal living. I felt that the story had a lot of potential but the story line’s for each character were lacking

This book is a VERY GOOD READ. This is a story of a widow, Sandy who decides to rent out through the summer to have people around. . She picked 3 ladies,. Mary, a recently retired lawyer,Amanda, who is a school teacher, and Patty ,a retired low level office assistant who was living with her sister. These are women in their 50's to their 70"s sharing a place for the summer. They are mostly on their own except for breakfast and one dinner a week on Wednesday. It works out for them. Patty has a job and does things with the other ladies . Eventually they open up to each other and become friends. Is this something they will want to continue, will they stay friends. Read and
see.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for the opportunity to read Summer Roommates by Holly Chamberlin, an interesting and very thoughtfully written story about four very different women sharing a home for a summer. Sharing opinions, learning about themselves. I loved learning more about communal living and getting to know these women.

It has been five years since Sandra Pennington’s husband passed away. With no family close and her best friend in a care facility, she realizes that her house feels so empty. She decides to rent out her three spare bedrooms for the summer. She hires someone to screen out the candidates and chooses three ladies. They seem so different that she is unsure it will work out. Over arguments and laughter, the women get to know each other and themselves. It is a summer of reflection and making changes to the futures of all four women! Great read!



Thanks to Holly Chamberlin and Kensington books!

A bright cover and title drew me in. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I am giving the book three stars. The setting was more appealing than the story for me. I had a hard time getting into the book and characters fell flat.

A H.E.A. that leaves you with a happy heart and a smile on your face.

Sandra Pennington, 74, has been a widow for 5 years. Her son and her daughter do not live nearby. Sandra decides to invite 3 strangers to share her home in Yorktide, Maine for the summer. Mary Fraser is in her early 60's. single, a recently retired lawyer from NY City. Amanda Irving, 56, a teacher in a private school, has been living with Liam Sexton for 8 years and wants a break from her life. Patty Porter, 69, is single and living with one of her two sisters in Boston. Patty's life has not been what she expected it would be and her financial situation is dire.

Each woman has 'history' that is not as simple as first impressions convey. During the summer the four strangers become friends as they learn about each other and about themselves. The main characters are well developed and secondary characters are equally interesting.

Plan to spend a few hours listening to each character dwell on their past experiences, their current situations and their future hopes and dreams.

I thoroughly enjoy this novel.

This is an interesting novel that explores the choices and opportunities facing women as they enter the latter stages of life. It is a sweet, charming story about unexpected friendships formed and forged later in life. Sandra Pennington has decided to rent out three bedrooms in her home, a sort of bed and breakfast, and from here, friendships begin. Overall I think this is a perfect women’s fiction book for someone looking for a beach read about friendship later in life, but it wasn’t exactly right for me.

This was a wonderful book about women "of a certain age" (55-75) coming together as strangers to spend a summer in widow Sandra's home located in Maine.. The women are strangers but over the summer they find mutual respect and form life long friendships. I very much enjoyed the stories of the ladies and how they became the women they are as they meet and delve into how they became the women they currently are. Five star read for me.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #Kensington Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Summer Roommates.

In pursuit of community living, these roommates transition into actual friends that are bound by a commonality. Even if they approach it differently from Sandra's motherly actions, Amanda's inability to show love to others to Patty's need to be taken care of and Mary' s gruffness, they don't want to be alone and all want to find love. Even though Amanda did struggle, she had to learn to love herself first. I really had to make an effort to like Patty due to.her immaturity and statements that she didn't like to think. However, by the end, I firmly believe that each emerged as a stronger woman who realized what they wanted and deserved. Both family and friend relationships became more precious.

I wanted to love this book. I fell in love with the synopsis. The story just couldn’t capture my attention. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early read.

Summer Roommates is a sweet, charming story about unexpected friendships formed and forged later in life. Sandra Pennington has decided to rent out three bedrooms in her home, a sort of bed and breakfast, and from here, friendships begin. I've been on a bit of a Maine kick, so the setting was perfect and well described. This is the fourth novel in Maine author Holly Chamberlin's Yorktide, Maine novels, but you don't have to have read the first three to enjoy this one. This book is ideal for fans of beach reads and women's fiction.. Thank you to #Netgalley and #Kensingtonbooks for an ARC of Summer Roommates in exchange for my honest review!

This is an interesting novel that explores the choices and opportunities facing women as they enter the latter stages of life. It holds great promise, but the writing style limited my enjoyment of the book. Specifically, sections of dialogue addressing meaningful issues often felt pedantic and lacked any emotional depth. What could have been inspiring is simply a rather sterile intellectual exercise.

Sandra Pennington has lived on the coast of Maine her entire life. Now a widow at age 74, she is facing the prospect of selling her charming, spacious home to acquire something more manageable and less reflecting her aloneness. Instead, she decides to open her home as a hybrid B & B to three mature women for the summer as an experiment in communal living. Each woman comes from a different background with a different agenda, but each is seeking clarity about their respective futures. Mary is a talented lawyer who retired after a series of events left her disillusioned and burned out. Amanda, an educator at a private school, feels she has lost her enthusiasm for teaching as well as for her 8-year romance with her housemate. Lastly, there is Patty who is the female equivalent of Peter Pan. She has had a string of unfortunate romantic liaisons and has never gained self-sufficiency, finding herself without financial resources, a car or a home. Over the summer, these women forge a bond of friendship and rediscover what is truly important to create meaning in their lives.

The pace of the story is extremely slow, due to preponderance of the above-mentioned dialogues coupled with a multitude of details in the characters backstories. There is very little action to build any real momentum. Overall, there are some interesting points made about the age-related issues of work, loss, loneliness and health concerns. However, I didn’t find this an enjoyable read.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.