Bad Summer People was like reading a reality tv show. Rich people going to their summer houses and behaving badly, whilst taking others down with them. As I was reading this, the Fitzgerald quote, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made,” immediately came to mind.

It was a fun, indulgent, summery read with a dash of death. This book doesn’t focus heavily on the murder until almost the very end, so don’t expect too much on that front. I was completely fine with that, as reading about these hilariously awful people was entertainment enough for me.

The audio helped me zoom through, though at the beginning, I was a bit confused on keeping the characters straight, as I felt the narrator could have changed the voices up a bit more to help us keep POVs straight. Nonetheless, after the first few chapters, I was able to sort it out.

Thanks so much to Macmillan Audio for the review copy!

Yes, all the people in this novel are terrible people. They lie, cheat, steal, are total elitists and through their privilege
all over the place. However, the book is such a fun mystery and so readable, I couldn't stop listening. While they're all pretty unlikeable, I found myself fascinated by all of the characters. This is a great beach read with a few twists I didn't see coming.

This is a PERFECT beach/summer book. Full of twists and turns, and witty banter between characters. I loved the narrator and the story!

I had so much fun with this. It’s not more or less than it promises - it follows a bunch of bad people through their summer, and there’s a bit of a mystery that imo isn’t all that important but is fun to wonder about through the book. Everyone is the worsttt but in a pretty fun way. I do think the book is a little harsh on the unmarried woman character in a way I didn’t appreciate a few times, but she’s the worst too, so it doesn’t feel totally inappropriate.
cw: if infidelity is a no for you, definitely don’t pick up this book. The majority of the bad behavior is from cheating on spouses.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

Quick, easy read with plenty of gossip and rich people doing whatever the hell they want! I enjoyed the narrator.

DNF @ 24%. I am just not super interested in this book. Nothing has gripped by attention. It just feels like a bunch of rich people complaining, and we don't need more of that in the world. I am usually all for this type of story, but something in the way these people are written is not doing it for me. I am sure they are all going to be humbled by the time the book is through, but I'm just not connecting with the story or the characters. It might be because there are way too many of them, and they all each have their own separate scandals and quirks, but something just isn't meshing well with me with this one. On the plus side, the audiobook narrator is fabulous.

Thank you to NetGalley, Emma Rosenblum, and Macmillan audio for the ALC of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my thoughts.

BAD SUMMER PEOPLE by Emma Rosenbaum was another cover pick for me. Looking at it and seeing the title, I knew I had to read it. I wasn’t disappointed. Plus, January LaVoy’s narration enhanced the suspenseful plot.

If you like reality tv shows of rich people gossiping about each other and their woes in life, this book is for you. And if you like murder mysteries where everyone suspects each other for some reason, yet they could never do that, this book is for you.

It’s an easy read - a great summer read - especially if you listen to it. LaVoy is a fantastic narrator and keeps you engaged so that you don’t realize time is passing.

My one warning is the number of characters. It’s a very character-driven book. If you don’t like many characters or their PoVs, this isn’t the book for you.

I think this is an excellent debut from Emma Rosenbaum, and I look forward to what comes next from her. Would I have liked it as much if I read it? I’m not sure, but I’m delighted I listened. It was a fantastic suspense audio with excellent narration.

CW: murder, alcoholism, alcohol and drug use, infidelity, sexual harassment, financial crimes

Bad Summer People is like One of Us is Dead with the serious drama of Real Housewives. While there is death and betrayal, it is an easy and quick read. If you want a beachy, summer read that is not a romance, I would recommend this one.

This is book that couldn’t have a better title. Bad Summer People is exactly what you are getting. There is a murder at the beginning and you don’t know who it is or how it happened. So it hooks you right away. And although not one character is trustworthy or likable you have to keep listening. This is a character driven novel and it really keeps you engaged with, rich people behaving badly, lies, and lots of secrets.
There are quite a few characters but I was able to keep them straight the narrator, January LaVoy, does an excellent job!!
I do like the ending and the way this domestic suspense is told.

This is a devilishly perfect beach/pool read. You’ll love to hate a few of these characters and still want to know with whom and how they end up. Fun read! Great narrator!

Loved the narrator! So many scandals so much drama. Didn’t love the characters because they were overall just awful human beings. But that added to all the drama!

Bad Summer People will be the blockbuster book of the summer! This suspenseful beach read will satisfy the most inquisitive readers. Just when you think you know what happened, another possibility is presented. It also wraps everything up and leaves no un answered questions in the end. There are many characters, but it is easy to remember and follow them. I listened to the Audio version and the narrator, January LaVoy does a wonderful job voicing each character - even the male characters. This book will be on my top 10 best book list!

A quick, delicious read full of scandals and secrets set against a summer backdrop on Fire Island. Cheating, stealing, gossiping, and a dead body— this mystery novel is scandalous and full of characters that you will love to hate! There are a lot of characters all behaving badly so it took a minute to remember who was who. But wow, this was an absolute delight and sure to be a hit read this summer!

If you’re thinking of doing the audio version of this book, January LaVoy’s narration is perfect and brought life to the characters.

In my opinion, fans of Elin Hilderbrand will love this one.

Many thanks to Macmillan Audio for this copy!

This is the juiciest of juicy summer reads!
Are you going on a beach vacation? Visiting the lake? Pick this up and bring it with you!
I can't say enough great things about this book. It's so so good that you forget about the mystery element to the story and get wrapped up in the lives of all the characters.
What are the lifestyles of the rich really like? What happens when bad things happen to bad people?
Are you more attune to the secrets and scandals as an outsider looking in? Or as a long standing member of privilege?
And the audiobook for this story was a true delight! I could not stop listening! Highly recommend.
You can't go wrong with this page turning summer read!

Kind of predictable from the start. Really had to pay attention to the characters. Author switched between multiple character and situations. Story line was so so nothing to exciting.

"Bad Summer People" opens with a bang. A dead body is found, but no details are given as we are immediately tossed back to Lauren Parker's family as they gear up to head to their Salcombe beach house on Fire Island. Sam Weinstein and Jason Parker have summered here since they were children, so insisting their families do the same felt like the thing to do.

Salcombe is a town of rich, surface deep individuals. Escaping their lives in the city and moving their lives to the beachside town and slowed down lifestyle of the island each summer. However, the New York cliques and petty drama doesn't stay on the ferry as the drama unfolds.

The opening death set the stage perfectly as I found the author so tantalizingly dangling individuals with motives and opportunity at every turn. But, as the book peaked, climaxed and wound back down I felt the ending drag on as each loose end was made to wind unnecessarily back together.

Well, you've got the whole small town vibe of very wealthy people in this story! These wealthy New Yorkers descend on this small town of Salcombe, on Fire Island in New York for the summer. You've got the resident gossip who's in everyone's business, the wannabe, the cheaters, the full time resident, and of course, the LBGTQ character. It's the perfect beach read and keeps you interested from beginning to end. It was also well-narrated.

Great summer read. The dynamic between the different residents on the island was great and loved the multiple POV telling the story.

Such a wonderful thriller! Some parts were predictable, but I was mostly surprised. The characters were well developed. I really enjoyed this one!

😈😈😈😈😈
If you’re looking for a juicy beach read, look no further!

“Bad Summer” owns its name! A debut novel set on the beautiful and exclusive Fire Island. Where the wealthy spend their summers playing tennis, or if you’re special, playing with the tennis instructor! Attending parties stocked with expensive alcohol while nannies look after their children. And staying abreast of gossip and secrets.

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF SUMMER 2023: Bustle, ELLE, Cosmopolitan, PopSugar, Bloomberg, Vogue, and more!

Published May 23, has earned the new author a two-book deal, as well as a TV deal with Amazon Prime. Can’t wait to watch it! 

This small community of rich are secretly unhappy and delight in bad behavior, backstabbing, and infidelity. These characters have spent years creating their intricate social webs.

This spicy whodunit starts us off with a dead body but keeps the secrets surrounding the death until the whirlwind conclusion. Who is it? Was it an accident? If not, who would do such a thing?

The audiobook has a captivating narrative! This story is the perfect length. I never bored listening to these irresistibly unlikable characters and their delicious gossip. I couldn’t stop reading about their sizzling drama, fierce rivalry, dark envy, and scandalous secrets! I’m grateful my summer is spent watching from afar.

I’m looking forward to more by Emma Rosenblum.

Sincere thanks to Macmillan Audio and Emma Rosenblum for the copy of this gifted audiobook through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

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