A rollicking good story, perfect for every beach bag!

I adored A Novel Summer by Jamie Brenner, which I found to be delightfully entertaining. This beautifully crafted tale is a veritable love letter to Provincetown, with a sense of place and the summertime so strong you can smell the salt water, hear the crashing of ocean waves, feel the sand between your toes and envision yourself strolling down Commercial Street in a sundress. Featuring three well-developed, relatable, smart, independent and evolving women three years after their college graduation, Brenner’s latest is a coming of age story and something of an ode to the ties that bind - friendship, families and community. It features an 80 year old bookshop, novels within the novel, and alluring romantic interests. It provides a fascinating peek into the world of publishing, a realistic glimpse into a few of the most serious challenges plaguing Cape Cod (e.g., a shortage of affordable housing for workers and the ravages of climate change), and “Easter eggs” of characters from other Brenner books. And the plot is intriguing, compelling and well paced.

Having read all of her backlist, I was thrilled to learn another tale by Jamie Brenner would be publishing this year. A Novel Summer does not disappoint. Fans of Brenner’s earlier works or the novels of Elin Hilderbrand, Mary Kay Andrews, Kristy Woodson Harvey and Jennifer Weiner might especially appreciate this story.

Highly recommended! 4.5 stars,

Many thanks to NetGalley and Park Row for the complimentary ARC. Opinions are my own.

I think that this one of my favorite Jamie Brenner novels. I enjoyed the characters and learning what had molded their friendships into the way that they were today.

I always enjoy small towns and families woven together. I love learning about the connections between the families and the town.

This book had quite a few surprises and instances that I certainly didn’t see coming. That made it easy to get lost in the book and excited to find out what happened next.

If you are looking for a good beach/vacation/poolside book, I think you will enjoy this one. While there are a lot of things happening in this book, it is a quick, easy read that is entertaining. I do agree with some other reviewers that some of the situations are a little too coincidental and there are a lot of tropes going on here but I still enjoyed this one. While I've never been to Provincetown I have been to the Cape and this book evokes wonderful summertime memories.

Thank you to Net Galley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, Park Row, and Jamie Brenner for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Shelby leaves Provincetown to move on with her life in New York to find her success with writing the dream novel she has always wanted to write and pursue her writing career. She promised to come back to host an author event in her friend's family bookstore when her novel is published. During the event her friends reveal that they aren’t any too happy with her since she used events in their own personal lives to create her story line. She apologized to them over and over but it took other unfortunate events for them to finally forgive Shelby.
I enjoyed the beach romance of A Novel Summer.
Thanks to NetGalley for ARC .

I love Jamie Brenner's novels and live in Cape Cod so especially loved A Novel Summer. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for chance to read this book.
It’s a great story of 3 college friends reuniting in Provincetown and the challenges that are each facing as adults. The characters and plot line are very well written. Another win for this author!

A charming, sweet beach read set it idyllic Cape Cod. Perfect for fans of Elin Hilderbrand. What I liked: setting (Provincetown, bookstore), realistic friendships, What I didn't like: not so subtle liberal agenda of author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I love Jamie Brenner. Her previous novels Blush and Gilt were a tribute to those icons of the “trashy novels” Judith Krantz and Jackie Collins.. That is meant to be a compliment, by the way. However, in A Novel Summer, she steps away from that to write an engrossing story about friendship and saving a beloved landmark business in an ever changing world. I loved the character Shelby, who only just wanted to be successful in her life’s passion- writing. I admired Hunter for not wanting to rest on her family’s fortune but make it on her own. Then there is Colleen who has to weather some extreme changes in her life. This is set against the charming and colorful backdrop of Provincetown (Ptown, as it’s called in the novel). Now, this book makes me want to visit this little gem. Thank you, Jamie Brenner for another wonderful book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I really loved Blush, but sadly, nothing else by this author has lived up to that one. Sadly, the same is true here. This book felt forced and rush and I couldn’t connect to any of the characters.

A quick summer beach read; I read it quickly as I wanted to read something light. Predictable story line and happy ending. Perfect for those who want to throw in a bag to take to the beach.

Having read all of Jamie Brenner's previous work, I knew I had to get my hands on A Novel Summer. I suspect this will be the book in everyone's beach bag this summer. Set in idyllic Ptown, this story has romance, friendship, drama, and family themes. A thoroughly enjoyable read!

This was a lighthearted, quick read. The storyline was cute, but I can't say it held my attention the way I would have liked. There were times that a lot was going on and sometimes it just didn't make sense. I also found it hard to connect with the characters. There were so many all at once that it was hard to tell them apart. I am glad I stuck with it and finished it because it ended up being a cute story.

Unfortunately this is a DNF for me. There were just too many things that I did not like and could get past while reading.
First... the name Hunter for a girl? I know there are many gender neutral names out there but this isn't one of them, IMO and every time I saw the name it jumped out as wrong.
Second.... There seemed to be all of the common troupes included, such as lack of information or withholding info leads to misunderstandings, spoiled rich teenagers and twenty-somethings, and too many relationship triangles. Without giving away too much info as soon as I read that the ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend is the new business competition which makes the ex-boyfriends best friends girlfriend's business at risk. I was done. That's just too many circles in one story. As well as too many characters added in so quickly. I was not connecting with any of them!
Three..... what is with the name brand descriptions. These words have no relevance to the story so why do they even need to be there?
Four.... it seemed that every current north american current event is going to be name. There's climate change, ocean temperature changes, garbage dumping, wind turbines, same sex marriage, rising house/rent prices, lack of employees to fill jobs. And that is just what I found in the first thirteen chapters.
I was looking forward to reading this book since the author has so many others. This was the first for me and I'm not sure I would try another. I am glad that many have enjoyed it so far though.
Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This is the story of 3 young women, best friends, pledging lifelong fidelity. Of course, 3 years later, this has disintegrated. Shelby returns to Provincetown, a best selling author. Colleen is expecting twins, with a very difficult pregnancy, and Hunter is bored and bitter.

Shelby also must face her ex-boyfriend and his family. Despite her misgivings, she takes over a small bookshop to help Colleen. Readers and reviewers always find novels about publishing, writing and bookshops very intriguing, but in this case, very predictable.

Brenner’s prior novels were much more sophisticated. This seems like a throwback to a simpler beach read. I did enjoy the read, but it could have been predicted after the first chapter. So, again the story of 3 friends, travails and remediation.

Thank you Netgalley for this opportunity to read and review this novel.

A great summer read from Jamie Brenner! Recommended for fans of Elin Hildebrand, Jennifer Weiner, and Pamela Kelley.

I liked this book. It was engaging and kept me reading to see how everything shook out.
Things I liked:
-the multiple perspectives...it added a layer of complexity to the storyline and made you more empathetic to the characters
-the flawed characters...they were equally likeable and frustrating (the multiple POVs enhanced this)
-the character growth

Things I that kept this at a 3 star:
-needs to have better breaks when switching perspectives. Sometimes it was hard to follow.
-weird details that were added, like clothing brands or item brands like "Jonathan Adler couch" or "Lisa Eldridge lipstick in velvet ribbon" -- many of these were just asinine and did not add to the story or the imagery. They felt random.
-the third act conflict was super jumpy between hunter's relationships with people (esp Shelby), then Colleen suddenly turning on Shelby?
-dialogue formatting...needs to be a new paragraph for each new speaker. It was hard to follow.
-weird spacing issues with the letter F

What a wonderful beach read!! I loved the way this book was written and I loved all of the characters. The book held my interest throughout and I couldn’t put it down!

A light-hearted and fun novel perfect for fans of breezy women's fiction.

We follow 3 friends in Provincetown, Cape Cod. We get to know Hunter and Shelby the most. Colleen is also a character but a bit of an afterthought. The women are realistic in terms of their flaws, which I appreciated. Even though Shelby can be frustrating at times, I prefer when novels have multi-dimensional, realistic characters versus cardboard cut-outs. This is a light, enjoyable read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy; all opinions are completely my own.

Shelby's debut book is a best selling beach novel set in her old stomping grounds of Provincetown, Massachusetts. Though she spent unforgettable sumers in Ptown with friends Hunter and Colleen during college, her first trip back after three years for the reading of her novel is not the love fest she imagined it would be.

Hunter, who was recently laid off from her publishing job in Boston, is angry at Shelby for including a character in the book who resembles her a bit too closely. And Colleen struggles to get her parents to see the value in maintaining 'Lands End', the island's only bookstore that has been in her family for 80 years.

When Colleen asks Shelby to return to Ptown for the summer to help run the bookstore, Shelby returns to help her friend, reacquaint herself with a town that is the most like home she's ever known, and to get started on the follow-up novel her agent is eager to read. While in Provincetown, Shelby and her friends make a number of missteps, self-discoveries, and face new challenges together.

This is a delightful beach read! There is just enough tension to keep the reader hooked but no super heavy plot lines that distract from the lightness of the story. Despite the lead characters all being 20-somethings, this story has appeal for older readers. For those concerned, there is no swearing in the narration and few instances of such language in the dialogue, and there is no sex on the page.

Shelby's debut book is a best selling beach novel set in her old stomping grounds of Provincetown, Massachusetts. Though she spent unforgettable sumers in Ptown with friends Hunter and Colleen during college, her first trip back after three years for the reading of her novel is not the love fest she imagined it would be.

Hunter, who was recently laid off from her publishing job in Boston, is angry at Shelby for including a character in the book who resembles her a bit too closely. And Colleen struggles to get her parents to see the value in maintaining 'Lands End', the island's only bookstore that has been in her family for 80 years.

When Colleen asks Shelby to return to Ptown for the summer to help run the bookstore, Shelby returns to help her friend, reacquaint herself with a town that is the most like home she's ever known, and to get started on the follow-up novel her agent is eager to read. While in Provincetown, Shelby and her friends make a number of missteps, self-discoveries, and face new challenges together.

This is a delightful beach read! There is just enough tension to keep the reader hooked but no super heavy plot lines that distract from the lightness of the story. Despite the lead characters all being 20-somethings, this story has appeal for older readers. For those concerned, there is no swearing in the narration and few instances of such language in the dialogue, and there is no sex on the page.

Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The setting of Novel Summer is set in Provincetown. This is a tight knit community in both the text and in real life. The novel is told through multiple perspectives which allows the reader to truly get to know the characters. Throughout the novel, the characters continue to grow and be flexible with different challenges. The end was a great resolution! I enjoyed reading it!