Summers at the Saint is a captivating tale that defies easy categorization. At first glance, it may seem like a breezy beach read, but beneath its inviting cover lies a rich tapestry of intrigue, romance, and family drama. As they are known in town, Saints are the super-rich who buy memberships at the resort. Ain’ts are those who can’t afford to be there but are often employed by the resort. I must be on a small town quest lately, as many of my recent reads are set in small towns.

At the heart of the story is Traci, a resilient woman navigating the tumultuous aftermath of her husband's tragic death. Fifteen years ago, she was an Ain’t employed as a lifeguard. She met, fell in love, and married Hoke Eddings. They were happy until Hoke’s untimely death in a plane crash. Despite the challenges Traci faces, from a bitter familial feud to the pressures of running a resort, Traci emerges as a formidable force, determined to honor her husband's legacy and protect visions of the future.

What sets this novel apart is its skillful blend of genres. It intertwines romantic suspense elements with chick-lit charm, creating a narrative that keeps readers guessing until the very end. The flashbacks offer glimpses into the past, weaving together the friendship, love, and mystery threads that shape Traci's world.

Central to the plot is Scott Wayland, whose arrival at the resort sets off a chain of events that will change everything. As he delves into the truth behind his half-brother's death, he finds himself drawn to Traci in unexpected ways. Is he driven by a desire for justice, or is there a desire for romance?

One of the novel's greatest strengths is its portrayal of strong female characters. Traci stands out as a beacon of resilience and determination, refusing to be sidelined or silenced in a male-dominated management team. Her unwavering commitment to her beliefs and ability to navigate the complexities of business and personal relationships make her a protagonist worth rooting for.

Kathleen McInerney's narration adds another layer of depth to the story, bringing its characters and emotions to life with skill and precision. Her ability to inhabit each role and capture the essence of the narrative ensures that listeners are fully immersed in the world of The Saints.

In conclusion, Summers at the Saint is more than just a summer read—it's a compelling journey filled with twists, turns, and unforgettable characters. Whether you're a fan of romance, fractured friendships, mystery, or family sagas, this novel offers something for everyone, making it a must-read for any book lover.

Another great summer vacay read from :Mary Kay Andrews. I loved this one and the narrators did a fantastic job as well. Well done!

A Delightful Beach Read Full of Substance and Mystery

SUMMARY
Traci Eddings is the owner of St. Cecelia, a historic and renowned hotel painted in pink, located off the coast of Southern Georgia. The hotel is full of traditions and even a few scandals. Traci, an outsider, inherited the hotel from her late husband. Currently, she is facing staff shortages and financial difficulties while striving to restore the hotel to its former glory. Traci has only one season to turn things around.

Rick, Traci's brother-in-law, is greedy and unconscionable and wants Traci to fail. He thinks that an outsider like Traci is not fit to run his family's hotel and is willing to do anything to obstruct her every move.

REVIEW
SUMMERS AT THE SAINT is a delightful beach read full of substance and mystery. Traci Eddings’ character is strong, smart, and delightful, and her story is captivating.

Author Mary Kay Andrews has packed the intricate story with many great characters, several plot lines, and some interesting twists. It’s a murder mystery and family drama with just a little bit of romance thrown in for good measure.

I listened to the audiobook of SUMMERS AT THE SAINT, and the narration by Kathleen McInerney is expertly delivered and draws you into the story from the beginning. It was a great book for listening,

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher St. Martin’s Press/McMillian Audio
Published May 7, 2024
Narrated Kathleen McInerney
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

It’s so much fun to dive into a book that you expect to be one thing, and it just surprises you. Having only ever read The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews, I was truly expecting a cozy coming-of-age romance. This is actually a mystery with layers and layers of intrigue. There are so many moving parts and characters that it kept me guessing. It remains relatively light hearted, and sprinkles a little romance there in the last half to offer a ray of hope in the unexpected darker world that’s painted.

Keeping things as spoiler free as possible, I will be very honest. I got a little hopeless and worn out feeling during the first half of this audiobook. There is a lot that goes wrong. You know that something is just not right, but you also don’t see the way out. The second half of the book starts uncovering those rays of light and hope that I was expecting from Andrews. I actually really enjoyed expecting a certain type of novel from her, and getting something different. Sometimes that works, and sometimes it doesn’t. This worked for me.

Additionally, I listened to the audio of this book. The narrator did such a good job with the cool, southern tones. I never felt the accents were forced or distracting. I devoured this listen while I cooked dinner several nights in a row, and of course while driving back and forth to dance class and ball games. (Welcome to my life).

This story did express a wide use of very strong language. There were certain characters whose dialogue was increasingly rough. Pay attention to trigger and content warnings for one of the major plot points. Use caution if moments of abuse are hard for you. I’m happy to go into further detail in my messages.

This story registered a 2/5 on the FOTMS scale. (Detailed explanation for the scale on my pinned post). There is really only one scene, and it’s very brief. It is not explicit, but it put one toe over my comfort level. It’s in the last quarter of the audio book and is blanketed in a lot of major plot moments, so keep that in mind.

Thank you to @netgalley , @macmillan.audio , and @marykayandrews for an advanced listen to this audiobook. It tee-d up my summer reading list just right! ⛳️

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
•
The Saint Cecilia Resort or The Saint is the place to be in the summer. Traci and Shannon are lucky enough to work there, until a tragedy strikes The Saint. Traci and Shannon never speak again. Years later, Traci, now widowed to Hoke Eddings (the owner of The Saint) and is doing what every it takes to keep The Saint alive.
•
Right from the start I was hooked to this story. I fell in love with The Saint. It's no secret that a death had occurred at The Saint so many years ago. I wanted to know more about this death. Flash forward twenty years and that's when another death occurs. Not only did this murder occur but things just don't seem to be flowing well at The Saint. This turns into a full-blown mystery mixed with a love story, and I ate this shit up. The Saints and the Aints reminded me so much of the Kooks and Pogues (IYKYK).
•
The characters in this one are just perfect. They are so complimentary of one another. They are so well developed, and they are easy to love or easy to hate. The setting was detailed to perfection. I felt like I was at The Saint alongside this group trying to figure out just what was going on, who was the murderer and why. The romance part of the story was great, I have no complaints there and the mystery had some really great. And those twists... those twists are so emotionally deep and had so much thought behind them it made this such a fun read. Summers At The Saint has a steady pace throughout and there are parts that are more suspenseful and parts that are a bit slower but overall, you will definitely devour this one in a few short sittings. It is that good. This book got me so hype for summer I'm not even going to lie.
•
I listened to this one via audiobook and it was narrated by Kathleen McInerney. She was the best narrator for this story, and she truly brought everything to life for me. If you plan to read this one, I highly recommend that you pick up the audiobook!
•
Summer At The Saint will release on 5/7, be sure to check this one out! Huge thank you to NetGalley, Mary Kay Andrews and MacMillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5⭐️

I’ve read and Mary Kay Andrews books previously, so I was excited to dive into Summers at the Saint. However, it wasn’t quite what I expected. Somehow, a lot was going on but little actually happened. It felt uneven and leaned a bit further into the murder mystery aspect than I’d expected. Still entertaining enough, just not quite as I’d hoped.

Kathleen McInerney did a fantastic job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you Mary Kay Andrews, St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

I always look forward to Mary Kay Andrew's new book that comes out each year. They are generally a nice beach and something that brings me great joy. This one however fell just a bit flat for me. While I absolutely loved idea for this story and the mystery element, there are a lot of characters to keep track of and not enough character development for me. The amount of characters made it hard to keep track of them all and sometimes it pulled me out of the story. I also found myself feeling as if this story was a bit to long and somethings probably could have been cut. I am not sure I would have finished this had I not been listening on audio.

I have come to love books crafted by Mary Kay Andrews. This one was a nice and easy read ... though a little bit on the raunchy side for my taste. A little bit of romance and a lot of family drama and a murder mystery thrown into the mix. That makes for a fun time getting lost in the story. I had a good idea what was really going on, so I wasn’t surprised by the ending. But it will had lots of twists and turns and random storylines that keep you interested. The characters were well developed with lots of personalities ... devious, naive and gullible, truly invested in doing what is best for everyone ... and the way Traci works so hard to make The Saint Cecelia a working classy resort kept my attention. While touted as a summer beach read, this is one that would be enjoyed any day of the year.

Another delightful read from Mary Kay Andrews! I look forward to her next adventure in the pages.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

Summers at the Saint by Mary Kay Andrews is another hit for me by this author. I started the book without reading the publisher's blur, so I didn't realize going in that it would be a pretty involved mystery. That was a fun surprise, one that had me wondering throughout 'who done it' in all of the twists and turns. The story follows CEO Traci Eddings as she does her best to keep her swanky resort "The Saint" afloat amid a murder, drowning, fire, greedy family members, nefarious employees, and a little bit of romance. The setting sounds beautiful and MKA does a great job of painting a picture to be imagined in my mind with well-fleshed out characters. This book held my interest throughout, I fully enjoyed it!

Traci Eddings hasn’t always been part of The Saint’s “in crowd,” but while she was working there in high school she met and married the son of the owners of the prestigious resort. After his death she has tried to do her part to bring The Saint back to its glory days. With staff shortages, budget issues and an unexpected murder investigation, Traci is struggling. With the help of a couple employees Traci will give her all to make her deceased husband proud.

You can always count on Andrews to give us a fantastic summer read that is full of mystery and suspense. This one has tons of characters, but each is utilized and needed for the plot. The narrator can make or break a book for me and I really enjoyed this particular narrator! I thought it was fantastic!

Summers at the Saint by Mary Kay Andrew’s is a romance mystery novel. St. Cecelia is a hotel on the coast of Georgia. The hotel is run by Traci Eddings and her deceased husband’s family. The hotel has had a shortage of staff and reservations over the past few years and Traci wants to bring it back to its prime. In order to get more staff Traci decides to create lodging for staff to entice them to work there. Tragedy hits the hotel throughout the summer while Traci tries to bring the hotel back.

Summers at the Saint felt like 3 books in 1. There were so many different POVs and way too many story lines. There’s romance, murder, theft, a drowning, ex best friends and the search for a biological father. I was excepting more of a fun summer mystery but this book was all over the place. It’s hard to get invested in a book when there is too much going on. I felt pulled in so many different directions that I was unable to become attached to the characters or intrigued by the story lines. I’d suggest you pass on this one and read some of Mary Kay Andrew’s other books. She’s a phenomenal author but this one isn’t it.

I did a combination of reading the ebook and listening to the audio version of this book. I'm so glad I was able to do that because it felt like I could stay within the story much better. The narration by Kathleen McInerney was superb. I always love a good accent, and she certainly provided those.

I'll admit that when the book started out, I wasn't really sure about it. It just didn't seem like it was going anywhere, and it seemed like there was an endless stream of characters being introduced--way more than I was going to be able to keep straight. Then, the story started to roll, and it just kept on rolling!

The story centers around an exclusive hotel on the coast of Georgia and the people who have or still work there. There is mystery, romance, friendship, some messed up families, crimes from the past, and crimes in the present. It's all rolled up together in a very entertaining story that concludes with a very satisfying ending.

I highly recommend this book!

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and St. Martin's Press and NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

I honestly don’t have high hopes for this book based on my last few reads from this author but it did look like a fun summer read. Glad I picked it up, it was great! Deeper than a basic summer read but just as easy to read. Right when you didn’t think an author could possibly do something to a character, she does! So much uncovered and so many little twists. Highly enjoyed.

My only narrator comment was for some reason it the reading at time, especially when not representing the main characters was very choppy. Maybe it was because it was sped up but it was almost robotic when listening at times.

This has been posted to Goodreads.

I think this is my first MKA book—I was expecting a fluffy romance, but this book was twisty and fun with family drama, murder, a touch of romance, and perfectly developed characters. I was immediately transported to picturesque St. Cecelia island off the coast of Georgia and the island resort of The Saint, owned and operated by the same family since its inception. Mary Kay Andrews gave us characters to love and characters to love hating with a wide cast of characters, but she spent just the right amount of time building each one so it was easy to keep everyone straight, even on audio.

My only complaint was concerning the narration…it almost felt as if I was listening to an AI voice read. I ended up speeding it up faster than my normal listening speed, which helped a bit.

Overall, this is a perfect summer read, or a book that will make you feel like it’s summer any time of year. Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my advanced reader copy!

The title of this book sounds like a light summer read, but this is actually a book filled with crime, deception and murder. There is current and past intrigue and deception to uncover. Although this was not an unwelcome surprise, I did not think it was as well presented as a book that I would be expecting that from. It was a bit unsettling to have a character who I expected to be one of the main narrators of the whole book be murdered early on, though I did like how this ended up working into twists from a different direction than expected. Just as I feel this opinion is a bit all over the place that was how I was feeling listening to the book! Overall, I liked it, but not enough.

Thank you to #MacmillanAudio and #NetGalley for an ARC audio of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

OH MY GOSH
OH MY GOSH
OH MY GOSH!!!

Holy Moly Mary Kay - You played my brain on this one!!!! I mean, I could totally see the first "bad guy" coming. But I did NOT see the mastermind nor the reason why they were so evil!! I'm a huge MK Andrews fan and have ready MANY of her books - but Summers at the Saint had me from the get go and I am super excited to now go back and scoop up any of her books that I haven't read yet. This one was literally a home run - a fantastic beach read (even though I'm stuck in the Midwest for another few months) and I am super exctited to tell everyone I know that THIS BOOK WAS GREAT!!! As always - Kathleen McInerney was a phenomenal narrator!! Tremendous thanks to Netgalley, Mary Kay Andrews and Macmillon Audio for a digital copy of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.


Traci Eddings is getting ready for a big day – the season opening event at the St. Cecelia hotel. After years of being the place to be a member and spend your summer days, the Saint is shrouded in scandal and tragedy that only grows as the summer continues. Traci, the window of the hotel’s legacy heir, is faced with an exodus of key staff, a lack of cash flow, and some shady dealings by her in-laws. What happens next destroys the holy image of The Saint once and for all, and pulls Traci back to her own teenaged summers spending her Summers at the Saint.

Mary Kay Andrews is back with another great beach read just in time for the start of Summer! Summers at the Saint pulls on Andrews’ experience in Coastal Georgia. While locations and characters may be fictional, Andrews delivers her characteristic humor, romance, and light mystery in this great new book. Full of family drama and a look at the importance of friendships and forgiveness above all else, this is a story about the consequences of our actions and loving the family you choose.

I give Summers at the Saint 4 out of 5 stars. I am a huge fan of Mary Kay Andrews and will always recommend her works. However, I felt like I was lacking a little bit of depth with these characters. I always appreciate the detail Andrews includes in her stories, and the plot had me guessing who was behind the drama all the way to the end, but I wanted more for these characters. After reading this book though, I was desperate for my own trip to the coast and have planned a getaway of my own!

If you have loved Andrews’ other works like Summer Rental, The Homewreckers, or Bright Lights Big Christmas, you are going to love this book! With reference to drug use, death, and acts of crime, I would recommend this to more mature audiences over 16. This would make a great girlfriend getaway read, or buddy read – I wish I’d had someone to discuss this with as I read!

I was so excited to see the audiobook version of Summers at the Saint available via NetGalley. I have enjoyed every one of Andrews’ books I have read and this was no different. It really put me in the mood for the summer season and I can’t wait to hit the beach myself!

𝙎𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙗𝙮 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙆𝙖𝙮 𝘼𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙬𝙨
𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★★★★★

I didn’t read the synopsis for this book, I just went for it knowing I have loved all the Mary Kay Andrew books I have read so far. Due to the title and the cover I assumed it would be a sweet summer romance kind of a story. I was not expecting the mysterious story that kept me on the edge of my seat gripping every word until the very end! I listened to this audio in one day as I just couldn’t walk away from it!

I loved the drama, the mystery, the heartbreak and the scandal amongst the friends and family. I also loved the friendships that developed in the story as well as the rekindling of old relationships. The narration covered several of the main characters in the story and I don’t usually do well with multiple POV’s but this was done perfectly and I didn’t find it hard to keep up with who was who at all.

The secrets and scandals behind the story was my favorite part. I thought things would end up going one way but of course it was a completely different scenario and I loved the book even more for that!

𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗜𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘
Scandals and Secrets
Murder Mystery
Beachside Setting
Swanky Resort
Multiple POV’s
Family Drama

Excellent book!
What a wild ride this one was. The story was excellent and the narrator perfect.
I do feel the constant F-bombs are going to cause some backlash from most readers.
I was very surprised at the number.

Summers At The Saint is a fantastic light, but heartwarming beach read for summer. I enjoyed the backdrop of a fictional island off the coast of Georgia. It was easy to envision a beach coastal town reliant on vacationers to survive and yet still having a vibrant community of locals. Traci was a great character and I was definitely rooting for her, but the introduction of multiple other characters to follow was a bit overwhelming. The audio production was fabulous and helped with balancing the various characters and personalities.