“Welcome to the St. Cecelia, a landmark hotel on the coast of Georgia, where traditions run deep and scandals run even deeper. . .”

Loved this ARC audio of May Kay Andrews newest book! It’s perfect for summertime by the pool! So many plot lines and twists and turns! It will have you guessing until the last page! If you’re a fan of Hilderbrand’s “Hotel Nantucket” you have to get your hands on this!

This is the perfect summer read. If you’re on an airplane, at the beach or by the pool, Summers at the Saint is a lighthearted, easy read with a little bit of murder and intrigue.
You’ll join Traci Eddings and the crew she cobbles together (think Breakfast Club) in an attempt to save The Saint, a luxury hotel and resort that’s been in her deceased husband’s family for years. Will Traci be able to preserve his legacy or are there too many forces working against her?
The audiobook was enjoyable and the narrator kept the story moving but I would have liked more variety in the character’s voices and accents.

Mary Kay Evens is certainly an established author with a very strong following. I had not yet read any of her work and decided to try this one out. I’ve come to the conclusion that she is not for me.

Summers at the Saint is a mix of mystery and romance set in a southern hotel resort. I was hoping for more of a cozy mystery, but I felt overloaded early on being introduced to what (I guess ) becomes a cast of suspects one at a time through their point of view. This made it rough going from the start as many of these characters are not very likable.

As the story progressed for me it felt very contrived. There was little I was surprised about and the characters are not much more than their plot function. When someone is murdered about 1/3 of the way in, one mystery becomes two, but neither was all that interesting.

I will say I did feel for the main character ( despite the fact she can’t see what is right in front of her) and the romance in this was quite sweet. I freely admit this may simply be a matter of my personal taste, but I don’t see myself picking up another book from this author.

I did enjoy the narration of the audiobook- even though I wasn't having the best time the narrator kept me interested enough to finish the book,

Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan audio and St martins press for advances audio and e copies of the book for review purposes.

Unfortunately, this book was a bit of a train wreck for me.

The character dump at the beginning gave me a headache as I tried to keep up.

The drama irritated me and the excessive backstories didn't hold my interest.

I didn't like the narrator's interpretation. Her voice was overly emotive, like listening to an excited child.

DNF

Okay this was really wonderful. It felt vacation-y and camp-y and was just so fun. I was not expecting so much mystery, but it kept me guessing up until the end. This would be a PERFECT beach read! Mary Kay Andrews is so wonderful-- I've loved all of the books I've read of hers.

If you're vacationing near the water this summer, pick this up for sure!

Summer at the Saint was a great read. I read and listened to the audiobook.
I thought this would be a lovely beach reach read with romance and a little drama but I was wrong. There was an event that happened that shocked me ( I did not see it coming) and then the investigations to figure it out were jaw dropping. Yes, there was romance drama as well as family and customer drama with mysteries thrown in for good measure. This book has it all!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read and review Summers at the Saint on NetGalley.

Published: 05/07/24

Narrator: Kathleen McInerney

Stars: 2.5

Disappointing.

This simple cozy story had potential. This could have been a fun summer read for all ages if Andrews had written to her cover audience.

Cozy, beach, summer fun mysteries don't have layered profanity. Andrews added these words for a word count? I have never read a review where I could audibly feel relief while hearing yes! there is swearing throughout the book. I have never seen a comment praising an author for dropping F words.

The story itself was all over the place. It really felt like a young person's first submission to publish. The characters never fully developed. The ending went on for what felt like hundreds of pages. Once the a reveal is made I like for a story to round up quickly; that is personal preference.

Without spoiling there were two positives in the book: Kathleen McInerney was really good. I liked Olivia's Mom.

Thank you so much to Macmillian Audio and netgalley for the ALC of this book in exchnage for an honest review!

This story follows a resort that is struggling. For the summer, a bunch of new people are hired and you follow along for the ride through the summer.

I'll start by saying that I did like this audiobook! The narrator had a great voice and the pacing worked well for me.

However, I did not like the book itself. I did like the resort setting and the summer atmosphere. I also think the cover is great.

I felt like there were too many backstories and characters to follow. I just felt a bit bored throughout. I didn't really connect with anyone or the story itself. I wish it would've only followed a few characters instead of all of them.

I hope others love this book but it was not for me.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. There are a lot of characters to keep straight but once I had those down it was a delightful listen. I didn't see the twist coming and liked that there was suspense and romance.

Summers at the Saint by Mary Kay Andrews is an absolute hit! This book has a little bit of everything- a current day murder mystery, a death from the past being investigated, colleagues at a hotel trying to navigate friendships, a widow trying to find her way in her deceased husbands family business, and much, much more. There’s family drama, found family, past trauma, and some amateur sleuthing at work. And of course, you get your HEA! You are in for a real treat with this one!

Highly, highly recommend picking this one up. The audio was fantastic! McInerney does an amazing job with her narrations. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley and Mary Kay Andrews and team for this ARC.

“Summers at the Saint” by Mary Kay Andrews is a captivating novel set against the backdrop of the St. Cecelia, a landmark hotel on the coast of Georgia. Here’s a glimpse of what awaits you in this delightful read:

The St. Cecelia, affectionately known as “the Saint,” is a place where traditions run deep and scandals run even deeper. Whether you’re a “Saint” (someone who grew up vacationing here) or an “Ain’t” (from the wrong side of the river), the hotel holds secrets and memories for all. Traci Eddings, once an outsider, now owns the hotel after marrying the boss’s son. Determined to restore its former glory, she faces staff shortages, financial troubles, and a conniving brother-in-law who wants her to fail. Traci enlists a motley crew of recently hired summer help, including the daughter of her estranged best friend. Together, they have one season to turn the hotel around.

There is mystery, tragedy, romance and redemption. Mary Kay Andrews weaves warmth, humor, and twists into this beach read with depth and heart.

Whether you’re a cozy mystery lover or simply seeking a captivating tale, “Summers at the Saint” promises an engaging journey through love, loss, and the resilience of the human spirit. 🌊📚✨

I loved this sm! The characters were well-developed, the multiple povs were easy to follow, and I appreciated the twists. I actually didn't go in to this thinking it was a mystery so I was pleasantly surprised.

This book was very good. It was surprising! I was not prepared for who died at all but I couldn't put it down. I loved the mix of the summer, the sunshine and the mysteries! I was surprised quite a few times. Read it quickly & sad it's over! I loved Tracy & Waylon, Izzy & the cook!

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐⭐⭐ | 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀 & 𝐸-𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀

ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞: 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬, 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚, 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲, 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐫, 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫, 𝐞𝐭𝐜. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭. 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐭𝐚𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞.

𝐈 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞-𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 (𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐌𝐜𝐈𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲) 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐎𝐕𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝑀𝒶𝓇𝓎 𝒦𝒶𝓎 𝒜𝓃𝒹𝓇𝑒𝓌𝓈, 𝒮𝓉. 𝑀𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒾𝓃’𝓈 𝒫𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈, 𝑀𝒶𝒸𝓂𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

Overall this was an interesting book but had an extremely slow start. I really liked that this story was told from several POVs and how the past and present were connected.

I loved the family dynamics of the Eddings and how all their dirty skeletons were finally reveled by Traci in the end. The twist was interesting but also somewhat predictable.

I enjoyed the narration by Kathleen McInerney but I do feel that since the characters were usually from different character's POVs there could have been a full cast narration.

The story presented an intriguing array of special characters, adding depth and uniqueness to the narrative. Despite its length, the plot remained captivating, holding my attention from beginning to end. While I didn't establish a personal connection with the story, I found myself immersed in its intricate details and compelling storyline. Each paragraph unfolded with a sense of purpose, weaving together various elements to create a rich tapestry of events. Although the characters felt distant at times, their development was carefully crafted, adding layers of complexity to the overall plot. Overall, it was a well-executed tale that offered an enjoyable and immersive reading experience.

I was not expecting the twists in this book!!! The plot was a little slow in the beginning but you have to set the world up so it is understandable. I thought the narration was perfect, and I enjoyed the different voices used for different characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest opinion! Summers at the Saint: I anticipated reading this book as I enjoy Mary Kay Andrews as an author; especially how she develops her characters, and this 400 page book was no exception. There are several POVs in Summers at the Saint. M.K.A. does a nice job of describing the beautiful hotel and its resort surroundings; I want to summer at a swanky, coastal, sandy pink resort like The Saint Cecilia Resort! From the look of the cover I expected a beach read and yet it ended up being so much more. There were a lot of unexpected twists, turns, and storylines to keep straight. I didn't anticipate a murder mystery added in, which made it all the more page turning as the story picked up its pace. MKA’s Summers at the Saint is set on the fictional Saint Cecilia Island along the Georgia Coast, and the Saint Cecilia Resort is a 5 star resort owned by the dysfunctional Eddings family. "Saints and Aints": The Saint Cecilia hotel itself has been in the Eddings family since the 1920’s and is the oldest resort on the Georgia coast. The Veranda is the main restaurant on the property and where many of the characters spend the majority of their time. If you have ever worked in a restaurant, you know there can be chaos! The resort is undergoing renovations, including a new staff dorm for employees, and the expansive Bluepointe (surrounding the resort), a relatively new housing development 5 years young. Bonaventure is the part of the island where the other half of the islanders live, and where a few of the characters, including Traci and Shannon, grew up. Traci Eddings is the main protagonist who marries into the Eddings dysfunction as she herself used to be an “ain’t.” Growing up outside the tony enclave, Traci’s history at the hotel begins in high school when she and her former best friend Shannon Grayson are hired as lifeguards in their teens. Traci falls in love with the one good Edding son, Hoke, who tragically dies in a jet crash four years ago, a mere five years after they marry. Hoke’s unexpected death leaves Traci to work her way up to CEO & President of the Saint Cecilia Resort “The Saint” as a half insider (Saint), half outsider (Ain't). She does not trust her Hoke’s jerk of a brother Fredrick Eddings. Rick’s only redeeming quality is that he is father to Traci’s 21 year old niece, Parrish, who also works hard at the hotel and lives in the staff dorm refusing to be seen as a nepo baby. Traci and Parrish are close, which irks her brother in law, Rick endlessly. As you can imagine, they bump heads throughout their lives. There are numerous times the plot reverts back to the early day working at the Saint for The Eddings family. Characters that readers also meet: Parrish, Javi, who has worked at the Saint + known Traci since their teen years, Charlie the GM, Spencer (KJ’s father), who forces KJ to work at the Saint as punishment for failing out of Wake Forest. KJ lives in the newly built staff housing on the resort property with 21 year old Parrish, new chef Felice, Garrett the headwaiter, who has also been at The Saint since his high school days, Shannon’s 20 yr old daughter Olivia (Livvy), Marci, Hudson, Waylon… Again, a lot to keep track of as everyone tries to get answers while running a 5 star resort! If you are a fan of short chapters with lots of chaos, guests misbehaving as they give Saint staff a run for their money, mystery, drama, murder, and ins and outs of both guests & staff unfolds in the height of resort season, you will enjoy Summers at the Saint. Traci tries her best through it all to overcome "being an Ain’t to becoming a Saint" while honoring her late husband Hoke's memory + turning a profit working on the same property as his ungrateful family, all while unexpectedly finding love again at the end. 3.5/5

I recently listened to Summers at the Saint on Audible, my first Mary Kay Andrew's book. Initially, I anticipated a light, beachy listen, but unfortunately, it didn't quite meet my expectations.

One of the main issues I encountered was the abundance of characters, making it challenging to keep track of them all. The story felt overloaded with various plotlines, going in unexpected directions that I found hard to follow. Consequently, the narrative seemed disjointed, and at times, the storyline
was often unbelievable.

I wonder if I approached the book with different expectations or mindset, which might have affected my overall experience.

I went into this book completely blind. What I thought would be a nice beach read between the help of a hotel and the rich visitors, I was completely wrong. Turned out to be a murder mystery of present and past. I love the twist and turns of was once the start of a nice beach read turned thriller. I had never read Mary Kay Andrews before, but I'm excited to dive into some of her work.