Better than expected. A little more to it than most beach reads. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I enjoyed this book. The writing was well done and the story was touching. I enjoyed the characters and I was interested in learning how the story unfolded.

The Summer Club is a great read with all the New England summer vibes! This story is focused around an exclusive Massachusetts beach club called Mayhaven and its members. It's told in split POV's from that of Ned ( club President), Darcy, his teenage daughter who has quit golf(a sport she loved) and Flick,( the boy next door). They are all battling their own inner conflicts that center around the club.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this e-arc.*

I expected to enjoy this book a lot more than I did. It has all the components of a great summer read but just never manages to put them together.

I didn’t love it. But I think it had more to do with me than the book itself. It’s gave me Babysitters club meets Dirty Dancing vibes. The writing was good, by it moved so slow- at 35% I still wasn’t sure where the story was going & I had trouble keeping the characters straight. I love a good dual/multi perspective book, but there were too many perspectives.

3🌟 TLDR; I enjoyed this one but had some quibbles. Easy summer beach read that will not likely stick with me but that I wanted to pick up while reading it. Some trigger warnings.

The Summer Club was a good summer book. I liked the characters and thought the prose was funny at times and relatable. It explored important themes like class and power and coming-of-age without diving too deep, which I think could be a criticism but I didn’t actually mind because I still wanted this to remain a lighter summer/beach read. I would say there is one main plot point that is more explicitly explored at the end for which sensitive readers should look up trigger warnings on StoryGraph (it would be a spoiler to list here). Nothing is super explicit but is still mentioned and discussed. Speaking of this plot point, I didn’t really think it was explored with the care and nuance I would have liked.

Happy to include this title in “Dive In,” a recent round-up highlighting a variety of summer reads, in the Books section of Canadian national culture and lifestyle magazine Zoomer. (see column and mini-review at link)

This is a good summer book but there is not a lot that stood out to me. I could kind of tell what was going to happen a quarter of the through. There are some good themes in the book and there is drama so it was a decent read.

Great summer beach read. The dynamics of the “haves” and “have-nots” in. A country club setting. Rivalry, love, and friendship are the main themes of his novel.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for providing a free e-ARC of this title in exchange for my review.

This was my first book by Hannah McKinnon. It was an enjoyable, light read, but nothing exceptional that stands out in my mind. As a light read, it's good. If you're looking for something with a bit more substance, your might be a bit bored.

3 stars for 'I liked it'

Oh, Net Galley, I have such a love/hate relationship with you. Admittedly, I hate you when you turn me down for the majority of my requests. But then I love you again when you toss me a bone with a Jennifer Weiner or Ruth Ware book. And then there are all those books you offer up, thinking I might like them. Sometimes you get it right, but in this case? Hoo boy, this one was a stinker. It was so simplistic, I thought maybe it was geared to a YA audience. Anyone who saw Dirty Dancing would immediately figure out who the thief was. Likewise, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who was leaving the anonymous notes in the suggestion box, nor why the daughter quit golfing. I realize this was an ARC, but still….so so many editing errors in this one. Disappointed with this one.

A book about summer romance with some deeper themes running through it. Overall it’s a Really sweet summer book. I flew through it and really enjoyed it.

This wasn't bad but wasn't real good either, I found it a little boring and nothing really stood out for me or grabbed my attention. Darcy is having a bad summer, as is Flick who has moved from NY to Massachusetts and now they both work at a beach club. There seems to be some questions left unanswered. Almost felt more like a YA drama book.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for this ARC

First of all thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for a ARC e- digital copy of the Summer Club. This book is set in Massachusetts and takes place at Mayhaven Club which is an exclusive private club that members seem to pride themselves on their longstanding history and membership.
Ned Birch who is president of the club and his family are members because of his position. Darcy his daughter is an accomplished junior golfer who abruptly stops playing golf when she is so close to getting college scholarships but reluctantly takes a job as a summer camp counselor for the kids program at the club. Fitch Creevy who is Darcy’s age moves from New York to this ideal country like setting along with his mother and stepfather. Another family that is apart of this story is Spencer and his dad who is the head of Mayhavens board and seems to want to control the clubs happenings.
Overall the story was good, filled with summer drama and several storylines filled the pages. I definitely think this is a good quick summer read.

While this was a decent read, I can’t pick out anything unique about it. The story was very predictable, the characters were pretty cookie cutter, and the ending was nothing to wow me.

It was fine, but nothing special. If you want a read that you won’t have to concentrate on, it may be the way to go. You can definitely breeze right through. I enjoy the writing style, I just wish it was more entertaining of a story.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted ARC

I felt this book lacked a little on diving deeper into the issues present throughout this book. While it’s not a light summer read the heavier themes in this book aren’t really expanded on in depth.
I did overall enjoy this read & the characters!

The Summer Club follows a summer at a prestigious country club - Mayhaven, although they don't prefer that term. The members at Mayhaven come to the club for a carefree summer getaway - to play golf, tennis, swim in the lake, etc. Darcy's family is quite wrapped up in the club. Her dad is the President and until recently she was one of their star golfers. But this summer is different, Darcy has quit golf and won't tell anyone why. Her new neighbor Flick is hired at the club, he feels as if he doesn't fit in due to the color of his skin. Darcy's dad is under tremendous pressure to boost up the club's membership and to keep things running smoothly; yet, alcohol is disappearing, kayaks are going missing, etc.

This was a quick and enjoyable summer read. I breezed through it, as it is very easily readable. I enjoyed the country club aesthetic and the problems that always come with money. Flick's character is my favorite as he is caught between two worlds and trying to make the best of it.

The first thing I thought of when starting this book was the movie RV with Robin WIlliams. I do not know why but it felt that poor Ned was juggling multiple different things like work, family, personal and it reminded me of Robin Williams part in that movie and the family just kinda felt in place as well. One thing after another was happening to Ned . With that being said I felt that this story was very heartfelt but also had a lot of things going on all at once. Not at any point did I fell this book was confusing but the multiple view points and the timing of each one sometime got jumbled slightly.

Neds point of view gives you an outlook on how hard it is to run the club, as well as trying his best at being there for his kids. Darcy’s gives you the view of being the daughter of the man with power, a girl who is navigating the life of being in a posh country club, and just a teenager trying to figure out where she fits in this crazy world. Then you have Flick who is an outsider coming into the fancy life/roll, trying to please his mom, trying to make this new place a home, and just overall trying to do good in life.

I liked having all these views and I felt each one brought something new to the table and a different appreciation for each party. I feel that having these different story lines made the book a quick read because it felt like reading 3 different books but in the best way.

I will say that I feel the ending was rushed. All though you could see what direction everything was going you did not get some closure on some things.
What happened with Mrs. Babcock and the missing silver?
Who was stealing the Kayaks?
Did Flick continue taking the blame for the missing alcohol?
Did the club close due to the struggling?

I did overall think this book was a cute little read, but I can’t say that it was very memorable. And although the book takes place in the summer I would not say the book gives an outward feeling of summer throughout.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Summer Club: A summer must read!! I personally truly enjoyed this book!

The family relationships between Darcy and her brother Adam shows the strong sibling bond that pick up the tiniest details or sense something’s off that other friends or family may not be able to.

I also enjoyed Flick, being from Queens, New York and moving to rich land Massachusetts was a culture shock that he adjusted to in the end. But loved the how it showed us not to judge a book by its cover and to embrace the new life you were blessed with in the end. Good hearted and a true friend.

Ned and Ingrid, showed us that sometimes work is not our whole life. Teens will be teens and won’t want to tell parents everything but being hung up on work life or other life stressors shows that sometimes parents can oversee how much a child is hurting. Ned knew deep down his daughter quit her passion for golf for another reason other then being burnt out, but yet wasn’t able to connect the dots early on. It shows to slow down and take time for family too.

I think I would have enjoyed reading this as a teen too to show that sometimes keeping secrets can hurt more then keeping it to yourself form trying to protect others.

I will def be reading more of Hannah McKinn!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Hannah McKinn and Atria books Simon & Schuster for providing this AMAZING ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Publish date: July 23, 2024

The Summer Club is a great read with all the New England summer vibes! This story is focused around an exclusive Massachusetts beach club called Mayhaven and its members. It's told in split POV's from that of Ned ( club President), Darcy, his teenage daughter who has quit golf(a sport she loved) and Flick,( the boy next door). They are all battling their own inner conflicts that center around the club.

This is the first book I have read by this author. It was what I had expected which was rich people drama, a snooty country club mixed with lies, teenage woes, miscommunication. It wasn't too deep, or difficult to predict but more just a nice read, that was easy & very entertaining.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Atria Publishing and Simon and Schuster for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Pub date: July 23, 2024