This book was amazing! I loved the chaos, the family affair, the romance, the thrill. Everything was beautifully written. I would highly recommend for a great summer read!

Starts off as a promising page turner, but gets shaggy in the back half. I still wanted to find out what happened in the end. If you like books and shows about rich people behaving badly, this is does the job well enough.

4.5⭐️. Absolutely loved the character development with every character. They had their flaws, were complex, and found resolutions for their problem. This book discusses grief, family drama, finding one’s purpose, speaking up for your beliefs, and reconnecting with family. If you liked gossip girl think of this book but with an inheritance game to play. Took me a bit to get into but I loved it!!

I live for family dramas, especially ones that kick off with a dramatic funeral and a will that stirs up secrets, tension, and power shifts. So this book seemed like it would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t live up to the premise. Instead of juicy, compelling drama, it was mostly repetitive bitterness, with characters constantly bickering in ways that felt more tedious than entertaining. The only moment that truly landed was a brief scene during the memorial where the siblings shared some funny, affectionate banter, as it was the one time they felt like a real family, and it lasted all of two pages. The rest felt flat, with shallow writing, name-dropping, and storm metaphors standing in for actual plot or depth. Maybe I’m just less patient these days, but this didn’t meet even my modest expectations.

Ooo this book was amazing!! Great story and characters. Glad I got to read it!

Thank you NetGalley and Sarah MacLean!

I spent the second half of this book not sure if I loved two of the main characters or if I felt like he should have told her who he was even though she asked him not to. The book is worth reading to find out what that means and figure out how you feel.

I'm still questioning whether this ended as a love story or I should have concerns that he knew who she was, paid off her ex-fiance to leave for her father and made a comment about sleeping in her childhood room when he came to family compound. It just felt like there were red flags all over the place but also they seemed like the perfect fit.

Then, there were all the other family members and the dead dad who controlled them all like an insane puppet master. Overall, this book is worth the read. I can see why it's making so many favorites lists.

I don't know if it's because I listened to Julia Whelan's fantastic narration or if it was the writing, but this felt like an Emily Henry book. Other than that though, I wasn't sure what it was trying to be. Sometimes it felt a bit Westing Game, sometimes women's fiction, and just a tiny tiny tiny bit of romance. I even wondered if it was a murder mystery for a while there. It left me feeling confused about what I'd read. I enjoyed many parts of it, but it felt messy in the way that families are messy and not easy to describe or really know how I feel about it. I think I liked it?

I always enjoy a family saga and this one did not disappoint. Throw in a little romance and it was a great, fast summer read. Would definitely recommend.

These Summer Storms swept me away with its sharp banter, chemistry, and imagery. I loved every page of the romance building between the characters. That said, the ending felt rushed and a little underwhelming compared to the rich buildup, leaving me wishing for a more satisfying conclusion. Still, it’s a captivating read and a solid four stars.

The perfect beach read, These Summer Storms blends mystery, romance and a setting on a New England Island over Labor Day weekend that will captivate readers. When Alice Storm's father passes away, she has to face the family and past she left behind five years ago. Her father, Franklin, was a tech genius who revolutionized technology world wide with smart phones and tablets and was in the 1% of billionaires. Alice stood up to her father, who loved controlling his family, and carved her own path after being ostracized from the Storms. Coming back to Storm Island for the celebration (her mother refuses to call it a funeral) she plans to make an appearance and leave-only to find out that her father has one last challenge: Alice and her siblings have to carry out a series of tasks in order to earn their inheritance. If one sibling fails they all fail. Alice is required to stay on the island for a week and her siblings will do anything to keep her there. Standing in the wings is her father's second in command-enigmatic Jack. This week will reveal family secrets and some long buried truths. Sarah MacLean approaches grief and family drama with well-timed humor, family shenanigans and an unexpected romance. Enjoy this one any time of year!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

I had high hopes, but DNF, too much family drama for me, and not the type of storyline I was looking for. I love this author's romances, so I will look for more of those.
Thank you to the author and publisher for the arc. I am sorry I could not finish.

mysterious sibling rivalry!!!! i totally devoured this book and could NOT put it down!! couldn't recommend this book enough!!

This was a fantastic summer story surrounding around family drama. It was well paced and the characters were well developed by the author.

"These Summer Storms" was a fun summer read, full of family drama, lies and secrets. I really enjoyed this one and it kept me reading with all of the surprise twist and turns!

These Summer Storms is a book described as a story about grief, love, family and secrets and it was all that and more. A true summer beach read that kept me hooked until the end. The setting at the family mansion on the privately owned family island is a character in and of itself. I couldn’t get enough of the setting description and atmosphere - it made the story to me. I loved the characters and hearing about their lavish upbringing. Every emotion was felt and the grief and romance were nice foils of one another. Highly recommend this one! Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced readers copy of this novel.

These Summer Storms is Sarah MacLean’s first contemporary novel, following the wealthy and dysfunctional Storm family as they reunite on Storm Island after their patriarch’s death. Alice, estranged from her controlling father, returns for the first time in years and sparks fly with Jack, adding plenty of heat to the family drama. Secrets, sibling rivalry, and unexpected twists drive the story, though the constant “storm” references grew repetitive. While the plot kept some intrigue, the story felt predictable at times. Overall, a steamy, messy, and entertaining summer read that’s fun but not unforgettable.

(4.5 stars – rounding up to 5)

These Summer Storms was one of my book club books, and my first book by Sarah MacLean. I did the audiobook - Julia Whelan is one of my favorite narrators.

The Storm siblings – Sam, Greta, Alice, and Emily – gather on Storm Island following the death of their billionaire father. True to his controlling nature, their father has one last ‘challenge’ for the siblings to secure their part of the heritance. As the game and week unfold, the family dysfunction, strained relationships and buried secrets bubble up (with some added spice).

It’s not often I give a book higher than 4-stars – I recommend this as anyone’s next read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing a copy.

Overall this was an enjoyable book! But the main character was just so whiney. They kept saying that she was acting like a poor little rich girl and it was true. It was hard to feel bad for her when she was going to inherit billions. I liked the story but the characters just didn’t work for me.

This is not your typical "rich people behaving badly" book, so if that's what you're looking for I actually think this might be disappointing. But if that's not your primary motive for picking up the book, I think you're in for a good time. The lush beach house setting on a private island is extremely fun and you get an interesting cast of characters that all manage to be surprisingly sympathetic given that they're all billionaires and often terrible too each other. It lost me a little on the pacing, I still don't quite understand how a week passes during the story, but otherwise I thought it was a fun ride.

Thank you for the eARC! I had previously read Sarah's historical romances and really enjoyed them! For some reason this story wasn't as enjoyable as those for me. It was very well written, following Alice and her family's drama after the passing of her father. I really liked the concept of family dynamics, the super rich, family inheritance, New England vibes, romance, etc. But overall I did find it to be a bit hard to get through. I found that iw wasn't excited about the story line as I thought I'd be. It dragged for me a little and I wanted more out of the romance than there was, even with the instant attraction/beginning. But since this is more lit fic than a romance, that part could totally be my fault. Overall I was hoping for action or to be sucked in and for me this one just didnt have that.