Big thanks to Ballantine Books for the ARC of this book and to PRH Audio for the ALC! I had the pleasure of switching back and forth between the two mediums which is something I always love. I have read lots of Sarah MacLean romance before and since she is typically a regency romance author, I was so excited to read a modern day story from her. This book definitely has her signature spice, which is always super well done, but it was definitely different. This book is a family drama with a side of romance, but goodness, it was simply INCREDIBLE! I devoured this one in the span of a few days. I enjoyed reading, but the audio was amazing. Julia Whelan, the narrator, truly has a way of bringing a book to life and her voice absolutely enhanced this particular story.
The books follows the mega wealthy Storm Family, and mainly one of the sisters, Alice. Alice had a falling out with her family 5 years prior and hasn't seen any of them since. When her father dies unexpectedly, she ends up traveling back to their private island in Rhode Island. Being thrust back into their world is a shock to her system and the terms of her Father's will are even more of a shock. I loved reading about how the family navigates all of the turmoil. This was such a well written drama and I really did enjoy the love story too. You should absolutely pick this one up! 5 stars for sure!

Alice knows she needs to head home when she gets the call that her father has died. It’s been years since she left her family behind and never looked back. As expected though, her father still has surprises up his sleeve. In order for anyone in the family to get their inheritance, they all have to do what their father has outlined for them in a personalized letter. Alice’s task? Stay on the island for the full week...

Starting this by calling myself for not realizing this is the same Sarah MacLean that writes historical romance. When @readingthroughspeech pointed it out I was like well damn! This book made me want to head to this private island…minus the Storm family though, I don’t think I need them around! The way Alice’s father treated her and why made me so mad! That said, I think the week on the island was horrible and good for each of the siblings in their own way. I hate the strings Franklin was pulling in each of his children’s lives, and whew the family secrets and twists were not expected at all! This was a stellar start to a career on contemporary fiction for MacLean! I cannot wait to read what’s next!

Thank you to @ballantinebooks for my gifted copy of this book!

I’ve enjoyed some of Sarah MacLean’s historical romance novels, so I knew this would be good. Still, These Summer Storms exceeded my expectations. I was so invested in the story that I flew through it in under 48 hours. The writing is excellent: vivid sense of place, well-developed characters, sharp dialogue, and great pacing. I loved how the romance and family dynamics intersected, and I found Alice, Jack, and the other characters very sympathetic. (A chapter from each of Alice’s siblings’ perspectives adds insight into their motivations.) I can often guess where a story is going, but this one had a few great surprises. This would make a perfect romance book club pick—there’s so much to discuss!

I"m a big fan of Sarah MacLean's historical romances so I was exited to read this ARC for her new book in modern/contemporary setting. Thank you Random House-Ballentine and Netgalley for giving me permission to read it.

These Summer Storms is about a family of 4 siblings coming together for their billionaire and larger than life father's Celebration of Life (Not a funeral) on their private island off the coast of Rhode Island. The book is told primarily from the perspective of Alice, the one daughter who told the truth and was forced to stay away for 5 years. The father has left each member of the family a task that they must complete in order to receive their inheritance. There are the requisite secrets, arguments, parental narcissism, and displays of excessive wealth that you would expect to find a book like this.

While this is not my favorite MacLean book, it was fairly easy to read and perfect for summer/beach escapism

I love books about rich people problems! This was no exception but I do feel like the middle of this book was a bit slow and it made me have a hard time picking it back up. I really can’t wait to reread this with audio though! Thank you for the arc!

This book is like Succession (HBO show) meets Days of Our Lives (daytime soap). I was rooting for the main character all along, and enjoyed the romance subplot. However, I found the premise of the inheritance game to be a bit flimsy and unbelievable. Recommended if you like dysfunctional family dramas in an exclusive setting. Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC!

Exploring toxic relationships in an uber-wealthy dysfunctional family is an irresistible storyline for me! Throw in a private island setting and a steamy romance sub-plot and I’m sold.

This book reminded me a little bit of the show Succession, and I’d love to see a series or movie come out of this story.

In order to receive their massive inheritance, the four Storm siblings have to complete an individual task. These tasks were assigned by their father before he passed.

If one sibling fails to follow through, they all lose out… even their emotionally unavailable and moody mother has to participate.

The powerful Storm patriarch continues to manipulate and control his family from the grave!

Greta, Sam, Alice, Emily and mom Elisabeth begin their assignments, and as the week progresses, the proverbial onion begins to peel away its layers, revealing scandals and shocking truths.

The story is mostly told from estranged sis Alice’s POV, but we get a peek at the other siblings perspectives as well.

This addictive novel reveals the damage caused by extreme toxic loyalty, brutal money hungry ambition and obsessive control.
There is hope and healing and some reconciliations to be had as well. They learn that forgiveness and self-reliance can be powerful too.

I’d love to read a prequel or a sequel…the Storm family characters are compelling and complicated! I want to know more!

Thank you to the publisher, to NetGalley and the author for allowing me access to the ARC, I loved it! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/220239075

Just finished this book, and really didn't love it. I think I'm getting tired of the billionaire trope and unlimited money and owning islands.

But overall the characters were each just unlikeable. And while I'm all for secrets in books (my favorite kind of books) these went on a little too long. I think this book could have been 100 pages shorter, it just went in circles.

It starts with Alice being left out of her family for five years. She goes back to Storm Island for her father’s funeral and sees her siblings: two sisters and a brother. Franklin Storm (father) creates an inheritance game between the siblings which they have to participate for the week to receive the money.

The family dynamics kept me captivated and was very funny at times. I loved this book and plan on buying the book when it comes out.

JACK. DEAN. 🥺🙂‍↕️ that is all. (Where is my Jack Dean at?!)

To discuss the other characters, I enjoyed that the siblings had their own part in the book to give background.

I highly recommend this as your next summer read, and major thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for giving me this eARC.

I enjoyed Sarah Maclean’s first contemporary. This is ga great beach read and very swoon-worthy. I could imagine this as a historical plot also!

This book sucked me in from the beginning and kept me up late reading. The Storm family puts the fun in dysfunctional This book has it all, a billionaire father that made it that way from nothing, a high society mom worried about perception, a oldest daughter devoted to her mother, a son that is expecting the keys to the kingdom, a daughter that was disowned, and the youngest hippy child. Most of the story is told through Alice's POV. Alice is the black sheep. She hasn't had any communication with her family for 5 years. However when Franklin Storm dies unexpectedly, she returns home and chaos ensues. Franklin is intent on controlling his family from beyond the grave. All the kids and his wife must perform the tasks they are given or they all forfeit their inheritance. This caused angry words, pranks, back stabbing and fighting. But can a week together heal the wounds of the past or at least make for the start of a more functional future?

I loved this book. I loved the mystery, the secrets, the romance. The ending was perfect. I kind of want to have an update of the Storm family maybe 5 years into the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC of this e book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Started out rocky because I’m not a big contemporary fiction fan but, as it went on, it ended up pretty good!

I enjoyed the romance subplot (this helped the book immensely otherwise I wouldn’t have read it). I did enjoy the family dynamic. And the twist with the inheritance was hilarious! I did not see that coming but I also should have.

Anyway, I’m a big fan of Sarah’s historical romances so I wasn’t sure about the turn to contemporary fiction. But, like I said, the romance was what made this a 4 star for me as well as the writing. Sarah did a great job! And I would definitely check out her other contemporary fiction books if she continued to write more of them!

“These Summer Storms” is by Sarah MacLean. This is the second book in a row I’ve read where I really have mixed feelings. This book is about a family (three daughters, one son, one wife, and two daughters-in-law) whose life was controlled by the self-made billionaire (gazillionaire?) male authority figure (father/husband). One of the daughters, Alice - who we follow for most of the book - stood up to her father and was cut off - no communication, no money, no interaction. While Alice walks the line between wanting to be accepted into her family again, she also has a stubborn streak a mile wide and doesn’t wish to play “the final game” her father left the family to play after his death. The overall plot was fine - though at times it really felt more like “rich people’s problems” and I didn’t care. In fact, I honestly didn’t care for any of the main characters - including Alice. There are a few other POVs in this story - each a chapter long - which I did like. However, I nearly DNFd this book twice - once around the 25% mark and the other at the 80%, which I find rather sad. The final “twist” wasn’t much of a twist for me - I figured that was the result of the darned game. For me, this wasn’t a good book - however, I seem to be in the minority, so my suggestion would be to read other more positive reviews and make a decision based upon them.

This was a novel of ULTIMATE family dysfunction, that was almost hard to read at times. Fans of Succession will enjoy I'd say - overall, I liked this family drama a lot and it made for the perfect beach read.

As an avid reader is MacLean’s historical romances, this contemporary summer read kept up to her incredible standards. A summer in Rhode Island, a family with a fraught history with one another, a set of challenges to overcome, and a steamy romance kept me hooked from start to finish!

This book was a delicious family drama with a side of steamy romance. It was layer after layer of nuance and character building, secrets and deception, and ultimately a path to healing.

Listen, I’m a sucker for fictional messy rich people. I was the prime target WB/CW audience for Gossip Girl. A family like the Storm family didn’t stand a chance of not being on my radar and right up my alley. The eccentric billionaire who leaves his family with essentially a game to play immediately following his death to access their inheritance? A game that requires each of them to complete their own task? A game that brings the exiled daughter back to the family’s private island and forces proximity for a week or they all get nothing? A hot, right-hand-man ‘fixer’ who has secrets of his own but has a lightning bolt connection and attraction to said exiled daughter? Oh, and he’s tasked with carrying out the “game”? Instant yes to all of it.

If that seems like I’ve covered everything to be found in this book, it’s not even close. When I say there are layers, I mean LAYERS. Things get deep among the siblings, their mother, and even their father beyond his grave. There were times I thought I had my mind made up about a character on to have part of them peeled back a chapter or two later and my mind changed. These characters were all flawed and so authentically human for the way they were raised. There’s a reason this is being sold as a general fiction novel. It’s a full-fledged family drama on every level.

Rest assured though, there was also romance to be had. In more than just one relationship even. That said, the *main* romance was fire. It had so many ups and downs in just a week and thrived for because of it. Secrets abound plus irresistible attraction equals a recipe for intrigue and heat. It delivered. But it also delivered on a true connection that felt solid and lasting.

I feel like I’ve barely even scratched the surface of all I could say about this book. Thank you to Ballantine Books via NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

smart, fun, sharp, clever, cunning, and intricate book about an assortment of characters all affiliated with a deceased billionaire (mostly his family) as they fulfil his will. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

DNF at 20%. I love Sarah MacLean, and respect her desire to try something new. But I’m already in a slump, and these characters were just awful, and not in a good way. I couldn’t take reading about them anymore.

Alice hasn't been welcome home at her family's private island estate in five years. But now her father has died and it is time to return to her mother and siblings. She plans to make an appearance and pay her respects and leave but her father has decided differently. He has created a game where each must do certain things to obtain their inheritance and stay on the island for a week.
This isn't an easy task for Alice, with her cold mother and siblings that have not been in touch the whole five years and her fathers fixer, Jack Dean, who seems intent on ensuring she remains on the island.

This was such an intriguing premise and it drew me in right from the start. The setting was gorgeous, the characters were entertaining and the complex family relationships had me flying through the pages. There was entertainment, romance and also heartfelt moments, when remembering the not so common good about their father, the same one that drove Alice away. A wonderful novel and one I highly recommend.4.5*

From the prolific Historical Romance writer Sarah MacLean comes this contemporary book with a romance thread throughout. Here we meet 4 siblings and their mother when the family patriarch dies unexpectedly. Along with the family members we meet a couple of other key individuals to the family.

The family is extremely wealthy and the patriarch loves to play games and making sure he has total control of everything. To get their inheritance, the family needs to play his final game. Along the way secrets are revealed and love strengthens.

There is so much to love about this book. I was plodding along and then I hit 50% in and I could not put it down. A few things have stuck with me since I finished the book yesterday.

• The details of the Indigenous history of the land
• Love the break-in chapters from the perspective of the siblings
• Jack protecting Alice, although I do wish he groveled more

I have ready many of Sarah MacLean's historical romance books and I would absolutely read another contemporary book by her.

Spice: 2/5
Fun: 4/5
Overall: 4/5

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing an eARC for an honest review.