Coming home again may not be all it’s cracked up to be. Lucy Sinclair / McBride returns to her hometown to revisit a major event in her life. In doing so, many inconsistencies come to light, prompting her to question those events as well as some of the choices that were made. The story combines mystery, suspense, and romance and, as we unravel these events, a satisfying conclusion is reached.

The Summer That Changed Everything has a perfect mix of mystery, romance, and redemption. The writing draws you into the story, characters, the plot, and setting. The murder mystery has a lot of suspects that kept me guessing until the end. I really enjoyed this romantic mystery and highly recommend it.

The Summer That Changed Everything by Brenda Novak combines mystery and romance in this fast paced story about Lucy Sinclair.Lucy goes back to her roots in North Hampton Beach to revisit the facts of crimes that were committed fifteen years before and put her father in prison.She meets up with her old boyfriend Ford and they work together to untangle the secrets.You will enjoy all the twists and turns in this book which would make a perfect beach read!Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for allowing me to read this ARC!

It has been 15 years since Lucy McBride, now Lucy Sinclair has been to North Hampton Beach, VA. When she was seventeen, her father, Mick McBride, was found guilty of killing three local people and is now serving a life sentence in Red Onion State Prison. Over the years Lucy has started to question one of the murders, her frenemy, Aurora Clark. This murder was different than that of the Tony and Lucinda Matteo, their neighbors in the trailer park so she decides to go and see her dad for the first time since he has been incarcerated. After talking to her father, Lucy realizes that she must go to North Hampton Beach and so a little investigating.

Ford Wagner headed to North Hampton Beach for the summer to help him escape his current life and get a little peace. His soon-to-be ex-wife, Christina, is driving him nuts; his father recently died from a major heart attack; and his mom, Sara and his dad's wife, Paris are arguing over his father's estate. Shortly after arriving Ford runs into an old friend, Chet Anthony. Chet lets Ford know that Lucy, his high school girlfriend is also in town. Ford always felt bad when he was forced to end things with her because of her father. It seems she is trying to figure out what happened with Aurora's murder.

Word quickly gets around town that Lucy is looking into the past. Everyone from Aurora's parents, old friends, enemies and even the police chief warn her against it. Ford starts to feel bad for Lucy and decides he is going to help her. The more time they spend together, the more those old feelings start to surface. It turns out neither Lucy or Ford had ever forgotten the other.

As the duo start to dig into the mystery more, strange things start to happen. Before you know it you don't know who to trust to who to believe. In the end, after many twists and turns the truth finally comes out and everyone is shocked and Ford and Lucy finally find their way to happy ending.

I freaking loved this romantic mystery and could not put it down. Ford was just a perfect guy. Sweet, caring and downright yummy! Lucy has learned to always be on her own but being with Ford made her realize just what she was missing in her life. These two were just perfect together. This was a fantastic story, with a great cast of character (you never knew who the killer could be) thrown in with a fun love story. Overall, this book was perfection.

This book was good. The beginning took me a little bit to get into, but after a couple of chapters I got into it and wanted to learn more and find out what happened. I wasn't a huge fan of the third person POV. I enjoy the dual perspectives usually. I do wish that the text exchanges were in a different font or more discernable while reading.
Overall this was a really good book and I enjoyed the story line. The characters were really good and the plot was good. The plot twist got me because I didn't even think that the person that did was the person. I did question the murders that Lucy's father committed though. As the story went on, I figure out that things didn't always add up.
The story between Lucy and Ford was great too and easy to read about.
Good book!

very twisty and fun novel, and the plotting and characters are all fantastic. the cover felt a little incongruous but other than that fantastic. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

I received a free DRC of this book through Netgalley. I had such a hard time putting this book down. Once the real murderer was revealed so early, I wondered where this book was going to go, but it's almost scarier reading and not being able to tell Lucy to be careful around this person. A great read for summer or any time!

The Summer That Changed Everything is a five star read. It was a great story that held you from the first page to the end. It has tons of emotions running through the plots and has some very unexpected twists within the story. You may think from the cover that you are going to have a fun beach read but this book is anything but. Even though the setting is the beach, the suspense and twists in this book will grip you. Pick up a copy, you will not be disappointed.

The Summer that Changed Everything is a story of redemption, reunion, family, friendship, and love -- with some unexpected twists and turns. Lucy returns to coastal Virginia after 15 years to try to find out what really happened the summer she was 17 and her father was convicted of three horrible murders. Will she discover that everything she's believed for so long is true? Or could it be possible that he's innocent of at least one of the crimes? A very good read -- strongly recommended.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
I absolutely devoured this book. Brenda Novak is such a great writer!
At 15 years of age Lucy’s father was convicted of murder. Did he do it? She is moving back to her home won’t determined to prove he didn’t..
Ford her old boyfriend is worried about her digging into the past. Add to that all the people in town who don’t want her back stirring up things.
So—- what are they hiding? Can she find the answers?

What a story! Old love rekindled. Harassment and scare tactics. A community's enmity. All directed at a young woman trying to prove her father was not guilty of one of the murders he was convicted for. This is one of those stories you can't stop reading!

The Summer that Changed Everything
Brenda Novak
June 3, 2025

Lucy was a young girl when her mother left. She and her dad stayed in the old trailer. It was in a camp where he took care of comings and goings. He was the one to call for repairs. At seventeen she was bright and looking forward to college. The elderly couple who lived next door were kind and very special to Lucy. One night while she was alone at home, she was in her room. She heard sirens and people arriving next door. At some point she felt pounding on the door. The police were there looking for her father. They believed that he had killed the couple while trying to rob their home. Life changed for Lucy. She had no family, no money to hire an attorney.
The Summer that Changed Everything will be published on June 03, 2025 by Mira. I was able to read and review Novak’s latest novel via NetGalley. The journey she wrote for Lucy was an involved history of her life. As an adult she managed to get away from living in a car or eating a limited diet. She left for Vegas, learned the poker game and played to win. Her thoughts plagued her until she decided to go after the actual killers. The legal battle began when she went back to visit her dad in Red Onion Prison near Pound, Virginia. This novel is a switch for Ms. Novak. Its suspense is page turning and the reader is left wondering at times, what can happen next?

I don't read romance suspense as much as other genres. I enjoy the twists and turns that kept me guessing through the book. I glad that she finally got truth for waiting 15 years. I also was heartbroken that innocent man or woman was put in jail for crime they haven't done.I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. # Netgalley# # The Summer that Changed Everything #

lucy comes to this small town and tries to solve the mystery of a murder of her friend. she falls in love with ford again. her dad ends up getting out of jail finally and the real culprits are sent to jail. Thanks net galley for letting me read this book

After Lucy McBride's father was convicted of murdering three people, she left town. Fifteen years later she returns to try to get some answers from him. Her world came tumbling down and not in a good way -she was collateral damage as the daughter of someone convicted of murder. People didn’t want her in town because of who they thought she was, and we’re threatening her at every turn.
Totally engrossing story and a perfect summer read.

It's been fifteen years since Lucy Sinclair saw her father. Her father murdered three people and now she is back in Virginia looking to talk to him. I didn't feel that this story was great; it was ok.

This book should definitely be on your summer reads list. It’s got everything you need for a great summer read. Fifteen years have passed since Lucy’s father was convicted of three murders in one summer. Something has never sat right with Lucy since then. While the DNA evidence matched him to the murders of two victims, including one whose DNA was found under his nails, the murder of a girl her age was more circumstantial. Despite the whole town’s conviction, Lucy yearns to return to her hometown and uncover the truth. Her journey leads her to uncover far more than she ever imagined. This is a spicy romantic mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Novak intertwines the best of both worlds of romance and mystery into this 5 star novel. I absolutely loved the small beach town setting and enjoyed getting whisked away like I was on vacation. It really made me want to book a beach vacay ASAP. Not only was there mystery, but the emotions that the author evokes while the story progresses is unmatched. Also, the ending had quite an unexpected twist. I ate this one up!

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Lucy Sinclair returns to her hometown 15 years after her Father was convicted of murdering 3 people. She isn’t sure he was actually guilty of one of the murders and sets out to find out if he is actually innocent. The people in the town don’t roll out the welcome mat for her, most want her to just leave, except for an old boyfriend. He is feeling guilty for the fact he didn’t stand up for her and is determined to help. The path they follow leads to surprising secrets. This book will keep you guessing, there are a few surprises. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

I loved The Summer That Changed Everything by Brenda Novak. Lucy Sinclair returns to her hometown to try to investigate the murder of a classmate 15 years prior, a murder that her father was accused and convicted of, along with two other murders. The evidence for the first two murders was ironclad, but for her classmate, it was not. Lucy wanted to talk to her father to see if there's something the prosecution missed in that third murder trial. When Lucy's father was sent to prison for life, the small town they lived in treated Lucy very badly, including her boyfriend at the time, Ford Wagner. Ford is also back in town to get his parents summer home fixed up to put on the market since his father died. He feels guilty for not sticking up for Lucy more 15 years ago, but was pressured by his family not to associate with her. Now that they are both back in town, Ford decides to help Lucy as much as he can. What I like about this Brenda Novak novel is that it contains romance, but has much more tension and a bit of mystery. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advance ebook to review.