That Last Carolina Summer is a standalone title that will bring us a family facing change, sisters reconnecting, not always with the desired results, and a woman’s journey of discovery where facing the past isn’t always comfortable.

Phoebe’s family has always been… unusual, dysfunctional perhaps. She never felt she lived up to the high standards of her mother, and felt overpowered by her sister’s beauty and confidence (even if sometimes Addie could be a bit of a bully). And there was that moment in childhood, when she was struck by lightning, where her life was saved by a young boy, Liam, and it resulted in her dreams, nightmares really, that some call precognition. She moved away from the South Carolina Lowcountry the moment she was old enough, clear across the country. Since then, she’s had little contact with her family, and that suits her just fine.

Until her sister contacts her, demanding she return home to help care for their aging, ailing mother… and Phoebe cannot come up with a logical reason to refuse. Thus begins an often painful yet definitive journey as she navigates old feelings, connects to new people, and reunites with the boy who once saved her life. Coming home isn’t exactly what she expected, but maybe it’s what she needed.

That Last Carolina Summer by Karen White drew me in from the opening scene, and kept my attention focused on these characters and their lives until the final page was turned. There are painful, difficult subjects addressed, always with grace and sensitivity, yet with almost brutal honesty. There is no way to sugarcoat the reality of dementia/Alzheimer’s. None. Losing one’s parent (no matter the relationship) to a disease that wipes away their memories, forever changes them into someone you no longer know, is devastating for all involved. (I’ve been there) Trying to heal a relationship, help someone who doesn’t intend to change, doesn’t want the type of help you’re offering, is painful. Dealing with what actually caused Phoebe’s nightmares is revealing and eventually freeing.

Phoebe’s story is well-written, emotional, difficult to read at times, and a novel that will linger in your mind long after you close the cover. I enjoyed my time in this world, would highly recommend it to any reader who loves to get lost in an emotional, conflicting world.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley, and I sincerely thank the author or publishing house for their trust. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

This was overall an interesting read. Phoebe is returning home to find out what is happening with her mother's health. There is family drama when dealing with an aging and ailing parent. The scences illustrating Elizbeth's dementia are sad and one that reminds us that we hope not to have to experience. Some of the sibling drama was typical as sisters sometimes revert to early years. It was actually easy to see where the book was going and what had happened. I sometimes like the change of POV but this time I got confused occassionally as to who was speaking. It is a good summer read, but not really a light one.

Well bless my soul and hand me a glass of sweet tea—Karen White has done it again, y’all. And by “done it again,” I mean she dragged me kicking and screaming into another Southern family drama so thick with tension, humidity, and generational trauma that I now require both therapy and mosquito repellent.

Let’s start with our heroine Phoebe, who—as a child—gets STRUCK BY LIGHTNING. And instead of becoming a Marvel superhero (missed opportunity), she gets the slightly less glamorous gift of premonitions and deeply repressed trauma. Phoebe promptly nopes her way to California (honestly, same), but just when she thinks she’s escaped the haunted magnolia-scented clutches of Charleston, her beautiful golden-child sister Addie calls her back to care for their ailing mother.

Cue the family secrets, passive-aggressive conversations over tea, and enough “well, we don’t talk about that” moments to fill an entire Southern Gothic bingo card.

Phoebe—our reluctant psychic and professional family avoider—gets dragged back to Charleston to help care for her ailing mother (bless her heart), and suddenly we’re knee-deep in past trauma, unresolved grief, and dreams that might be trying to tell her something other than “get a decent night’s sleep.”

Enter Celeste, a neighbor with a missing granddaughter, a tragic past, and a penchant for emotional bonding. Also enter Liam, Celeste’s mysteriously broody adult grandson who just so happens to stir up all of Phoebe’s repressed feelings—because what’s a Southern drama without a little will-they-won’t-they romantic tension with unresolved high school vibes?

And just when you think it’s safe to go back into the swamp, Phoebe’s premonitions start cranking up to Final Destination levels of cryptic unease, and boom—secrets come crawling out of the kudzu.

Well, somewhere between the third cup of tea and the seventh “oh honey, you wouldn’t understand,” I may have wanted to shake a few characters like a dusty rug on a front porch. But hey, isn’t that part of the charm?

If you like your fiction with a side of Southern charm, deep family wounds, mysterious dreams, and enough atmospheric angst to fog up your glasses, then That Last Carolina Summer is your ticket to the dramatic vacation you didn’t know you needed. Just don’t get struck by lightning on the way out.

That Last Carolina Summer is a beautiful story about sisters, secrets and family. Thanks to HTP and UplitReads for my copy.

This is Karen's first standalone in a few years and she's back in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Phoebe was struck by lightning as a child and moved across the country when she could. She's back home for the summer to help her sister take care of their mother.

This book is all about family relationships and I liked the tie-in to birding. Sisters struggling with their relationships to each other and their mother, especially when she's showing signs of dementia. I liked the connection with Celeste and of course the Charleston setting.

I really enjoyed this book and so glad to have another wonderful Karen White book that transports me to a favorite place!

If you're looking for a family drama with secrets in a great setting, you'll love this book!

🪶 Part family drama, part mystery— set on the Carolina coast: this is the perfect summer weekend read!

🪶 I cruised through this book. It’s perfect for a weekend poolside or at the beach. There’s a LOT of drama, a healthy dose of family secrets, a dash of mystery, and some somewhat forbidden love too. Overall, just a super entertaining read.

🪶 There may be some triggers here for some, including Alzheimer’s/dementia, widowhood and loss of a child so be sure to check those if you need.

Phoebe has been called back home by her sister, Addie. Their mother is experiencing Alzheimers symptoms and Addie just can’t handle it. Phoebe is determined to only stay the summer. She does not want to revisit her past. It comes with nightmares!

I enjoyed Phoebe. I loved her “visions”. After she was struck by lightning as a young girl, she has been able to “sort of” see the future through her dreams. I love a book with a bit of mysticism. It always adds to the drama!

The animosity between these sisters is so real! I could just feel it oozing off the page. Phoebe and Addie are like oil and water. But, they also have each other’s backs! And with this twist at the end, they really do need each other.

Y’all, this book is about family dynamics, pain, grief and healing. It is about being there for someone. And it is about love…and hate! It is a book you do not want to miss.

Now, the narrators, Jorjeana Marie and Kimberly Farr, are not my favorite. The voices are a bit too soft. But, this novel is so well written, it did not matter.

Need a fabulous, healing, family drama…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

While this book was very formulaic, it didn't rate very high with me. The ending was incredibly silly in my opinion. I won't spoil it but it was just too cheesy for Addie to suffer the same fate as Phoebe. The connections were too coincidental for me as well, and too predictable.

That being said, the dementia scenes were brutal, and often difficult to read. There was much truth in them, and anyone who has experienced a parent with dementia will relate.

This would be a beach read without the dementia angle which takes the book slightly deeper than the usual fun summer reads, so be aware before you toss it in your suitcase for the beach.

That Last Carolina Summer is Karen White’s Women’s Fiction novel set near Charleston, South Carolina. Like most of this author’s works, this story contains a family drama with intersecting storylines. The closed-door romance is secondary to the female characters’ development. This story contains no violence, profanity, or sex scenes.
When Phoebe Manigault was nine years old, she was playing in the creek near her house when she was struck by lightning. As a result, she had severe burns and developed the “gift” of premonition and became plagued by unsettling dreams. Eventually she grew tired of living in the shadow of her older, beautiful sister, Addie, and facing her mother’s constant criticism. After finishing college and graduate school, she got a job as a middle school science teacher in Bend, Oregon. Now Addie is struggling to care for their mother, who is exhibiting signs of dementia. So Phoebe reluctantly agrees to return to Mount Pleasant for the summer.

Phoebe is shocked by Addie’s sense of entitlement and her failure to acknowledge their mother’s cognitive decline. Phoebe immediately steps into the role of caregiver to both their mom and Ophelia, Addie’s nine-year-old daughter. Phoebe fulfills the nurturing parental role that Ophelia so desperately needs, similar to Aunt Sassy’s relationship to the young Phoebe. Soon after Phoebe meets Celeste Fitch, a local artist who volunteers at Ophelia’s school and is watching her 10-year-old grandson for the summer. 75-year-old Celeste is a retired nurse who has been grieving her missing daughter, Julie, for the past 20 years.
When Phoebe takes her mom to a highly recommended neurologist, she is stunned to encounter the grown-up version of the green-eyed boy who saved her life by performing CPR after the lightning strike. Dr. Liam Fitch is Celeste’s son and Will’s father. Soon Phoebe is overwhelmed caring for her mother and Ophelia while Addie takes the car out every day and returns home in the mornings drunk and beat up. After Phoebe straightens out her mother’s finances, she hires Celeste to be her mother’s part-time caregiver.
Unfortunately, Phoebe’s recurring nightmares return, so she spends her free time (when she’s not caring for Ophelia) researching Julia’s disappearance and her late father’s strange actions. Meanwhile there’s a lot of conflict between good-girl Phoebe and irresponsible Addie. To top it off, there’s a romance brewing between Phoebe and the handsome Dr. Fitch. Celeste and Liam are keeping secrets from the Manigaults, so things are going to come to a head eventually.
That Last Carolina Summer is another unforgettable Southern family drama by Karen White. Readers will feel like they are alongside Phoebe and Celeste on their adventures because the descriptions are so clear. The characters’ emotions are so authentic that readers will have “all the feels” and root for Phoebe and Liam to find their happy ending. The tension between Phoebe and Addie is so finely strung, and readers will find themselves wanting karma to happen. Karen White is the queen of the modern Southern gothic novel, and That Last Carolina Summer does not disappoint.
I received an Advance Review Copy (ARC) from NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Phoebe was struck by lightning when she was a child. Since then, she’s had premonition dreams. As soon as she could she left home to live across the country to escape the premonitions and family drama. It disappointed her mother that she didn’t care about being a Southern belle like her sister, Addie. Phoebe was more interested in exploring the beaches and marshes, spying birds along the way.

Now Phoebe must return home to help to care for her ailing mother and she has a lot of mixed feelings. Her dreams come back, the most disturbing one back in full force. Old resentments between Phoebe and Addie rise to the surface and her mother’s condition brings all the hurt into sharp focus. I felt bad for Ophelia, Addie’s young daughter.

I had my ideas about the dream. Things made sense as more came to light and I felt for all involved.

In all of this, Phoebe meets Celeste a woman whose granddaughter went missing years ago. Celeste her grandson, Liam and great grandson, Will are all big players in the story as well.

I enjoyed how each chapter opened up with interesting bird facts, how they sometimes related to human behavior. The setting of South Carolina was almost another character, hot, vibrant and mysterious.

That Last Carolina Summer was a captivating story with mystery, family secrets, reconciling the past and a bit of romance! I loved every minute!

I alternated between the audio and e-copy. I can recommend either version. Jorjeana Marie did a wonderful job with Phoebe’s chapters, the range of ages, male and female voices and emotions. I thought Kimberly Farr performed Celeste well, age appropriate, but there was little change with other voices making it a little hard to distinguish who was speaking at times. Still, I really enjoyed the audio version!

This was my first Karen White novel and I am a new fan! Loved this book. I didn't want to put this book down, it was so intriguing with the mysterious dreams and her "gift" plus the reconciling complicated family relationships. Great summer read!

When I first saw the cover of this book, I assumed it would be a light and fluffy summer read. But y’all…it is SO MUCH MORE!

This story was so beautifully written! Karen put me right in the middle of the Carolina Lowcountry, which is somewhere I have always wanted to visit. It is tender and tragic and so powerful at times! The story begins with Phoebe as a child, who is struck by lightning and develops an odd ability to see premonitions in her dreams. She never fit into her family or her community, and escapes South Carolina as soon as she is able. When her mother is diagnosed with dementia, she returns home where she must face her estranged sister, her ill mother, and the secrets that have been long buried by her family.

I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading some of Karen White’s other work!

This story! So much to feel! It has the bond between sisters, the bond between daughters and their aging, sick mother, the kindness of a stranger, and a small mystery! This book talks about how one event ripples into life-changing experiences! I highly recommend it.
Karen White did a beautiful job describing the relationship between Phoebe, Addie, and their mother. She did a beautiful job of describing the setting, the Low Country of South Carolina.

This beautiful story surprised me in the best of ways. I was not expecting such an honest, real view of the toll caregivers experience while looking after a family member with dementia and to feel empathy for Phoebe as she struggled to navigate the estranged relationship with her sister when returning home. Nor was I expecting the hint of a romance that developed between Phoebe and her mother’s neurological doctor, Liam. I was smitten with glimpses of the beautiful Carolina setting and how it changed from bright and happy to moody and atmospheric. I enjoyed both points-of-view of Pheobe and Celeste, Liam’s grandmother, and how each connected the past to the past as secrets were unraveled for the duration of the compelling story. I felt a bit altered and changed as I turned the last page in the best of ways too. 4.25 stars

That Last Carolina Summer, by Karen White, is a story of dysfunctional family drama set in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Phoebe Manigault is now a teacher in Bend, Oregon, about as far as she could get from her family. Her sister Addie, older by two years, was the beautiful beauty pageant queen, whereas Phoebe was the outdoors girl. While their mother Elizabeth spent her time and energy on Addie, their paternal aunt Sassy was Phoebe’s guide to growing up until her cancer death. When Phoebe was 9 her outdoor ways nearly cost her life when a sudden storm led to her being struck by lightning only to be saved by local boy Liam Fitch.

Addie’s pageant activity led to a very active social life, wild parties, and post college pregnancy that brought her back home with her daughter Ophelia. Now she is working minimum wage jobs and still making bad decisions, especially with who she is dating. Phoebe’s nature experiences led her to teach science and snap up a cross country teaching opportunity. But this particular summer Addie calls Phoebe begging her to come home to help with their mother as dementia takes hold. What Phoebe found was worse than expected on so many levels. The best part of being home is being able to forge a closer relationship with her niece.

The other highlight for Phoebe was meeting elderly lady Celeste Fitch who befriends her family and brings in her expertise from working with the elderly to help with Elizabeth. What isn’t brought to light immediately is that Celeste’s grandson, now the neurologist her mother will see, is the same person who saved Phoebe’s life.

This is quite a convoluted tale of family dynamics, buried secrets, bad decisions, self sabotage, and Karen White has never woven a tale better. With dynamic characters, a well described low country setting, and several unexpected plot twists, it is a book that’s hard to put down. I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!

I love a good family drama and this book is full of drama. The drama in this book surrounds Phoebe’s return to her hometown to figure out what is happening with her mother. She returns to her sister not taking care of her daughter or her mom, the neurologist being more than her mother’s doctor, and the same doctor’s mother stepping in to help take care of her mother. There is a lot happening in Phoebe’s family and life.

The romance of this book is great. The attraction happens from the beginning but there is more happening than meets the eye. Karen White wrote wonderful twists and turns into the story. The biggest twist is one that I saw coming but enjoyed the build up to it.

Karen White has done it again! That Last Carolina Summer made me yearn for another summer on the coast. Karen beautifully wove together a generational mystery that has gripped two families for decades. You'll find yourself wanting to birdwatch, swim, and late night thunderstorms after this book. TW: The main characters are dealing with a mom with Alzheimer's and that will hit home for many adult children who are navigating roles as caregivers.

3.5 stars
Thank you to Net Galley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was an enjoyable read with an interesting story about Phoebe who is returning home to South Carolina after leaving many years ago. She is coming back to help take care of her ailing mother, but old family secrets and tension make her stay even harder than expected. The story was intriguing, but the alternating points of view by chapter interrupted the flow of the story for me. All in all, this was a good read.

really loved this book. This emotional story really pulled me in and wouldn't let me go.Karen White is an auto read author for me and this book did not disappoint!
Her new novel is a blend of family drama, slow burn romance, and subtle suspense set in the sultry Low Country of South Carolina.
Phoebe Manigault has spent years running from her past, her childhood lightning strike leaving her with unsettling premonitions. When she returns home to care for her ailing mother, she’s forced to confront her broken relationship with her sister Addie and the unresolved tension with Liam, the man tied to her oldest wounds.
The slow-burn romance simmers beneath layers of family secrets, while subtle suspense builds toward revelations that change everything.

Great story!

When Phoebe was nine years old, she was bird watching when a thunder storm hit. Her little legs didn't get her inside the house fast enough and she was struck by lightning. That moment forever changed her life. After she was hit, Phoebe got the unwelcome gift of premonition. At first she enjoyed the attention because she wasn't ignored by her older sister, Addie, but then she began to hate it. Suffering night after night with dreams that she never understood. Growing up in her household, she was always invisible. Her mother favored Addie and they both spent all their time together doing beauty pageants, while Phoebe spent all her time with her Aunt Sassy, who loved birds.

As soon as she was able to go off to college, Phoebe made sure to go as far away from South Carolina as possible, she ended up being a science teacher in Oregon. Ever since she left, her gift disappeared. No more dreams or visions. And Phoebe convinced herself that she was happy living with the cold weather.

With her father gone, Addie has been living at the family home with their Mother and her nine year old daughter, Ophelia, But their mom is forgetting things and Addie's too immature to take her to the doctor to find out what's wrong. So Phoebe is spending her summer vacation in South Carolina to straighten out the mess Addie's created. But she gets more than she bargained for. That's where she meets their neighbor, Celeste, whose granddaughter, Julie, went missing years ago. Celeste still holds out hope that she's alive somewhere. She was hoping that Phoebe still had her gift and could help find Julie. But the relationship they form is one Phoebe never had before, almost a maternal one; someone she could rely on. Meanwhile, Liam, Celeste's adult grandson and neurologist to Phoebe's mom, stirs feelings in Phoebe that she's never had before.

Phoebe's dreams started the night before she flew back South and the visions soon followed. But she's had this one dream before, years ago. Each night she falls asleep, she is closer to figuring out who the people are in the dream. When she does, it will change everyone's lives forever.

*I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a very compelling read. I loved the layers within the story: mother/daughter relationship, navigating an aging/sick parent, sibling relationship, grief, internal fears, finding love. It was very real and relatable, and I loved the various perspectives. I especially loved how the author kept the reader's interest throughout the story, and wrapped everything up well in the end. Would definitely recommend!