Our Last Vineyard Summer" by Brooke Lea Foster is a beautifully evocative story that transports readers to the heart of a charming vineyard. The characters are richly drawn, each with their own struggles and heartfelt connections that make the story deeply engaging. Foster’s writing is warm and immersive, capturing both the beauty of the setting and the complexity of family relationships. The plot balances nostalgia, romance, and emotional growth in a way that feels both satisfying and heartfelt. Overall, it’s a delightful, feel-good read that lingers long after the last page.

Review will be posted on 9/1/25

Betsy Whiting is a graduate student at Columbia in the 1970s. It isn't easy; there's a lot of sexism to make her path even more difficult. After her senator father's untimely death, her mother asks Betsy and her sisters to return to their summer home at Martha's Vineyard. This is the last place Betsy wants to be after having independence in the city, but after the breakup with her professor boyfriend, she reluctantly returns to her family's home to help her mother. While there, Betsy must deal with her feminist mother and her sisters. She must deal with her memories of the past summers spent at the Vineyard. The story also includes flashbacks to Virgie, Betsy's mother, and her life as a senator's wife, and how that was difficult given her deeply rooted feminist beliefs. Our Last Vineyard Summer by Brooke Lea Foster is a nostalgic beach read about mothers, daughters, and female identity.

I like how Foster jumped from a 1965 timeline to 1978 to really paint a picture of the Whiting women. Even though there are many years between the story lines, a lot of the same themes run true. I really enjoyed the character of Virgie and following along with her struggles as a senator's wife, while also being a major feminist. There was more to her story than initially thought. I also appreciated Betsy's story and her return home to Martha's Vineyard. The setting of the Vineyard and the memories they have of summer's past make Our Last Vineyard Summer a good beach read for those who like stories about strong women.

Dual timelines 1965 and 1978 on Martha’s Vineyard. Two generations of women trying to balance their lives, can they have a career and a family? Strong women, complicated lives. Secrets from the past are revealed and upset their lives after their father dies. I like reading about strong women.

Set in Martha’s Vineyard, with dual timelines of 1965 and 1978, the novel takes on the social history of women during that time while telling an appealing story. Virgie’s storyline focuses on her relationship with her husband, Charlie, as a woman still thinking she had to do what her husband wanted. At the time, they had three young daughters, and as Charlie was always running for political office, he had ideas how Virgie and the girls should behave. The 1975 timeline occurs after Charlie’s death, as the sisters, Louise, Aggie and Betsy, try to figure out how they can keep their family home on the Vineyard after learning their father had taken out a large loan. The relationship between mother and daughters, as well as the relationship between the sisters helps define the expectations of women during those times. I would highly recommend this novel, as it combines good characters, story lines, and a clear view of the social mores of the times. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Our Last Vineyard Summer is a nostalgic look at feminism and family. Told in a dual timeline, 1965 and 1978, it tells the story of three very different sisters, their politician father and feminist writer mother. Set mostly in Martha’s Vineyard, at the family’s summer home, the novel is full of summertime nostalgia. It’s an enjoyable summer read even though the plot lagged at times.

3.5 out of 5 stars

I enjoy all of Brooke Lea Foster's family stories. In this story, there are two timelines, 1965 and 1978. Virginia and Charlie meet in school, both having career aspirations. In the 1960s, however, it was the woman who gives up her career to raise a family, not the man. When Virgie and Charlie have three daughters, you just know that Virgie is going to raise them to follow their own dreams of having a career and a family if they so choose. You get to know all three daughters, what shaped each of their childhoods, and how this affects their choices as adults. When they all gather at their cottage on Nantucket after Charlie's death, lots of secrets come to the surface, will they have to sell their island home? This is the perfect beach read. I did have a chance to sample the audiobook as well and enjoyed the narrators.

Betsy's summer isn't going how she planned - in the city with her boyfriend professor hoping to become engaged. Instead, her mother's called Betsy and her sisters to their summer island home to prepare it for sale after her father's death. On the island, they're dealing with a bunch of family issues - and secrets - and long lost loves. This was an interesting story, it just dragged on a bit. Lots of surprises and strong female viewpoints.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

Brooke Lea Foster is a force to be reckoned with in women's fiction!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Every book is an amazing story and wonderful to read. This book is no exception to that. It is an amazing book of family, sisters, love, and life.

Don’t let the lighthearted cover fool you. This book is full of complicated family issues…mother/daughter, sisters, parents.

Its 1968, Mom Virgie is a political wife trying to bring awareness to the women’s movement all the while supporting her husband’s aspirations and being a mom to three girls. She walks a fine line between all. Fast forward to 1975, youngest girl Betsy is home. She is reeling from a difficult year and returns home after learning Virgie needs to sell their beloved summer home.

This book explores so many difficult topics (abortion, infidelity, double standards, equality). Family secrets are revealed and so many questions are answered. I loved the character development of each woman as an individual and as a family unit. Each women coming to terms with their past and present. The ending was tied up a little too neatly, but I still found this enjoyable read that had more depth than I expected. Martha’s Vineyard is the setting for this novel and is center for everything this family holds dear. Ms. Brooks has written a beautiful novel touching on the secrets, healing and the love and support of family. I look forward to reading this author again.

Thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

Our Last Vineyard Summer by Brooke Lea Foster does a great job of immersing you in what it meant to be a woman in the 1960s and 1970s. The story wraps around sisters coming home to the family summer home, but it also reflects to their mother's journey through the 50s and 60s. The family relationships and drama will be central to many, but for me, the best part of the book was how the author gave a real sense of what it meant to be a woman in business and family life at that time, just as things started to change for society.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A charming, beachy bit of women’s fiction that doesn’t really pass the Bechdel Test, but at least has a defiant self awareness about that.

This is fun and while not quite as good as All the Summers in Between, it has a similar feel and is another lovely example of how we actually can have light women’s fiction that isn’t romance.

Foster is pretty good at writing characters who are regular gals but giving them a lot of nuance, making them both interesting and at least sometimes relatable. And I really appreciate how well she develops her settings, both in terms of sense of place and atmospheric quality.

The storylines here are a bit frustrating (sometimes intentionally) and the characters’ actions, however of their time they may be, might frustrate some modern readers. I actually appreciated that Foster wrote her protagonists the way she did, and both their intriguing nature and solidly done pacing makes this an excellent elevated beach read.

This novel captures the feminist movement in the sixties. The author did an excellent job depicting women and their role in society during this time. I enjoyed the dual timelines of 1965 and 1978 which allows the characters to come to life and we experience their growth. I love that each woman had different goals and strived to achieve them. She incorporates history with the restrictions of the time period such as the difficulty in getting a loan and the secondary role of women in the workforce. If you are looking for a great women’s fiction this novel has it all: marriage, loyalty, family, relationships, forgiveness, hope, history, nostalgia with a beautiful setting. #OurLastVineyardSummer #BrookeLeaFoster #NetGalley
Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for an eGalley of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book is told in dual timelines of 1965 and 1978, a group of sisters and their mother spending those summers at the family home on Martha's Vineyard. Their father is a well-respected politician and their mother has been a well known feminist writer, but these summers were about relationships between the sisters and their mom, between their parents. Things that went on behind the scenes as children or that seemed one way, may have actually been something completely different. The girls, now young adults are brought together with the goal to save their family home. Their mother is ready to share some truths from their past and ultimately they discover the strength in their bond, the true nature of their, and parents' relationship and careers, and their mother's hope to give them the world as their oyster.

I thought this book was excellent for several reasons - the Martha's Vineyard setting, the Women's Rights Movement history tie ins, and a family/characters that I felt drawn to. I felt that this book was ultimately about the mother's love and legacy for her three girls.

This one gave me Lessons in Chemistry vibes and that is a very good thing!

I enjoyed Our Last Vineyard Summer. I liked that this story was told in two perspectives between a daughter and mother. I found their narratives rich and powerful. Despite being set in the past, readers will relate to Betsy and Virgie. I found both of their stories compelling. Both women were complex and layered. I thought the author did an incredible job capturing the historical feeling of the 1960's and 70's. Most of the side characters felt developed and important to the story. I did want more from Andy's character. The setting was detailed and the twists kept me engaged. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

My interview with Brooke Lea Foster on Meg’s Reading Room podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/megs-reading-room/id1761060886?i=1000715399852

4.5 🌟

Brooke Lea Foster’s novels feel like warm sun on skin first thing in the morning, or that first swim in the summer, or like the sound of birds chirping as you sip coffee on a porch swing. They’re warm, insightful, and comforting, oozing east coast summer nostalgia.

I loved her previous three novels — SUMMER DARLINGS, ON GIN LANE, and ALL THE SUMMERS IN BETWEEN. So, I was very excited to see her latest, Our Last Vineyard Summer. Told in two timelines, 1965 and 1978, this story is one of generational womanhood, sisters, and the secrets we keep from our family, the resentments that form, and the love that is a salve for it all. The Martha’s Vineyard setting is an idyllic backdrop for the women to grapple with the secrets laid bare, the hurts that have scabbed over but never fully healed, and the new beginnings that bring closure.

This book expertly explores the notion of “home” as a place, as a feeling, or as people. I loved this one and was completely swept away in the story of Betsy and her sisters and their mom. I was thinking a lot about the sacrifices of motherhood while reading and it made me so thankful for my own mom and my sister who is an amazing mother.

Highly recommend for fans of Beatriz Williams, We Were Liars, and Elon Hilderbrand. 💗💗

I enjoy this author’s way of bringing the reader into a beautiful nostalgic past America. I did not enjoy this one however. I didn’t find the mother likeable and the switching timelines was odd to me. Sometimes I had to remind myself wait what storyline am I in. Am I old mom, am I young her or am I the older daughter speaking.

All that to just end up that a feminist woman was cheated on her whole marriage and the dude had a double life, fam out there.

The premise of Martha's Vineyard was enough to pull me into this one, but I just could not stay engaged. The premise of a feminist movement back in the 60s-70s called to me, but the plot did not move quickly enough for me. I wanted to love this one, but it fell short for me.

Our Last Vineyard Summer by Brooke Lea Foster was an entertaining and amazing story.
This book will keep you intrigued to the very end! Written with great care to detail and characterization. Kept me entertained through the whole story. It was so interesting I couldn't put it down. I read the book in one day.

This is a fun read and both time periods were a blast to read about. Thanks to the setting, it is a perfect summer read.
Jello, anyone?

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. Such fun!