I think this is a great quick summer read, to read by the pool or at the beach. Some of the twists were predictable but that didn’t ruin the book. I like the different POV’s from characters in the book but I do wish there was a little more deeper character development. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book! 3.5 stars.

This was a fun mystery, a bit of a slow start but the length of this book makes that forgivable. Interesting trying to put the story together and figure it out with the 3 different POVS. Fun twists and turns and it really picks up at the end. I enjoyed this a lot.

3.5 stars rounded to 4

✨This was an entertaining and atmospheric suspense read and the perfect palette cleanser from the darker thriller books I’ve been reading lately. It has a clever premise, kept me guessing and delivered a solidly jaw-dropping twist that I absolutely did not see coming. An enjoyable read all around.

🌿Read if you like:
✨Summer vibes
✨A mystery to solve
✨Remote island settings
✨Small town mysteries
✨Atmospheric suspense
✨Rich people behaving badly

This was so entertaining! It had me either grinning or gasping the whole time.

I love a rich people behaving badly story, especially when you have such unlikable characters. The dramatics in this book were un-put-down-able!

Years ago, Alice disappeared without a trace from Hadley Island and her best friend Orla hasn’t been back since. Orla is back on Hadley to clean out her parents’ house to sell, and it is bringing up some conflicting feelings, exacerbated by the presence of David… her childhood crush. The three of them spent the summers of their youth together on the island, including the summer Alice disappeared.

Faith has arrived on Hadley Island with her boyfriend, David, feeling a little out of her element. She thinks this trip to meet David’s father means the next step for their relationship, but loneliness pushes her into town where the gossip isn’t favorable to David and his wealthy family.

Meanwhile, Hadley Island resident Henry hasn’t left his house in years, not since he got mixed up in Alice’s disappearance. Instead, he watches over the town with his telescope, noting everything he sees.

These characters all converge on the island, finding themselves directly in the center of a deadly mystery. I loved the multiple pov because the characters are all so vastly different. I found the pacing to be SO GOOD. By the end of the book I was flipping pages with desperation. This book was full of suspense. You never know who you can trust or how deep the secrets go. I loved it!

Dead of Summer follows our main character, Orla, as she goes back to the remote island she grew up on, to clean her families summer home as they prepare to sell it. Orla left the island as a teenager, after her best friend Alice disappeared, and a local man named Henry was accused of the crime. However, when Orla comes back, she finds that David, her wealthy teenage love interest, has also come back to the island with his girlfriend, Faith, and seeing David brings back a lot of tough memories of that summer. When another local girl disappears, Orla must discover if the new disappearance is connected to her old friends disappearance many years ago.

I have read all of this authors previous books, but unfortunately, this was the least enjoyable for me. We get perspectives in this book from Orla, Faith and Henry. I found Orla irritating and hated reading from her point of view, and found Henry's point of view predictable and boring. The resolution to the mystery did nothing for me, and I found this story to be incredibly slow moving. The disappearance doesn't happen until over halfway through the book, so for the first fifty percent, we just listen to Orla whine about how much she hates being back here, and how she is still obsessed with David. I didn't really enjoy this one, and unfortunately, don't recommend it.

Dead of Summer is a quick, entertaining thriller with a sheen of glamour. Maxwell has created an interesting cast of characters, although many of them are a bit standoffish and not exactly likeable. That feeling of disconnect actually works--there's a strong disconnect between the POV characters and their surroundings, so feeling that as a reader adds to the story. The story has several twists, many of which were predictable but a few that were surprising and one that was particularly dark. The ending feels a bit rushed and unfinished, but overall, Dead of Summer is an enjoyable, bite-sized summer read.

I would call this more of a mystery than a thriller. The thriller elements were not that thrilling. The overall mystery was ok though a little predictable. With three POVs and flashbacks in time the pacing a little slow. I enjoyed it but it wasn't my favorite. The ultimate resolution left me wanting more.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

A quick, easy to read thriller. I was a bit bored in the beginning and the ending felt a little to rushed and unrealistic. However, I enjoyed the questioning and the chase and just wish it could have been a bit deeper.

I absolutely loved the atmosphere in this thriller. From the very beginning, I felt pulled into a world that was both immersive and tense, without being overly twisted or complicated. It didn’t rely on cheap shocks—instead, it delivered a slow-burning intensity that kept me completely hooked.

What really stood out to me was the depth of the story. It wasn’t just about the plot; it was about the feeling of being inside this world. The pacing was deliberate and absorbing, the kind that allows you to settle in and feel the tension rise with every chapter. I didn’t feel rushed or confused, just completely immersed.

The narrator was fantastic—perfectly matched to the tone of the book. Their voice added an extra layer of suspense and made the characters come alive in my mind. It felt less like listening to a book and more like experiencing a story unfold around me.

This was exactly what I needed. Not overly dark, not predictable—just smart, atmospheric, and quietly intense. I would absolutely recommend this audiobook to anyone looking for a thriller that leans into mood and depth rather than clichés or over-the-top twists

3.5 stars rounded up | I’ll be honest, this one took me a while to get into. For being on the shorter side, it felt a bit slow moving at the beginning. Once things picked up I gained more interest, but the plot felt a little bit too obvious at points. I was really hoping for more shock factor or a bigger twist.

I can’t say this is one of my favorites, but overall not a bad read, especially if you’re looking for a quick summer thriller.

I received this book for free in return for my honest opinion from
Netgalley and publisher.

I was excited to read this book because I liked her last read and this is published on my birthday. I buddyread this with a friend but I didn’t love it. I do love reading books based in New England though, so that was pretty cool.

Orla hasn’t been back to Hadley island since she was in high school. Her best friend Alice went missing when she was in high school but tons of rumors swirled around about her disappearance.

Orla goes back to clean out the beachfront house that her parents own, so they can sell it. Orla sees her old crush David and his beautiful girlfriend Faith. Old memories pop up and old secrets.
Faith wants to investigate what happened to Alice after hearing about it and since she’s on the island, she figures maybe she can figure out something that nobody else can.

I maybe would have enjoyed this more on audio but I found the kindle version to be not as engaging as I was hoping for.

Pub Date: 7/22

Dead of Summer was unfortunately not a book for me. It was a very quick read, but I found myself shocked that I was already 65% of the way through the book and nothing really happened. The writing itself was fine. But it definitely was not a thriller.

It was a slow burn mystery at best and I felt most of the plot to be lacking. There was one moment that actually shocked me and I really thought things were looking up from there. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

I've yet to read The Golden Spoon or I Need You to Read This by Jessa Maxwell and still plan to read both because I've heard such great things about each of them. I just feel that this one missed the mark, honestly by quite a bit.

Thank you to Atria Books, Jessa Maxwell and Netgalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really hopeful to enjoy another Jessa Maxwell book, but this one did not personally hit for me.

The good:
- I was still shocked by the big final twist.
- I overall like Jessa's writing style, so I will try her next one and hopefully I'll enjoy it more.

The loss of 3 stars:
- This book just felt like an entire mystery I couldn't ever solve because the mysteries would not stop. There seemed to be no break in general and there was never a chance to settle, even though the stakes weren't that high.
- I don't think I personally enjoyed reading anyone's perspective, no one was really likeable for me and I was rooting for no one, which made the book harder to read.
- It felt like there was nothing truly driving the book forward for me until maybe 50% through? It just took so long to get to any type of momentum.

Overall, I'd recommend The Golden Spoon or I Need You To Read This before picking up this one.

Orla O'Connor is filled with dread as she returns to her hometown on Hadley Island. Years ago, when she was in her teens, her best friend Alice went missing, presumed dead from drowning. Running from the ghosts of her past, Orla is unhappily reconnected with the third member of her and Alice's childhood trio, the wealthy David Clarke who has come for the summer with his new girlfriend.

Can Orla and David outrun the ghosts of their past or will the present begin to haunt them too?

Dead of Summer is one of those well written thrillers that I couldn't put down, reading the book in a day. With a good plot, well executed characters and multiple twists and turns, it is the perfect easy read thriller to keep you guessing this summer. 4.25 stars.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Faith has been dating David Clarke for about a year when she is invited to spend the summer in his family's mansion on Hadley Island. The Clarke family is famously rich, and secretly pretending that one of their son's friends, Alice Gallo, didn't die during their 4th of July party fifteen years ago. When the Clarkes decide to host the party again after all this time, suspicion arises, and is only added to when Orla O'Connor, Alice's former best friend, returns to the island too.

I thought I knew where this book was going within the first few chapters, but thankfully I was wrong. I had my suspicions before the big reveal/plot twist but I still enjoyed it and was satisfied with the story.

This book is out on July 22nd!

CW: death, kidnapping

Dead of Summer ☀️

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Pub Date: July 22, 2025

Orla returns to her family home several years after her best friend Alice disappeared to put the house on the market. Orla doesn’t expect to run into her childhood crush, David. Or his beautiful girlfriend Faith. Will their summer back on Hadley island bring up the truth from many summers past?

This was a perfect summertime read. The island setting with the vibes of a small town where everyone knows everything was well done. I was easily hooked into the mystery, and to figure out why each of the three POVs were included for the story. I did struggle a little with the writing style switching mid-chapter from present to past tense without warning.

Ultimately the ending really didn’t deliver for me. Everything felt very rushed and chaotic. I even tried to go back at times, thinking I missed something. The copy I read was an ARC, so maybe it still needed to be revised further? While a few things were predictable, I do think this book has a lot of potential for a fun summer mystery, that ending just needs to be sorted out and clarified to really nail it.

I gave Dead of Summer four stars and absolutely flew through it. Orla heads back to Hadley Island ten years after her best friend vanished, only to find flickering lights in Alice’s abandoned house and then someone else goes missing. Suddenly Orla, Faith (her old crush’s new girlfriend) and Henry (the island recluse everyone whispers about) are hunting for the truth. The shifting points of view keep things moving, the two ruined houses and windswept shore deliver perfect eerie vibes, and the contrast between the privileged and the struggling locals adds real punch. Trigger warning for child sex trafficking. Big thanks to NetGalley and Atria Publishing for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book had such an epic plot. I liked how it started and the speed at which it all progressed. Really loved the main characters too but the twists were the best part of all with this book. I felt the suspense building as I read. While I read it in a day, it was not for lack of content. This book truly is a must read that you will not want to put down even for a minute!

Sadly I was not able to finish this book. I clicked on it to read and it said no longer available. I thought I had until August 5 which was the archive date. I will be reading it when it comes out! I love this author.

Dead of Summer is the perfect popcorn thriller with summer vibes.

Orla hasn’t been back to her childhood home on Hadley Island in a decade. She has been avoiding the secluded New England island as she doesn’t want to revisit repressed memories of her teenage best friend, Alice, who vanished without a trace. Orla and Alice planned their entire lives around each other, down to moving to NYC to become artists. Unfortunately, Orla feels guilty that she got to live the life Alice always wanted.

David, a childhood friend of Orla and Alice’s, returns to Hadley Island every summer. This year he brings his girlfriend and so-to-be-fiancée, Faith, with him. Faith was expecting a 2-month long vacation of sun, sand, and romantic dinners, while David’s father had other plans for him. Finding herself alone and bored, Faith starts digging into the past of Hadley Island.

The idyllic setting of the remote Hadley Island is gorgeous and eerie at the same time. Multiple POVs allows for the tension to build while secrets are slowly revealed, and we found out what exactly happened to Alice all those years ago. Despite some predictability to the story, I found it to be a quick page-turner and highly recommend for your next beach read!

Don’t forget to grab your copy on July 22, 2025!

Thank you Netgalley and Atria for my ARC!