A Summer to Remember

I enjoyed every bit of this novel! I can’t believe it’s a debut. Although there are a few kind of cliched bits here, overall I really loved it. And the little bits of mystery that were revealed as Frankie discovered bits of her past kept me reading. I highly recommend.

This is an intricate, beautifully crafted tale. So many different layers. I was intrigued at first that it started in Hollywood - it seems like so many books I've read recently take place on the East Coast. Then, it shifted to Cape Cod. However, the ties between the two made sense. Movie fans will love all the references.

Frankie is a Hollywood memorabilia dealer who recently lost her mother. She doesn't know who her father is. She heads to Cape Cod to try and piece together some clues and manages to unravel not only her own story but that of many others. Some of it is painful, most of it is cathartic.

There were a few parts that I thought were tied up a little too neatly, were too coincidental, but they served their purpose and were not completely unbelievable.

All in all, I loved this book. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read a digital ARC in return for an honest review

This is a great beach read -- starting with the title and the cover! A great blend of old Hollywood glamor and intrigue, along with some mystery and lots of romance. I look forward to recommending this to readers who enjoy some of Mary Kay Andrews more recent books.

Reading this book was like opening a gift, delightful and joyous. The author quickly captured my interest with a fascinating set-up for an interesting encounter between the 2 main characters. Carefully focused on the interconnected lives of 3 couples with a backward glance to the catalyst of this story, the protagonists’ late mother, Maeve.

Finding 2 unopened letters quickly propels Frankie to a small Cape Cod town where her mother worked for a time with a golden screen couple. She is seeking to give the letters to their son, Gabe. The move to Cape Cod sets up a delightful dynamic and pulls the reader to want to seek out the mysteries surrounding Frankie’s mother and her unknown father.

This is why I read and love the opportunity to review books that make me happy and have the potential of giving enjoyment to other readers. Thank you Netgalley for this charming novel.

A beautifully written multi-layered story set in the past and present, A Summer to Remember is a delight.
In present day we have Frankie, owner of a LA film memorabilia store, finding two unopened letters written by Hollywood legend Glory Cartwright to her husband and son. They were in her recently departed mother’s possession along with a photograph of her mother, Maeve with Gloria and her husband, film star Mitch Beckett at Glory’s Cape Cod film festival. . Frankie is astonished not only to learn her mother knew them, but was at the festival where Frankie had tried to convince her to go many times. Realizing the timing is right she wonders if Mitch Beckett could possibly be her father and sets off for the Cape to find out.
The story in the past starts with Louise Chandler and her husband Russ meeting Glory for the first time as she and Mitch are coming to live on the cape for a year to escape Hollywood. Although she’s never really warmed to her husbands best friend Mitch, she and Glory soon become fast friends.
Beautifully written with an easy flow from past to present filled with wonderful characters you feel you know. I highly recommend A Summer to Remember.
Thank you to #St. Martins Press and #Netgalley

This story was a pure delight and offered a memorable tale of love and loss. This book will be the perfect Summer Beach Read for 2021 and is true to delight all who pick it up. The writing presented by Erika Montgomery is flawless and flows seamlessly as it tells the tale of Frankie and her sparkling romance. I cannot recommend this enough as it is not one to be missed.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this for review. It dazzled my senses and was pure joy!

This book has a lot of secrets to reveal. Everything comes back to one instance that happened thirty years ago. I enjoyed the back and forth between the present and thirty years ago. I would have liked to get Gabe's point of view. It is amazing to see how different people see things and interpret them. In the end this story is about family, those who are blood and those who you make your family.

*I received this free book from NetGalley and am leaving my honest opinion*

Excellent beach read about families, the importance of memories and Hollywood legends. The characters came alive amidst the family drama.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love the drama of the book, the search for your place is so real! I loved the authors writing style and the characters were so well developed. Would recommend!

What a debut! I loved the glamour of old Hollywood, even the dual timeline. The story and characters are complex but had my attention from page one. A great rainy day read for me, but any afternoon will do.
We join Frankie in her journey as she discovers bits of her past, gets answers to assist finding herself and a little mystery, and romance. Will she find answers to all her questions? I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the advanced copy for my voluntary review.

This review will go to Goodreads about April 11, 2021, and Amazon on release day

"A Summer to Remember" definitely made me want to pack up my regular life and move to a New England Coastal town! Erika Montgomery's book is a winning combination of mystery, discovery, and romance, offering a steady stream of intrigue and captivating characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this light and unique novel. There were so many secrets to uncover and stories to unfold, it was truly unputdownable.

Finding Answers Both Expected And Not. This was a solid tale from multiple perspectives across dual timelines of some people searching for answers, others running from them, and everyone arriving at the unexpected. As a debut novel, it does a great job in making me want to see what other stories this author has to tell, as this one was excellent and very well written. In a sense, it uses the standard trope of trying to find one's parents, but it also does a superb job of upending the trope a bit and putting an interesting spin on it in so many ways. Truly a great read, and very much recommended.

Erika Montgomery did a wonderful job of intertwining the past with the present. What an emotional journey it was through love, loss, and finding oneself. This was a page turning, don’t put down until finished book. Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for my requested copy of the ARC. The opinion given was all my own.

I received this book "A Summer to Remember" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. Exactly what I needed to read after reading an emotional historical fiction. This book would make a great beach read. It's a love story and a story about friendship. I really liked the characters. Starts off a bit slowly but picks up and I really like the end.

An easy read story that will be perfect for the summer months. Movie lovers and readers that enjoy jumping between timelines. Slow, but keeps your heart into it until the end.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

The plot of this debut novel is so enthralling. I, too, am obsessed with movie memorabilia and the thought of finding an old photo of my mother with a famous old movie star would spiral me into so many questions, like our main character Frankie. I was observed with the flashbacks and loved reading about old Hollywood adventures and scandals. I could have stayed in this book universe forever. It does take a little bit to get the story started, but once it takes off you’ll need to fasten your seatbelts!

This was a wonderful quick read that made me feel like the sun was on my face and the ocean was breaking on the sand in the background. I really liked how the characters were flawed and broken, but each holding a secret that you just had to find out.

I really didn't expect to fall in love with this book like I did, and I was sad when it was over, but these people will live in my mind for a long time.

My review will go live on the Book Confessions blog on 12-2-2020.

I thought this was a sweet book that had some interesting twists and turns. The characters were complex and real and very relatable. A great beach style read I found that it captured the magic of the movies and the rosy glow of memories. You could feel the passion coming from Montgomery and her writing style was easy to read but still complex and layered.

This novel is the second one I read this week with a slow burn but utterly beautiful love story set in the world of movies. Movie buff and memorabilia collector and seller Frankie Simon receives two letters from her recently deceased mother. The letter were written by a yester-year movie star to her husband and son. Frankie decides to track down the surviving son so she can give him the letters and that sends her on a journey where she discovers things from her mother's past, about her own history and the meaning of family ... all while falling in love.

I read this book in one sitting. The characters aren't perfect and it made it feel more realistic. The transitions from the past and present were well-done.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.

Family secrets, Hollywood nostalgia and romance all add up to a story I enjoyed. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

WoW! I enjoyed reading this from start to finish!
Such a awesome book.
Erika really knows how to grab and hold your attention.

“Where is your family?” “I’m not really sure... for all I know, they may be right here “

I could smell the salt air and feel the sand beneath my toes, what a wonderful story of nostalgia and memories !
Frankie runs a memorabilia shop in Hollywood, it was her deceased mothers dream. After her moms death a picture and two sealed letters are sent to Frankie. Having never known who her father was, this sends Frankie to the coastal town of Harpswich in search of her mother’s past.
This book took me a few chapters to get fully immersed but once I did I was hooked... romance, mystery, old Hollywood charm, movie quotes, secrets and new beginnings! I wanted more after I turned the last page .
A mix of old Hollywood with a current day beach town, who can possibly ask for more !
A huge thank you to St. Martin’s Press and to the author for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

As a fan of movies, this book was right up my alley. From the beginning when Frankie had a customer in her shop, I was hooked. A Summer To Remember had real characters. You could see these people had their flaws, and how they worked through their connected past. The setting in Cape Cod was fabulous. A book that had a touch of mystery that unraveled in flashbacks. A really good read!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book. This is my honest review.

Romance and family secrets. I love reading about buried family secrets. This story was beautifully written with elements of memories and of Hollywood. It is one of those novels that you don’t want to end, but it will stay with you long after you finish.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to #NetGalley and to the publisher, #StMartinsPress, for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book!!! Every. Single. Page. of this book! It kept me engaged from start to finish.

It's hard to believe that this is a debut novel. Erika Montgomery puts pen to paper like a seasoned author. I look forward to seeing more of what she has to offer. Ms. Montgomery has a very bright future.

I enjoyed this lovely story that weaves Hollywood and summer on Cape Cod together in a delightful, plot-driven novel.

This is one of the best stories I have read in a long time! I was immediately transported into the story and could imagine myself with the characters. At times, I could smell the salty air and hear the sounds of the ocean. The time slips back and forth really added to the drama/mystery of the story. It is definitely a page-turner to the very end. This will definitely be going on my "to read again" list.

A Summer to Remember by Erika Montgomery is a lovely debut novel. The secrets families keep cause loved ones to be hurt. And sometimes looking for answers gives you family to share those secrets with.

A SUMMER TO REMEMBER by Erika Montgomery is a charming and engaging story of love, loss and self-discovery. It is told in dual timelines in the 1980s and the present day from the points of view of several character whose lives turn out to be unexpectedly intertwined. Thirty-year-old Frankie Simon is still mourning the death of her mother, Maeve, with whom she has run a movie memorabilia shop in Hollywood for many years. Frankie has never known much about Maeve’s past or who her father might be. One day, Frankie receives a package containing two unopened letters and a photo of her mother with a famous movie star couple at a film festival on Cape Cod in the 1980s. At a crossroads in her own life, Frankie decides to travel to Cape Cod for the current year’s film festival hoping to solve some of the mysteries of her mother’s life. Soon, secrets and past betrayals are revealed that change the lives of all the characters. Woven through with the nostalgic history and glamour of Hollywood, this is a poignant story of enduring love, friendship and family. The movie quotes and references brought back so many fun memories. I felt like I was right there on Cape Cod with the characters. A SUMMER TO REMEMBER is a heartwarming book and I look forward to reading more from Erika Montgomery. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy.

Hard to believe this is a debut novel from Erika Montgomery as her story telling is whimsical, romantic, refreshing, and carries an air of mystery from beginning to end. I loved this story. It's structured in such a way that toggles between two women, both remembering and discovering aspects of their lives in hopes of finding answers and family. This author knows what she's doing and gave readers a story they could really sink into and find connection with so easily.

Woven through the pages are memories of Hollywood nostalgia and the impact of film on our lives along with a bittersweet story of friendship, family, and heartbreak. It's packed with secrets and yearning but as those unravel the story translates as something hopeful in the discovery of things unknown. The characters are one's you want to know and sit down with for a long conversation with a drink or two. There's no undo drama or superfluous detail even the story is brimming with a riddle you just want to solve.

From beginning to end A Summer to Remember is a solid, enchanting, engaging Women's Fiction novel. It contains elements of growth, romance, suspense, and friendship that lover's of the genre will appreciate. It's an unforgettable story of loss and triumph. My only wish was that there were more from these great characters. I so look forward to more intriguing stories from this author.

A Summer to Remember by author Erika Montgomery is a light, enjoyable read. It’s the story of Frankie Simon, who runs a store called The Memory Shop where she sells memorabilia and collectibles from famous people, actors and actresses, who played in Hollywood’s most famous movies. After the death of her mother, she travels from Hollywood to Cape Cod after finding two letters that belong to someone from her mothers past. By going she learns many things about her mother and of the life she had lived before her birth that Frankie never knew anything about. In a sense, by visiting her mothers past, she learns of where her own future is. I really enjoyed this story, I loved how it mentioned and told of old movies and famous people from Hollywood. I liked how I got to view what it was like for Glory to leave the movie scene and what effect it had on her life and personality. Overall, I thought it was an enjoyable story and I’d like to thank NetGalley for the arc to read and review. I’m going to rate this at 4 stars.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A Summer to Remember is a delightful story of Frankie Simon traveling to Cape Cod to find the truth of her mother's past and to search for her father.

A great story of love and family secrets. An added bonus of this story was the old movie references and the setting of Cape Cod.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers of this book for my honest review.

What a lovely book. I really liked the intrigue that built throughout the novel and the compassion I felt towards the characters.

Erika Montgomery’s A Summer to Remember is a marvelous debut. I was immediately intrigued while reading her summary and from the first pages, Frankie’s story pulled me in. There’s just something so captivating about Old Hollywood, with its glitz and glamour. I loved being pulled between Hollywood and across the country to Cape Cod, witnessing the messy secrets strewn along the way.

Frankie’s world halts when a package arrives and she is sent down a path of questions, yielding betrayal, heartbreak, abs long-burrows secrets. As Frankie begins cracking open a window to the past, her present is thrown into chaos as she begins questioning everything on her journey to what matters.

Overall, a great summer read. Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so entertaining. I was drawn into the story from the beginning and was involved until the end. The characters were complex and interesting. I found the story to be well paced and engrossing throughout the whole book. I was invested in the couple throughout the book and felt all the emotions through both the highs and lows of the story. If you want an entertaining and well written book this is it for you.

I could not put this book down once the narrative really got started. Frankie and her mother Maeve ran a movie memorabilia shop together in Hollywood until Maeve was killed in an accident. Maeve was unconventional: she never married, never revealed the identity of Frankie's father, and never settled down with one man. When two unopened letters turn up in her mother's belongings Frankie's world is upended. They are from a famous actress to her husband and to her son, presumably written right before she suicided. Included with the letters is a photo of Maeve with the Hollywood couple. Frankie heads to the east coast to uncover her mother's history and find out who her father is. The story shifts between the past and the present as it reveals what happened so long ago.

Erika Montgomery, in her debut novel A Summer to Remember, does a superlative job binding multiple points of view and dual timelines, the present and the 1980s. Frankie and her mother, Maeve, run a Hollywood memorabilia shop. Maeve never told Frankie much about Maeve’s past or who Frankie’s father might be. After her mother’s death, Frankie begins looking for answers as to who her father is. When she finds two letters that her mother left for a famous actor and his son, she goes to Cape Cod to deliver the letters and finds her life unexpectedly intertwined with several others. This is an excellent book, bringing together these multiple threads. Some people are running from the truth while others, like Frankie, are looking for the truth. Secrets—and past betrayals—are revealed, and the answers to all questions are unexpected.

A Summer to Remember evokes both the Golden Age of Hollywood and modern day Cape Cod. There is nostalgia for the glamour of Hollywood, and I enjoyed the movie references and quotes at the beginning of each chapter. It takes the tropes of looking for oneself and looking for one’s parents and puts a nice spin on them.

This was an entertaining, captivating read. I loved the character development and the ambiance and, for me, the past timeline had a nostalgic quality that I can’t really explain, other than I lived in New England for many years of my childhood and the slow-paced, ocean-side lifestyle seems authentic and familiar.

The story is told through two separate timelines, in the 1980s and present-day. In the present, Frankie, who operates a Hollywood memorabilia shop, travels to the Cape to deliver some long-sealed letters she was given after her mother’s death. She finds that her mother, Maeve, lived there back in the 80s for a period of time, and Frankie is swept into the lives of her mother’s past friends.

There is romance and a mystery and nuanced relationships. I found this book quick to read and well-written and a very accomplished debut novel.

HOW IS THIS DEBUT AND PLEASE ERIKA, WRITE ANOTHER NOVEL ASAP. I finished this in less than 48 hours and holy moly, it blew my little reading brain. LOVE. At first, the idea of a memorabilia shop was so interesting but then, I love how the story really took us to a cape cod like spot, part of a week in a beautiful seaside town. Frankie has lost her mother, who owned the shop (that Frankie now runs), but left her daughter two sealed letters. Frankie does some light digging, knowing NOTHING of her mother's past or whom her mother procreated with, and ends up going to a coastal town in Mass. for a week, in attempt to hand-deliver the sealed letters. Then the story really just picks up and it is everything and more I could ever want in a book. You have two timelines that Erika sets up beautifully, an adoption, a celebrity couple, mysteries and broken hearts. Do yourself a favor and pre-order, have your library order, or just put this one down for your book club to read. And if you can read it while sipping wine and eating some sort of fried clam, with a waterfront view, even better.

I really enjoyed this book that bridges the worlds of Hollywood and Cape Cod. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this captivating story of movie memorabilia and finding your place. Frankie knows very little about her mother’s past, in fact, she doesn’t even know who her father is. After seeing a photo of her mother with an old movie star that was taken on Cape Cod Frankie decides to hand deliver the sealed letter that was in in it. Erika Montgomery weaves the past and the present together crafting a story that drew me right in and made me care about these likable characters. I will look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book. This is my honest review

A mother’s death results in her daughter finding letters which lead her to discover a part of her mother’s past that she never knew existed. This is a story full of grieving, longing, regret, guilt, love and comfort.

I read this book in one sitting, it was a wonderful quick read that made me feel like I was on the sunny beach chilling. I really liked how the characters were flawed and broken, but each holding a secret that you just had to find out. The characters aren't perfect and it made it feel more realistic.

I really didn't expect to fall in love with this book like I did, and I was sad when it was over, but these people will live in my mind for a long time. I thought this was a sweet book that had some interesting twists and turns. The characters were complex and real and very relatable.

The book is written in several timelines and although I think the story is best told this way, The transitions from the past and present were well-done.