An engaging histfic novel about women's issues in the 1950s. Recommended for those interested in the era and who love beautifully written compelling stories.

Last Summer at Maine Chance was a really fun read. Jessica Everett does a great job creating a real upstairs-downstairs story; the characters were engaging, and the story held my interest well.

The setting for the Last Summer at Maine Chance is based on reality. In 1934, Elizabeth Arden opened the Maine Chance, the first destination spa in America. She chose Maine as its natural beauty appealed to the city people who searched for peace and quiet. The lavish estate attracted wealthy guests. The real treatments and events of the time are woven into the novel.

The Maine Turnpike project was a real project which opens the story with protagonist Cynthia Proctor in 1954. She is chosen to take part in assisting on a projected economic impact of the planned Maine Turnpike expansion on tourism. Her name doesn’t appear under the article as women are not seen fit to study economic major at the time.

The school doesn’t renew her scholarship and the paid position she hoped to win by writing the article is given to a boy with better connections. She doesn’t get much support from her parents as her mother wants her to get married instead of studying major that is meant for men. Her focus is to find funds to finish the last two years of her studies.

During the summer break, she gets invited to spend the summer with her roommate from Barlow College whose family owns a cottage on the lake in Maine. While there, she hears of an opening for a maid at Maine Chance Farm. She grabs the opportunity as at her forefront is earning money to finish her college degree.

One of the guests at Maine Chance Farm is Geraldine, an artist. She doesn’t enjoy the strict diet at the spa. As she sneaks out to the kitchen, she encounters Cynthia, who intrigues her. With her flamboyant character, she sees an opportunity for her stay to be much more interesting. There is a theme of women supporting each other in challenging times which has a warm touch to this story.

Dolores who also works at the spa as a maid dreams of actually giving the spa treatments. She’s been secretly studying how to apply Elizabeth Arden’s products, but at the same time she limits herself with her thinking of who she can become. Half a way drive to get professional training seems like a world away. She is easily discouraged by naysayers.

Cynthia, on the other hand, is a strong character who doesn’t get easily discouraged by others. Despite struggling with money, she continues to dream big and moving toward her goal. Cynthia opens Delores eyes to something greater which is a classic example how we all need it at some point of our lives, the question is do we get support that Dolores gets from Cynthia. I enjoyed this encouraging aspect of this story.

The novel is written with entertaining prose even when touching upon rigid social rules of the time. It is absorbing with pages turning fast. The characters are interestingly developed. The whole read is a delight. It seems as a light read yet very profound.

This was a fabulous novel set in Maine in the summer of 1954, and told through the points of view of three very different women.

Cynthia comes from a modest working class family and feels out of place at her prestigious Maine private college. Most of the wealthy young coeds are there to earn their MRS. degrees, and even Cynthia’s own mother is hopeful her daughter emerges with a ring, but Cynthia is determined to carve a niche for herself within the male-dominated major of economics. When her roommate invites Cynthia to her sprawling lakeside “cottage” for the summer, Cynthia joins her in hopes of finding a well-paying summer job, eventually finding work at Elizabeth Arden's Maine Chance Spa.

There she meets head housekeeper Iris, a hardworking and sensible woman who meets the daily stresses of the job while working to maintain her home and her mother, who is struggling with dementia. Wealthy, elderly local artist Geraldine decamps from her family home to escape her deceased husband’s obnoxious family and sets up a studio at the spa.

The story unfolds through the alternating perspectives of these three women. All three characters were well developed, realistic for their time, and I enjoyed how their relationship and interactions developed naturally and kept me turning the pages. I also enjoyed learning about Elizabeth Arden’s Maine spa, which I first read about in Gill Paul’s excellent “A Beautiful Rival”. An excellent read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy - all thoughts are my own.

In Last Summer at Maine Chance, Jessica Everett invites readers into the high-stakes, high-glamour world of Elizabeth Arden’s legendary mid-century luxury spa. The novel beautifully captures the intersection of mid-century artifice and raw human desire, following a group of women who arrive at the Maine retreat seeking transformation. Everett’s prose is as polished as the silver service at the estate, yet it thrums with an underlying tension, exploring the heavy expectations placed on women of the era. It is a sensory-rich experience, filled with the scent of Arden’s "Blue Grass" perfume and the crisp air of the Maine wilderness.

Beyond the aesthetic allure, the story thrives on its character-driven mystery and the complicated bonds of female friendship. As the season progresses, the "chance" offered by the retreat becomes less about physical beauty and more about the internal reckoning each woman must face. Everett excels at balancing the light, escapist elements of historical fiction with a poignant look at the secrets people carry behind closed doors. It is a sophisticated, evocative read that lingers like the last days of August, perfect for fans of historical dramas that prioritize emotional depth over simple nostalgia.