Book Review – The Summer Wives

The Summer Wives is about a girl, Miranda, whose single mother marries into one of the wealthiest families on Winthrop Island off the New England Coast. Like most wealthy families and most islands, the Fishers and those on Winthrop Island have their secrets. Set in multiple time periods and told from multiple viewpoints, Miranda’s story unfolds as she uncovers those secrets, learns who she can and cannot trust and falls in love. When her first summer on the island ends in a substantial bout of drama, Miranda’s forced to move on, banished from the island, and to figure out who she is before she dares to set foot back on the island 18 years later. 

The Summer Wives

Every summer I like to read one extremely gossipy, chick litty, beach read – not like the sweet, fun books like My Lullaby of You, but something that stretches me, something that’s even almost a little trashy, something that I wouldn’t normally allow myself to read, but it’s summer, so… The Summer Wives. This was my July Book of the Month selection, and I knew it would be my borderline trashy summer read just based on the title.

Book 24:
The Summer Wives
by Beatriz Williams

Genre:
Domestic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance

Published:
July 2018

Synopsis According to Mandi:
Without spoilers, The Summer Wives is about a girl, Miranda, whose single mother marries into one of the wealthiest families on Winthrop Island off the New England Coast. Like most wealthy families and most islands, the Fishers and those on Winthrop Island have their secrets. Set in multiple time periods and told from multiple viewpoints, Miranda’s story unfolds as she uncovers those secrets, learns who she can and cannot trust and falls in love. When her first summer on the island ends in a substantial bout of drama, Miranda’s forced to move on, banished from the island, and to figure out who she is before she dares to set foot back on the island 18 years later.

Favorite Quote(s):

“Still, there’s something so beautiful about a lighthouse bathing in the light of a full moon. It breaks your heart, almost. This brave, lonely, silvery thing standing tall in the middle of a hurtling tide.” 

-Beatriz Williams, The Summer Wives

Awards (based upon my brief research):
Finalist for the 2018 New England Book Award

Pages:
384

My Overall Rating:
3.5 – This book was everything I wanted in an extremely gossipy, chick litty, beach read. Though it was slightly better than I expected, I can’t say it was more than I had hoped for. I wanted a bit of a mindless, trashy read and it was certainly trashy at times, but it did require a good amount of thought as the plot progressed. In hindsight, I appreciate the depth of the story. While some parts were a bit unbelievable, I was still rooting for certain characters, which is always a good sign. I will warn, it was a tad smuttier than I’m generally comfortable with, so potential readers should beware of that. I wouldn’t recommend it to the young.