Wednesday, May 3, 2017

The Book of Summer


Bess Codman’s life has turned upside down. She is a beautiful, smart ER doctor in San Francisco embroiled in an unexpected and bitter divorce and has flown back to Nantaucket to stay at her family’s summer home called Cliff House. Her eccentric, bizarre mother is there trying to save their historic home as the nearby cliffs erode into the sea. (One interesting point is that these cliffs did erode in real life!) The danger is threatening and her mother’s behavior is beyond passionate and borderline schizophrenic. Bess has flown across the country to convince her mother to pack up and also attend her favorite cousin’s wedding, in the interim spilling the beans about her impending divorce. Her childhood sweetheart, adorable and perfect magically appears by her side to console, assist and rekindle long ago highschool feelings. The story is alternately narrated in the past by her grandmother Ruby, for whom Cliff House held great historical importance, and Bess dealing with present dangers and dramas. This third novel by Michelle Gable was my least favorite. (I devoured her other two!) Although I liked the idea and setting, I found the characters unrealistic and situations improbable. Some of you may enjoy this as a light summer read but it was no vacation for me, I couldn’t wait for it to end.

2 comments:

  1. So glad I stopped by! I've never read anything by Gable, but got this one from the publisher. Based on your thoughts, I'm going to take a pass on it, but will add her to my list of TBR authors!

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    1. I think you may like her first book "A Paris Apartment" but I was disappointed with this one. I am confounded by your Into the Water review, I was SO looking forward to this one. How can these reads go so far one way to the other????

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