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lillyalaine36's review against another edition
3.0
I've always been a real fan of Karen Swan's wonderfully atmospheric Christmas novels but haven't before tried any of her other novels. I chose "The Summer Without You" hoping for as much of a summer vibe as she gives to her Christmas based stories to get me in the summer mood.
The first I noticed was the sheer length of this book, it's a hefty 420 pages well beyond other books within this genre. It's a book clearly packing lots of story in, and this proved to be the case if sometimes to it's detriment.
The story of Rowena, a self employed photographer whose boyfriend Matt chooses to run off for 6 months to Asia, putting their relationship on pause rather than proposing leads us through a chance encounter to a house share in the exclusive Hamptons where Ro hopes to spend time doing the photography she loves and counting the days till her boyfriend comes home and she can pick up her life again.
With her lively housemates Hump, Greg and Bobbi she is soon drawn into the exclusive and wealthy Hamptons lifestyles. She meets town councillor and campaigner Florence who is trying to save the sand dunes which are being massively erroded by winter storms and which are needed to protect the properties along the shoreline. Florence though is receiving expensive gifts from a stranger and there's talk in town about the $3 million black hole in the council budgets and Ro doesn't want to believe her friend is guilty of wrongdoing.
There is also her new age yoga teacher friend Melody and her powerful older husband Brooke. They seem to be uber rich and although they are unwilling to share information about precisely what his job is. There is much of this book given over to strange attacks on Ro and Florence, even to the extent of a murder of an entirely useless character. There is a huge conspiracy thing going on that I found a little bit of a sideline that wasn't necessary. I truly kept skipping bits because it all seemed a bit of a surplus story that started well but got a bit melodramatic for my tastes.
The true heart of this book and the story that deserved to remain front and centre was the story of Tedd, the man Ro meets the moment she steps out of the can in the Hamptons. Shocked when he demands she deletes photographs she has taken of her two children, even to the point he threatens to destroy her camera she is shocked when later he asks her to take on a commission doing what he seemed so upset by. her photographing his two young children.
As Ro goes through home videos of Tedd's children she begins to question why their mother is no longer in their lives, why the perfect dream family has grown apart. She grows chose to Tedd but remains wary of him suspecting him of being less than upfront with her friend Florence. She is drawn to the two children and aware of her growing feelings for their father. Her fiance is on the other side of the world and she wants to believe he will propose when he comes home but what if it's not what she wants.
This is the true heart of the book, or should have been, but there was so much other padding put in it got lost at times. Had we dropped 50 pages and focused purely on this relationship it would have been a much better book. It would have felt more like I'd have established an emotional connection with its true story rather than it being sandwiched between bits that didn't matter so much.
The authors real fault was trying to capture the wealthy Hampton lifestyles when a story of a summer on a beautiful beach in a lovely town spent with a damaged family would have said so much more
The first I noticed was the sheer length of this book, it's a hefty 420 pages well beyond other books within this genre. It's a book clearly packing lots of story in, and this proved to be the case if sometimes to it's detriment.
The story of Rowena, a self employed photographer whose boyfriend Matt chooses to run off for 6 months to Asia, putting their relationship on pause rather than proposing leads us through a chance encounter to a house share in the exclusive Hamptons where Ro hopes to spend time doing the photography she loves and counting the days till her boyfriend comes home and she can pick up her life again.
With her lively housemates Hump, Greg and Bobbi she is soon drawn into the exclusive and wealthy Hamptons lifestyles. She meets town councillor and campaigner Florence who is trying to save the sand dunes which are being massively erroded by winter storms and which are needed to protect the properties along the shoreline. Florence though is receiving expensive gifts from a stranger and there's talk in town about the $3 million black hole in the council budgets and Ro doesn't want to believe her friend is guilty of wrongdoing.
There is also her new age yoga teacher friend Melody and her powerful older husband Brooke. They seem to be uber rich and although they are unwilling to share information about precisely what his job is. There is much of this book given over to strange attacks on Ro and Florence, even to the extent of a murder of an entirely useless character. There is a huge conspiracy thing going on that I found a little bit of a sideline that wasn't necessary. I truly kept skipping bits because it all seemed a bit of a surplus story that started well but got a bit melodramatic for my tastes.
The true heart of this book and the story that deserved to remain front and centre was the story of Tedd, the man Ro meets the moment she steps out of the can in the Hamptons. Shocked when he demands she deletes photographs she has taken of her two children, even to the point he threatens to destroy her camera she is shocked when later he asks her to take on a commission doing what he seemed so upset by. her photographing his two young children.
As Ro goes through home videos of Tedd's children she begins to question why their mother is no longer in their lives, why the perfect dream family has grown apart. She grows chose to Tedd but remains wary of him suspecting him of being less than upfront with her friend Florence. She is drawn to the two children and aware of her growing feelings for their father. Her fiance is on the other side of the world and she wants to believe he will propose when he comes home but what if it's not what she wants.
This is the true heart of the book, or should have been, but there was so much other padding put in it got lost at times. Had we dropped 50 pages and focused purely on this relationship it would have been a much better book. It would have felt more like I'd have established an emotional connection with its true story rather than it being sandwiched between bits that didn't matter so much.
The authors real fault was trying to capture the wealthy Hampton lifestyles when a story of a summer on a beautiful beach in a lovely town spent with a damaged family would have said so much more
readbyashleyd's review
3.0
I kind of fell right in the middle with this book. While I did enjoy some parts of the story, I thought it was entirely too long winded and would have been much more enjoyable if it had been half the length it was. I did really enjoy Ro and Hump and all the other characters though and the story was entertaining despite being way too long! Also, Matt is a giant ass and I hate him with a fiery passion. Seriously, what a douche.
bookevin's review against another edition
5.0
www.iheart-chicklit.blogspot.com
I am ashamed to admit that The Summer Without You is my first ever book by Karen Swan. But... rest assured, it won't be my last! I was really craving for a book that will transport me to a different, more exotic place and this book did just that! Just what I was looking for and more.
The book follows the story of Rowena Tipton, a professional photographer whose life is suddenly put on pause because her long-term boyfriend wanted to take a "break" from their relationship and travel in Asia. Cue warning signs and blaring sirens. To rub it in his face, Ro decides on a whim to accept a houseshare with a few newly acquainted friends in The Hamptons.
I found the characters wonderfully written, I really warmed up to the heroine, Ro almost immediately and the characters readers are introduced as the book progresses are equally well written and it made me feel like I was a part of the book! There's a potential love-triangle going on and it adds intrigue to the book as well as a welcome romance.
Since The Summer Without You is my first by Karen, I was on stranger tides and I just allowed the book to take me along its plot. Immediately, I was enjoying every page of it and finding it really hard to part from this book! The book is set in The Hamptons, bar a few opening chapters and I loved Karen Swan's detailed and thorough description of the beautiful paradise. I loved how much I could relax and read about Ro's adventures with her friends and it's pure escapism. Aside from the glamorous lives of The Hamptons' elite, there's an underlying plot which will definitely keep you hooked. You've been warned!
The Summer Without You is delicious, glamorous and purely sinful. It's your ideal summer read and you won't be disappointed, you have my word. Well, coming from a huge fan of summer novels, you cannot miss this sexy new book by Karen Swan. It's got everything you need for a holiday - drama, romance, intrigue and more romance and drama.
Rating: 9/10
I am ashamed to admit that The Summer Without You is my first ever book by Karen Swan. But... rest assured, it won't be my last! I was really craving for a book that will transport me to a different, more exotic place and this book did just that! Just what I was looking for and more.
The book follows the story of Rowena Tipton, a professional photographer whose life is suddenly put on pause because her long-term boyfriend wanted to take a "break" from their relationship and travel in Asia. Cue warning signs and blaring sirens. To rub it in his face, Ro decides on a whim to accept a houseshare with a few newly acquainted friends in The Hamptons.
I found the characters wonderfully written, I really warmed up to the heroine, Ro almost immediately and the characters readers are introduced as the book progresses are equally well written and it made me feel like I was a part of the book! There's a potential love-triangle going on and it adds intrigue to the book as well as a welcome romance.
Since The Summer Without You is my first by Karen, I was on stranger tides and I just allowed the book to take me along its plot. Immediately, I was enjoying every page of it and finding it really hard to part from this book! The book is set in The Hamptons, bar a few opening chapters and I loved Karen Swan's detailed and thorough description of the beautiful paradise. I loved how much I could relax and read about Ro's adventures with her friends and it's pure escapism. Aside from the glamorous lives of The Hamptons' elite, there's an underlying plot which will definitely keep you hooked. You've been warned!
The Summer Without You is delicious, glamorous and purely sinful. It's your ideal summer read and you won't be disappointed, you have my word. Well, coming from a huge fan of summer novels, you cannot miss this sexy new book by Karen Swan. It's got everything you need for a holiday - drama, romance, intrigue and more romance and drama.
Rating: 9/10
uptoolatereading's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this from start to finish. Whizzed through it despite the size. One of my favourites from this author.
leahmichelle_13's review against another edition
4.0
Karen Swan is an author I very much enjoy. I read Christmas At Tiffany’s a couple of years ago and I thought it was a wonderful read! Karen seems to be Queen of the Christmas novel, with three under her belt so far, so it was very pleasing to learn last year she was writing a summer novel! I love when authors do that, and it was even more exciting to see on the back of my proof copy of The Summer Without You, that Karen will, from now on, be writing two books per year, following in the footsteps of Paige Toon, Milly Johnson and Carole Matthews. I very much admire any author who can write two books a year, when some authors struggle to write just the one, and considering Karen is a very enjoyable author, I very much look forward to the extra book a year!
The Summer Without You is a massive book – probably Karen’s longest book yet, coming it at 562 pages, but it’s enjoyable, and it doesn’t lag at all during the middle as many books of such length do! I rather admired Rowena for many things, but firstly that she so generously allowed her boyfriend Matt to “pause” their relationship for six months while he goes gallivanting around Asia, without causing a scene or telling him where to get off, as many women would. And then to head off to New York, and to spend the summer in the Hamptons was amazing. Anyone who knows me and reads my reviews will know I long to be brave like that and go and do something crazy and unexpected, like travelling somewhere solo. I don’t personally see the appeal of the Hamptons – it’s expensive, crazy expensive, but it was a very nice setting, just not somewhere I would park myself for the summer – I personally would have stayed in NYC, but the setting worked for the book, and I can’t complain, plus there were a few scenes in NYC which is always awesome.
The novel deals with a lot of issues regarding flooding and whether the homes on the Hamptons are too close to the sea – which Rowena gets involved in after meeting a lady called Florence, but mostly all of that floated over me. I’m loathe to admit that it didn’t bother me and a lot of it seemed unnecessary and tedious, although it did eventually lead to a bigger (and most unexpected plot). The bits I really liked were the whole family-vibe to the Hamptons. Rowena ends up staying at a house with three other people – Hump (an AWFUL name, I cringed every time I heard it), Bobbi, and Greg, and they’re all friends, and they eventually become like family. They’re all such separate and different personalities, but they blended well and they had a great dynamic going on. I loved Hump’s laid-back personality (and his entrepreneurial spirit!) and Bobbi’s feisty go-get-em attitude. Greg was perhaps the one I felt least connected to as he comes and goes as he pleases, and he mostly goes. You couldn’t ask for a more diverse set of people and I adored them. I also loved how Rowena could basically talk and make friends with anybody – the aforementioned Florence, who she becomes quite close to, the yoga lady who has an office next door to Rowena and Hump, Melodie. Everywhere Ro went, she seemed to make friends. Except for one instance, right at the beginning, where she made an enemy of a fella after taking pictures of his kids and nearly got tossed in the sea.
The Summer Without You is a wonderful summer read. It has all the great ingredients – wonderful characters, a summer-y setting, even a surprising mystery which I did not expect AT ALL from a Chick Lit novel, and which will make more sense when you read/if you’ve read the novel. I truly managed to escape into the novel over the three days it took me to read, and I felt like I was a part of the gang, which is what really marks good writing for me. If I can lose myself in the plot and feel at home with the characters, you’re a writer I love. It’s all I ask for from a novel and Swan had that in spades. I’ll admit the whole dune/sea eating away at homes aspect wasn’t to my taste – it’s not something I experience so I can’t imagine how awful it must be, so a lot of that sailed over my head, but the rest of it was awesome. I really enjoyed the novel, it’s the perfect read for summer day at the beach (or the Hamptons!).
The Summer Without You is a massive book – probably Karen’s longest book yet, coming it at 562 pages, but it’s enjoyable, and it doesn’t lag at all during the middle as many books of such length do! I rather admired Rowena for many things, but firstly that she so generously allowed her boyfriend Matt to “pause” their relationship for six months while he goes gallivanting around Asia, without causing a scene or telling him where to get off, as many women would. And then to head off to New York, and to spend the summer in the Hamptons was amazing. Anyone who knows me and reads my reviews will know I long to be brave like that and go and do something crazy and unexpected, like travelling somewhere solo. I don’t personally see the appeal of the Hamptons – it’s expensive, crazy expensive, but it was a very nice setting, just not somewhere I would park myself for the summer – I personally would have stayed in NYC, but the setting worked for the book, and I can’t complain, plus there were a few scenes in NYC which is always awesome.
The novel deals with a lot of issues regarding flooding and whether the homes on the Hamptons are too close to the sea – which Rowena gets involved in after meeting a lady called Florence, but mostly all of that floated over me. I’m loathe to admit that it didn’t bother me and a lot of it seemed unnecessary and tedious, although it did eventually lead to a bigger (and most unexpected plot). The bits I really liked were the whole family-vibe to the Hamptons. Rowena ends up staying at a house with three other people – Hump (an AWFUL name, I cringed every time I heard it), Bobbi, and Greg, and they’re all friends, and they eventually become like family. They’re all such separate and different personalities, but they blended well and they had a great dynamic going on. I loved Hump’s laid-back personality (and his entrepreneurial spirit!) and Bobbi’s feisty go-get-em attitude. Greg was perhaps the one I felt least connected to as he comes and goes as he pleases, and he mostly goes. You couldn’t ask for a more diverse set of people and I adored them. I also loved how Rowena could basically talk and make friends with anybody – the aforementioned Florence, who she becomes quite close to, the yoga lady who has an office next door to Rowena and Hump, Melodie. Everywhere Ro went, she seemed to make friends. Except for one instance, right at the beginning, where she made an enemy of a fella after taking pictures of his kids and nearly got tossed in the sea.
The Summer Without You is a wonderful summer read. It has all the great ingredients – wonderful characters, a summer-y setting, even a surprising mystery which I did not expect AT ALL from a Chick Lit novel, and which will make more sense when you read/if you’ve read the novel. I truly managed to escape into the novel over the three days it took me to read, and I felt like I was a part of the gang, which is what really marks good writing for me. If I can lose myself in the plot and feel at home with the characters, you’re a writer I love. It’s all I ask for from a novel and Swan had that in spades. I’ll admit the whole dune/sea eating away at homes aspect wasn’t to my taste – it’s not something I experience so I can’t imagine how awful it must be, so a lot of that sailed over my head, but the rest of it was awesome. I really enjoyed the novel, it’s the perfect read for summer day at the beach (or the Hamptons!).