Today, I’m so happy to be a tour stop on the blog tour for Summertime Guests by Wendy Francis. Thank you Graydon House for inviting me to participate.
Title: Summertime Guests
Author: Wendy Francis
Published: April 2021, Graydon House
Format: ARC E-copy, 320 pages
Source: Netgalley via Publisher
Summary:
The Seafarer is the place to see and be seen in the summer…
With its rich history and famous guests, the glamorous
Boston hotel is no stranger to drama. But the bustle at the iconic
property reaches new heights one weekend in mid-June when someone falls
tragically to her death, the event rippling through the lives of four
very different people.
Bride-to-be Riley is at the hotel to plan
her wedding. She would have preferred a smaller, more intimate
celebration, but her bossy mother-in-law has taken charge and her fiancé
hasn’t seemed to notice. Jean-Paul, the hotel’s manager, is struggling
to keep his marriage and new family afloat, but now he must devote all
his energy to this latest scandal at work. Claire, recently widowed,
comes to town to connect with a long-lost love, but has too much changed
in the last thirty years? And then there’s Jason, whose romantic
getaway with his girlfriend has not exactly gone the way he’d hoped and
instead has him facing questions he can’t bring himself to answer.
Over
three sun-drenched days, as the truth about the woman who died—and the
secret she was hiding—is uncovered, these four strangers become linked
in the most unexpected of ways. Together, they just might find the
strength they need to turn their own lives around.
My thoughts: This is the second book I’ve read by Wendy Francis and once again, I found myself not only completely captivated by the story, but totally in love with the cover. I don’t know about you, but I am definitely ready for the summery, beachy-type reads and this one is certainly giving off those vibes!
This book grabbed me right from the go and I loved how quick a read it was. I ended up finishing it in two sittings and the drama and mystery really kept me completely engaged. Since traveling has been out this past year, it was so fun to live vicariously through these characters, staying at such a luxurious hotel with all the many amenities at your fingertips!
Not knowing who falls to their death, I loved how the book moves back and forth from the event to a few days leading up to it, so we can learn about the four main characters and how their lives were intertwined. They had no connections until they all set foot into the hotel and I loved that I had my detective hat on the entire time trying to figure out who had died and how. But I also loved all the drama that ensues with the characters in the meantime. I would almost classify this as part mystery, part character-study as we really learn more about these characters and what is going on with them, which it turns out is more than we see at first glance.
This is such an engaging, quick read, filled with surprising depth, that would be perfect to take with you to the beach or while sitting on your deck outside. It’s entertaining, it’s got a little mystery to it and that cover certainly gives off all the summer vibes!
About the author: Wendy Francisis a former book editor and the author of the novelsThe Summer Sail, The Summer of Good Intentions,Three Good Things,andBest Behavior. Her essays have appeared inGood Housekeeping,The Washington Post, Yahoo Parenting, The Huffington Post, and WBUR’s Cognoscenti. A proud stepmom of two grown-up children, she lives outside Boston with her husband and eleven-year-old son.
Authors Links: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads
Buy Links:
