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Summer on the Island: A Novel Hardcover – April 5, 2022
Brenda Novak (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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A summer of healing, friendship, love…and a secret that could change everything.
After the death of her US senator father, Marlow Madsen travels to the small island off the coast of Florida where she spent summers growing up to help her mother settle the family estate. For Marlow, the trip is a chance to reconnect after too long apart. It’s also the perfect escape to help her feel grounded again—one she’s happy to share with friends Aida and Claire, who are hoping to hit reset on their lives, too.
A leisurely beachfront summer promises the trio of women the opportunity to take deep healing breaths and explore new paths. But when her father’s will reveals an earth-shattering secret that tarnishes his impeccable reputation and everything she thought she knew about her family, Marlow finds herself questioning her entire childhood—and aspects of her future. Fortunately, her friends, and the most unlikely love interest she could imagine, prove that happiness can be found no matter what—as long as the right people are by your side.
- Print length384 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherMIRA
- Publication dateApril 5, 2022
- Dimensions5.95 x 1.06 x 9.19 inches
- ISBN-100778386376
- ISBN-13978-0778386377
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“[A] beautiful tale of friendship, loss, and love… Novak doesn’t shy away from the messiness of her characters’ emotions, making for a powerful story of forgiveness, acceptance, and redemption. The realistically flawed characters, believable drama, and scenic setting make this unputdownable.”—Publishers Weekly
“Emotionally layered storytelling and nuanced characterization... Neatly bridging the line between contemporary romance and women’s fiction, Summer on the Island will resonate with many readers who, in the midst of a global pandemic, may be rethinking what is truly important in life.”—Booklist
"The Bookstore on the Beach is a page-turner with a deep heart. You’ll cheer for these admirable, complicated women. You’ll be breathless (and smiling) when you read the surprising end. (Don’t peek!)"—Nancy Thayer, New York Times bestselling author of Girls of Summer
"Novak handles difficult topics with sensitivity, making for a heart-tugging romance. Readers are sure to be sucked in.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review, on The Bookstore on the Beach
“Filled with mystery and drama, coupled with themes of family ties and secrets. This page-turner will not disappoint.”—Booklist on The Bookstore on the Beach
“The prose is fast-paced and exciting making this a breathless page-turnerwith the conclusion proving no problems are too difficult to solve.”—New York Journal of Books
"An abundance of heart and humor. The Bookstore on the Beach is an escapist treat with emotional heft."—Apple Books, Best Book of the Month selection
"This heartwarming story of sisters who bond as adults is sure to please the many fans of Novak as well asthose who enjoy books by Susan Mallery and Debbie Macomber."—Library Journal on One Perfect Summer
"I adore everything Brenda Novak writes. Her books are compelling, emotional, tender stories about people I would love to know in real life."—RaeAnne Thayne, New York Times bestselling author
"Heartwarming, life-affirming, page-turning...I can always count on Novak to make me weep, laugh and fall in love!"—Jill Shalvis, New York Times bestselling author
"Brenda Novak is always a joy to read."—Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"Fascinating characters, powerful conflicts and complex emotions make any Brenda Novak book a must-read for me."—Sherryl Woods, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"Brenda Novak doesn't just write fabulous stories, she writes keepers."—Susan Mallery, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"Whenever I see a new Brenda Novak book, I buy it and read it, pronto. I can always count on her for a solid, exciting story."—Linda Lael Miller, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"Brenda Novak has a raw talent for bringing her novels to life."—The San Francisco Book Review
"Beautifully crafted, exceptionally poignant."—Library Journal on Discovering You
"Potently emotional, powerfully life-affirming."—Booklist (starred review) on This Heart of Mine
About the Author
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Product details
- Publisher : MIRA; Original edition (April 5, 2022)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 384 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0778386376
- ISBN-13 : 978-0778386377
- Item Weight : 1.05 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.95 x 1.06 x 9.19 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #354,793 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,832 in Friendship Fiction (Books)
- #3,424 in Mothers & Children Fiction
- #4,868 in Women's Friendship Fiction
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Brenda Novak Bio
Join Brenda Novak's Online Book Group on Facebook-- http://www.facebook.com/groups/brendanovaksbookgroup/. We’re currently reading THE TRUE COWBOY OF SUNSET RIDGE by Maisey Yates. Get an autographed copy in one of Brenda’s popular Book Boxes: http://www.brendanovakstore.com/.
It was a shocking experience that jump-started Brenda Novak's career as a bestselling author--she caught her day-care provider drugging her children with cough syrup to get them to sleep all day. That was when Brenda decided she needed to quit her job as a loan officer and help make a living from home.
"When I first got the idea to become a novelist, it took me five years to teach myself the craft and finish my first book," Brenda says. But she sold that book, and the rest is history. Her novels have made the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists and won many awards, including eight Rita nominations, the Book Buyer's Best, the Book Seller's Best, the Silver Bullet and the National Reader's Choice Award.
Brenda and her husband, Ted, live in Sacramento and are proud parents of five children--three girls and two boys. When she's not spending time with her family or writing, Brenda is usually raising funds for diabetes research (her youngest son has this disease). So far, Brenda has raised $2.6 million!
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Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2022
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THE STORY: Marlow Madsen, a divorce attorney, returns to the island where she spent her summers in her youth. Returning to visit her mother, Marlow is accompanied by two women friends. The three women are all at crossroads in their lives. For Marlow, her return to the island results in her finding out that much of what she believed about her family and childhood was untrue. As she questions her life, Marlow and her friends are all struggling with life, romance, and their futures.
OPINION: This is a book filled with "family" drama -- although not everyone is officially part of the family. All of the main characters have dramatic turns in their stories. I enjoyed the interwoven stories. The book has a lot of drama, but isn't really angsty and thus is a good candidate for a beach read -- a page-turner that is definitely binge-able.
Marlow's story was my favorite and definitely the dominant story in the book. Her return to the island explores her professional life, her friend relationships, her family relationships, her past, and her romantic relationships. She has determination, but I also liked her humor and her ability to recognize her own faults. Her relationship just worked for me in this book and kept me reading the book as the other stories unfold. While I didn't take the story too seriously, I thought that Marlow's story grounded the book and because I really liked her character, I accepted all the other stories on their face.
There are plenty of twists here that keeps the pages turning and the romance here worked for me. The characters have difficult intertwined lives and problems so everything seemed really complicated until the knot becomes untied at the end.
WORTH MENTIONING: This is a great beach read.
CONNECTED BOOKS: SUMMER ON THE ISLAND is a standalone book.
STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.
The story begins quite well. Three women with some issues are looking for a summer getaway. One, Marlow, is tired of being a divorce attorney and all the intendent drama that goes with it. Her father has recently died. Marlow invites Aida, a former client and now friend, to come to her mother's Florida estate for the summer as Marlow helps her invalid mother cope with the death. Marlow also invites Claire, a yoga instructor who has been burned out of her home in California during a wildfire, and loses her business due to the pandemic. Oh...Claire was also the woman dating Aida's now ex-husband...but she was dating him before the divorce! Hmmmm...
Getting to Florida, Marlow realizes she has feelings for an old adversary. Aida needs affirmation that she's still beautiful and desirable. Claire is still struggling with her feelings for, and contact with, her old boyfriend, Aida's ex, even though she says she's done with him.
The first half of the book was very slow. I really didn't understand the 'friend' dynamic around these three women. Much of the dialogue circles around all the issues above, with a deep secret that we don't learn about until late in the book. When the secret comes out, the book picked up speed and peaked my interest...then...boom...we're at the epilogue.
Like I said above...if you just want something you can read on the beach and relax with, Summer on the Island will work. If you're looking for a more satisfying story Ms. Novak has written many!
My only disappointment with this book is that it had to end. I wanted to spend more time with most of the characters. Dutton, not so much!
Another A+ book by author, Brenda Novak! If you like summer , getaways, and time at the beach with romance and turmoil thrown in, this is a must read 📖!
Happy Summer!
This book is marked as a summer beach read, well thank goodness I wasn’t sitting on a beach or I would have been sunburned. Almost at the first page, you pulled into the wonderful writing of Ms. Novak, and find yourself turning each page well into the middle of the night.
As the book has turns, the reader knows that something is going to be expected, could it have something to do with the sons of Rosemary, Walker and Reese?
Great book and looking forward to many more from Ms. Novak