I am a huge fan of Julie Cohen’s books and Summer People is another amazing read. Vee left the small island community of Unity as a teenager without warning and without explanation to her best friend Sterling. She returns with her rich husband Mike to spend the summer on the island and reconnects with Sterling and his wife Rachel who Vee feels an unusually strong connection to.
Julie Cohen reveals her storylines in a subtle yet engaging way that allows the reader to become invested in the characters and plot. I found myself routing for all of them despite their faults and previous behaviours. Highly recommended as a book that will remain with you long after the final page.

She writes her books with so much preparation and research. You can tell she is both a
teacher and researcher. Her stories always have secrets, some minor and some major. These secrets are the ones that keep you glued. I read the book in two sittings.

I adored this book and the beautiful world Cohen has created. Unity Island is a very special, unique location and I loved being transported there.
'Summer People' is a complex book with four characters at the centre. During this book they all go on a journey and end up discovering things about themselves and others along the way. I cared for and liked all of the characters and it was hard to see them go through confusion and pain but it was also addictive and I was immersed in their world. I was unsure how Cohen would end this the whole way through which kept me on my toes.
'Summer People' is brimming with love, hope and loss. The emotion is incredibly raw and I adored spending time in this world.
Thank you to NetGalley and Orion for and advance copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for this copy.

This is a really good book, kept me entertained throughout and I would thoroughly recommend to all.

A beautiful portrayal of marriage, friendship, loyalty and passion, #SummerPeople is a tender love story full of hidden secrets and emotional turmoil.

Summer People is passionate and atmospheric - a perfect literary romance drama set on a beautifully described island off the coast of Maine.

There is nothing better than a summer novel set on an island, packed full of secrets. With the usual Cohen insight into characters, the main characters of Vee, Stirling, Mike and Rachel are tiptoeing around each other for most of the novel, with the usual conflicts that could be resolved if they just talked to each other. It has some open door steamy scenes, which some readers might not enjoy. Once the big argument has concluded, it was rather drawn out and could have resolved quicker with more satisfaction. Not my favourite Julie Cohen book but still readable.

I love Julie Cohen stories because you never know quite what you're going to get but you always know it will be a wonderful journey. This was such a joy to read, the full spectrum of messy complex human emotion and I couldn't put it down.

Thanks for the review copy. I really like the way Julie Cohen writes her characters, this is a perfect summer read. Would love to read a sequel!

I have read and enjoyed some of Julie Cohen's other books and was looking forward to this one..

I am regularly drawn to books set in Maine and Summer People is set in fictional Island off its coast. I loved the location, it was almost like another character in this novel.

Summer People follows the lives of two married couples over a number of months on the island. Secrets, memories, reconciliations obligations and deceit. Cohen writes with such empathy and warmth, I was invested in these carefully drawn characters, flaws and all and pulled into their story.

I really enjoyed this book my only criticism is the cover and title don't do the book justice. This is so much more than a contemporary summer read which is what the covers portrays to me. Cohen is a wonderful writer. I will look forward to her next book and recommend this one.

Firstly a big thank you for to the publishers for my copy to review on netgalley. I’ve enjoyed her previous books.

Beautifully written and captures humans and all of our wonderful messy emotions and behaviours

Life’s journey and mishaps .

Love, loyalty and lies .

Secrets are bubbling away on the island and what will be the final push .

A great summer read to escape with. Julie’s writing transports you away to this summer location.

Published 4th August

Julie.Cohen is a versatile and creative writer and I have always enjoyed her novels. Summer People didn’t disappoint. Set on a small weather beaten island off the coast of Maine USA, initially during the summer months and then after the tourists have left. I could absolutely picture the landscape, the houses, the shop, and the characters who live there. Julie Cohen has a way with words that makes me want to saviour everyone of them:
The book is a love story between two women, both of whom have demons they want to escape and husbands they love, but not as much as they love each other: Their story is told with sensitivity and honesty that was believable and touching.
Definitely recommend this - a fab holiday read.

This was such an interesting read. Really compelling, I read it in one go. A book driven by people and location, it has so much to say about what makes a home. The island is the most extreme version of small town life, full of the understanding and care yet claustrophobia and secrets that come with this way of living. Overall where the characters end up really surprised me and I enjoyed the journey.

Summer People is an intriguing character-driven story that drew me in and had me invested throughout.

Unity Island, off the coast of Maine, is an island with only about 60 permanent residents, but every summer has an influx of “summer people”. Vee grew up on Unity but having left 20 years ago, she returns as one of those summer people with her husband Mike as they attempt to fix their floundering marriage.

As they reconnect with Bee’s erstwhile best friend Sterling, and his wife Rachel, relations between the couples cause dramatic shockwaves throughout the island.

A compelling exploration of the intensity of island life and of forbidden love, it is a beautifully written and absorbing book.

Wow! What an amazing book!!
Would love to read more from the author.
Thankyou netgalley for the Arc!

Marriages end with a whisper, not a bang. Not an argument, which is after all about passion, waves crashing on a shore, but with the small pockets of coldness that an argument creates. It's like islands. They don't sink like Atlantis. They wear away, little by little, until all you've got left is a single rock and a light. A warning to safer travellers to stay away.

The last time Vee left the shores of Unity Island, she thought she'd left forever. But this summer, she's returning with her charming husband, Mike.

Vee's unexpected arrival, this time as one of the wealthy 'summer people', sets the small island community alight with gossip. What's more, her childhood best friend, Sterling, is furious that she's come back - Vee abandoned him when he needed her most.

And then Vee meets Rachel, Sterling's wife, and a spark is ignited within her that she can't extinguish. And as summer turns to autumn, long-buried secrets emerge that will cause a storm greater than any of them could ever have imagined.

But when autumn comes, who will sail away with the tide and who will choose to stay behind on the island...?

Such a well crafted novel, compelling enough to pull you through and very quick read. I enjoyed it so much from the first page till the end. A good story like this needs a quiet afternoon, a sofa and a warm blanket. Moving and heartfelt! Enjoy!

So gripping!! A story of conflict, lies, love and secrets. When Mike brings l Vee back to her home town on a little island she once ran from can only open old wounds.
So believable, the characters are just right and the beautiful setting of the island sounds it too. I want to go, I wanted to be in the story

For a very summery cover this novel is far from summer vibes. It was very serious so it is very misleading.

FYI This novel contains the following sensitive topics: Cheating, death of parents, infertility, drinking issues.

Four main characters and their relationships with each other so please remind me why is this novel anticipated as a happy read?

There was just so much negativity within this novel especially with the cheating and so forth and I just did not feel too comfortable reading it.

Summer People are what the small Island of Unity, off the Maine coast, call the many visitors who come to holiday for the summer months, and how most make their living. The inhabitants are a very close knit group who have been there for generations - each passing their properties down through the generations as it is too expensive for most to buy there.

When Vee and her mother left Unity, many years ago, she thought that would be the last time she saw the Island. She changed her life around and became a lawyer, and married Mike - a very handsome and charming man with way too much family money. As their marriage begins to struggle, Mike decides to surprise Vee by booking a very expensive villa on Unity, and becoming one of the Summer People.

Vee agrees with some trepidation. She isn't sure how she will be welcomed back by the Islanders - especially Sterling, her once best friend and his family who are still living on Unity and running the family store. How will Sterling, who felt abandoned just when he needed her most, react to seeing Vee again - and his wife Rachel.

Sterling and Rachel are having their own marriage problems, and soon the interactions between the two couples cause shock waves which threaten to divide the Island and destroy two marriages.

I absolutely loved this book and couldn't put it down. The characters were so believable, as was Unity Island, that I felt part of the narrative and wanted to go and visit them all. A beautiful story of love, conflict, secrets and lies which will keep you intrigued until the end.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4839488066

I really enjoyed this book. Lovely characters and a truly enjoyable read. Not really what I was expecting. It had much more to the story than I thought it would. Thank you.