This is a brilliant book, thought provoking, immersive, subtle and shocking . Rachel is hopelessly has always been hopelessly in love with Alistair and controlled by him since she met him when she was in Greece with her friend for the Sumner age 17. The story grips you and doesn’t let go, it is about grooming innocent teenagers who controlled by a wealthy man and his side kick. As they are only teens in a beautiful Greek holiday and swayed by money, parties, sun and drink they are oblivious. Very similar to #metoo story as a mother of a teenage girl I found it both compelling and terrifying.

Totally recommend this book; a brilliant debut.
Thanks @netgalley and @penguinukbooks for my #gifted copy.

'The Girls of Summer’ is definitely one of the most absorbing books I have read this year: I did not want to put it down. The opening itself was enough to draw me in .
We quickly find out that Rachel went travelling at age seventeen and it was a summer that changed her life completely and her parents no doubt.
The entire novel is so well written and always just enough to keep you turning the page. I can’t lie this book deals with a lot of incredibly harrowing issues Rachel’s narrative is complex and the way it is split between the present day and that teenage summer is perfect for her to reassess the people and events from her past.
Must read for 2023

A beautifully written thought provoking read .
Rachel is 17 and just finished college. She and her friend go travelling round Europe in the summer before starting Uni .She is usually a little overshadowed by her friend who is everything that Rachel feels she wants to be When they arrive at a beautiful Greek Island all that changes . Rachel meets Alistair who is 20 years older and falls madly in love . But does Alistair love Rachel and is he all that he seems to be ?

Thankyou NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review

Rachel and her husband Tom are holidaying on a remote Greek island where Rachel had stayed when travelling with a friend when she was seventeen. She is taken by surpise to meet one of the girls she knew from back then. Rachel was surpirsed that the girl was still there sixteen years later and the meeting brings up many memories, good and bad. Rachel was shy, naive and totally besotted with Alistair with whom she was having a relationship with. Rachel was desperate to get off the island as she remembered the horrors of that last party night.
When Rachel is contacted back at home and agrees to meet up with the woman from Greece who has flown over the past becomes the present once more and it is time to face up to what happened.
The book is a bit of a slow burner. I was unsure about the characters and found Rachel abit annoying. Apart from that it was a great read, definetly one to read whilst on holiday.

I guessed fairly on what this book is about. It is an important book to read as Rachel’s story could happen to anyone. Gap years are popular and travelling in summer to find the sun has been happening years before I had my own gap year in the 70s. Young people experiment with drink and drugs and are attracted to people they meet during their first real taste of freedom. However, this story is about how things can go very wrong if you are attracted to the wrong person. Rachel’s attraction to Alistair wrecks her young life as is slowly revealed in this well written book partly inspired by “MeToo”. Friendship is a very important ingredient in this book and in the end justice is seen to be done and Rachel can eventually move on with her life. Thank you NetGalley for another excellent read.

⚠️ TW - Sexual Abuse, mentions of Human Trafficking and Grooming, manipulation.

The storyline is narrated in a dual timeline of Now and Then from the perspective of the main character Rachel. It was slow to start in places but once the storyline developed I found myself really intrigued. The story definitely shows us that when we are younger our perception of the truth and what is morally correct is seriously warped and that we can be really naive. It took 16 years and fresh information for Rachel to realise the truth of what really happened in Greece.

The story starts as what seems like a teen girls holiday and turns into her worst nightmare without her even being aware of it. It was dark and suspenseful and really engaging. The characters were really well developed and as for the descriptions, the words drifted off the page and made the island seem like a beautiful place to be at times.

A terrific debut novel not to missed Coming in May 2023.

I requested a digital ARC from Netgalley and I'm providing my review voluntarily.

I received an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately I found it a bit facile and basic, without any of the characters and plot lines feeling well-rounded enough to get properly involved and invested.
Good for a beach/holiday read requiring very little brain power. Not for me!

I really enjoyed getting my teeth into this book. It’s clever in its depiction of grooming and abuse, pulling you into the point of view of a victim of sexual abuse. It’s a journey of self-discovery by the protagonist and the author sweeps you along with it.

A really good book that would be great for a holiday read or book club.

I got as far as 15% into this book but could not dredge up any interest in either the characters or the story. Both very much two dimensional. I believe there are so many books that are much more worth spending time on.

I had to finish this book in one day, I was hooked.
This is a sad yet gripping story, it's tense, well paced and incredibly captivating - I can't wait to discuss it with others who have read it.
5 stars, a brilliant book from Katie Bishop.

I really rather enjoyed this book! I thought I'd find it irritating switching back between the 'then' and 'now' times, but actually it flowed together so seamlessly that I never thought it was confusing or annoying. Loved the characters, the descriptions of the summer, the friendships depicted throughout. Would recommend.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this before being released.
The title sounds so pretty and you would think it's a pretty book, or what can happen. I cannot say this book it's very easy to read as it's quite hard and can be very triggering for some people, especially as there are sexual assaults in the book.
I started reading this and I left it on one side for a couple of weeks as I thought it wasn't my type. Then I said I will give it another go and I could not leave this book down. I read about 80% of the book in 2 days. It was so interesting and I was so curious to see what was happening with Rachel, with her actual marriage and with Alistar.
I believe Katie Bishop wrote this book soo well as at the beginning or even mid-book I still could not see how everything was going to end.

If you are reading my review I would definitely add this book to the pre-order as it's a good book, but still, I would be conscious that can be triggering.

This is a well written book which is full of suspense, tension and intrigue. As you progress you feel the sense of foreboding and it keeps reading and wanting more. This book for me was heartbreaking and moving but also in some places made me feel angry, if a book can make you feel all these emotions you know it’s going to be a good read. Rachel was very well portrayed, she’s not wise or confident like the other girls which is very relatable to the story and in real life. There are vividly disturbing parts in this book but nothing overly graphic, The authors writing skills are so good that you can get an idea of what’s happening without it being said. It’s was a well constructed story and I felt draw in by all the details of the island and it brought the story more to life for me. The only negative is that it was a bit slow in places especially in the beginning but for me it didn’t ruin the book or story, it’s still a tragic and beautiful novel that I can’t wait to purchase for my bookcase and tell all my bookish friends. This is going to a big hit.

Not my style of book but can't five it a bad review

The writer is brilliant, and for some this would be a perfect book just not for me.

I was recommended this book and I enjoyed it overall. Set over two timelines, we find out the story of Rachel and how the summer when she was 17 has impacted her life now. Covers some sensitive subjects.

The central character in this novel, Rachel, is one of a group of girls who, while backpacking around sunny Europe one summer, arrive at this delightful, but unnamed, island. Rachel stays longer than expected because she finds a bar to work in, and romance with Alistair – an older, confident man with connections.

It’s fun! He introduces her to all sorts of people, mostly wealthy, and invites her to parties where she is not simply a guest. Essentially, she is being groomed and used but, of course, poor Rachel doesn’t realise this. She continues to make justifications and excuses for what happens.

Half of the book is about ‘Then’ and the other half is ‘Now’. In the present, Rachel has an unsatisfactory relationship with her partner Tom and, as the book goes on, it is clear that unfinished business from the island is getting in the way of her life.

Without giving anything more away, the book develops from here with the other girls from the island becoming more involved and soon the plot is in ‘Me-Too’ territory.

What makes the book stand out is that there are real questions about innocence and the point at which innocence becomes self-deluding fantasy and blindness. There is no question that Rachel simply walks into trouble because she is naïve but she also misses a number of opportunities to walk out of it!

It’s a novel that will get any book club talking about its rights and wrongs and it is a genuine strength that the book is not afraid to confront some of these issues full on and in graphic detail. It also worth noting that the book is neither self-righteous nor preachy but, instead, treads a careful middle line reflecting Rachel’s own inner confusion. On top of all that, it is a really good story with the past and present timelines neatly set together to keep the plot rolling.

If your daughter is thinking of going backpacking, give her this to read first!

It took me a little while to fully get into this one, but I'm glad I persevered as it's a fabulous sun-soaked mystery. I'm not always a fan of dual timelines. but I think Katie Bishop makes it work really well . No spoilers, but highly recommend. Especially if you're in need of a virtual trip to the Greek isles.

The summer that Rachel spends on a Greek island when she is seventeen casts a shadow over her life as she meets Alistair, who she quickly falls madly in love with. Sixteen years later, Rachel is now married to Tom but she still has feelings for Alistair. When she has the opportunity to get in touch she makes a decision that will change her life forever.

This is a great beach read. The writing is beautiful, the words and descriptions pour off the page, you can feel the warmth of the Greek sun on your skin. This is an incredible debut novel and I will be recommending to all my friends.

The plot is as deep and dark as it gets, multi-layered with 'who knew what when?' as the strands come together and the finer details get filled in. This is an absolutely compelling, gripping book full of mystery and suspense. Only a few authors can write deeply involving psychological drama of the very highest quality.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words some text written has been typed in red and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

Set over two timelines then and now this story follows Rachel as a young innocent 17 year old backpacking through Greece while falling in love with both the island and the charming mature Alistair equally not yet realising how much this one season in the sun will shape the rest of her life.

16 years later Rachel is back in the UK and married to Tom but has never let go of that summer, still in love with Alistair and questioning why it ended the way it did and what could have been. Then the chance to contact him again pops up and Rachel's future path is changed forever......

This was a very interesting read and I was surprised at how dark it got at points. The author however deals with these dark themes remarkable well and this book is a real eye opener into how we can look back at our youth through Rose tinted glasses seeing only what we want to see. Be warned its a hard read at points especially given the #metoo times we now live in but a must read for 2023 and a remarkable debut novel from Katie Bishop.