Mary Alice Monroe

Summoned by their Charleston society grandmother to a historic family home on Sullivan's Island, estranged sisters Carson, Eudora and Harper share a summer of healing and forgiveness while exploring the tenacious complexities of sisterhood and friendship. By the award-winning author of Beach House Memories. Original. 75,000 first printing.

The Summer Girls

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Beach House series comes a heartwarming and evocative novel about the bonds and new beginnings that are born from natural disasters and how, even during the worst of circumstances—or perhaps because of them—we discover what is most important in life. Late August is a beautiful time on the Southern coast—the peach trees are ripe, the ocean is warm, and the sweet tea is icy. A perfect time to enjoy the rocking chairs on the porch. But beneath the calm surface bubbles a threat: it’s also peak hurricane season. When a hurricane threatens the coasts of Florida and South Carolina, an eclectic group of evacuees flees for the farm of their friends Grace and Charles Phillips in North Carolina: the Phillips’s daughter Moira and her rescue dogs, famed equestrian Javier Angel de la Cruz, makeup artist Hannah McLain, horse breeder Gerda Klug and her daughter Elise, and island resident Cara Rutledge. They bring with them only the few treasured possessions they can fit in their vehicles. Strangers to all but the Phillips, they must ride out the storm together. During the course of one of the most challenging weeks of their lives, relationships are put to the test as the evacuees are forced to confront the unresolved issues they have with themselves and with each other. But as the storm passes, they realize that what really matters isn’t what they brought with them to the mountains. Rather, it’s what they’ll take with them once they leave. With Mary Alice Monroe’s “usual resplendent storytelling” (Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author), The Summer Guests is a poignant and compelling story of self-discovery, love, and redemption.

The Summer Guests

Cindy

With a hurricane is threatening the coast of Florida and South Carolina a very unusual group comes together at the farm of their friends Grace and Charles Phillips in North Carolina. Some of these people know each other and are in fact good friends while a few of them have never met and are a bit wary of one another. What follows in the coming days tests friendships and relationships. 

I went in to this book thinking that it would be a follow up of the Beach House series but in fact it was not and barely mentioned any of the characters from that series at all. I was totally fine with this and in fact thoroughly enjoyed this book and characters. I especially loved the glimpse of the horse world of dressage and jumping. 

This book was enjoyable and I would definitely put it on my list of summer books to take on vacation.This review was originally posted on Fictional Reviewer

Caitlin Snyder

Classic beach read, I love how Monroe includes so many facts about wildlife in her books (dolphins are badass).

Three granddaughters. Three months. One summer house. In this trilogy set on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, the author captures the complex relationships between three half sisters scattered across the country, and a grandmother determined to help them rediscover their family bonds. Set amid ancient live oaks and palmettos, overlooking the water, historic Sea Breeze is Marietta Muir's ancestral summer home. Her granddaughters once adored vacations there, but it has been years since they have visited. Mamaw fears once she is gone, the family bonds will fray. The Muir family is one of Charleston's oldest and the blood of their pirate captain ancestor runs strong, so Marietta drops a subtle promise of loot, pearl necklaces, priceless antique furniture, even the house, to lure her "summer girls" back to the lowcountry. For years, Carson Muir has drifted, never really settling, certain only that a life without the ocean is a life half lived. Adrift and penniless in California, Carson is the first to return to Sea Breeze, wondering where things went wrong, until the sea she loves brings her a minor miracle. Her astonishing bond with a dolphin helps Carson renew her relationships with her sisters and face the haunting memories of her ill-fated father. As the rhythms of the island open her heart, Carson begins to imagine the next steps toward her future. In this novel, three sisters discover the true treasures Sea Breeze offers as surprising truths are revealed, mistakes forgiven, and precious connections made that will endure long beyond one summer.

Ally Gagliardo

Edna Keserovic

Kelsey Mcdaniel

Raising her autistic child alone after being abandoned by her husband, Dora, who for years played the role of a perfect wife in a loveless marriage, spends a stormy summer of healing and self-discovery with her half-sisters and grandmother. Simultaneous. Hardcover available.

The Summer Girls

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