Book Review: Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews

I am a huge fan of Mary Kay Andrews. She hails from and writes books based in the South. A lot of people try to write books about the South, but unless you're from here, you can't convey a lot of what makes the South the South.

I've had Summer Rental on my list since I first read The Fixer-Upper, checked out all of her other books, and then had to wait for her to release this latest one! 

Per Amazon.com: Sometimes, when you need a change in your life, the tide just happens to pull you in the right direction…

Ellis, Julia, and Dorie. Best friends since Catholic grade school, they now find themselves, in their mid-thirties, at the crossroads of life and love. Ellis, recently fired from a job she gave everything to, is rudderless and now beginning to question the choices she's made over the past decade of her life. Julia—whose caustic wit covers up her wounds--has a man who loves her and is offering her the world, but she can't hide from how deeply insecure she feels about her looks, her brains, her life.  And Dorie has just been shockingly betrayed by the man she loved and trusted the most in the world…though this is just the tip of the iceberg of her problems and secrets. A month in North Carolina's Outer Banks is just what they each of them needs.

Ty Bazemore is their landlord, though he's hanging on to the rambling old beach house by a thin thread. After an inauspicious first meeting with Ellis, the two find themselves disturbingly attracted to one another, even as Ty is about to lose everything he's ever cared about.

Maryn Shackleford is a stranger, and a woman on the run. Maryn needs just a few things in life: no questions, a good hiding place, and a new identity.  Ellis, Julia, and Dorie can provide what Maryn wants; can they also provide what she needs? 

Five people questioning everything they ever thought they knew about life. Five people on a journey that will uncover their secrets and point them on the path to forgiveness. Five people who each need a sea change, and one month in a summer rental that might just give it to them.

I didn't like this book quite as much as I liked some of her others (mainly The Fixer-Upper), but I still give it a B+.

Disclaimer: I was not paid, nor did I receive a copy of this book to review. I purchased it on my own, and all opinions are expressly mine. 

4/25