This post may contain affiliated links, which means if you purchase an item I will earn commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you!
We have now reached the end of my summer reading list. It was a season filled with romance, family bonds, and fate. I read under the sun in park, sprawled out on my couch, and late into the night in bed. It was a great summer of stories that brighten my day and made me feel hopeful for the future. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every book I devoured this summer and hope you find one or two to add to your reading list.
January Andrews has had the worst year of her life, and to top it off she is moving from NYC to a beach house in Michigan to finish writing her next novel. January writes about romance, the happily ever after, but she is not sure if she still believes in love. Her next book is due and she is in a writer’s block. January’s neighbor, Augustus Everett, writes literary fiction. Books that are dark and most of the characters are killed off at the end. One day they strike a deal; Augustus will write a happily ever after while January writes a book about the hardships of life. They take each other on field trips to research their new genre. And they will try their hardest not to fall in love. Beach Read is about fate, friendship, family secrets, and romance. About stepping out of your comfort zone, facing the hardships of life, and being vulnerable. I enjoyed this book and recommened it.
Review and Spoilers
I really enjoyed this book, more than I thought I would. The title Beach Read does not do it justice. I wish they named it something else. It’s a little too nudge- nudge, wink- wink. Like we get it, this is a rom-com easy beach read, and I also understand it’s because they are living in beach houses writing a book. I think another title would be a better fit. Anyway, I loved the connection between Gus and January. You could really feel it; feel every emotion. Their flirtation was friendship, love, and admiration mixed together – and I think that is what a relationship should entail. I thought this was going to be overly cheesy but it wasn’t. Yes, it was predictable. It was pretty obvious from the beginning that they would end up together, but I enjoyed the journey. I loved how fate brought them together after all these years. That they both had a crush on each other in college, but never really acted on it. I liked how they become friends first; helping eachother through the writing process, creating a bond of trust and vulnerability until they really started to get together. It was the right timing. I did find January to be a little too in her head but aren’t we all when it comes to relationships. And rightfully so that she was emotional and insecure about Gus, given what happened to her with her father passing and his secret love affair. Also how she thought Gus looked down on her in college. This book is another example of how two people can interpret a situation completely different based on their own insecurities and views. But who’s to say I wouldn’t act the same way, especially when his ex-wife shows up. It makes January spend out of control, but she needed it. She needed to face her problems. When it rains it pours. She needed to rip the bandaid off, talked to Sonya, and read her dads letters. These are things you have to do in your own timing, but so much of her agony would of have been relieved if she did this sooner. It would of also helped with her insecurity with Gus. A part of me thinks that she kept him at arms length once she found out about him being married or was married because she didn’t want to be the Sonya of that relationship. So much would of have been solved sooner if people would just communicate- say how they feel. Gus was such a closed book, I know it was hard to get anything out of him. They are opposites in every aspect but they fit perfectly together like a puzzle.
You guessed it, it’s the summer of 1969. A historical summer filled with change; a man walks on the moon, there is free love and Civil Rights, war has the country divided, and old traditional values are slowly ending. Everyone and everything is changing and this includes the Levin family. For their entire lives, the Levin family has been spending their summers in Nantucket at their grandmother’s historical house. Only this year is different. Blair, the oldest, is pregnant with twins and can’t travel. Kirby, the second oldest, is trying to have some independence (plus running away from mistakes), takes a job in Martha’s Vineyard. Tiger, the only boy, is drafted to Vietnam. This leaves the youngest, Jessie, alone in Nantucket with her mother Kate, grandmother Exalta, and on the weekends, her dad. But Jessie soon discovers a few family secrets. Secrets that could possibly destroy the entire family. We follow along with each sister as they navigate heartbreak, injustice, independence, and change. I highly recommend this book! Summer of ’69 was probably my favorite of the summer. It will make you want to buy a summer house in Nantucket.
Review and Spoilers
There is so much to cover in this book. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment. Each character’s chapter was intriguing. There wasn’t one I dreaded reading. A part of me wished Tiger had a voice in this, but I understand the importance of leaving him out. If we heard from him than we would know he was safe or would be safe. Not knowing caused us to worry along with the family– will he or won’t he come home. Still, it would have been kinda nice to hear more of his experience in Vietnam beyond his letters to Jessie. Jessie seemed to be the main character in my opinion. The one we followed the most. Not only was this an tumultuous summer, but Jessie was also at the very age of change. Going into her teenage years, trying to figure out her body, her interests, and her independence from her parents. How everyone’s actions around her, especially Kate being worried about Tiger and overly drinking, affected her in some way. She didn’t have anyone to turn to when she was at the age she needed someone to be there. Someone she could confine in about boys, the start of her menstrual cycle, her awareness of Semitism, and how to handle her emotions. I think if one of her sisters or Tiger would of have been there that summer, Jessie wouldn’t have acted out through stealing from stores and others at the club. But everyone was where they needed to be. Kirby’s story was filled with mystery; what did she do that has caused her to want a fresh start? I found Kirby’s entire story to be fascinating with her romantic history with the cop, her stance in fighting for injustice, her blooming love for Darren, her happenstance to be at the hotel where Ted Kennedy was staying. You could write an entire book based solely on Kirby’s summer in Martha’s Vineyard. I am glad she and Darren ended up together and that Exalta approved. I loved how Exalta softens towards the end, how her romance with Bill plays into her accepting of changes that are happening around her. Kate softens too a bit. Her buying the house was such a nice way to end the book. The house sounds beautiful and exactly what the family needed, especially since they are growing. Blair’s story was complicated to me. I wasn’t a fan of Angus. There wasn’t a moment that I found him likable. I knew he wasn’t sleeping with a hooker- I figured right away it was for his sleep disorder. Blair kissing Joey wasn’t my favorite move. Yes, they originally dated first, but she is married to his brother. Just seemed a little icky. At least Angus was trying at the end, and Blair got her independence back. There were so many juicy secrets throughout the book; love affairs, scandal, illegitimate children, etc. I loved this book; how the old values and the new world mixed together. How the changing socieity affected the women of the Levin family in different ways. It was about finding independence and what that meant to them individually.
*Read part 1 and part 2 of what books I read this past summer.
