Review: Summer Rental

Summer Rental

By Mary Kay Andrews

Publication date: June 7, 2011

My review:

Three childhood best friends reunite for a month at a beach house at the Outer Banks, each bringing their own troubles with them. Ellis Sullivan was just downsized from her banking job but decides to go on with the trip anyway, deciding that after years of hard work with hardly any time off, she is due for a vacation. Julia  is glad to have a break from decisions about her career as a model and the boyfriend who hopes to marry her. Dorie is keeping secrets from her two best friends and this time at the beach keeps her from having to think about the ways in which her life is changing. They are joined unexpectedly by Maryn Shackleford, a woman on the run from an abusive criminal husband, and by Ty Bazemore, the handsome man with financial troubles who lives in the apartment upstairs.  


While the story is told from multiple viewpoints, Ellis feels like the main character since she is the one the reader meets first and she is the architect of the trip. Of the four women staying at the beach house, Ellis is the one I could relate to the most and I think she is the one that we get to know the best. Julia and Dorie are good supporting characters and I even liked Maryn though she remains distant for most of the book. Ty as a love interest for Ellis didn't quite meet my expectations. I think it could be due to the negative first impression that he makes on Ellis the first time she sees him. Their romance develops rather suddenly and I don't get the sense that Ellis gets to know Ty. Instead it seems more like she falls in lust rather than love. It was not the romance but the friendship between the three main characters that I liked the most. 


Summer Rental is a familiar story. It doesn't have any unexpected surprises but instead feels like a book you've read before. While the characters each grow a little and help each other through their troubles, the story seemed to lack the depth it could have had. The ending also wraps up a little too neatly and the resolution of the suspense subplot was conducive to some eye rolling. Still for all its sameness and flaws it is an enjoyable beach read. I liked this book for what it was-a fun, light chick lit novel perfect for summer reading. Pack this one in your beach bag if you are a fan of Jennifer Weiner, Patti Callahan Henry, and Beth Harbison. 


Readalikes: By Invitation Only by Jodi Della Femina, Hope in a Jar by Beth Harbison, Driftwood Summer by Patti Callahan Henry, The Beach House by Sally John (Christian fiction), Claire Cook


Note: I received this book courtesy of the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review