Sneak Peek: These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean
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These Summer Storms
by Sarah MacLean
A pre-release sneak peek of a contemporary billionaire romance that will make you nostalgic for a summer you’ve never experienced.
Give me billionaire lifestyle and family drama wrapped in a little forbidden love and I’ll happily escape into a book.
Sarah MacLean is an HoH Book club author, but I’ve only ever read her historical romances! But this contemporary romance has captured my heart and made me nostalgic for a billionaire’s New England summer retreat.
I’m grateful to have received an advanced reader’s copy of These Summer Storms via NetGalley!
The Sneak Peek
Alice and Jack. Black sheep and the prodigal (not) son. A match made in heaven… or dare I say, a perfect storm?
Alice is estranged from her family… the family. You know, the Storms that live on a private island estate off the coast of Rhode Island. But at the sudden death of the patriarch, the entire family is called back to the island for one final game: an inheritance game that will force the family to confront their secrets and dysfunctional dynamics to win their fortune.
But as the games unfold and secrets are revealed, tension grows not only among the family but between Alice and Jack — her father’s second-in-command.
What Victoria Loved
VICTORIA’S RATING: 4/5
Is it possible to feel nostalgic over a lifestyle you’ve never experienced? Is it possible to miss summers that weren’t yours? Maybe that’s just how well Sarah described summers on Storm island because I missed them… and I’ve never lived it.
But reading about those Storm summers and the Storm Olympics reminded me of my bare feet squishing the soil beneath me as I raced my siblings across the yard, splashing in the water, climbing trees and giggling over inside jokes and squabbling when we were too tired but didn’t want to admit it.
Yes, the billionaire lifestyle is unreachable for 99% of us and 99.9% won’t ever know if the life of the Storms is even remotely accurate, but Sarah’s ability to make it feel relatable? That’s just pure skill.
You kind of wonder how the characters can be real when you first meet them… they’re just so obnoxiously unrelatable with their unflinching stony facades. But all unravels with time and you’re just left with deeply human characters who bleed just like the rest of us and you can’t help but wonder if money is worth it all.
Pre-order your copy of These Summer Storms (Amazon) and read with me!
Favorite Scene
“I’d never dream of liking you,” he said, the words warmer than they should have been. “I wouldn’t want to scare you off.”
- THESE SUMMER STORMS by Sarah MacLean
Similar Reads & Recommendations
A COMPARABLE JACK: Beg Borrow or Steal by Sarah Adams (Amazon)
Now, you know I love a next-door romance. Mix that in with some fiery enemies-to-lovers with juicy secrets, pranks and a blossoming friendship, and that’s pretty much a recipe for success in my book. BUT this story is also a workplace romance (these two are both teachers and it’s actually a pretty big part of their personalities, in the best way).
VICTORIA’S RATING: 4.5/5
SUMMER BY THE WATER: Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune (Amazon)
I’m not usually a fan of insta-love romances (which is a bit ironic given I claim to have fallen for James the second I laid eyes on him), but I do believe in the lasting impact of a single encounter.
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ONE WEEK ROMANCE: Seven Days in June by Tia Williams (Amazon)
An HoH Book Club pick! This is somehow inspiring, while heart wrenching. A right person, wrong time revisited. A missed opportunity, corrected. My heart was squeezed and held… and with each chapter it was slowly released, heavy pumps of blood racing through and reinvigorating my belief in true love — that it has the power to traverse hardships simply because it’s meant to be.
VICTORIA’S RATING: 3.5/5
LETTERS FROM A LOVED ONE: PS I Hate You by Lauren Connolly (Amazon)
An HoH Book Club pick! Lauren Connolly shows us the strength of found family and demonstrates different manifestations of grief through the loss of a sibling, a child, a best friend, a partner. But it’s the second-chance love story that will simultaneously fill your heart up and rip it to shreds with each turn of the page.
VICTORIA’S RATING: 5/5
BY THE AUTHOR: Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean (Amazon)
An HoH Book Club pick! Calpurnia’s hunger for life and disregard of society’s rules makes her a heroine readers are eager to cheer for! And well, we all know how much I love a wickedly charming love interest — and Gabriel St. John delivers. The fear of getting caught really amps up the *steam* in this love story, but the comedic breaks and dialogue tipped this romance up to a 4-star read!
VICTORIA’S RATING: 4/5
Until the next chapter!
xo, Victoria
P.S. Craving more books featuring these sub-genres, tropes, and themes? Tap the links below.
