The Summer Hideaway (The Lakeshore Chronicles Series) [Audiobook, CD, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Susan Wiggs (Author), Joyce Bean (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 25, 2010 | Series: The Lakeshore Chronicles Series (Book 7)

Never get attached — Private nurse and protected witness Claire Turner lives by this motto. Fleeing a treacherous past, she knows no other way. Never give up — In the twilight of his life, George Bellamy makes it his final wish to reconcile with an estranged brother. He and Claire journey to Willow Lake — where it all went wrong for him fifty years ago. Never let go — George’s grandson Ross is ruled by a fierce devotion to family and a deep mistrust of the mysterious Claire…yet sparks fly whenever she’s near. In the face of a wrenching loss, amid the enchantment of Willow Lake, Ross and Claire dare to risk everything for love. “Wiggs’s talent is reflected in her thoroughly believable characters as well as the way she recognizes the importance of family by blood or other ties. Highly recommended.” — Library Journal

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

George Bellamy’s brain tumor keeps recurring, so he discontinues treatment, and travels with nurse Claire Turner to upstate New York in an attempt to mend fences with his long-estranged brother Charles. Spending the summer at Camp Kioga also allows him to matchmake for his beloved grandson Ross, newly returned from a two-year Afghanistan tour of duty as an Army air medic, while he himself reconnects with Millie Darrow, an acquaintance from his youth. But Claire’s secrets threaten the entire Bellamy clan when a vicious killer tracks her down. Wiggs’ seventh installment in her popular contemporary romance series continues to introduce new themes and characters, skillfully incorporating such disparate elements as the long-term effects of polio, end-of-life decisions, and the personal costs associated with choosing to do the right thing into an emotionally gripping tale centered on family. Wiggs is back in top form, and Daisy Bellamy’s many fans will rejoice that her story is next. --Lynne Welch --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

About the Author

When Susan Wiggs’s recent novel, Fireside, landed at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, the author responded by jumping fully clothed into her swimming pool. In February. In the Pacific Northwest. After thawing herself out, the author put on her lipstick and vacuumed the living room. Why? Because on the tiny island where she lives, news travels fast. She knew her girlfriends would show up momentarily - which they did - with the customary champagne and bags of Cheetos. She toasted her loyal readers, whose unflagging interest in her books propelled her sales upward. She toasted her friends and family as well, since they have always been the source of her inspiration. From the very start, her writings have illuminated the everyday dramas of ordinary people. At the age of eight, she self-published her first novel, entitled A Book About Some Bad Kids. Today, she is an international best-selling author, with millions of copies of her books in print in numerous countries. Her Lakeshore Chronicles novels celebrate the power of love, the timeless bonds of family and the nuances of human nature that make headlines every day. She lives on an island in the Pacific Northwest and is perpetually working on her next novel.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio on CD Unabridged; Unabridged edition (March 25, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1441859764
• ISBN-13: 978-1441859761
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,530,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Susan Wiggs's life is all about family, friends...and fiction. She lives at the water's edge on an island in Puget Sound, and she commutes to her writers' group in a 17-foot motorboat. She's been featured in the national media, including NPR's "Talk of the Nation," and is a popular speaker locally and nationally.

When her recent novel, FIRESIDE, hit #1 on the New York Times, the author reportedly reacted to the news by "putting on my lipstick and sweeping the patio." Why? Because she knew that within a matter of minutes, her girlfriends would show up to pop the bubbly and help her celebrate. [Update: FIRESIDE has been chosen of one of Amazon.com's Top Ten Romances of 2009.]

According to Publishers Weekly, Wiggs writes with "refreshingly honest emotion," and the Salem Statesman Journal adds that she is "one of our best observers of stories of the heart [who] knows how to capture emotion on virtually every page of every book." Booklist characterizes her books as "real and true and unforgettable." She is the recipient of three RITA (sm) awards and four starred reviews from Publishers Weekly for her books. Her books make frequent appearances on Amazon's "best of" lists. Several of her novels have been listed as Indie Next picks and optioned as feature films. Her novels have been translated into more than two dozen languages and have made national bestseller lists, including the USA Today, Washington Post and New York Times lists.

The author is a former teacher, a Harvard graduate, an avid hiker, an amateur photographer, a good skier and terrible golfer, yet her favorite form of exercise is curling up with a good book.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hide away somewhere with this, March 29, 2010

By 

mzglorybe (Southern CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Summer Hideaway (The Lakeshore Chronicles) (Mass Market Paperback)

(What's this?)

This opens with Ross Bellamy, a young helicopter pilot in the army just rounding up his tour of duty in Afghanistan. He comes home to learn that his beloved grandfather George Bellamy, a retired journalist and the closest thing to a father he has ever known, is terminally ill with brain cancer.

George has opted to stop all treatment, live his last few months doing whatever he wants and dying in his place of choice, Willow Lake's Camp Kioga, a place with much meaning in his life. He also wants to see his grandson Ross settle down with the right woman and he thinks his hired nurse would fit the bill nicely. So he has an agenda for Ross's future and a bucket list of his own, things to settle up before his time comes.

The nurse accompanying him to Willow Lake is Claire Turner, a professional in assisting those at the end of their lives get through what is to come. Claire has secrets of her own. She is a young woman in hiding from a murderer, a police officer whom she saw slay two young boys when she was a foster child in his home. As a teen she took a new identity and for years she has moved around and lived all her life ready to run. Now she finds herself yearning for normalcy and a chance at family life. The Bellamy men capture her heart as she learns more about the ties that bind in familial love.

Predictable, yes, as some have mentioned, but presented in a captivating tale of the past and the present, which is a favorite format for me as a reader. Ms. Wiggs has done an excellent job of providing us just the right pace to keep us wanting to learn more, and her descriptive prose makes us want to be there at Willow Lake. It sounds so peaceful and beautiful, just like the cover. We laugh, we cry, we feel. What more can you ask for?

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mostly enjoyable but I found the hero flat, April 9, 2010

By 

booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Summer Hideaway (The Lakeshore Chronicles) (Mass Market Paperback)

(What's this?)

She's been on the run since she saw her foster father murder two boys. Now, she's a nurse, but Claire Turner specializes in helping the terminally ill. With them, there's no chance of long-term connections, no chance that she won't be able to run. Her latest job, with George Bellamy, shouldn't be any different. Sure it's inconvenient that George wants to spend his last days at the converted summer-camp where he spent the happiest days of his childhood, but Claire can handle even the dangerous small-town atmosphere. What she can't handle is George's super-hot grandson, Ross. Ross has just returned from deployment in Afghanistan and his family sends him to rescue George from the gold-digging internet-nurse. Claire doesn't dare form any attachment, it would only make it harder to run and put another person in danger. Still, can she resist?

George has had an active life but he has regrets as well. He lost contact with his brother when both young men fell for the same girl. He's got a list of what he wants to accomplish before dying, including sky-diving, riding a Harley, and finally contacting his brother.

Author Susan Wiggs is at her best detailing the doomed love triangle between George, Charles and Jane. With his efforts to recover from Polio, his battle between prejudice and his heart, and his present-day will to live life even while only days from death, George makes a sympathetic character even as we shake our heads at his inability to close the deal with Jane. Claire is also high-potential with her history and danger. And Wiggs is a dependably talented author, writing compelling descriptions and narrative.

For me, Ross came off as a little one-dimensional. He's back from the war but he really doesn't have any goals, any career aspirations, anything really going for him other than a hot bod and a grandfather who thinks he's wonderful. I would have been more interested in the romance if Ross had been more interesting as a character. He did reflect some of his grandfather's attitude, allowing Wiggs to play George's doomed romance against Ross's, but then again, Ross didn't have a compelling brother he needed to compete with...he had a grandfather setting everything up for him. Similarly, although we eventually learn the facts behind Claire's fears, initially, I was tempted to shake my head and wonder if she wasn't over-reacting to her supposed sense of danger.

Wiggs is such a good author that these story defects didn't really keep THE SUMMER HIDEAWAY from being an enjoyable read. It isn't her best book, though.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars My first Susan Wiggs book; enjoyed subplot more than main romance, May 16, 2010

By 

J. P. (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Summer Hideaway (The Lakeshore Chronicles) (Mass Market Paperback)

(What's this?)

[Present day - Ulster County, New York]

[Summers 1944, 1945, and 1955 - Ulster County, New York; Autumn 1955 - New Haven, Connecticut]

This is my first Susan Wiggs novel and although it didn't rate very high with me, I do think she is a talented author and skilled storyteller and will read one or two more books before I decide she's not for me. Much of my complaints about this book are the same as those mentioned by other reviewers:

~ THE HERO ~ Although I wanted to like Ross and felt a bond with him at the beginning, when we meet him on his last day of deployment, throughout the rest of the book he seemed to be more of a shadow than a full-fledged character. His relationship with his grandfather was heartwarming and I really wanted to feel more attached to him, but I just felt disconnected and unable to connect with him as one normally does with a romance book's hero.

~ THE HEROINE ~ Claire/Clarissa was engaging and someone whom it was easy to root for, however I was never able to completely believe her back-story. Although yes, she has to be on the run and her life is in danger, the fact that she is *always* planning an escape route everywhere she goes, hides her "escape bag" at Camp Kioga right away, etc., was a little much for me. It's not like she's on the FBI's wanted list or that the government is out to get her; the chances of her being found in some random small-town in upstate New York are slim. Sure, I understand she has to be on her guard, but I thought it was all slightly exaggerated.

~ ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP ~ I did not at all feel the chemistry or connection between Ross and Claire. As I read this book, I got the feeling that Wiggs is more of a slow-paced romantic author than the other contemporary romance authors I normally read (Rachel Gibson, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Deirdre Martin, Jennifer Crusie, Nora Roberts, etc.). For me, that wasn't a problem, since one of the things I enjoy best about these books is watching the emotional/intellectual connection between the hero and heroine develop. Unfortunately, in THE SUMMER HIDEAWAY, all aspects of their relationship fell flat for me.

~ TWO STORIES IN ONE BOOK ~ This book essentially features two stories, though most of it does take place in the present day. You have the story of George Bellamy, the elderly man who is at the end of his life and has hired Claire to take care of him, and you have that of Claire and Ross, who is George's grandson. George has been estranged from his brother for fifty-five years and he's decided that before he dies, he wants to reconnect. As the book unfolds, we learn more about the estrangement, discover what drove such a wedge between George and Charles (Charles' wife, Jane), and watch two men become brothers again and meet one another's families. I found George's story more engaging and interesting than Ross and Claire's, though as other reviewers have pointed out, George's story is not romantic - if anything, it's heartbreaking!

THE LAKESHORE CHRONICLES:

Novella - "Homecoming Season" in MORE THAN WORDS anthology (October 2006), Miranda

Book 1 - SUMMER AT WILLOW LAKE (August 2006), Olivia and Connor

Book 2 - THE WINTER LODGE (February 2007), Jenny and Rourke

Book 3 - DOCKSIDE (August 2007), Greg and Nina

Book 4 - SNOWFALL AT WILLOW LAKE (February 2008), Sophie and Noah

Book 5 - FIRESIDE (February 2009), Kimberly and Bo

Book 6 - LAKESHORE CHRISTMAS (October 2009), Eddie and Maureen

Book 7 - THE SUMMER HIDEAWAY (March 2010), Ross and Claire

Book 8 - ? (?), Daisy and ?

OTHER BOOKS BY SUSAN WIGGS:

Like I said before, although I didn't enjoy this book very much I will be giving Wiggs another chance. After looking through her backlist, I found these five books that all had high ratings with Amazon.com readers and stories that sounded appealing to me: The Drifter, Halfway To Heaven, The Charm School (Calhoun Chronicles, Book 1), The Horsemaster's Daughter (Calhoun Chronicles, Book 2), Summer at Willow Lake (Lakeshore Chronicles, Book 1), and The Winter Lodge (Lakeshore Chronicles, Book 2). Keeping my fingers crossed that I enjoy these books more than THE SUMMER HIDEAWAY!