Customer Reviews

The Summer Of Us

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I agree with the reader from Syracuse; I was expecting a light, beachy read but this was terrible, even by those standards. At least most books of this kind keep you interested and make you laugh every now and then. All of the characters in this book were embarrassingly one-dimensional. The dialogue was so unrealistic - where did this author come up with this stuff? This is not how people talk to each other! Equally annoying was the way Chamberlin ends nearly all of the short chapters with some attempt at a deep thought or epiphany for one of the three women. It doesn't work. Truly, I'm amazed I got to the end...I think the only reason I finished it was that I was incredulous that a book this awful got published, and I was stuck on a train with nothing else to read. I cannot believe this book was displayed among MUCH better "beach reads" such as Jennifer Weiner's "Good in Bed" and Jane Green's "Jemima J". Please don't waste your money! I wish I hadn't.

Gincy Gannon, Danielle Leers and Clare Wellman share little in common except knowing that their next birthdays mean they turn into thirty year old geezers. Each decides to spend their last youthful summer in the Cape rather than become ancient spinsters in overheated Boston. They turn up late at a room matching session at Oak Bluffs so the threesome by default become summer roommates though they never met before.

Gincy comes from a small New Hampshire town that she left without a look back. Currently she works as a senior editor with Boston PBS. A loner, she has doubts about roommates.

Danielle comes from a wealthy Manhattan family. She knows she is pretty, intelligent and deserves the happiness and love of an upper crust husband that she plans to catch this summer.

Clare is engaged to attorney Winchester Carrington III after a decade together. She has major doubts about becoming Mrs. the third. This summer solace she seeks to find the "vanished" Clare.

Roommates do not necessarily mean friendship. However, a support group bond forms as each of these turning geriatric women search for their inner essence while hoping to find love in the dunes.

Chick lit fans will take pleasure in THE SUMMER OF US due to the strong characterizations. The three lead protagonists, who rotate first person narration, learn over the most wonderful summer of their lives that they have much in common. Each of these slightly flawed but feisty protagonists seeks fulfillment, love and happiness, which leads to a camaraderie. Holly Chamberlin's delightful buddy tale contains depth much deeper than the surface sunburn that the sub-genre often furbishes to readers.

Harriet Klausner

Holly Chamberlaine (author) needs to get another job. She is a very poor author. This book was horrible. Everything about it. The story line, the characters.....especially, Gincy, and the length. It was SO unecesarily long. How many times was she going to try to cash in on the joke about NH. Everytime Gincy referred to her hometown, it was always something like, Armpit, NH. Rodent infested, NH. I mean come on, it was somewhat funny once (NOT) but how many times are you going to try to repeat the same supposed joke? GET A LIFE. Readers, don't waste your precious reading time. I cannot believe this book got published and I wasted $13 on it. Which is the only reason I totured myself to finish it.

I was very disappointed by this novel. I was looking for a light beach read, but this was way beyond that. The writing was flat and contrived (I can't imagine anyone would ever talk that way in real life!), none of the characters were realistic or even likeable, the book flopped back and forth between different characters and locations without ever following through on anything, and each chapter ended in a silly almost sitcom-like "moral." I was also really put-off by the childish gag about one of the character's hometown (she kept referring to it as things like "barfville" that nobody above the age of 12 would ever use). I felt upset and cheated the entire time I read the book; like someone had stolen my money and time. I actually stopped reading about 50 or so pages in because it was just too bad to continue. I leafed through the rest of the book to find out what happened and see if anything improved, but it didn't.

Gincy, Danielle and Clare live completely different lives during the week but when the weekends come around this trio finds that they are on the verge of turning thirty and unhappy with their lives.

Gincy is a singleton with a great job working for PBS. She enjoys her fast-paced life and is a bit of a commitment phobe. Once she arrives at the Vineyard, she finds herself falling for a man but not just any man, a single dad.

Danielle comes from a well to do family life where she has always been treated like a princess and has gotten everything she has ever wanted. Once thing she still doesn't have but wants very badly is a man.

She's ready to settle down and land herself a wealthy husband. At the Vineyard, she surprises herself by falling for a blue collar instead of a blue blood.

Clare comes from a very wealthy family. Her family expects her to marry her prim and proper, well to do fiance, Winchester Carrington III. He's pushy, controlling and showy, everything Clare is not. She's worried that she could be making the wrong decision.

Taking the time away for herself, she heads out for a summer in the Vineyard to see if a life with Winchester is really the best thing for her. A wild and hot summer in the Vineyard holds many adventures and suprises for all three girls.

Holly Chamberlin has created a fun and sexy story about three completely different types of women who end up having a lot more in common than they thought. The Summer of Us is full of humor, wit, sexy characters and an unforgettable summer.

I breezed through this book in two days. I found it to be a very interesting as the characters developed in their own unique ways. I was able to relate to them. I would highly recommend this book for a college student with a lazy beach day:)

Seriously, this book made "Living Single" seem like fine literature. What unlikeable defective characters! And such lazy resolution...

As far as I am concerned, this is the better of the two books. At first it seemed like typical chick lit fluff, but the more I got into it, the better it became. I liked the way the book switched between the three main characters, telling the story from their different perspectives. It was also interesting to see how their personalities interacted with each other, despite enormous character differences. I read through it in a day, and will most definitely read her next book.

I loved Holly Chamberlin's first book, LIVING SINGLE and couldn't wait to read this one. I loved it! It's even better than LIVING SINGLE. Can't wait to see what she has up her sleeve next!

This is one of the worst books I have ever read. I wish I'd checked out the reviews on Amazon prior to purchasing it, but I bought it in a bookstore when I was in a hurry and the cover looked good.

The characters are one dimensional and extremely unlikeable. For example, what would Rick see in a woman like Gincy? The author never tells us, yet portrays Gincy as a very unpleasant, loud, and hygenically challenged woman.

Danielle, the lone Jewish character, is portrayed in an unflattering, stereotypical manner. The JAP? Yeah, right. Perhaps the author can enlighten us as to why shrimp and bacon would be served at a Jewish wedding when both foods are not kosher.

And then there is Clare, who is supposed to be a teacher yet we read nothing about her as such. Does she love children? What attracted her to Win in the first place? Why did she feel attracted to others while in her relationship?

Very disappointing book. I won't be reading anything else by this author in future.