Summer's End [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Kathleen Gilles Seidel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1999

Family Affair

To their respective families, Jack Wells and Amy Legend are outsiders. A free-spirited man-of-all-trades who takes life as it comes, Jack is far different from both his mother, the ever-organized widow of an admiral, and his methodical lawyer sister. And Amy, a professional athlete with exquisite taste and golden beauty, has a glamorous career a world apart from her bookish older siblings and college professor father.

When Jack's mother marries Amy's widowed father, the newlyweds invite all the children to spend the summer at the Legends' retreat in northern Minnesota. While their parents hoped they'd all like each other, they hadn't counted on just how well Jack and Amy would get along. For affection unexpectedly flares into a burning attraction that threatens to destroy already fragile bonds. Caught between long-simmering conflicts and clashing personalities, Jack and Amy agree to deny their desire until the vacation is over. But it seems the more they resist, the deeper they find themselves falling in love. With passion this strong, how can they possibly wait 'til

Summer's End

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Gwen and HalAeach middle-aged, each alone after the death of a longtime spouseAmarry after a whirlwind courtship. They have enough experience to know what they want, but their adult children are another story. When the newly merged clan comes together for an extended vacation at a remote lakeside cottageAa place without the helpful distractions of telephone and televisionAthe stage is set for grieving, bonding and, of course, a fair bit of squabbling. Hal's daughter Phoebe struggles to come to terms with mourning her exceptional mother, and accept the family's transformation; rootless but resourceful Jack, Gwen's son, battles his attraction for new stepsister Amy, a famous ice-skater with a sound but untried heart. These are mild dramas, but Seidel's (Again) solid insight into family dynamics weaves the different threads into an entertaining story. Her affectionately drawn characters are admirable and irritating at onceAjust like real peopleAand both their petty and loving moments feel authentic. Despite a rather cumbersome start, this is a genuinely appealing and absorbing read.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Summers End is Kathleen Gilles Seidel's eleventh novel. She is from Kansas, has a Ph.D. in English literature from Johns Hopkins, and lives in Virginia with her husband and two daughters. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 410 pages
• Publisher: Thomas T Beeler (December 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574902458
• ISBN-13: 978-1574902457
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 2.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,450,699 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully Enjoyable! One of my favorites!, October 11, 1999

By 

Erin L. Fontenot (Baton Rouge, LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Summer's End (Mass Market Paperback)

I loved this book! It wasn't just the romance that made this book so wonderful, but also the other characters and their stories in the book. It was great to see everyone change and adjust to such a new thing is their lives. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants something light-hearted and enjoyable.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful! The kind of book you lose yourself in!, July 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Summer's End (Mass Market Paperback)

I agree. It's been way too long since we've had a Seidel book. I love all her work, and am always prone to say her current book is my favorite. SUMMER'S END is a great women's fiction read! The kind of book you lose yourself in. (I couldn't go to sleep last night until I finished it.) If you want murder, bloodshed, and throbbing loins, stay away! This book is about real people, real families, and real emotions. PLEASE, Kathy, don't make us wait so long for the next one!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely wonderful, April 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Summer's End (Mass Market Paperback)

I've read and enjoyed every one of Kathleen Gilles Seidel's single title romances, and she just gets better and better. To say that she writes with enormous intelligence and wit hardly begins to describe the immense readability of Summer's End. She took a situation that would make me cringe in real life--two newly-connected families warily attempting to become acquainted with each other at a remote, primitive camp in Northern Minnesota--and made me love every minute of reading about it. Her characterizations are subtle and appealing, her relationships beautifully nuanced, and her romance between the two youngest adult children was absolutely believable. The precision of her writing makes everything come alive. For example, one of the main characters is a world class ice skater, and even though I couldn't cross a rink without falling flat on my face, I now feel as if I know what it must be like to be a champion skater. This is a book that should appeal to readers of women's fiction, romance, and those who just plain like good writing.