Book Review:: These Summer Storms | Sarah MacLean

Fans of Laura Dave, Claire Lombardo, or anyone in between will love Sarah MacLean’s new book These Summer Storms. It’s a mix of family drama, personal crisis, situational intrigue, and a satisfying dose of steamy romance on the side. There are themes of coming of age, coping with and accepting family, and learning lessons the hard way. Everything this book does, it does well. I didn’t even wait to finish it before I pre-ordered a first edition copy for my home library. It’s so good.

These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean Book Cover

The premise is the billionaire patriarch of the Storm family dies, so his family gathers on their private island in New England for the reading of the will, including his daughter Alice, who has been estranged from the family for five years. Turns out the manipulative old man left stipulations for each person – a task that must be completed within a week – before they can inherit. Oh, and if one of them fails, no one gets any money.

I suppose this is a common story. Someone dies, and the wake of that event sends dramatic or mysterious ripples out disrupting everything that surrounds them. I’ve read several books with this specific situation even this year. So what makes These Summer Storms great, a cut above the rest? For me? Writing is first (always), and then the mix of plot and character that just turn this into something intriguing and exciting to read.

Right away I was hooked by a scene between Alice and a dark handsome stranger at the train station, caught in the rain. The depth of character already explored in those early chapters made it impossible to stop reading.

The Storm family is a complicated one, made even more complicated by the enormous amount of money involved. Add the father’s right-hand-man to the mix of this week-long…adventure, and even more tension ratchets up. I was just so impressed by the structure of the book as a whole and so many scenes that were unique and seducing and complex and just plain interesting. I couldn’t put the dang thing down.

I will certainly be reading this book again (maybe starting today *blushes*), and I’ll be sure to recommend it to all of my readerly friends asking about my recent great reads. I have no doubt this will end up being one of my best books of the year in 2025. AND the audiobook is being read by our queen Julia Whelan. Just mark me down as this book’s number one fan already. Release day cannot come soon enough!

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: These Summer Storms
Author:: Sarah MacLean
Genre:: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher:: Ballantine Books
Length:: 400 pages
Audio Length:: 14h
Audiobook Narrator:: Julia Whelan
Published:: July 8th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars