Review: Summer Rental

Title: Summer Rental
Author: Mary Kay Andrews
Series: None
Date Published: June 7, 2011
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Page Count: 402
Rating: 3.5/5 pineapples
Add to TBR on Goodreads
Buy it on Amazon

Synopsis:
Sometimes, when you need a change in your life, the tide just happens to pull you in the right direction…

Ellis, Julia, and Dorie. Best friends since Catholic grade school, they now find themselves, in their mid-thirties, at the crossroads of life and love. Ellis, recently fired from a job she gave everything to, is rudderless and now beginning to question the choices she's made over the past decade of her life. Julia--whose caustic wit covers up her wounds--has a man who loves her and is offering her the world, but she can't hide from how deeply insecure she feels about her looks, her brains, her life. And Dorie has just been shockingly betrayed by the man she loved and trusted the most in the world…though this is just the tip of the iceberg of her problems and secrets. A month in North Carolina's Outer Banks is just what they each of them needs.

Ty Bazemore is their landlord, though he's hanging on to the rambling old beach house by a thin thread. After an inauspicious first meeting with Ellis, the two find themselves disturbingly attracted to one another, even as Ty is about to lose everything he's ever cared about.

Maryn Shackleford is a stranger, and a woman on the run. Maryn needs just a few things in life: no questions, a good hiding place, and a new identity. Ellis, Julia, and Dorie can provide what Maryn wants; can they also provide what she needs?

Mary Kay Andrews' novel is the story of five people questioning everything they ever thought they knew about life. Five people on a journey that will uncover their secrets and point them on the path to forgiveness. Five people who each need a sea change, and one month in a summer rental that might just give it to them.
 
My Review:

Let me first start by saying that I absolutely love Mary Kay Andrews! I have read most of her books and enjoyed all of them. Her settings are usually on the beach or in the south somewhere. Her writing has a way of drawing you in and keeps you interested in the story. I wish I could say that was true for this book. While I enjoyed it overall, it was definitely lacking in areas too. The month that the women spend at the beach together was so boring. It was your typical beach read. They go to the beach, go out to eat, fall in love, the end. They didn’t even get mad at each other or fight while they were there. Tell me where you can get a group of women together in the same house, for a month, and NOBODY fights or argues?? I want to live in that world!

Another of my issues was the lack of character development. Ellis stays the same throughout the entire book and then all of a sudden at the end, decides that she is going to change her plans and live by the seat of her pants. Where the hell did that come from? Usually Andrews writes about strong, independent women but I felt that was not the case here.

I wish that there was more of an element of surprise tucked in there somewhere as well. It was lacking drama/excitement and was predictable, which is part of the reason for the 3 pineapple rating. However, if you are looking for a quick, light summer read then I would still recommend this book.