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momwithabook

Momwithabook

I love to read, mostly historical fiction with a little historical romance and some ghosty stories thrown int.

A Certain Summer

A Certain Summer - Patricia Beard Overall, this was a nice story but it didn’t leave a lasting impression on me. I received this book from Netgalley and started it right away. However about 20% in I stopped and started reading something else. Actually I read a bunch of other books. To be honest, if I didn’t have to review this, I probably wouldn’t have finished it. Oh how I hate saying those words. I know how hard authors work on their novels and how much they love them. And, really, I could do no better.The bulk of this novel was set on the vacation island. This was a problem for me because I didn’t like the island. It was a snobby island with nosy inhabitants and strange rules. They say nothing ever changes in Wauregan, and that may be true, but the author and characters put in a lot of time forcing that issue. Maybe some things needed to change. It was just boring to me.Also, the story was depressing. Poor Helen didn’t know whether her husband was dead or alive and all she could do was wait. It seemed as if she spent the summer just going through the motions. Of course this is understandable, just boring.So why did I give it three stars? First off I loved the Peter character. I thought that he was the only person on the island that even seemed awake. He could see through the behavior of the islanders to what was really going on with them. And we can’t forget his dog. I may have liked his dog even better. Their relationship was just beautiful. Peter was also wonderful with Helen and Jack. They both seemed to come alive when interacting with Peter. I was never tempted to put the book down while he was on the scene.Secondly, once this story finally got off the island and went oversees it was wonderful. It moved along and kept me thinking. Helen was finally doing something to find out about her husband’s fate. I will say that I really enjoyed that part of it.So in the end, I guess I am happy that I had to review it. The ending saved the book. I just wish the whole novel was as interesting.Checkout this review and MORE at Momwithabook.com