MY SUMMER DARLINGS

 

SYNOPSIS

A woman in the forest thinks she’s going to die.

I know he’s coming back for me.

Jen Hansen, Kittie Spears, and Cynthia Nichols have been friends since childhood. They are now approaching forty and their lives have changed, but their insular East Texas town has not. They stay sane by drinking wine in the afternoons, dishing about other women in the neighborhood, and bonding over the heartache of their own encroaching middle age and raising ungrateful teens.

Then Will Harding comes to town, moving into one of the neighborhood’s grandest homes. Mysterious and charming, he seems like the answer to each woman’s prayers. He’s a source of fascination for Jen, Kittie, and Cynthia, but none of them are ready for the way Will disrupts their lives.

As Will grows closer with each of the women, their fascination twists into obsession, threatening their friendships and their families. When he abruptly pulls away, each woman scrambles to discover the source of his affection. But what they’ll uncover is far more sinister and deadly than any of them could have ever imagined. 

Title: My summer darlings

Author: May Cobb

Publisher: Berkley

Publication date: May 17, 2022

REVIEW

RATING: ⭐⭐

Last year I relished all the drama of The Hunting Wives so much. All those rich people behaving outrageously was so much fun and I was anxiously waiting to read My summer darlings, but I’m sad to say it was a huge let down for me.

Jen, Kittie and Cynthia are childhood friends now approaching forty and living in East Texas. When Will Harding, a new neighbor, comes to town, all their lives will be disrupted and the fascination he awakens in all of them will threaten their marriages, their friendships and even their lives.

I don’t usually mind unlikeable characters as long as there’s some substance in them, but I didn’t find it in these ladies. I found them all plain, one note and, definitely, pretty frustrating. I love stories about strong women, but these women were anything but. I hated to see them throwing themselves at a man, not caring at all about hurting their long time friends. With friends like that who needs enemies? I could understand one of them falling for him, but all three? Will came as really smarmy and insincere right from the start so it was hard to believe all of them falling for his tricks.

The mystery aspect was pretty thin in my opinion. It was easy to guess who the victim was and, although it was a quick read, I can’t really say I kept turning pages anxious to know what would happen.

But if there was one thing that was really disappointing for me was how some of these women reacted once Will’s true colors came to light. I was like…what the f*ck??!! 😱🙄

Although My Summer Darlings was not what I hoped, I like May Cobb’s writing style so I will definitely check her next book.