New York Times Bestseller!
The View cohost and New York Times bestselling author Sunny Hostin dazzles with this brilliant novel about a life-changing summer along the beaches of Martha’s Vineyard.
Welcome to Oak Bluffs, the most exclusive Black beach community in the country. Known for its gingerbread Victorian-style houses and modern architectural marvels, this picturesque town hugging the sea … houses and modern architectural marvels, this picturesque town hugging the sea is a mecca for the crème de la crème of Black society—where Michelle and Barack Obama vacation and Meghan Markle has shopped for a house for her mom. Black people have lived in this pretty slip of the Vineyard since the 1600s and began buying property in the 1800s, making this posh town the embodiment of “old money.”
Thirty years ago, Amelia Vaux Tanner and her husband built a house high on the bluffs, a cottage they named Chateau Laveau. For decades, “Ama” played host to American presidents, Wall Street titans, and cultural icons. But her favorite guests have always been her three “goddaughters:” Esperanza “Perry” Soto, a beautiful, talented Afro-Latina lawyer with Ama’s strong, yet guarded personality; Olivia Jones, a gifted Wall Street analyst with Ama’s brilliant, logical mind; and Billie Hayden, a gifted marine biologist and rule-breaker with Ama’s courageous free spirit.
Growing up, these three goddaughters from different backgrounds came together each summer at Chateau Laveau. As adults, the cottage is a place this trio of successful yet very different women go to escape, to slow down from their hectic lives, share private time with Ama, and enjoy the gorgeous weather, cool water, and stunning views Oak Bluffs offers.
This summer on the Bluffs, however, will be different. An era is ending: Ama, now nearing seventy-one, is moving to the south of France to reunite with her college sweetheart. She has invited Perry, Olivia, and Billie to spend one last golden summer together with her the way they did when they were kids. And when fall comes, she is going to give the house to one of them.
Each of the women wants the house desperately. Each is grappling with a secret she fears will hurt her and her chances. By the end of summer, old ties will fray, new bonds will be created, and these three found sisters will discover they aren’t the only ones with something to hide. Ama has a few secrets of her own. What she has to give them is far more than property. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, she will tell these surrogate daughters she fiercely loves and protects everything they never knew they needed to know.
more
Everybody needs a fairy godmother and a glorious summer read. Treat yourself to both with the magnificent Sunny Hostin’s Summer on the Bluffs… This beautiful novel will have you turning the pages long into a summer night.
Wonderful book, very entertaining and original with engaging and likeable characters. The storyline is interesting and all the secrets are revealed in a timely manner that propels the plot along very nicely. This story is comparable to those of Elin Hildebrand.
Summer on the Bluffs by the Emmy-award winning Sunny Hostin is a delicious, shimmering novel about the lives of Amelia Vaux Tanner and her three, grown-up godchildren. I was riveted by these fascinating, complicated women, and looked forward every day to opening Hostin’s luminous novel and escaping, through its pages, to the golden dunes of Martha’s Vineyard.
A wonderful summer read
The 20,000-foot view is a nice, summer, beach read. It’s a story about strong women, their insecurities, their failures, and finding their happiness. I really liked the depiction of Black wealth, providing a vision that exists, but we don’t often see depicted in the media.
On the negative side? As Ama had a secret regarding each of the girls, I had a real problem with the one concerning Perry. I’m not going to get into it-it would reveal way too much-but I just couldn’t wrap my head around it for many reasons. And the “resolution” wasn’t really a resolution at all. It was just “everyone is happy now” and it left me feeling a bit dissatisfied.
For the most part, however, I enjoyed the book.
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
The last 100 pages was the best part of the book. Ama and Omar’s love story was pretty good. In my opinion the story is to slow moving for my taste, I think the problem is Sunny Hostin is way to descriptive with her writing, In my opinion it needed more dialogue. I found Perry, Olivia and Billie interesting. They were all at different stages of their lives. Summer on the Bluffs was okay for a first try. I hope the next book is less descriptive. I was entertained. I read through Broward County Library.
This book came to me in the mail as a most pleasant surprise. I’d had it on my “to read” list, and was thrilled when it showed up. I’ve taken my time and really enjoy savoring all the depth of it, and there really is a lot of depth to it. I knew from the onset I’d never be able to predict the outcome, so I gave up trying and just thoroughly enjoyed the ride. It’s a beautiful story, told so well, that I think it requires time and patience. It needs to be absorbed and taken in slowly like the flavors of different dishes of a gourmet meal.
I loved this book. Once I began reading, I couldn’t put it down so finished it in a coupe of days. I was surprised to find out the connection between the girls and the couple particularly since I had been wondering why they chose Oliva, Perry and Billie.
The story was so well written I felt like I was there – It was a beautiful and very romantic story – I visited Martha’s Vineyard a few years ago and it is a very romantic island.
This is the first book I’ve read by Sunny Hostin and I was really impressed with this book. Summer on the Bluffs is centered around Amelia “Ama” and her three goddaughters, Perry, Olivia, and Billie. Amelia has asked them all to spend the summer at her house on Oak Bluffs and at the end of the summer, one of them will get the keys to it. All three women want the house for different reasons. All four women are keeping secrets from each other and the goddaughters are afraid their secrets will hurt their chances of being the chosen one. As the summer season ends, the secrets start being revealed and there’s angst, hurt feelings, and feelings of betrayal. I won’t leave any spoilers, but I will say the goddaughter I wanted to get the house was the lucky recipient.
I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher and this is my voluntary and honest review.
Thank you Netgalley and Publishers William Morrow , Harper Audio for an early copy of this book. The comments and review are my honest opinion.
An affluent black couple are godparents to three now grown women. Ama and Omar were the godparents and owners of an ocean front mansion on Martha’s Vineyard. Omar has passed and Ama has decided it is time for one of the women to own the well cherished and longed for mansion. What transpires is a deep need, desire and feeling of ownership in Billie, Olivia and Perry to own the mansion. But only one can own it and the reason can bring happiness and also sadness.
The book is rife with name dropping of the top of society, artists and glittering events. But also filled with disappointments, secrets, and eventually love.
#Goodreadsgiveaway
I won this book during a Goodreads give away. I enjoyed the book and its twists and turns.
Ama and her husband who were successful and eventually wealthy business people built a cottage in the Bluffs of Martha’s Vineyard. They had no children so the brought 3 young women to the cottage darning vacations and mentored them during their lives. Sunny, Olivia, and Billie were all different. They grew up to be strong, successful women. Ama’s husband has been dead for a while and she has asked the gills to stay with her for the summer, and she will decide who will get possession of the cottage. As they stay together each girl has a secret that they feel might hurt their chances of getting the cottage. But they learn that they all have secrets and maybe even Ama who they thought was perfect has a few secrets of her own to reveal that may affect their lives.
Contemporary literature is a fairly new genre for me. I love the portrayal of life and growth that comes from a read like this. Each character is battling their own inner demons and what I love most is that this isn’t just a happy fairy tale ending. It is life. It is up and downs, fights and make-ups, struggles and victories.
This novel looks at the life of Ama, her rise as a successful African American woman and the decisions she made that affected the lives of those around her. Ama and her husband Omar have lived a wonderful life and during that life they had three god daughters brought into their lives. Ama decides that her infamous house on Oak Bluffs will be inherited by one of her three god daughters. But who will inherit this childhood home? All of the females in this novel have a fiery inner strength. They come from backgrounds of oppression, loss and struggle. Learning about each of their childhoods, how they were connected to Ama and each of the secrets they held kept me intrigued throughout the story.
I did enjoy this novel with its uplifting feel but outside of the unique connections each god daughter had with Ama and Omar there wasn’t a lot that made this completely stand out for me. Some areas in the beginning do drag and the climaxes at the end left me feeling rushed instead of satisfied. Don’t let that dissuade you. This would make for a great beach read, especially for the underlying themes.
Thank you to the Book Club Girls, HarperLux and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this novel for an honest and unbiased opinion.
Thanks to NetGalley & Harper Collins/William Morrow for a digital advance reader’s copy. All comments and opinions are my own.
This was a well-written debut novel about family relationships: marriages, parenting, sisters, competition, and communication. Told from a few different characters’ perspectives and spanning 60+ years, what makes this story distinctive is the authentic viewpoint of an upscale African American lifestyle. Music plays a role in setting the scenes, as well as food and fashion. Hostin writes descriptively, using these elements to enrich the plot and develop the relationships of this family. Several characters hold secrets that are slowly revealed throughout the book, with a few surprises at the satisfying conclusion. As this is subtitled “Oak Bluffs #1” I’m looking forward to another novel that continues the story of this family.
I love the cover and the description of the cottage! This has a lot going on – female/ family relationships, the characters are like able and definitely relatable. They all have secrets and it’s interesting how it all played out. This is a good debut, it’s entertaining and a quick read. Thanks to Book Club Girl, William Morrow, and NetGalley for an ebook ARC. This is my honest review.
Summer on the Bluffs by Sunny Hostin is a great, refreshing, heartwarming book about heart, love, relationships, family, and secrets.
This is an excellent book that centers around Ama and Omar and their wonderful life and summer house together in Martha’s Vineyard. The reader then gets to see a mystery unfold in the “adoption” of three goddaughters: Perry, Olivia, and Billie. We learn of their relationships with each girl, and with each other.
Fast forward to current day, all the girls are brought to the summer house one more time to find out which one may inherit the gem will Ama takes the next step as a widow into staying abroad with her new love interest.
We learn all the girls have their own secrets as well as Ama and the late Omar. Will the unearthing of long-buried secrets bring the women together, or push them a apart?
A great, relaxing read with a great ending. This looks to be the beginning of a new series. I look forward to additional books if they are as amazing as this read.
5/5 stars
Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow/HarperCollins Publishers for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.