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

Real life is heavy so trashy mindless books have been escapism. This was awful. Paper dolls have more dimension than these characters and the writing is banal. I feel stupider from reading half of this. There might be some appeal to those who love super cheesy Hallmark movies, but that ain't me.

This book was a fun, light read. A good one to take to bed at night.

Based on writing alone this should be a 2 star book. But what can I say? I enjoyed it. As I noted in one of my updates, it's the kind of book that is like a soap opera. You feel ashamed to admit it, in fact your hate yourself for it, but you really like it. You don't care that the phrase "bracelet of bruises" actually appears in the text. You don't care that it's full of beautiful people who behave predictably and whose stories end sappily. You don't even care that you, yourself have begun to ov...

These women were idiots. All of them.

I didn't realize this was the same author as a book to which I gave one star until after I purchased it. It was an ok read. Some of the turns of phrase in this book (and in her other one), struck me as...racist. I'm sure the author meant everything in a benign way (or, at most, in a damn-you-PC-people-I'm-not-racist way). I'm sure I'm just a bleeding heart, overly PC type. But, it bothered me, and took away from the otherwise summertime escapism of this beach read.The good thing is that I will n...

I won an advanced copy of this book from a First Reads giveaway here on Goodreads.I'd never read anything by Mary Kay Andrews before but I had heard good things about some of her other novels. I hate that this was my first of her books because I really struggled with it. It was my understanding that Mary Kay Andrews writes fun and quick "beach reads" so I already had somewhat lowered expectations for this and I was still disappointed.The whole thing felt too contrived for me to become attached t...

I should start by saying I felt dirty for even finishing this book, it was so awful. I'm pretty sure I lost IQ points somewhere in the middle of it. Don't get me wrong--I'm all for trashy, brainless novels, but this one was god-awful. Every person in it is a caricature, and the author, who apparently can and has written much better novels (though I've never read any and am not likely to start after this one), relies on tired literary devices rather than actually giving her characters and her plo...

I grow up in Edenton, NC and I worked in the outer banks when I was a teenager. I love reading books where the setting is in outer banks or Edenton. The characters of this book is writing so well, and I loved each of the characters so much. I also loved how the author wrote the setting. Great book.

Alrighty, so I won this on Goodreads, automatically making me quite happy. However, I was in a reading slump and didn't really want to read, but forced myself to anyway. Oh my gosh, I am so glad I did. Summer Rental was so fun to read and I really couldn't wait to write this review. I spent the past for days reading this, rather than studying for my exams. So, Summer Rental is about three best friends who are all thirty-five and kind of at a turning point in their lives. They had planned to rent...

This book was a good, light and easy early-summer read which shouldn't be too surprising given its title, "Summer Rental." I thought it started off pretty strong. Andrews clearly developed the four main characters in the first half of the book. From the beginning, it seemed that Ellis was somewhat of the main character and the other ones were often in the peripheral -- that remained consistent throughout the book, even when the story shifted its attention to the other characters temporarily. I d...

Whenever I state categorically that I don't read some genre (Sci Fi, romance, self-help, memoirs of abuse in childhood, violent suspense) somebody strongly recommends a book in one of those categories and I find myself enjoying it despite it's genre. I don't read chick lit, or romance, or beach books. But when Wilhelm's sister was visiting recently she gave me Summer Rental saying Mary Kay Andrews is one of her favorite authors, and as I know Betty Boop doesn't read trash I gave it a try. And to...

I wasn’t sure if I was in the mood for an easy light hearted chick-lit read, but I did end up enjoying it very much! It’s a great beach/poolside read, summer vacation book. It’s not heavy in plot, but it’s cozy and easy flowing, about three women who have been fast friends from their early days. Each one has a different personality and background. Each one comes to the beach cottage (Ebbtide), which they rented for the month with some kind of issue in their lives - job loss, impending divorce, b...

Summer Rental by Mary Kay AndrewsConsidering that this is a book about women in their mid thirties, who are educated and worldly I had to say I was rather amazed at how Ms Andrews portrayed them.We get to spend the month of August with best friends since elementary school—meet Julie, Ellis and Dorie who are spending the month in a beach house on the outer banks of North Carolina. A very diverse group of women that in “real life” may never bond as well as this group does. Add into the mix the sex...

Mary Kay Andrews is one of my favorite authors. I always enjoy her and I enjoy her books. This was a story of female friendship which she does very well. Her books all take place in the South which is great and sometimes have a little mystery in them. This one had a little mystery but not a lot. It was mainly a story of 3 bestfriends who rented a summer cottage at Nag's Head and , of course, they all had their problems and then they took in a 4th woman and her problems too. but they were all hap...

Having just returned from a vacation just a stone’s throw north of the outer banks of NC, I couldn’t WAIT to dive into this beach tale. Happy to say Mary Kay Andrews did not disappoint, and I was immediately transported back to that blissful state of feeling sand in my shorts. On a craft level, gotta give the author props. Descriptions were well (but not overly) done, dialogue rang true to the characters, and timing was impeccable with secrets being revealed at perfect point that “goosed the gas...

I usually can't wait for a new Mary Kay Andrews to hit the shelves, but it took me a while to get around to reading Summer Rental. I looked forward to this read with anticipation. The book is basic chick lit. Three friends, Ellis, Julia, and Dorie, go to the beach to get away from their lives and find out what they really want from life... sort of.Andrews usually writes with charm and wit and just a bit of attitude. Her stories are generally full of southernisms and over the top characterization...

Cute and predictable!

I loved this book! It was a great summer read - with just the right amount of suspense and mystery! It's the first one I've read by Mary Kay Andrews, but I will definitely be reading more! I love that each character had his or her own dilemma to figure out. I also love that even though the girls are best friends, they still had secrets that they've kept from each other. But a month on the beach proved to bring the girls closer and allow them to share their secrets with those they loved! I also r...

Three thirty something childhood friends meet in Nags Head for the month of August. Recently unemployed and anal Ellis, supermodel Julia hiding bruises on her arm, and newlywed Dorie whose husband didn't make the trip as planned. To save money, they rent the fourth bedroom to Maryn/Madison, who they don't realize is running from her husband with the money she's taken from him (which he stole).SUMMER RENTAL is a lighthearted beach read that tackles some serious topics, though not well. In my opin...