Book Review: The Summer House

Title:  Glory Road
My Rating: 4.75     
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Romance
Author: Lauren K. Denton
Format: Paperback
Publication Date:  March 19, 2019

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Book Blurb

Sometimes it takes losing everything to find yourself again.

Lily Bishop wakes up one morning to find a good-bye note and divorce papers from her husband on the kitchen counter. Having moved to Alabama for his job only weeks before, Lily is devastated, but a flyer at the grocery store for a hair stylist position in a local retirement community provides a refuge while she contemplates her next steps.

Rose Carrigan built the small retirement village of Safe Harbor years ago—just before her husband ran off with his assistant. Now she runs a tight ship, making sure the residents follow her strict rules. Rose keeps everyone at arm’s length, including her own family. But when Lily shows up asking for a job and a place to live, Rose’s cold exterior begins to thaw.

Lily and Rose form an unlikely friendship, and Lily’s salon soon becomes the place where residents share town gossip, as well as a few secrets. Lily soon finds herself drawn to Rose’s nephew, Rawlins—a single dad and shrimper who’s had some practice at starting over—and one of the residents may be carrying a torch for Rose as well.

Neither Lily nor Rose is where she expected to be, but the summer makes them both wonder if there’s more to life and love than what they’ve experienced so far. The Summer House weaves Lauren K. Denton’s inviting Southern charm around a woman’s journey to find herself.

My Thoughts

Lauren K. Denton is one of those authors that I would recommend buying her entire collection, because if you like one, you will like them all. There are very few authors that can write women the way that she can, with depth, complexity, and likability while not being overly and annoyingly perfect. I honestly want her characters to be my best friends, so that we can all be there for each other and share our lives.

The Summer House is no exception, and I was hooked in the first three pages. That is how you open a book, engage the audience, without having to force unrealistic plot devices. It just happens and the entire story flows effortlessly from there, with a calm, building plot that is perfectly paced.

This is a dual POV story but I never got upset when it switched, which is always the concern for me. I usually like to stick with one person, because I’n invested in their story, so switching changes the mindset and emotional connection for me. But, in The Summer House, the characters were so alive, so vivid, and so involved in each other’s story arch that I never missed anyone when we switched.

I only have one bone to pick with Ms. Denton, and that is the ending. Don’t get me wrong, it was beautiful, satisfying, and I completely understand why she wrote it the way she did. But come on! I needed that one thing, but I guess I just have to use my imagination to make sure it happened. It was nice that Lily’s story didn’t need THAT to make it complete, she did it all on her own. but I still wanted it, lol.

Another amazing novel from the remarkable Lauren K. Denton. It’s not to be missed especially as a feel good, summer read.

*Special thanks to Lauren K. Denton, Thomas Nelson, and TLC Book Tours for providing a copy of The Summer House in exchange for an honest review.