Summer Darlings
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Narrated by:
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Rebekkah Ross
About this listen
“Filled with 1960s nostalgia and a host of deftly drawn characters” (Renée Rosen, author of Park Avenue Summer), Summer Darlings pulls back the curtain on one mysterious and wealthy family as seen through the eyes of their nanny - a college student who, while falling in love on Martha’s Vineyard, is also forced to reckon with the dark side of privilege.
In 1962, coed Heddy Winsome leaves her hardscrabble Irish Brooklyn neighborhood behind and ferries to glamorous Martha’s Vineyard to nanny for one of the wealthiest families on the island. But as she grows enamored with the alluring and seemingly perfect young couple and chases after their two mischievous children, Heddy discovers that her academic scholarship at Wellesley has been revoked, putting her entire future at risk.
Determined to find her place in the couple's wealthy social circles, Heddy nurtures a romance with the hip surfer down the beach while wondering if the better man for her might be a quiet, studious college boy instead. But no one she meets on the summer island - socialite, starlet, or housekeeper - is as picture-perfect as they seem, and she quickly learns that the right last name and a house in a tony zip code may guarantee privilege, but that rarely equals happiness.
Praised as “a perfect summer book packed with posh people, glamor, mystery, and one clever, brave, young nanny” by New York Times best-selling author Nancy Thayer, Summer Darlings promises entrance to a rarefied world, for anyone who enjoyed Tigers in Red Weather or The Summer Wives.
©2020 Brooke Lea Foster (P)2020 Simon & Schuster AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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The Pull of the Moon
- By: Elizabeth Berg
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Berg
- Length: 4 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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In the middle of her life, Nan decides to leave her husband at home and begin an impromptu trek across the country, carrying with her a turquoise leather journal she intends to fill. The Pull of the Moon is a novel about a woman coming to terms with issues of importance to all women. In her journal, Nan addresses the thorniness - and the allure - of marriage, the sweet ties to children, and the gifts and lessons that come from random encounters.
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For women over 50
- By Laura on 07-07-15
By: Elizabeth Berg
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Homesick for Another World
- Stories
- By: Ottessa Moshfegh
- Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan, Richard Poe
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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There's something eerily unsettling about Ottessa Moshfegh's stories, something almost dangerous, while also being delightful and even laugh-out-loud funny. Her characters are all unsteady on their feet in one way or another; they all yearn for connection and betterment, though each in very different ways, but they are often tripped up by their own baser impulses and existential insecurities.
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Funny, Dynamic Writing
- By Sofia Macht on 06-13-18
By: Ottessa Moshfegh
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Surrender Bay
- A Nantucket Love Story, Book 1
- By: Denise Hunter
- Narrated by: Kathryn Lynhurst
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Samantha Owens' estranged stepfather has died, leaving her his cottage in Nantucket - a place she fled years ago, never planning to return. As a single mom, Samantha can't afford to pass up a financial windfall like oceanfront property. So she travels home to fix up the house and sell it...never suspecting that Landon Reed still lives two doors down. As their long-dormant romance begins to bud again, Samantha must face a past that separated her from the God of her childhood. And she must tell Landon why she fled the island in the first place - a secret that could tear them apart.
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Disappointing
- By Cody Wheeler on 04-28-20
By: Denise Hunter
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Hiding Out
- A Memoir of Drugs, Deception, and Double Lives
- By: Tina Alexis Allen
- Narrated by: Tina Alexis Allen
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Actress and playwright Tina Alexis Allen's audacious memoir unravels her privileged suburban Catholic upbringing that was shaped by her formidable father - a man whose strict religious devotion and dedication to his large family hid his true nature. When Tina was 18 her father accidently discovered the truth about her sexuality. Instead of dragging her to the family priest and lecturing her with tearful sermons about sin and damnation, her father shocked her with his honest response. The two became trusted confidants in a relationship that eventually spiraled out of control.
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Self-indulgent crap
- By Bridgid O'Donnell on 03-27-18
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The Lost Family
- A Novel
- By: Jenna Blum
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1965 Manhattan, patrons flock to Masha’s to savor its brisket bourguignon and impeccable service and to admire its dashing owner and head chef Peter Rashkin, the most eligible bachelor in town. But Peter does not care for the parade of eligible women who come to the restaurant hoping to catch his eye. Running Masha’s consumes him, as does his terrible guilt over surviving the horrors of the Nazi death camp while his wife, Masha - the restaurant’s namesake - and two young daughters perished. Then exquisitely beautiful June Bouquet, an up-and-coming young model, appears at the restaurant, piercing Peter’s guard.
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STIMULATES THE HEART, MIND AND IMAGINATION
- By Miss Manners on 07-01-18
By: Jenna Blum
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All Manner of Things
- By: Susie Finkbeiner
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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When Annie Jacobson's brother Mike enlists as a medic in the Army in 1967, he hands her a piece of paper with the address of their long-estranged father. If anything should happen to him in Vietnam, Mike says, Annie must let their father know. In Mike's absence, their father returns to face tragedy at home, adding an extra measure of complication to an already tense time. As they work toward healing and pray fervently for Mike's safety overseas, letter by letter the Jacobsons must find a way to pull together as a family, regardless of past hurts.
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Real fiction
- By Katijanae on 01-19-23
By: Susie Finkbeiner
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The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets
- A Novel
- By: Molly Fader
- Narrated by: Nancy Peterson
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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It’s been 17 years since the tragic summer the McAvoy sisters fell apart. Lindy, the wild one, left home, carved out a new life in the city, and never looked back. Delia, the sister who stayed, became a mother herself, raising her daughters and running the family shop in their small Ohio hometown on the shores of Lake Erie. But now, with their mother’s ailing health and a rebellious teenager to rein in, Delia has no choice but to welcome Lindy home.
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Great story
- By Nessa on 09-25-23
By: Molly Fader
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The Time Traveler's Wife
- By: Audrey Niffenegger
- Narrated by: Fred Berman, Phoebe Strole
- Length: 17 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Clare and Henry have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was 36. They were married when Clare was 23 and Henry was 31. Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternately harrowing and amusing.
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One of my favorite books
- By Joey on 01-13-08
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The Descendants
- By: Kaui Hart Hemmings
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Matthew King was once considered one of the most fortunate men in Hawaii. His missionary ancestors who came to the islands were financially and culturally progressive - one even married a Hawaiian princess, making Matt a royal descendant and one of the state’s largest landowners. But now his luck has changed. His two daughters are out of control - 10-year-old Scottie has a smart-ass attitude and a desperate need for attention and 17-year-old Alex is a recovering drug addict.
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Try it, you'll love it!
- By Pamela Harvey on 07-04-11
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Two Truths and a Lie
- A Novel
- By: Meg Mitchell Moore
- Narrated by: Courtney Patterson
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Truth: Sherri Griffin and her daughter, Katie, recently moved to the idyllic beach town of Newburyport, Massachusetts. They’ve been welcomed by Rebecca Coleman, unofficial former leader of the Newburyport Mom Squad, and her teenage daughter Alexa, Katie’s new babysitter. Truth: Alexa has time on her hands after a falling-out with her friends involving her popular YouTube channel.
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Really more of a YA novel...
- By Faith W. on 09-04-20
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Lulu's Cafe
- By: T.I. Lowe
- Narrated by: Natasha Soudek
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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On the run from a violent past, Leah Allen arrived in tiny Rivertown, South Carolina, battered and broken, but ready to reinvent herself. By a stroke of fate, Leah is drawn to the Southern hospitality of a small café, looking for a warm meal but finding so much more. Lulu, the owner, offers her a job, a place to stay, and a new lease on life. Through Lulu’s tenacious warmth and generosity, Leah quickly finds herself embraced by the quaint community as she tries to put herself back together.
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Extremely Heart Felt
- By Shonita Peterson on 05-04-22
By: T.I. Lowe
What listeners say about Summer Darlings
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- HistoryNerd
- 05-09-20
It Could Have Been A Good Story...
First off, I don’t leave bad reviews lightly. I’ve written novels myself and know the effort it takes to complete one. I’ve also served as a professional reviewer. “Summer Darlings” has a lot potential. The story was actually decent but the characterization was so poor, it ruined everything. The main character, Hetty, is an absolute idiot. She idolizes wealth yet skewers the one person trying to break free from that lifestyle. She is a first-rate liar, yet when the object of her affection turns out to be one too, she is furious. She lives on Planet Hetty, completely self-absorbed, with no redeeming characteristics at all. The one character that was fully developed and likeable was Ash Porter. Ok, and Gigi McCabe.
So much more could have been done with the characters and the plot. The framework was there but it was overshadowed by Hetty’s incompetence. By the end, I was literally yelling in response to some of her stupid conclusions. I almost packed it in and exchanged the book, but I was only an hour away from being done and ultimately, I do have respect for the effort that any author makes to write a story. Even if it it’s a relatively poor one.
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- Southern Reader
- 07-09-20
A light listen and an improbable story
If you want to listen to a book in which every single person is a terrible human, this is it. I downloaded it for a beach trip. I enjoyed the first half, then kept waiting for it to get better during the second, but it just kept getting darker.
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- judie
- 07-25-20
Shallow Book
This book was really silly and not very interesting! I kept listening and thinking something worth while was going to happen, which nothing ever did!
Mainly though, I really didn’t like the reader and will in the future try to avoid reads by her☹️. The cadence was
boring, I’m sorry to say! I always think the reader makes the read👍
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